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Camilla, m'dear.... You sure wouldn't want your "druthers" to be essential tremors if you could see the anguish my 34 year old friend Brian goes thru in his daily life 'cause of having ET. Brian's had this miserable "Parkinson's Stepchild" of a disease since he was TWELVE YEARS OLD, and inherited it from the female side of his family. Just picture almost EVERYTHING one hates about PD, minus the stiffness, and that CAN be ET. Just about any PD symptom can and often does happen throughout the day of an person with ET, and PD drugs do NOT work at ALL for many persons with ET. Brian's life is hampered by not being able to work in a public setting (because his ET symptoms go crazy when he's under the least bit stress or stimulation. His wife eventually left him because she couldn't stand the stress of living the rest of her life with a husband in his declining physical condition... no matter HOW nice he is (and Brian's a sweetie of a fella). Plus, he's lived in fear of others finding out his "thing" has a name, and thinking him "un-normal," 'cause he was raised by scared, yet loving and concerned parents who thought hiding it was the only was he could lead a normal life and be accepted by his peers. NO chronic disease is preferable over another, my friends... ESPECIALLY if YOU'RE the one who HAS the disease... Whatever the disease is called, "life" with a chronic disease SUCKS!!!! Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Camilla H.Flintermann Sent: Thursday, April 30, 1998 3:27 PM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Essential Tremor vs. PD Since there was a recent question about essential tremor, and it is often confused with PD, I think this brief quote from our local hospital's Health News may be of interest: " Essential tremor (ET) is an involuntary trembling of unknown brain origin of the hands, head, face, or voice, especially during routine voluntary body movements" ( PD is chararcterized by a *resting* tremor, of course.) "The condition may become more pronounced over time and may be aggravated by stress or stimulants such as caffeine. Essential, meaning of unknown cause, tremor affects as many as 5 million Americans, most of them age 60 or older....and consists of only one symptom--the tremors themselves. UNLIKE PARKINSON'S DISEASE...ET DOES NOT CAUSE RIGID LIMBS AND FACIAL MUSCLES,DIFFICULTY WALKING,AND OTHER SYMPTOMS. While the tremors may cause a person to feel embarrassed or make certain activities difficult, they are not a sign of a more serious physical or mental illness...For many people, ET is a mild irritation, and requires no treatment--avoidance of stressful situations or stimulanmts may be all that is necessary. However, if tremors interfere with your lifestyle, sometimes they can be successfully treated with prescription medicines or surgery." (I guess, if "given our druthers" we'd choose ET over PD in a minute! Camilla Flintermann, CG for Peter 79/8 Oxford, OH [log in to unmask] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ask me about the CARE list for* * Parkinson's caregivers ! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *