The shakes

[fiftythree]

Hi Everyone. I am new to the site. It has been very interesting reading about other peoples storys. I was 10 years free until menpause set in so for 5 years it was up and down. Now that is over its been 4 years. I am hope for much longer this time. I take 400mg Lamitcal a day and 600 eplim a day. All was fine until recently. After taking my medication in the morning about one hour later I feel like i am drunk cant keep my balance - it is very scarey After speaking to my doctor we found my level was a bit over so we are going to adjusted my Lamical.

But the other thing where even my doctor had no answer. In the morning I would be awake and then feel like i am shaking - a bit like some one next to you is scrathing (but not) I am aware of everything and last for about 1 minute. Has any one else had this problem: It had only happen 3 times in the last 3 months.
Thanks for listening.

Maureen

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Maureen --

The shaking could be a kind of seizure, or it could also be a reaction to the meds as your body continues to adjust and change. Do you keep a "health journal"? Because your shaking happens once a month, a journal might be useful for seeing if there's a particular trigger involved -- something related to diet, dosing, hormones, stress, etc.

Best,
Nakamova

 

[Nakamova]

Hi Maureen --

The shaking may be from a menopause-related anxiety/panic attack caused by hormonal imbalances. One of the symptoms includes a sensation of shaking -- See #8 on the list below (from an online medical source):

Panic attack symptoms:
1. Hot, prickly sensation
2. Burning pain, intense heat
3. Unusual, intense rush of energy
4. Sudden tingling sensations
5. Icy cold sensation
6. Chest tightening, chest pain
7. Difficulty breathing
8. Shaking, either visibly or feeling of shaking inside
9. Indigestion, nausea and general abdominal discomfort
10. Skin irritation and itching
11. Rapid, racing heartbeat

"Estrogen can have a great effect on one's mental state, as it regulates the levels of cortisol, the hormone that is a direct product of stress and anxiety. So, if estrogen drops, cortisol cannot be controlled, leading to a feeling of more stress and anxiety. Also key is the health of your adrenal system. The adrenals can normally assist with hormone production; however if your adrenals have become severely fatigued, you may not be properly manufacturing enough estrogen, DHEA and progesterone. Without proper levels of these hormones, even a small stress event can rapidly escalate into an anxiety attack.

Hormone testing should reveal any imbalances, which can usually be corrected with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, medical massage therapy, accupuncture -- or a combination of these therapies."

 

[Meetz1064]

Hi Maureen

and welcome to CWE. Feel free to check out the different nooks and crannies here, especially the Library and Kitchen, as they are chock full of information.

Nakamova's hit the nail on the head, I think. That said, I think a trip to your doctor is in order. Ask him/her for some blood testing to find out what your blood levels are for the hormones, and then get those bioidentical hormones. And her suggestion about keeping the journal is an excellent idea; it is one that I ALWAYS tell people, too. If you have any questions as to what to put into it, feel free to ask.

You might want to PM (private message) RobinN about the bioidentical hormones. She knows quite a bit about them--if memory serves me correctly, her daughter uses them.......

However, I would also ask your neurologist, just to be on the safe side, to run an MRI, too, in order to eliminate any physical abnormalities in/on your brain that might be causing problems, if they haven't already.

Good luck, and take care.

Meetz
:rock:

 

[stilldancing_98]

Hi Maureen, I have a friend who is 50 with the same problem and on the same med. She did have brain surgery a few years ago. What the neurosurgeon noticed, because her balance was off and a lot of shaking, they upped her lamictal and it stopped her imbalance. Sometimes she would just fall. She is very smart, and this has been very hard on her.They put her on Topamax to.Everybody used to ask her if she was ok because her hands would shake so hard. But it was not her epileptologist who found this, it was her nerosurgeon.

 

[KonradV]

Seems like it's a reaction to the medication. Of course, it could also be unrelated to the medication but that's probably unlikely. I wish you all the best and hope you get rid of the problems.

 

[stilldancing_98]

It very well could be related to the med. The docs always say that first. Get it checked.

 

[RobinN]

Welcome Maureen - I hope you find support here at CWE

 

[Zoe]

Hi Maureen,
Besides the meds and other suggestions here, you may also want to look up whether this might be tetany, from a drop in your calcium levels, which can trigger the shakes. Also, a quick google search on "lamical" "tremors" turned up almost 2 million links, so do check that out too.