What Is A Pill Rolling Tremor?
A Pill Rolling Tremor (PRT) is a type of tremor that occurs when one takes certain medications. These include:
• Depakote (Dapoxetine): This medication was developed to treat schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. It works by blocking dopamine receptors in the brain.
This results in a reduction in tremors caused by the movement of your muscles.
• Carisoprodol (Celexa): This medication is used to treat pain associated with multiple sclerosis. It blocks the effects of acetylcholine, which causes muscle spasms.
• Esomeprazole (Nexium): This medication is used to prevent heart failure. It reduces the amount of fluid in your body, causing blood vessels to constrict and increase pressure inside your arteries.
This increases the risk of having a stroke or heart attack.
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox): This medication is used to treat depression. It decreases serotonin levels in the brain, which causes tremors.
• Haloperidol (Haldol): This drug is used to control seizures. It affects the neurotransmitter GABA, which causes tremors.
• Olanzapine (Zyprexa): This medication is used to treat mood and thought disorders. It blocks the effects of dopamine in your brain, causing serious tremors.
The above-mentioned drugs are some of the most common causes behind pill rolling tremors. These drugs can cause a wide range of side effects, some of which are more serious than others.
In fact, most people who suffer from pill rolling tremor disease are aware that their condition is caused by taking certain types of medication. Unfortunately, not everyone is aware that the symptoms they are experiencing are caused by drug-induced tremors. It is common for people to seek the advice of their family physician when suffering from tremors. In some cases, a specialist might be required if the tremor problem is severe.
Although drug-induced tremors are a common condition, it’s important that anyone who is suffering from them seek medical attention immediately. The sooner you see a doctor, the sooner you’ll be able to determine what’s causing your tremors and how to treat them.
What Causes A Pill Rolling Tremor?
The most common cause of pill rolling tremor disease is drug-induced tremor. Certain drugs can cause tremors by affecting the way your brain and nervous system communicate with each other. Prolonged use of these drugs will eventually cause a permanent condition known as drug-induced tremor disease. Fortunately, the symptoms can be managed if you stop taking the medication causing the tremors.
Aging is another common cause behind pill rolling tremor disease. It’s a natural part of the aging process for some people to experience mild tremor, usually in the hands.
As people age they become more prone to diseases and conditions that can affect the brain. These conditions can cause different types of tremor depending on which part of the brain is being affected.
Other causes of tremor disease include:
• Alcohol abuse: Prolonged alcohol abuse can lead to liver damage, which in turn causes tremors by affecting how your liver produces certain proteins.
• Carcinoid syndrome: This causes scaring on various parts of the body, most commonly the lungs and digestive tract. It can lead to pyloric stenosis, which affects how your stomach produces hydrocholric acid.
• Cervical spondylosis: This is a condition involving degeneration of the joints in your neck.
• Chorea: This is a neurological condition that causes muscle spasms throughout the body. It’s most commonly seen in children, though it can be seen in adults as well.
Older people are especially prone to this condition as a result of natural degeneration of the brain and nervous system.
How Is A Pill Rolling Tremor Treated?
There are a number of ways that tremor disease can be treated. It all depends on the cause of the tremor. For example, drugs that are causing your tremor can be reduced or eliminated entirely. It’s important to see your family physician right away if you think your medication is causing your tremors.
If you’ve been diagnosed with pill rolling tremor disease, it’s important that you regularly visit your doctor in order to get check-ups. These check-ups will determine whether or not your medication requires adjustment or if an alternative treatment is needed to manage your condition.
Treatments for tremor disease can also include physical therapy and in some cases even surgery. Physical therapy involves learning various techniques that can help limit the effects of pill rolling tremor disease.
These techniques range from mirror therapy to engaging in activities such as drawing, writing or sewing, which can help lessen the effects of the disease.
Surgery is only considered in very rare cases where the patient is experiencing uncontrolled shaking. During this surgery, a device called a deep brain stimulator can be implanted in order to reduce the effects of pill rolling tremor disease.
While there is no cure for pill rolling tremor disease, it can be managed with proper treatment. If you or someone you know is experiencing the symptoms of pill rolling tremor disease, make an appointment to see a physician as soon as possible.
Most physicians will ask you a series of questions in order to narrow down a diagnosis. These questions will pertain to things like your medical history, what medications you’re taking and any other factors that may be causing your condition.
Your physician may also ask you to sign a consent form that allows him or her to run tests.
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Sources & references used in this article:
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Patients with adult‐onset dystonic tremor resembling parkinsonian tremor have scans without evidence of dopaminergic deficit (SWEDDs) by SA Schneider, MJ Edwards, P Mir… – … : official journal of the …, 2007 – Wiley Online Library
Electromyographic studies of tremor using an averaging computer by DB Calne, MH Lader – Electroencephalography and clinical …, 1969 – Elsevier
