A neurologist has revealed the common medications that can cause you to develop tremors.
Dr. Baibing Chen, who works in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says he sees many patients with hand tremors who fear they have a serious brain disorder like Parkinson’s.
Before evaluating them for neurological diseases, Dr. Chen always checks first what medications they are taking.
Dr. Chen checks to see if his patients are taking pseudoephedrine, sold under the brand name Sudafed, among others, for nasal or sinus congestion, since tremors are a common side effect of this over-the-counter medication.
This is because the decongestant directly stimulates the central nervous system and triggers the release of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter associated with alertness and arousal, which can cause side effects such as nervousness, anxiety, and tremors.
These symptoms increase when the medication is taken in higher doses or in sensitive people.
This also applies to amphetamines used for the treatment of ADHD, such as Adderall.
“These can increase nervous system activity and sometimes cause tremors or tremors,” Dr. Chen tells viewers in a TikTok video.
A leading neurologist has revealed some common medications that can cause tremors.
Next, the neurologist discusses the use of antidepressants.
He says selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are a class of antidepressants that work by increasing serotonin levels in the brain, have been shown to trigger tremors.
The FDA has approved five SSRIs to treat depression: citalopram (Celexa), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft).
The Mayo Clinic says that some people have no side effects, while many side effects may go away after the first few weeks of treatment.
In addition to tremors, these medications can cause restlessness, sweating, and headaches.
Dr. Chen says the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline can cause the same reaction.
Continuing with this line of thinking, he says that typical antipsychotics used to treat psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and thought disorders, can cause tremors.
While lithium, a common mood stabilizer, “is also known to cause or worsen tremors, especially at higher blood levels.”
Dr. David Osser, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, says lithium-induced tremors are “very common and patients don’t like them” and anxiety could make them worse.
To mitigate tremor, he suggests keeping lithium low and reducing other drugs that can cause tremors, such as caffeine.
Another thing that Dr. Chen says commonly causes nervousness is asthma medications.
Medications prescribed to patients with asthma, such as albuterol, salmeterol, and arformoterol inhalers, can cause tremors as a side effect.
Michigan-based Dr. Baibing Chen says he sees many patients with tremors. But before you blame it on a neurological condition, ask what medications they are taking.
Up to 20 percent of people taking these medications develop tremors.
Dr. Chen ends his information by listing other medications to watch out for when trying to develop tremors.
Antiseizure medications can cause tremors because they interact with the central nervous system, while antiarrhythmic medications used to treat irregular heart rhythms have a similar impact.
Steroids are another medication to consider on Dr. Chen’s list of tremor-induced medications.
With prednisone, one of the most commonly prescribed steroids in the US, some of the serious side effects that can occur (if used in large amounts or with sustained use) include tingling in the face and extremities, muscle spasms and uncontrollable muscle tremors. the hands.
Finally, the doctor addresses one of the most common triggers for tremors; stimulants.
Caffeine, which can be consumed through tea, coffee, soft drinks, and over-the-counter energy supplements, can often cause your hands to shake if consumed in large quantities, especially in people sensitive to its stimulant effects.