Jane Baker Conner

Orthostatic Tremor: Am I the Only One? Jane Baker Conner

Do your legs tremble when you stand in place? Do you find yourself needing to sit down, so you won't fall? Then you have as many questions as I do. What is wrong with me? How do I cope with this? Is there medicine to help? What about physical therapy? What is this new brain surgery known as deep brain stimulation? Will it help me? Am I the only one to have this problem? In my twenty-two-year trek with orthostatic tremor, I have found some of the answers. A rare neurological movement disorder, OT continues to baffle medical science. I am sharing my experiences in order to: 1) help identify orthostatic tremor symptoms, 2) explain the alternative of deep brain stimulation, 3) describe practical ways to manage the unique challenges of OT, 4) teach how to cope with an HMO's process of securing outside referral, and 5) offer hope for living with a disorder that currently has no cure.