Fourteen years ago I had to give up a job that I loved. I was a treatment room nurse at a local surgery. I was fine walking but started shaking when I stood still. I also found it difficult to stand at the basin to clean my teeth or to have a quick wash whilst standing.I had already been diagnosed with spinal osteo-arthritis.I have had extreme lower back pain ever since. However my balance and ability to walk has deteriorated rapidly over the last few months. I was referred to the balance clinic at our local hospital, where the physio in charge basically told me to take deep breaths as it was all in my mind!! I knew differently! I went privately to a neurologist. I have been diagnosed with Orthostatic Tremor (OT). This means that I cannot stand still. My body shakes all over and sometimes my legs go solid and cramp so that I cannot move.
There is a test called EMG. Basically you have probes (very fine needles put into the muscles of your legs and arms). These measure the electrical activity. Normal is very low MHz. With Orthostatic Tremor it rises. Mine is 15 MHz which is very high. It means that your body thinks that it is running round like a mad thing , when actually it is doing nothing at all. It is quite rare but at least now I know what is wrong with me. I hope that none of you reading this have the same symptoms but if you have I hope that this helps. I feel exhausted all the time and have been given medication which may or may not help. Also the lower back pain is made much worse by this illness. I have got it off my mind now. Thank you for reading this.
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Thank you. I feel better now that I know that other people care about my problem.Shingles and pneumococcal vaccines side effects
