Essential tremour: Has anyone had any... - National Tremor F...

National Tremor Foundation

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Essential tremour

Frank41 profile image
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Has anyone had any joy from using Gabapentin for Essential tremour. I have tried Mysoline , which 'spaced me out', Propanalol, Pramipixole, and Madopar, none of which work. Am interested in anything that works !

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Frank41
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Hi Frank. I’m new here but not new to HealthUnlocked. I think, from the very low number of members, this NTF community is pretty new? Anyway I don’t really have essential tremor - more like resting or orthostatic tremor as I can’t stand for long without my legs turning to jelly. But I wanted to reply and say hello.

I tried Gabapentin for my small fibre neuropathy but it made me see double and gave me uncharacteristic anger. I’m now on Propranlol 80mg slow release. It is good for my hypertension/ autonomic issues and arrhythmia but so far my resting tremors (Parkinsonism?) are just getting worse. I see my GP again on Thursday to see how I’m getting on with it. I do have other conditions though which are probably underlying my internal tremors. Propranolol is sometimes prescribed for essential tremor so the leaflet says. But I’m not sure if it is used for other types of tremor like mine.

Do you know what’s causing your ET? I’m a great believer in working this out where humanly possible before taking medications. I know sometimes tremors are idiopathic, similarly to neuropathy - but if you can track it then there’s more chance of treating it effectively. Gabapentin will only mask it at best.

Frank41 profile image
Frank41 in reply to

Hi Twichytoes,

Thanks for your reply. Yes Propanalol is basically a beta blocker, and use d for hypertension. I didn't really expect it to work on me, and it didn't. I would have thought your GP would have put you on Amiodarone for your arrhythmia or Atrial fibrillation.

You can say that my ET is idiopathic, no one in my past family had it, so -"Why me" haha . I have started Pramipexole again, since I was on it back in December and my GP asked is it working ,after a week, when I said no, he said to discontinue, which I thought was weird as you wean yourself onto this stuff over 3 weeks, and then carry on. So when I saw him last week I told him this, and said I want to ty it again, so I am, and I'll carry on past the 3 weeks this time before I see him again. I'll let you know how I get on with it.

in reply to Frank41

Yes I think Proptanalol ticks various boxes for me although I actually feel rather strange on it now - been on the rapid release for a few months at low dose then my GP switched me to slow release 80mg. But the fatigue, which I suffer as part of Sjögren’s Syndrome, seems to be worse than ever and I had a bad allergic reaction to tiger lillies the other day - which I’ve since read can be a serious problem with Propranalol -as it can heighten response to allergens and then the Adrenalin shot used in anaphylaxis might not be effective enough. I have had anaphylaxis twice but forgot to mention this to GP - a new practice for me.

Coming off these drugs should be cautious and slow I feel - GPs often don’t realise this but I read it on the Propranalol box. I know that in the past I was told I could just stop meds and then became terribly unwell so always extra cautious these days!

I don’t have Atrial Fib - just tachycardia as part of the autonomic dysfunction relating to my autoimmune diseases. I tried Pamiprexole but it hospitalised me with this tachycardia and I felt awful on it. The narcolepsy was terrible - fell asleep on a remote beach in the rain! Hope it works for you though. Sometimes it’s a question of cutting through the initial pain/ side effects barrier I guess.

rosie-2015 profile image
rosie-2015

Hi frankie41

I have essential tremor, I've had it for a few years now, I do get gabapentin but it's for my fibromyalgia which it helps, but it hasn't done anything to slow down my tremor which affects both hands and my head now.

I hope you find something that helps you soon

Rosie 😊

I just found this group. I take gabapentin (600mg. 3 times a day) for neuropathy in my feet due to botched back surgery. I take primidone (300mg. in the early a.m. and 100 mg. at 1:30 p.m.) for my ET and most days it works for a while. By dinner time I need more but live without it. I had a distant cousin and my father had ET.

Cats2018 profile image
Cats2018

I take both Propranolol and Gabapentin. I have hypertension so the Propranolol is for that but does also help the Essential Tremor. I was diagnosed with ET in my early 40s but began to notice the tremor in my late 20s. When I was put on a beta blocker in my mid 30s it masked the tremor completely. In my 40s my GP switched the beta blocker to an ACE Inhibitor and the tremor became apparent. My mother had the tremor as well. I am th eonly 1 of my siblings (there are 4 of us) who seems to have inherited the tremor from our mother.

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