Anyone else out there with Essential Tremor?

For those who are unfamiliar, Essential Tremor is a neurological disorder characterized by a rhythmic shaking - usually of the arms/hands, but sometimes affecting the head, voice or legs (or a combination of these).  Often mistaken for Parkinson's disease, it is unique in that Parkinson's tremor usually occurs when the muscles are at rest, while ET tremor usually occurs when the muscle are in use.  Katherine Hepburn suffered from ET - that was what caused the tremor in her voice.  In fact, it is possible that as many as 1 of every 10 people is afflicted, although many never feel the need to get diagnosed (it runs in families, and many people believe there is nothing that can be done to help it.) 

My reason for posting this is that I've found that my tremor is significantly affected by the foods I eat.  And I find myself in a regular struggle between eating the things that I know will help my tremor (lots and lots of protein) and my desire to eat more of other things (mostly whole grains) that I know will exacerbate it.  

My question then, is whether there is anyone else who has this (or a similar) experience, and how they deal with it.  I guess it is also an invitation to be mutually supportive as we work out this healthy lifestyle. 

I've never really heard of this, but I did suffer from extreme muscle spasms when working out in my arms and legs.  I did notice that when I upped my protein intake and cut down on the starches that I loved, they have been a lot less severe and almost disappeared.  I eat about 5 small meals a day and make sure there is protein in every meal.  I was told it was because the protein is going to repair my muscles from working out which has helped the spasms.  Although yours sounds much more serious, I hope this helps.

My husband has ET. It effects his hands. For a 32-year old, it's discouraging because once people see his hands shake, they automatically assume he's nervous, but really it's quite the opposite. It also worsens after excercise. When I told him about your post, he said he never connected the two. Now he's going to watch his reactions. 
He's got a lot of food allergies. I wonder if that's related.  The allergies are mostly raw vegetables, some fruits, and nuts (not peanuts.) It's hard to avoid eating some of those. But he does eat a lot of meat.
I'll let you know if he notices something.

Thanks, nikachu!  I know what it's like to have people always assuming you're nervous.  I'm finding it hard to give up my nighttime bowl of cereal (I was using that to replace dessert - certainly better than cookies, cake or candy bars!)  I found a cereal with 15g protein per serving, and I'm giving that a try, but I'm afraid the high soy content will set off other issues.

In 2000 I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called cervical (as in neck) dystonia or spasmodic torticollis.  Fortunately I am one of the fortunate few (10%) who has gone into remission.  Like essential tremor, dystonias are often action induced and "disappear" while sleeping or resting.

You might want to take a look at www.wemove.org.  It is a sight regarding movement disorders.  I believe there is an essential tremor chat room there is a there is WEALTH of reliable information.  Good luck to you.  I know how frustrating it can be.

My DH has a mild form of Tourette's. It's most noticeable when he's under stress or fatigued and hasn't slept well. Basically it looks like he's talking or muttering to himself. If you get up close, you usually don't hear anything. And he's not really aware he's doing it. If he's under extreme stress, he might blurt out expletives. But that hasn't happened in a very long while - actually, I've never seen him do it - but he says it has happened in the past, and was very embarrassing. Mostly he just mutters and jerks his head around a bit, very few people really notice it, but I do, since we're married.

I never thought about the food correlation, but it's true that he's most likely to do this when he hasn't eaten in awhile. For example the other morning he was raking before breakfast and it looked like he was having a quite lively conversation. And I notice this most often right before dinner, but I always figured that was because the hour before dinner in general tends to be stressful! It's right after work, he just battled a commute, everyone is irritable and hungry.  

I have developed a tiny little high-frequency tremor in my left ring finger. Not sure when it started. It's not always there, it comes and goes. It's there today. I thought it was probably related to arthritis. I notice it when I stretch my hand out flat. It goes away when I relax or rest my hand.

There is such a thing as a focal hand dystonia which is characterized by involuntary movement.  Pianist Leon Fleicher is affected by it.

I am quite familiar with the wemove website.  I am also involved with the Tremor Action Network and their chat group.  Thanks for sharing though!

Hi Joji732... I have an update. Unfortunately my husband had a fall a few months ago and as a result has to go to physical therapy for a disjointed shoulder. While he was there, the doc noticed his ET and commented that it's sometimes associated with an imbalance problem. In order to alleviate worse days, he advised to start some exercises on a wobble board. Just thought I'd drop that bit of info.

My family has trembling hands which was diagnosed as Familial Tremens after discounting Parkinsons.  My Dad and brother are worse than I am and my sister and other brother not affected at all.  I've never connected food to the severity of the problem and will certainly start to track for the symptoms.  I also have a bit of imbalance problem but put that down to a medication I take for a chronic condition that lists imbalance as a side effect.  Interesting information - thanks.

I was just recently diagnosed with essential tremor disorder and put on 50 mg of

primidon  I was wondering what foods I could avoid to help my condition

thanks for any help you can give me

Caroline

WOW!!!  I have had an Essential tremor of my hands, more my right since I was 7.  It really effects me sometimes since I work in a pediatric ICU and people assume I am nervous, which obviously I am not.  I have multiple food allergies and have never connected the two.  I am assuming from these posts that protein helps, which is bad since I struggle to eat enough protein.  Please let me know what foods help all of you.  Thanks!

I have genetic generalized and writers cramp Dystonia. It is somewhat similar to what you are describing but is not affected by diet. Have you tried medication? Also Botox helps A LOT.

Kathy- It's so nice to find someone else on here with Dystonia! I figured someone would have it! Since I was born with it I am use to it by now (I'm  21) but I was wondering how are you coping with it since you were diagnosed not too long ago?

I have an Essential Tremors Support Group.  Not very many members, but feel free to join.