dancesintherain Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 So what options exist to treat tremors? They’re mild but they exist. I can ignore if I have to/adapt. But I’d love to have them vanish. i can’t take cogentin, if that’s one option, because it gives me blurry vision to the point of not being safe to drive i can’t take propanol because I can’t afford to have my BP drop any further (because of prazosin). are there other options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarn Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Tremors, depending on the cause, can I believe become permanent. So you may want to figure out which med/why and reduce? (I know that's probably the last thing you want to hear at the moment) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 yeah, we're pretty sure that it's lithium because I've had a mild tremor in my right hand for a while. Reducing that's not on the table though. I've tried it three times and each one made me manic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarn Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 If it's lithium could it be an electrolyte thing? I think lithium is better than one of your antipsychotics, to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted October 31, 2019 Author Share Posted October 31, 2019 I'm not sure. I stay pretty well hydrated. I can't go lower on it though. lower triggers mania without question. Maybe I need more potassium in my diet or something? My psychiatrist noticed it while doing an AIMS test but concluded lithium rather than any sort of formal movement disorder. They are honestly mild enough that they don't interfere with things the vast majority of the day. There's just a moment here or there where I notice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikl_pls Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Primidone is another potential option, but propranolol is the mainstay of lithium-induced tremor, unfortunately. Primidone for me caused severe cognitive issues, probably worse than with Topamax! If you try primidone, start low and go slow to the target dose. (I would talk to whomever would prescribe it about starting at like 12.5 mg instead of 25 mg and go up by 12.5 mg increments weekly or biweekly instead of 25 mg increments per week). Another treatment option is vitamin B6 (900-1200 mg/day) (this can be a toxic dosage if taken for a long time, so talk to your doctor/pdoc about taking it if you wish to try this). It apparently has good results for lithium-induced tremor. Lastly, severe tremor may be a sign of lithium toxicity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unstrung Harp Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 On 10/31/2019 at 7:08 PM, dancesintherain said: yeah, we're pretty sure that it's lithium because I've had a mild tremor in my right hand for a while. Reducing that's not on the table though. I've tried it three times and each one made me manic. lithium gave me a really noticeable tremor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearhead Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 2 hours ago, Unstrung Harp said: lithium gave me a really noticeable tremor. Ditto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Yep my lithium tremor is like that, although it does occasionally bother me when doing fine motor tasks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notloki Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 Abilify causes a fine rapid hand tremor in me, probably a pseudo parkinsonian tremor, It's a part of the EPS that can happen with abilify, I take propranolol to stop it and it works well. Daily take 60 mg ER , so it is delayed release. If I need to do some precise work with my hands I take 20 mg IR propranolol extra so my hands are very steady. At these doses there is little effect on blood pressure but reduces your heart rate very well. As I take a large dose of amphetamine and bupropion, without being on propranolol I would have a resting pulse of 111 bpm but with propranolol resting is 70-80 bpm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted November 2, 2019 Author Share Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) thanks mikl_pls--I didn't realize there were other options out there. I've had lithium toxicity before and this isn't it, but it does seem like the likely culprit. thanks to those who have been down this fun path before. I can live with it, it just is noticeable to me at times. Most of the time not, strangely. So maybe that means I should stick with it. I didn't realize propanalol reduced heart rate. Interesting. My reseting heart rate rigt now runs around 75 and know it can go lower, but I'm not sure I want it to go that much lower! Edited November 2, 2019 by dancesintherain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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