View Full Version : Fear of Parkinsons
10 days ago after workout I noticed my left hand shaking...it was workout so I didn't pay much attention to it. Yesterday, my girlfriend came and I wanted to show her something on the phone, took it with left hand and she said, wow your hand is really shaking, and I just froze from fear.
Now I am looking at it constantly. I am 30y old ffs, Parkinsons wouldn't even cross my mind if I didn't see some threads on anxiety forums before.
Any words of advice?
Hypo84 I hope that my thread on Parkinsonism hasn't worried you. I'm 58. Early onset Parkinsonism is rare and does not mean that you have Parkinson's - just a symptom that mimics it.
As this has only happened to you twice, I'd say you probably just twisted a nerve wrong. You can ask your doctor to check you or refer you to a neurologist.
I havent actually even seen your topic :(
It's not two times...whenever I hold smth with my left hand I can see it shaking a bit and it's not happening with the right one. Although, when I am looking without touching or holding anything I can't really see these movements.
---------- Post added at 19:34 ---------- Previous post was at 18:59 ----------
Although as I read now, and someone can correct me if I am wrong...Parkinsons tremors should be more pronounced when resting than when holding smth, but I can't really see them when my fingers are slightly bent and my hand is resting, but when I take something in hand I feel it's shaking a bit. So, in that sense it shouldn't be Parkinsons? Or it doesn't matter?
MyNameIsTerry
05-08-15, 23:05
That can happen due to muscle weakness in a small muscle group. Holding the phone is a common one for this. I've seen it in myself over the years but with not having HA I just put it down to this.
Have you considered re reading your excellent positive posts a couple of weeks back? Put yourself in the position of that you and tell yourself why your thinking is skewed. Use your writing technique.
For as long as I can remember I've had a strange tremor in my index finger of my left hand whenever I scratch my head. It's shakes frantically and I have no control over it whatsoever. A friend of mine works out often and regularly drops his drinks when we are out at pubs etc, which, trust me, is very annoying, especially when he drops it on those expensive trainers I had just bought. :lac:
The point is, shakes and tremors just happen. They are almost always a sign of absolutely nothing. If you didn't have health anxiety, you probably wouldn't even give it a second thought. If you work out, your muscles are always more prone to it.
Have you considered re reading your excellent positive posts a couple of weeks back? Put yourself in the position of that you and tell yourself why your thinking is skewed. Use your writing technique.
I've tried this, but I don't know shit about Parkinsons other than that it has something to do with tremors, shaking of hands. I don't even know the odds of having it my age. And I don't want to Google and explore this shit since it would make things much much worse I believe.
Only thing I do remember is that I used to laugh when ppl my age were concerned that they have Parkinsons or Alzeimer's since I thought the odds were like 1 in a million, like with ALS. But I guess Parkinsons is much more common than I though it was.
Hey hypo
Fear not. As I hold my phone in my hand reading your post it is shaking. I never had this problem until my HA started. I am 37.
It is more common after exercise for me too.
Just part and parcel of what we are going through at the moment.
Relax man.
MyNameIsTerry
06-08-15, 04:38
But I think you are missing something there with your technique - CBT does similiar things with Thought Records and Theory A/Theory B techniques. They don't expect you to learn a medical dictionary or research conditions in order to produce a counter argument.
I think thats a bit of the All-or-nothing thinking coming out there.
You have got feedback on here which you can use to create your counter arguments. You can also look at your thinking and pick out the Cognitive Distortions e.g. one event of a shaking arm holding a phone and making the leap to Parkinsons when these things happen to millions of people everyday because of anxiety, a muscle weakness or even after lifting weights like Gary's mate (I used to get that too when I used to lift, its the lactic acid build up or the muscle micro tears and totally essential)
You said above that you are 30. You workout so you are healthy. Thats more evidence.
So, think again. Are you sure you can't take these practical elements and put together a counter argument?
I think I would be totally fone if it was happening in both hands but it is only in my left one, and that's what is freaking me out. I didn't exercise 10 days already so it can't be because of that.
Hypo I know you post here a fair bit but I've missed reading many of your threads. I'm just wondering if you are undertaking counselling for your anxiety. You.seem to go from one illness to another. I'm not having a go at you. I have done exactly the same thing in the past. But I did seek counselling as soon as it became too extreme.
I am going to counselling...actually I booked session with my therapist on Saturday because of this.
I am jumping a lot from one illness to another but it's all because of those symptoms that didn't stop in the first place. Suddenly started sweating under armpits and a lot more under right arm. That's what's caused me to believe it's smth neurological since it's assymetrical and Google sucks, and now I am jumping from one neuro disease MS to another Parkinsons. :/
It's good that you are getting counselling. You had excessive sweating. So instead of saying to yourself "wow I'm sweating a lot lately" you jumped on google and looked sweating up as a symptom. You then found that sweating can be associated with certain neurological diseases. You then started noticing you were sweating more AND having twitches and tremors and this and that symptom of this or that neurological disease. Is that how it went? If so then don't you realise that the evidence that you do indeed have HA was there the day you first looked up excessive sweating as a symptom? If it didn't go like tat then I apologise for being off the mark.
