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My mom is only 79. Last year we found out that she had pancreatic cancer. Thank-God we found it in the first stages of stage one. Her surgery was successful, however ever since, her health has steadily declined, she also lost 60 pounds and we had to get her all new clothes. The only positive thing was the weight loss because she was way too heavy. She already had type 2 diabetes, heart problems, a "dead" brain anyourism, high blood pressure and has always been a manic depressive person. Now she is on so many new medications that she has uncontrollable leg tremors and falls. I got her a wheeler walker that I can push her in and that she can also walk herself and then if she feels her legs going she can sit down. I have done some research about orthostatic tremors and found that is is very difficult to diagnose it properly. Needless to say that before the cancer my mom was a very vibrant, busy independent person, and now she cannot even drive. It is very stressful to my mom that she is loosing control of her life and her body because she is still very sharp and coherent. Thus it is very stressful to me to watch her be so sad and even more depressed. We just moved into a new house in Amityville long Island New York. It is our dream home. We live right across the street from a beautiful lake/park with wildlife all over and we have a huge deck with a yard as big as a football field for my dog. I thank the lord everyday and night for all the blessings we do have. Sometimes I have to remember to let us enjoy the house and location. It's difficult to get my mom to be positive about anything, givin that she has been a pessimist all her life. I am trying. I also have panic stress disorder syndrome and I still keep it together for us. Does ANYBODY know anything about uncontrollable leg tremors? If so, your feed back would be greatly appreciated. God bless us all and be strong.

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I hope your new house is not THE house from "Amityville Horror" I just watched yesterday! Seriously though, I am amazed your mom is still alive. My husband too had a pancreatic sarcoma removed in the beginning stages, and although removing the distal portion of a pancreas does not result in diabetes, your mom's pancreas removal made this a certainty. I don't know all the drugs she is on, but as a nurse, I can tell you, restless leg syndrome, as it is called, is treatable. Talk to her doctor. Is she more depressed because of her physical condition or is she in her depressive cycle with her bipolar disorder? That needs to be assessed by a psychiatrist and her physical health (i.e. her heart health) will suffer because of depression, so get her help now. I keep very stable with lithium carbonate, the gold standard for bipolar disorder. Maybe if she isn't on it, she could try it. A lot of doctors these days want to prescribe newer meds, but lithium has always worked well. Best of health to you both, and we too are experiencing a new (to us) house in AZ. I call it my money pit!
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dear mystical, you have a good, good heart. look back on your last year...you and your family have been through so much, with your mom's health, a move, your own health...let your doctor help you get to the bottom of things with your mom...after a tough year, I hope all will come together so you can enjoy your beautiful new place
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Hello. It certainly is a blessing that your Mom is a cancer survivor of pancreatic cancer, one of the worst! It's wonderful that it was found in stage one. Another good thing, as you mentioned, is the 60 lbs she lost. It sounds as though she lives with you in the beautiful new home across from the lake and park, which are all motivations to help her out of the depression she's feeling at the loss of her independence. Her Dr. should be able to help figure out what medications may be causing her to have these leg tremors. Possibly a smaller dose would ease up on the condition? I know people who take meds for Restless Leg Syndrome, but every medication has a side effect of some kind, and if she's already taking a pile of meds, one would hesitate to add anything else. But maybe her meds should by "tweaked." She's probably on meds for manic/depressive disorder, diabetes, heart issues, and new ones associated w/ the pancreatic cancer? Too much stuff all mixed together can cause problems. I'd talk to her Dr. about this and see what could be cut down, or eliminated on a trial to see how she does with less. Sometimes doctors just prescribe one after the other of pharmaceuticals until the patient is all messed up, and has no clue what or why it's happening. Good luck on finding out what's causing this, and keep stressing to your Mom how lucky she is to be alive, enjoying all the beauty and freedoms that many cannot...ie: even get out of bed, or, as in the case of dementia, losing their minds and ability to even recognize or remember the beauty they see. It may or may not help, but it's worth the try. God bless you, too. Sounds like you're a good daughter!
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I don't think uncontrolled leg tremor when walking described by the person who posted the question and restless leg syndrome are the same thing. RLS occurs during sleep and disrupts your sleep. I'm also a nurse. I've never heard of orthostatic but plan to google it.
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P.S.S. Sorry for the multiple posts - I'm usually more organized. There's also a support group for people with orthostatic tremors: http://www.orthostatictremor.org/index.html They have a forum and good info. Might be helpful.
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Hello all. This is Mystical. I appreciate so much, all of your feedback to me on this topic. I cannot thank you all individually so I thank you as a whole bunch. I love that your hearts went out to me and my mom and I will look into all of your great insights and the web sites you offered me. My heart is bursting with gratitude. Thanks aagin. HUS all around. Mystical (Joyce)
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My husband got a wiggly leg from the mood-stabilizing drugs he got after his stroke. He was unable to sit down for more than a few minutes--every meal was interrupted by a few walks around the house or block. Even when he stood up, his leg jiggled. He was always in motion. He said walking made him feel better. Luckily, his happened only during the day and not at night, so he never kicked me in his sleep like people with true Restless Leg Syndrome do.

I suspect Ativan, Haldol, or Risperdal caused it, because he was on those drugs when he started getting fidgety in the hospital. The neurologist agreed that these are likely candidates. It took a bit over a year after he stopped all mood-stabilizing drugs for it to go away. For a while, he took a Parkinson's drug to help control the fidgetting.

This is what the advertisements mean by "Call your doctor if you experience uncontrollable muscle movements as these may become permanent."
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Here is an excellent website for orthostatic tremors:

I'm so sorry both you and your mother are going through this. But you are SO VERY fortunate to still have your mother. Catching it that early was such a blessing, I'm just sorry she's now having to go through the problems such surgery causes, especially losing her pancreas which like has been stated above, results in becoming diabetic. Hopefully, low dose Metformin is working for her. It is by far the healthiest of the diabetes prescriptions on the market and seems to have the fewest side effects. Several of the diabetes medicines have bad side effects and Actos in particular is one I'd recommend running from if at all possible.

God bless YOU for caring for your Mom and your diligence in caring for her shows in the fact you caught her disease so early. Stay strong and don't forget to keep us informed. And, on those days where you're just overwhelmed, come on here and vent, we're all good listeners and we've been there, done that, and lived to tell the tale. We're with you!
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I just found a nice description of orthostatic tremor on Mayo's website. Mystical22, you don't mention having had diagnostic tests done. The Mayo site suggested testing the electrical activity in the legs for diagnosis, I believe it mentioned EMG.

Lots of things can cause tremor and unstable walking, becoming weak and deconditioned from illness can cause a person to be unstable when walking. My mother had a compressed disc in her back that caused her to have tremors in her legs when walking and several falls. How did you determine it to be orthostatic tremor?
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The first thing I'd do is have her list of meds reviewed by a pharmacist who specializes in geriatric pharmacy. You can find one at this site: http://www.ccgp.org/locate-a-CGP They can do a review of her meds to make sure they're not interfering with each other. I worked in a pharmacy after college and quickly learned docs just don't understand or pay attention to all of the ins and outs of medication interactions, particularly when there are multiple meds involved.

I googled orthostatic leg tremors and found Mayo Clinic's site. They say Clonazepam can be used to lessen the tremors and helps in about 30% of patients.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-edge-newspaper-2010/feb-26a.html

You certainly can't make your mom change her life-long negative personality. When she gets negative, get away from her. That negativity permeates everything around it and will bring you down too. Good luck...
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