The Orthostatic Tremor Forum (archive)

Hello Gloria ,
I'm back again because there have been new developments for me. I came to realize that my kind of OT may be a little different from those of our community. I reported here that my tremor had become very severe, that my legs and ankles get very stiff when I have to stand for a second or two, and that is is very painful . This has caused some surprise, for which I am very sorry. But 2 weeks ago I got to see Professeur Vidailhet, the neurologist who is the specialist of tremor disorders here in Paris, and who diagnosed my condition at the end of the 90s. When I explained my current symptoms, she told me that I am the only one among her about 50 OT cases to experience such extreme difficulties.
When leaving the hospital where this consultation took place, I started to think about something that I explained on this forum about 10 years ago. It is very likely that my tremor is related to my jawbones. There is no contact between my teeth on the left side of my mouth. A stomatologist made me walk out of his office with some imprint paste in my mouth. When I stopped on the street, there was no shaking, I was as stable as before the OT. Subsequent efforts by several dentists to fix this lack of contact were not quite successful, and now I still can't masticate with my teeth on the left side. So maybe this can explain why my symptoms have worsened to this degree. It could be interesting to discover whether other OT patients also have a lack of contact between their teeth.
Again, I am very sorry, Gloria, if I have sounded too abrupt. Please feel free to publish only parts of this message as you will deem useful.
Kind regards to all of you,
Michelle

Hi Michelle

It would be wonderful if they can replicate the success that you had while in the hospital. I did a quick search and found several other posts on the forum related to jaw tremor:

Hi,
I have this too. I feel like my jaw and tongue get worn out easily. It is the same ache I get in my legs and arms if that makes any sense. I told my doctor at my last visit. He made a note of it but didn't explain it....probably because there is no explanation. I notice it more when I am eating a meal then a snack or something small. I do sometimes have trouble swallowing and I don't like that feeling at all. I am like you, it doesn't stop me from eating!

Stella,
What do you think that is, with the swallowing thing? I have been paying more attention to the situation. Swallowing is not as much of a problem as chewing when I am tired. My muscles/jaw seem to be just as tired as my legs and the rest of my body after I get tired from activities. Perhaps I will mention it to the doctor next time I see him. Give him something else to look at me with that weird look. Take care.
lorie M

Does anyone else get panic attacks when going shopping where you know you are going to have to stand in a que? My entire body starts to shake violently and my heart feels like it is pounding out of my chest. Even my jaw clenches when I try to speak. This all disapears as soon as I leave the shop. There have been times when I've simply had put my shopping basket down and leave the store. I have the same problem at work. Since I broke my hip falling from scaffolding, I've had a mild fear of heights. Lately, this has increased dramatically. If I stand on a ladder, my boddy shakes so bad, I have sit down on the ladder and calm myself down. Is any of this related to OT? Anyone have any advice?

And the link below is to research titled "An unusual jaw tremor with characteristics of primary orthostatic tremor"

Unfortunately there isn't an abstract available, but your doctor would likely have access to the full report - LINK


best regards

admin wrote:Hi Michelle

It would be wonderful if they can replicate the success that you had while in the hospital. I did a quick search and found several other posts on the forum related to jaw tremor:

Hi,
I have this too. I feel like my jaw and tongue get worn out easily. It is the same ache I get in my legs and arms if that makes any sense. I told my doctor at my last visit. He made a note of it but didn't explain it....probably because there is no explanation. I notice it more when I am eating a meal then a snack or something small. I do sometimes have trouble swallowing and I don't like that feeling at all. I am like you, it doesn't stop me from eating!

Stella,
What do you think that is, with the swallowing thing? I have been paying more attention to the situation. Swallowing is not as much of a problem as chewing when I am tired. My muscles/jaw seem to be just as tired as my legs and the rest of my body after I get tired from activities. Perhaps I will mention it to the doctor next time I see him. Give him something else to look at me with that weird look. Take care.
lorie M

Does anyone else get panic attacks when going shopping where you know you are going to have to stand in a que? My entire body starts to shake violently and my heart feels like it is pounding out of my chest. Even my jaw clenches when I try to speak. This all disapears as soon as I leave the shop. There have been times when I've simply had put my shopping basket down and leave the store. I have the same problem at work. Since I broke my hip falling from scaffolding, I've had a mild fear of heights. Lately, this has increased dramatically. If I stand on a ladder, my boddy shakes so bad, I have sit down on the ladder and calm myself down. Is any of this related to OT? Anyone have any advice?

