I’ve had the diagnosis for about a year and haven’t had any particularly severe symptoms yet. A bit of stiffness and slowness are my symptoms so far. But today I experienced tremors for the first time, and it wasn’t whilst at rest. I was due to give a speech as my husband was being honoured at his former workplace, and I was feeling a bit nervous. The hand holding my note with my talking points started shaking violently and uncontrollably. I was helped to hold the paper, and everything turned out fine. But I felt a bit embarrassed and sad afterwards. My question now is: is it common to experience shaking in slightly stressful situations? How can I prevent this? I speak in front of people from time to time and am a bit worried about this and whether it might get worse.

This sort of shaking is probably not the typical resting tremor associated with Parkinson’s, but rather what is known as a ‘physiological tremor’, which anyone can experience when they feel nervous or stressed. You may be more prone to it now that you have Parkinson’s. Regardless of the type of tremor, it is very common for tremors to worsen in high-pressure situations. Actors and musicians sometimes use the beta-blocker propranolol (Inderal) as needed to reduce tremors during performances. You can ask your doctor to prescribe it if the problem persists in similar situations, but it’s worth noting that it also lowers your heart rate and blood pressure. /Dag Nyholm