Daughter has been experiencing severe tremors lately. They could be a medication side effect, or the result of switching to a generic for her seizure medication. (Insurance said I'd have to pay $570 a month to keep her on the name brand, as her neurologist wanted. I said we'd try the generic and file an appeal when she had a seizure.) When she focuses on them and tries to stop them, they get worse, and she panics. If she is distracted, they get better.
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Today I called and talked to the nurse at the psychiatrist's office. The tremors could be a side effect of the lithium, but Daughter isn't very stable right now, so we're reluctant to reduce her medication more. I'm taking her in for blood levels Saturday morning, then we'll make a decision about adjusting medication next week.
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Daughter is quite frustrated by the tremors, and continues to fight against them, even though I have pointed out that that makes things worse. At softball practice tonight we could see her shorts shaking, the tremors were so bad. She called me into the dugout after her turn at bat. I distracted her with things going on on the field, and they stopped. I point out how this works, but she can't or won't shift her focus on her own. She's very frustrated that I can't fix this immediately.
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I hope that the blood levels on her medications will provide the information needed to figure out how to reduce the tremors. I know it is very frustrating for her. I share her frustration. There are times when life just isn't fair.
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Last night she broke a mug that had been a favor at my parents' 50th wedding anniversary party. She sobbed, even as I assured her it was okay and we had more. "But Mom, I feel like I just broke Grandma and Grandpa, not the mug." Mom's death really hit her hard, and I find myself wondering how much her grief and stress are contributing to the tremors.
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