And the link below is to research titled "An unusual jaw tremor with characteristics of primary orthostatic tremor"

Unfortunately there isn't an abstract available, but your doctor would likely have access to the full report - LINK


best regards

I've never thought about this or brought it up with my doctor, but I can no longer sleep on my side. I can HEAR my jaw muscles. It sounds like a fleet of helicopters coming in for landing. My jaws get REALLY tight and I find myself constantly attempting to open my mouth wide to stretch them. My DBS implants have done nothing to relieve this. I'll bring it up at the next visit.

Michelle: Will my friend, I don't have any answer to your situation but as you are able to explore your very different OT experience we will be very interested in your findings . Keep us posted, Gloria

To be more precise, there is no tremor at all in my jaw. It was quite by accident that I went to see a stomatologist for a minor cause, talked about my condition, and he thought that my OT could be related to the gap between my teeth. He put some paste in my mouth, and when I walked, because all my molars were in contact, my legs didn't shake when I stopped walking. This occurred many years ago and since I was treated by several dentists who tried to close this gap. They did not completely succeed. And my legs continued to shake.

It would be interesting then if our friends here on this forum could ask themselves if when they clench their teeth, they feel the same contact between the left and the right side. And if some of you found out there is a gap, to let us know. And perhaps subsequently tell your doctors, dentists, neurologists... (You might get those weird looks some of you mention sometimes, but don't get discouraged).

My best regards to all of you!

Michelle

Hi Michelle

Thank you for the additional information.

This article/link may be more related to the discussion than the earlier links that I had posted.

"Dental Occlusion Can Influence Standing Balance"

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sonia Julià-Sánchez, PhD
Universitat de Barcelona

LINK

Over the last few years, a growing interest has focused on the potential correlation between the stomatognathic system and the body balance. While this relationship is still a subject for debate, it is well known that sensory information contributes differently on the postural control regulation depending on the conditions of the surface area. Therefore, we hypothesized that dental occlusion may contribute differently on the body balance control depending on the stability condition (stable versus unstable) and that influence might be more evident in fatigue conditions due to reorganization of the sensory information sources.

Thank you Jeff for the article on Dental and standing balance. Perhaps you should post the link in another area so there can be a thread on it? I think I DO feel more stable if I keep my teeth together when I stand. Interesting.

what I found interesting from the article linked above:

Our results lead to speculation that the afferent signals from dental occlusion may contribute most effectively in the process of balance control when more external perturbations are present (i.e. surface instability and muscle fatigue).

.... is it possible for someone with a misaligned jaw and OT could be more sensitive to problems with dental occlusion because as the quote above suggests that this effects someone more intensely when the condition includes "surface instability and muscle fatigue", but someone with OT might experience those adverse conditions on a flat, stable ground whereas someone without OT doesn't ?

just a thought

Thank you for this quotation regarding malocclusion and balance of the body. Several dentists I came to consult shared this opinion.
Perhaps some of you with OT will become aware that you have a lack of molar contact (as for me, the clue is I can't chew between my molars on the left side), and this could help some get better were this gap to be corrected ?

Apart from this, I think it is important to exercise, to walk as much as possible, not to stay home all the time, otherwise the shaking gets worse. That is what I keep telling myself !

I just would like to answer the person who reported panick attacks. I had this in the past, long before the OT. It seems to me that you experience anxiety because your legs shake when you are shopping, which is very understandable. I've been taking the famous antidepressant Zoloft (100mg in the morning) for years now and I feel it has helped me cope better with my condition, be more relaxed, less pessimistic. Have you tried it or a similar medicine ?

I have never thought about my orthostatic tremors caused by mouth and jaw problems!