(Shake, Skake, Shake) Shake your Booty

Today's post is brought to you by the word shake.

shake  (shāk)v. shook (sho͝ok), shak·en (shā′kən), shak·ing, shakesv.tr.

1. To cause to move to and fro with jerky movements.

2. To cause to quiver, tremble, vibrate, or rock.

3. To cause to lose stability or waver: a crisis that shook my deepest beliefs 4. To remove or dislodge by jerky movements: shook the dust from the cushions.

Why?  Well, as part of my treatment for Bipolar, I have been taking Lithium for about 6 weeks now.  I can certainly feel a change in temperament and long may it continue. I'd even appreciate even more of a boost but perhaps that will take time.  It's not just the medicine which will help me feel better and I need to keep that in mind at all times. Exercise, healthy eating and keeping myself busy all play a part. I also hope to start meditating to help me through the difficult moments and to help me sleep; something that I've only been able to do with sleeping pills since our son died.  I stopped the sleeping pills last week and am finding it hard to drift off at night.  Regardless, things are slowly starting to improve but gently does it.

However, one of the side effects of the Lithium, for me anyway, is the fact that I get the shakes, particularly in my hands. It's so bad that I can't write (impossible to address an envelope the other day), eat soup, type or use a tablet, use the magic remote control on our SMART TV or even shave.  In fact shaving involves me taking my life in to my own hands.  I have grown somewhat attached to my nose and lips and hope to keep them for some time yet.

I've checked out the internet and I am certainly not alone in having these rather violent tremors.  I've been searching for a miracle cure.  OK, cutting down on coffee is fairly obvious, but I do like my café in the morning.  However, I did read about several people, who also suffer form the shakes, taking Vitamin B6 in rather high doses and basically eliminating the problem.  So, today I'm off to the local pharmacie to ask them their opinion (having been told by my psychiatrist that there is nothing much she can do about my shakes).  Hopefully, I'll come home with something.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not really complaining.  I'd much rather experience the positives of Lithium than the negatives.  It just make me so aware of how much we rely upon doing such small, everyday jobs with a steady hand