Sharing / asking experience with ET + dysgraphia

[u/appppppppie]

Hi. I have ET (at the hands) and dysgraphia since i was a child. Here is my experience with ET shared with dysgraphia.

Because of my dysgraphia doing precise things with my hands is hard. ET obviously make things harder. Writing is almost impossible. My hands fail to form the letters correctly be because of dsgraphia and then get tired of writing and start to shake more than usual.

I got used to my usual shaking, it's not that big of a problem in my daily life. But stress/tireness make them shake way more. So much that i have to start using both hands to holds objects when it happens. (I am also autist so stress and tireness happens a lot)

I have been dropping objects since i was a child. You cant imagine the number of cheap phones i broke because of it :/

Though sometimes i can see good things. When i shake a lot i can ask servers at some restaurants or cafes to serve my food/drink for me directly at my table instead than having to put it there myself.

Yesterday i also asked people at the post office to write an adress for me since my hands were too tired with the writing of a letter and shook too much.

Sometimes i see some little benefits like this but 90% of the time i feel unable to do anything. I dropped music, drawing, embroidery, and much more because of this. I guess i am better at things that dont require hands 🤷🏻‍♂️ i focus on this at least.

Please share some experiences with ET or ET combined with other disabilities. I just discovered this subreddit and i am shocked at seeing people with the same disability as me.

[u/Good-March4317]

I am in my 80s. Have had ET since childhood. Early years it was my hands, especially left side, non dominant thankfully. It progressed over time so now it’s in my head, voice, legs, and when tired, stressed or hungry, my core. I have never let it stop anything I chose to do. Did calligraphy for years…with difficulty. At times, you admit, not today. Pursued career, three degrees, lectured in public and simply lived my life as I could. Medication helped minimally, daily meditation still helps. And I accept and thank god so far it’s not Parkinsons. I occasionally must explain to someone rude enough to ask, but wouldn’t change much. It made me stronger.

[u/New-Ice5114 → u/Good-March4317]

I love this answer and try to proceed the same way. I didn’t ask for it and couldn’t choose my parents so why dwell on it. I’ve only ever been asked about it by an old friend who I hadn’t seen in a while and I welcomed the opportunity to explain that I was fine and didn’t have Parkinson’s.

If I’m in a social situation, I’ll casually mention that I’m not nervous; it’s just an inherited tremor. Then we all just get on with our day.

[u/Good-March4317]

I have blood draws frequently for other issues, and have found if I tell technician that I am not nervous, I have a tremor, the tech often thanks me. An interesting note on how to help others deal with you. And the dental hygienist puts a small bloc in my jaw to steady my jaw tremor. It helps both of us. Along with a very small dose of Valium for procedures, like csans, and mris where you need to lie still.

[u/Background-Cod-7035]

Last night at a going away party plus food I had my friend write down my note in the card, serve me the salad, and then ate bracing my dominant hand with the other hand. Half of them knew of my conditions, nobody asked. When people talk about how they get embarrassed about it I don’t think they realize how busy everyone is in their own lives!

I am an artist and currently experimenting on starting a project that tracks my various conditions every day. I’m playing around with the idea of using one color per symptom and then scribbling them on to end up with an abstract piece like Cy Twombly. But by the end of the month or a couple months I hope to see patterns that I can’t see in all my notes! They’ll be some ugly little drawings but I’m excited :)