Living with Essential Tremor

I am 30 years old and for the last 10 years I would have an occasional episode where I would get very shaky and weak, almost fainting and actually fainting at times. Noone could give me an answer to this and I always got asked a million times if I was taking any drugs. I of course wasn’t.

About a month ago I was sitting at work perfectly fine when my hands suddenly started to shake and I felt as if my heart was going to burst through my chest. Luckily for me I am an RN that works at a hospital and my coworkers jumped in to assess me. My heart rate was in the 150’s and my BP was high, very unusual for me. Within minutes my whole body was shaking and they I went down the the ER. However, as usual nothing was really done and they just waited until my shaking stopped and sent me home.

Within 2 days it was back and the worse ever. Now my whole body was non-stop tremoring and my head was jerking constantly and tilted to the side. I couldn’t hardly talk due to the bobbing of my head and my vital signs were sky high. I went to a different hospital to the ER and they immediately began tests which all came back negative. They sent me home with an appointment to see the neurologist on Monday. (that was a Friday night) However by Sunday My body just completely gave out and I collapsed, unconscious for over an hour.

I don’t remember the ambulance ride to the hospital or half of the ER time. After 5 days in the hospital and nothing comming back positive they just said it was an essential tremor and to keep taking the medicine amantidine. That worked for a couple weeks but just over a week ago the Dr cut down the amantidine and started me on Clonazepam as well because I was having horrible insomnia. Well, needless to say I have slowly been getting the tremors back over the last few days and yesterday it was so bad I could barely grab anything. I did put a call into the neurologist and waited all day for a return call which never came so today I am just waiting for them to open. I am frustrated and sick of feeling like this. It is affecting my kids whom saw me collapse and my job as a nurse. I know my story was long but thanks for listening. (reading)