Been Diagnosed With Essential Tremor? 3 Types Of Treatment That Will Be Offered To You
If you are involuntarily shaking in any area of your body and your doctor has diagnosed essential tremor, you can expect symptoms to get much worse over time. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disorder, but the doctor can provide treatment that will help with your symptoms. Below are three types of treatment for you to consider.
Medication Treatment
There are oral medications that can help reduce the tremors you are having in your body. The doctor will go over the different options with you, along with the common side effects of each medication. The doctor will also decide the dosage, which will likely be stronger the more advanced your essential tremor is.
Botox injections are another type of medication that can be used. This treatment is generally used if you are having tremors in your head or around your throat. This medication is given to you via an injection. If your doctor chooses this, you will likely have to continue the injections to treat the symptoms. This may be weekly or monthly injections.
Ultrasound Treatment
There is a type of ultrasound, known as focused high intensity, that can be used. The doctor may use an MRI to help guide them to where the tremor is. Once the doctor confirms where the essential tremor is, they will use the ultrasound to destroy the tissue.
This procedure can be done in the doctor's office, and you will be awake the entire time. You will likely not feel any pain but may be uncomfortable. After the ultrasound treatment, you generally feel immediate relief from your tremors. This tissue will grow back, but it will take some time for the tissue to come back enough to cause your tremors to be worse again.
Surgical Treatment
If the tremors you are having are not responding to any other form of treatment or if your tremors have become bad enough to greatly decrease your quality of life, there is a surgical treatment called deep brain stimulation.
This will be done in a hospital and you will not be awake during the surgery. During deep brain stimulation, the doctor will implant electrical leads into a certain area of your brain known as the thalamus. This is because the thalamus is the area of the brain that controls your muscle movement. The treatment is done surgically because the thalamus is deep in your brain.
Your doctor will go over these essential tremor treatment options with you in much more detail.
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