shakes

Will try this, I am about to give it all up. I wounder if it will help the head?

I have been working under a

I have been working under a microscope for well over 27 plus years.  I could hold an iron and solder in a device with swiss accuracy.  Around the last 5 year or so I have picked up,  what I call for myself a noticeable shake?  (More like a 16th to an 8th inch wander).  It is not so bad that it will affect what I do but it drives me crazy that I do it now and never had an issue.

When it comes into play.  I will be showing how to solder something under a macro camera and looking at the tip of the iron just orbiting about.  It is only moving around less than a 1mm.  but under the macro lens I might as well be scribbling on the wide line brown paper with the big fat crayons. 

I do use hand bracing techniques, tools and aids.  to keep things steady.  

As you get closer to the double nickel menu at Denny's.
I do think this is something to expect as well as the eyes not focusing like they used to.   

Magnesium

Just Cal-Mag in tablets have helped me with muscle pain and cramps. I’ll have to give the lotion a try. Thanks!

mechanics and bracing

can reduce greatly reduce the effects of shaking.Learn to work in positions that brace your fingers against something more stable(wrist on work surface,hand on model,etc. don't let fingers do it all by themselves) . ....DaveB 

Thanks

Appreciate the comments.

TCW--- I have no idea, all you can do is give it a try.

Neil----What kind of cal mag tablets are you taking? Every thing I tried in tablet or capsule form gave me the runs.

Jack

"The MRH distinctive"

Really appreciate the little side note from JoeF here. This is a nice and helpful article. I also remember the one article (or was it TMTV?) about low vision, that was quite interesting and of direct interest.

As much as magnesium deficiency is a real thing, so is too much of it due to supplements, with side effects no one wants. Worth having it checked by lab during an annual check up.

There are tasty good natural resources of both calcium and magnesium, ranging from dark leafy greens to dark chocolate, which are worth considering.

I am getting a bit less

I am getting a bit less steady with my hands although it's not real bad.  But I appreciate some things to try should I reach that point!

"The MRH distinctive"

Shouldn't that be the "MRH distinction"?  Distinctive seems like an adjective looking for something to modify. 

My hands don't shake, but they sure do hurt like crazy much of the time. 

Randy

Cal-Mag

Jack - The bottle I got from CVS is Calcium Magnesium Zinc with D3. The magnesium is 133 mg and I take it once a day with food and with sparkling or tonic water to help my body absorb it. 
 

The tonic water with quinine seems to help all by itself.

No more

Gave trains up about ten years ago.

Not only shaky hands at times but Macular Degeneration in eyes. Cannot gauge distance correctly.

Had many good years with trains. No complaints.

Gave away some Marx tin plate and Lionel 0-27 to nephew for his son. Nephew eventually bought son Bachmann HO as the 0-27 pins kept falling out of the track when they set it up. I should have looked for new track. My bad.

Gave Bachmann G scale to son in law for his two sons.

Rich

By definition:

By definition:

An alternative medicine has ether been,

not proven to work, or proven not to work.

An alternative medicine that has been proven to work is called:

Medicine. 

But first!!

Go to your doctor.

Make sure this is not something serious, and have him check your medications for drug interactions.

Talk to him about what things you are thinking of taking, and ask him if he can help you look into the side effects.

Don’t get the idea that just because it comes from a health food store, that there are no side effects. (Notice you don’t hear about saint Johns wart anymore. The side effects where a real problem (especially for young women))

Yep, read the disclaimer

Once again, read the opening disclaimer at the front of the article:

Good point

For what it’s worth, my maladies were diagnosed and cal-mag recommended by my doctor. Just my experience but has worked for me. 

Neil

Thanks, I may have to take a look at that one.

Jack

SHS

Certainly going to try this as I model N Scale and there are days for sure, especially at 74.  Joe's disclaimer is right on the mark. Too.  Thanks for the article.

Perry

Involuntary tremors

Involuntary tremors run in my family, with me it is bad in my right hand. I tried the Magnesium route some time ago and found it helped some but not enough. Will try some of the other ideas presented. It's nice to know that others have the same problem. 

Request for follow-on article

Some tremors can be controlled, some cannot.  

I, for one, would be interested in an article (or two) dealing with hand bracing techniques, tools and aids.  And aids for failing vision (magnifiers, lights, and whatnot).

A review of what is available and how 'fit for purpose' they are.

David

My hands shake all the time

My hands shake all the time but it is not terrible. I do not remember anytime in my life where I didn't have shaky hands. It does not really bother me as I have learned techniques through the years that help me stabilize when doing small work. But I do find it interesting that there could be some supplements out there that could help,.,,I had no idea and I have never looked for medical advise for the shaking as it isn't something that affects my quality of life, but I may experiment with supplements and see if I notice a difference.

hand bracing techniques

   A basic technique is to create a triangle. It can be fingers, model, work bench ,etc. For example when drilling small holes I set the model on my workbench, rest my left hand on the model hold the pinvise in place with my left fingers then spin it from the top using my right fingers with my right arm resting on the bench top to stabilize my hand.  Any position that gets both arms on the bench top and the hands connecting to the model will create a triangle, one just has to think about where they want the tool and design a position to place it there in a braced manner.....DaveB 

BE CAREFUL

“Shame on Joe for publishing such an article”!  

I am glad supplements worked for the Author.

However, I recommend “avoiding” any supplement or “natural” product.  Most are “unregulated junk” that offer no health benefits and are based on “new age” myth rather than any solid science.

Worse, many can cause unwanted side affects when combined with legitimate medication and some can cause major health issues when taken long term.  Tina Turner for example took such an approach for high blood pressure which resulted in kidney damage leading to complete kidney failure.

My advice, for shaking issues, talk with your doctor to advise you on legitimate treatment options vs. something that can actually cause more harm than good.

Joe

Like anything, use your head

I view all medicine....

with a caution due to my own experiences.  Was taking an FDA approved diabetes medicine,  that led to conditions that led to severe damage to my feet.  A common side effect not found in the original research.  The drug worked but led to amputations of a portion of my foot....needless to say "real medicine" is not necessarily safe.  As for supplements and so forth, research helps many drugs not approved have been studied in other countries, but not always in the US.  Talk to your doctor and your pharmacist.  Pharmacists many times are more aware of interactions and problems, as they have more training in chemistry,  doctors have more knowledge but not always the best versed in medications....Food for thought...

Peace, Bill

That's why they call it "practicing" medicine ...

That's why they call it "practicing" medicine (wink).

Once in a great while, I've gotten a doctors prescription for something (along with other treatment steps) and taking the prescription made me worse. If the prescription was deemed to be a "help" and not essential, then I stopped taking it.

I also think it's important to listen to your body and if you're seeing side effects, talk to your doctor. Or if it's not an essential part of the treatment and your body is rebelling, then maybe your body is trying to tell you something.

There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to medical treatments, there's always aspects unique to you and the smart physician pays attention to that. Same story with over-the-counter supplements -- exercise caution and listen to your body. Take it slow.