Is Ptsd The Reason Why My Hands Wont Stop Shaking.. Ever?

[Ricanoland]

I am 19 years old, before I started feeling what I know now to be called (PTSD) I was a healthy kid, nothing really bad ever happened to me. Now my blood pressure is getting higher and higher, my hands will not stop shaking ever "my hands shake more than my 80 year old grandfather". I went to the doctor a few days ago telling me I need to have an EEG and an MRI and some nerve testing done of my arms and legs. They have also whiched my meds around. I take my pills everyday, but I still have non stop nightmares, and this hand issue.

Does anyone else have this issue?

 

[712xx]

I used to, (well I still do to some extent) but it is probably different for everyone. Nervous expression can be expressed differently at different times. It was a major problem for me when I was in college labs -- disecting, measuring liquids, holding test tubes with tongs over a flame, ...etc. People used to ask me if I was on drugs or an alcoholic, because I'd get the shakes so bad.

It was worse when I was being watched and tested on the spot - or called up to the board to work out a problem (believe it or not, college professors still call people up to the board like high school teachers, lol). My legs and body would quake, and I would try so hard to hold the marker and write without making a mess of things. It did get better the more familar I was with the people. Routine and familarity helps me a lot. The problem was, every 4 months my routine changed and had to start over ... the shakes would come back as bad as they were the first days of the previous semseter... but would eventually calm down.

Like I said, it is probably different for everyone. New situations, being judged or evaluated, meeting new people, having to talk on the spot ... I believe this is due to a surge of dopamine in these kinds of situations. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that acts on the sympathetic nervous system, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure -- and can trigger the fight or flight response (give you the shakes); ptsd sufferers usually are highly avoidant of situations that trigger this response unless we educate ourselves and can understand why our body is doing what it is doing. Knowing kinda makes it a little less ... troublesome? annoying?

To counteract these responses I had to find acetylcholine triggers (this acts on the parasympathetic nervous system). This will decrease the heart rate, slow breathing ... the relaxation response. I use my senses -- pleasent aromas (I have a tissue in my pocket with a certain aroma oil on it I can pretend to wipe my nose and take a few breaths of it) ... can use imagery in your mind of certain places you feel most relaxed in (I like the desert because it seems quieter) ... use an mp3 player with music you enjoy ... just any senses you can utilize to help you calm your nerves.

It does take practice. For me, routine and familiarity helps the most.

There is also something called 'Rescue Remedy'. They come in drops for under your tongue, or in losenge form; can help relieve anxiety to a point. You can find them at a drug store, or Amazon carries them too.

Hope you find any of this helpful. You are not by yourself with this issue.

--{@

 

[Emilie]

I go through periods of this happening. It was worse when I was not in treatment for PTSD. I go to hand someone at the checkout counter my money and my hand shake so bad they think I'm on crack or something probably. I'm not sure what causes it. 712xx may be onto something with the neurotransmitters. It's defineatly linked to anxiety.

 

[Sammy]

Me, too. My friends know I am feeling anxiety because my hands start shaking. The more ithimk about it, the worse it gets. At the end of particularly difficult days, I am exhausted from all the shaking. I really dislike this symptom and my frustration with it generally doesn't help.

 

[intothelight]

I am another with shaky hands. The more anxiety the more I shake.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

I have this problem every once in a while. It's mostly when I have a lot of anxiety ( mostly social anxiety). I get the same thing Emiie said, often when I have to talk to someone when I have anxiety I sweat and my hands shake. It can get embarrassing...people notice.

My hands also shake when I am manic, but that's not PTSD or anxiety related, just thought I would throw that out there.

 

[Barberian]

I too get shaky hands, but it's not a constant thing. It usually expresses it's self when I have to do something that requires concentration and fine movents of my hands - counting money at the checkout, separating pieces of paper, tightening the screw on my eyeglasses, etc.

My legs are another thing. I almost always am bouncing at least one leg constantly. It has been so bad I've joked that clipping my toe nails is a hazardous operation because at times I can't stop them from shaking.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

I move around a lot when I am sitting, and I think if I did not do that my hands would shake a lot more. Same with pacing...I pace a LOT. They both help relive my anxiety.

 

[712xx]

Do you think this shaking could be unexpressed energy that is built up elsewhere? I haven't done hard labor in months, and can forget how great it can feel afterward. My body usually has a low hum feeling; like a machine on a table -- if you feel the table, you can feel the vibrations. If you put a hand on my back or chest, it feels just the same.

However, today I spent all day doing a half acre's worth of yard work; hard labor, pushing an old mower, hauling several bags of clippings around the house, up and down from my knees to my feet weeding. I was really sore till I took a hot bath and a few Aleve (YAY I found them:rolleyes:). I'm out of shape, lol (did I say months? make that several months). Now I'm just exhausted, but I don't feel that low hum in my body right now. I could just be too tired to feel anything.

The large muscles have been working overtime; maybe it is overriding my fine motor vibration. Although, right after hard labor I can't write for sh -- um, anything. Not many can work the large and small muscles one right after the other.

Anxiety ... like feeling unprepared for a test, presentation, or when I'm out of the house and lose my check list -- those are major anxiety factors for me, and my body quakes like the San Andres Fault. Nothing helps in those moments. I can't will it away. The only thing I have figured out is to prevent those quakes from occuring (can't always, but sometimes I can). I over prepare for tests and presentations (I only quake for the first few minutes then it goes away if it is going well), and never, ever lose my check lists (I've taken to writing things on my arm before, just to make sure I have what I need).

 

[soulofLC]

I have essential tremour, which runs in my family. The meds I take make it worse. Add the anxiety, PTSD, and stress and it can get really bad.

I have found that exercise is helping. I think it strengthens the muscles and nerves. Also, a good stress B complex would support nerve health.

That is no substitute for your doctor's care and tests, however. Just a rule of thumb that I follow re the vitamin suppliments.

There is also physical therapy for tremors. When I had good insurance, it would have covered it.

 

[Ice_Fire]

This thread caught my eye, as I've not stopped shaking for a couple of days. My hands are the worst, I have to really concentrate hard to type and playing guitar is impossible. :(

Struggling with flashbacks too, the worse they are, the worse the shaking.

 

[maddog]

Extreme distress, rather than anxiety per se, leaves me shaking like a leaf, my entire body, not just my hands. I also dissolve into shaking when being watched by another person when trying to perform any simple task. Even something such as trying to make a cup of coffee in the meal room at work while others stand behind me waiting for their turn, will reduce me to shaking, and consequently spilling/fumbling things, which then increases their attention and my anxiety, etc.
For me, I know that confidence and stress tolerance are the keys, which is, like most things, easier said than done.

Maddog