Month: March 2016

Tremors, Including Almost PG13 Video

 

One of the symptoms of POTS is tremors.  I started having tremors long before I was diagnosed and before my freeway nap and 5 day hospital visit.  The first one happened the night we got home from taking Carter to the urgent care to get stitches (which was the first time I passed out).  Most of my tremors start in the abdomen region and essentially cause what feels like a violent ab workout.  That’s the best way I can describe it.  It’s kind of like if I said, ‘no body, I’m not doing crunches right now.’  And then my body says, ‘wanna bet? You’re doing crunches NOW! Harder and faster!’  It’s kind of like there is a really mean tiny personal trainer inside my abs during these tremors.

When the first one happened my husband thought I was having a seizure.  Some doctors have said it is fairly similar to a seizure, but I am conscious and can talk during it.  I have included this video so you can get an idea of what my abdomen tremors look like.  (Also, don’t mind us in the background.  Tom and I are discussing if the gown is going to fall down or not during the tremor.  Spoiler alert: it doesn’t, well not in this video at least.  The video where it does is actually pretty funny because as it falls you hear my husband saying, “oh, oh, oh…. not Facebook appropriate.”)

 

Different muscle groups can tremor as well.  Occasionally one of my hands will tremor.  Here is a video showing what that can look like.

 

I also have tremors in the back of my left leg.  Ok, well really it’s between left gluteal muscle and left hamstring I think, but it reminds me of these fantastic jeans I had once upon a time.  I was living in an apartment with two of my best girlfriends.  I had these amazing jeans.  They fit me so well and were even the right length, which is impossible to find because I’m shorter than all jean designers can imagine.  Anyways, they somehow got a rip which turned into a pretty large rip/hole in the back.  Kate said I could not wear them because technically my butt was showing.  I explained over and over that really it was just my ‘upper thigh’.  I kept wearing them for a while but she finally won and threw away my amazing jeans.  She was over reacting; it was just my upper thigh.  I still miss them.

Anyways, plenty of people who have POTS have no tremors at all.  Others have tremors similar to mine.  If you’re a potsie and you’re reading please share with me, do you have tremors? Are they similar to mine? Do they move all around your body too?

I don’t have a fix for my tremors.  I do take Ativan when they go on and on and don’t go away on their own.  A lot of times they go away.  In the video above I was getting Ativan via IV because they wouldn’t leave.

So, now you know what I mean when I say I was having tremors.

the more you know2

by smilesinthetrials