Can PTSD Cause Shaking?

[seedling]

I believe that shaking can be a release of fear, just as crying is a release of grief or anger. When I'm afraid I can try to shake - like shaking out my arms or hands - and it feels good. This sort of release shaking can be accompanied by sweating.

The doctors say it is the adrenaline going through the system.

 

[James B.]

The doctors say it is the adrenaline going through the system.

For me shaking (and trembling) was indeed adrenaline related. Lot's of un-identified triggers firing off, near panic attack shaking/trembling. Plus high stress-cup index combined with indifferent dietary habits. Most unpleasant. Used to get it from drinking (too much) alcohol (too quickly), too. Ugh.

 

[Redtail]

I would have them also while playing video games (I have combat PTSD also), I would get them at different point but was afraid to talk about them. I would try and hide my hands, such as put them in my pockets. I never really thought much about being PTSD until reading this post. Very interesting.

 

[James B.]

"Epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) is a hormone and neurotransmitter. It increases heart rate, contracts blood vessels, dilates air passages and participates in the fight-or-flight response of the sympathetic nervous system.

The major physiologic triggers of adrenaline release center upon stresses such as physical threat, excitement, noise, bright lights, and high ambient temperature. All of these stimuli are processed in the central nervous system."

- Wikipedia


View attachment 3900
Epinephrine

 

[Deleted member 5760]

It definitely does for me. In fact it probably adds to the agoraphobic/social phobic side of things - in terms of : I always wonder if people can tell how nervous I am.

The first person who spotted it with me was an extremely close friend. Rather than me go 'oh, thanks for noticing I am distressed' or asking for a hug, it probably added to it in terms of my thinking 'people can spot it'. The next person who spotted it was another extremely close friend. Both of these people care very deeply for me and did not judge. It was concern when they spotted it. The reason they spotted it was because it wasn't 'usual' and only happened when I spoke about my major trauma (so rare). I couldn't help it - I started to shake. But not rocking back and forth, kinda thing... for me - I'd shiver. That kind of shaking.

I'd shiver.

And my closest friends who clearly knew the usual me could see it.

 

[jesse]

I get hand tremors off and on, it was pretty bad about a year ago. I found that quitting drinking really helped a lot. I still shake but nowhere near as badly.
Jesse

 

[Abrasky]

Shaking is a sign of shock. I think if the memory is bad enough yes you can shake. I had one flashback memory that caused me to shake so badly, I went really weak and couldn't feel my arms or legs. It's also a sign of strong powerful emotions being in conflict I think. For me it is I want to do something that is related to functioning as a person but powerfully painful feelings attached to it that prevent me.

 

[MamaBear]

I have had the shakes off and on for years and never put it together with the PTSD! My husband is always trying to get me to eat when he sees me shaking....

 

[BloomInWinter]

Shaking, yes. Also, times that make my legs not want to work and I walk like I'm 100 years old!

This summer I had several weeks where my 'walk' wasn't mine. Now that I know that's just a sign of my high anxiety or triggered into something, I can tell myself that 'this too shall pass...' and so far, it does.

Now it doesn't happen much, thankfully. Whew.

 

[Gloria]

I had to get epi-pens because I'm allergic to bee stings. Last time, I didn't have an epi-pen and my arm swelled up twice it's normal size. I thought my skin was going to split and my fingers were so swollen that I couldn't bend them. So I got the very expensive epi-pens ($185 for just two pens).

A few days ago, got stung again by a yellow jacket and used the epi-pen. I don't know which is worst. I started to feel my heart race and was shaking. I felt exactly as I did when I was traumatized during an eight hour ordeal with police - scared out of my mind. I then tried to take clonazapam and sleep but had nightmares all night. The physical symptoms from the epinephrine brought on a full blown PTSD episode. I almost would rather have the swollen arm.

I'm going to my doctor. I did not follow her instructions when she prescribed the epi-pen. She told me to immediately to the emergency room to get IV's. Maybe if I had gone to the emergency room, they would have gotten my heart rate down and this wouldn't have happened.

I bet there are a lot of people on the forum who have to use epinephrine. There's no choice with me. I could go into anaphalactic shock.

 

[Deaf Global Nomad]

The epinephrine can cause all sorts of reactions like shaking, racing heart, faster breathing etc... My mom went through a biopsy for breast cancer. They took a biopsy from the breast and one from the axillary lymph nodes. When she put her arm down she felt some tingling and then the nurse told her she could get up and get dressed. As soon as she stood up she began shaking all over and fell over. The nurse actually scolded her for overreacting. The tingling apparently just came from holding her arm up. Later when we all went in for the meeting with the oncologist, I sat reading the report. I could not help myself and started to laugh. Not at my mom, but the plain ignorance or stupidity of the medical team who had come up with one excuse after another. They inserted a double dose of epinephrine into my 100 lbs mom, one in her left breast and the other under her arm, both obviously right by her heart. No wonder her heart was racing and she was shaking. At least we resolved the mystery and my mom decided to go get treatment somewhere else where the medical team would respect her enough.

Shaking can also be a sign of anxiety. If I am nervous, anxious, or scared I will immediately start shaking.

According to Peter Levine's book "Waking the Tiger" shaking can also occur as a part of healing. It's basically the body's own way of getting rid of the adrenaline that we PTSDers have way too much of floating around in our systems. The body runs through different stages during trauma. Shaking or tremors complete the full cycle, explaining why people who were not able to react through flight or flight and instead froze or were kept immobile are more likely to develop PTSD whereas people who can react physically are significantly less likely to develop PTSD. The final step of the circle is shaking to get get the adrenaline out. After that happens the animal who was threatened in the first place is usually fine and gets up and finishes whatever it was doing prior to the attack. I thought that was an interesting visual and as I have learned in therapy basic defenses years after the trauma (e.g. kicking or punching) can still help complete the cycle and free me of the stuck PTSD symptoms. After the kicking or punching I usually go through some shaking.

At the moment it still feels like I have to go through each individual trauma separately and with my CPTSD this will take quite a while, but according to my therapist at some point the learning will begin to affect different traumas at once...

 

[Gloria]

Dear Global Nomad,

I have two friends whose therapist are making them let out anger and stuff. I just don't see the point but after reading your post, it makes sense. It's like the experiment with the monkey who were give electrical shocks, the ones that had control of the lever that gave them food and a shock felt in control and didn't get all stressed out. I am the only one of three children that survived and I am the only one that fought back once I weighed about 100 lbs at 13 years old. It could be why I am alive. At one point during my trauma, I raised my voice and expressed my anger at how I was being treated but then I was taken and put into a jail cell by myself for a very long time and when they let me out, I was so terrified I wouldn't even speak up for my own rights.

Coffee isn't the best thing for us PTSD sufferers either. But as I read this thread, coming off of alcholic intoxication can be a terrible experience for us. I avoid all sugar and alcohol but have a cup of coffee in the morning. But I get up at 4 a.m. so I feel I need that darn cup of morning for someone to have to get up and go out to a cold barn before the sun is even out. :sleep:

HUgs,
Gloria