I actually didn't looked at excessive sweating but assymetrical sweating since I noticed much larger patch under my right arm. Previously I didn't sweat at all under arms and it started suddenly and it was much more under right so I searched for sweating more under one armpit and conclusion was it's something neurological since anxiety would cause symmetrical. Then I reinforced my previous fear of MS, but calmed down since I realized I really didn't have any other symptoms.
Brain tumor and Parkinsons were left and I didn't even think about Parkinsons so I got scared when I noticed I lost some weight (brain tumor fear). Then I realized I am not loosing too much weight and that fear was gone too.
Finally, I noticed my left hand shaking when holding smth and since it was after exercise I didn't even pay attention to it. But when my girlfriend pointed out to me when I was holding the phone that my hand was shaking (and I wasn't exercising 10 days before that) then I freaked out and started being scared of disease I thought I would never fear from.
You googled. I don't care what searched for. You still googled the sweating. Lol there's the evidence you have HA. If you hadn't googled and instead went to your doctor and told him about the sweating he would have said something like "don't worry about it sometimes things just happen for no reason" or something like that. He wouldn't have said "hmm well that can be a symptom of a neurological disease" because doctors look for the most logical and probable reason first. But you went to the infamous Doctor Google and he gave you worst case scenarios. You have Health Anxiety hypo. Its good that you are getting counselling.
Swajj speaks a lot of sense here, Hypo. 23tana actually has a diagnosis of Parkinson's yet when you heard this you immediately went on to describe your own symptoms and fears rather than acknowledge her very real diagnosis. I'm just pointing this out to illustrate your utter absorption in your HA and how it can literally take over your life...unless you step in.
I'm glad that you are having counselling and I do hope it goes well on Saturday and that you soon get some relief from this torment.
Mate don't worry about this. Easier said than done I know. But this is a very very common anxiety symptom.
I have seen your posts on here where you have reassured and helped people with their anxiety symptoms. This is just the same.
You know this is just your anxiety don't you?
I know that I suffer from HA...that's for sure and that is why I am going to counseling. I also started taking Prozac 20mg 4 weeks ago, still without any effect.
I am doing my best to live as normal life as possible with this. I am going to parties even though I don't feel like it, I go for a walk even though I don't feel like it, basically everything I do, I do even though I don't feel like it. Some days are better of course, but some days truly suck like this one. It's not really true depression as my therapist pointed out since when I find out I don't have some illness I am immediately awesome, so it's more of a living in constant fear which produces state of mild depression.
Your counselling will help in conjunction with the Prozac and your own belief and inner response to any symptoms. The frustrating thing is that recovery takes time as you well know.
The recovery process is pain in the ass truly...got new symptom btw...my right knee started hurting as hell...but I am fine in my head...off to salsa party now, tnx all for support
You're not going to believe this. My right knee is killing me today! Never had a problem with it in my life!!!!
It must be smthcin the air...I also didn't have this problem before....it stopped for now...just going back home.
Just found out sad news that a girl I knew few years ago was hit by car while standing on bus station and killed on site...life is so unpredictable and too damn short :(
Sorry to hear about your friend. As terrible as the news is, it also gives you some perspective. You can spend your life worrying about something that has a 1 in a million chance of happening or find a way to actually enjoy living.
Positive thoughts
feelthelove
07-08-15, 14:27
Have you considered re reading your excellent positive posts a couple of weeks back? Put yourself in the position of that you and tell yourself why your thinking is skewed. Use your writing technique.
I've tried this, but I don't know shit about Parkinsons other than that it has something to do with tremors, shaking of hands. I don't even know the odds of having it my age. And I don't want to Google and explore this shit since it would make things much much worse I believe.
Only thing I do remember is that I used to laugh when ppl my age were concerned that they have Parkinsons or Alzeimer's since I thought the odds were like 1 in a million, like with ALS. But I guess Parkinsons is much more common than I though it was.
My dad has Parkinson's he doesn't shake he has a rare type of Parkinson's ,i am worried about it but my doctor said it isn't hereditary still scares me though .
---------- Post added at 14:27 ---------- Previous post was at 14:25 ----------
It must be smthcin the air...I also didn't have this problem before....it stopped for now...just going back home.
Just found out sad news that a girl I knew few years ago was hit by car while standing on bus station and killed on site...life is so unpredictable and too damn short :(
Yes it is my brother was 31 and married with three little girls he collapsed at work on the night shift , it was only one in every ten million people this type of sudden death happens to , imagine how that scared me .
That's so sad, feelthelove. I imagine that your HA is fuelled by the fear of the same thing happening to you?
Feelthelove, I have the same worries.
As you know my Dad had Parkinsons and I am constantly thinking I will go the same way. I also compare some of my Anxiety symptoms to the disease and wonder if it is the Anxiety or the disease?
He didn't shake. He stumbled and fell a lot and his feet would glue to the floor.
I had to walk him up the road and sometimes we would be stuck in the street for hours, but he did not want to give up.
I was also told that it was not hereditary, but I still worry about it.
---------- Post added at 00:54 ---------- Previous post was at 00:51 ----------
Hypo84, the trouble with Anxiety symptoms is the doubt we have in the back of our minds that it is something more serious.
I ban myself from googling symptoms, because it just fuels the symptoms and then I stay up all night worrying about it.
My Mother had Cancer, so I worry about that too.
I think we have just got to try and get on with our lives as much as possible and fill our time with lots of things so that we do not worry so much.
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