Dexamethasone Hand Tremors?

sunnysocal11

Hi everyone, my mom is on her 3rd cycle of dose dense AC. On cycle 2, for days 2-4 of taking Dexamethasone she noticed she would wake up with her hands shaking. Not excessive shaking but still noticeable. It would go away within a couple hours. after stopping dexamethasone after day 4 she said it went away. She went in for her 3rd cycle on Tuesday and this morning said she woke up again with hands shaking. I messaged my moms oncologist in the portal, nurse got back to me and she said it could be possible dexa is causing it and to keep an eye on it and if it got worse or any new symptoms let them know. Has anyone else had hand shaking/tremors from taking dexamethasone?

At first I thought she was describing neuropathy although she says she has no loss of feeling or tingling feeling in her hands. After doing a lot of searching it also doesn't seem like neuropathy is a side effect from AC, only Taxol. I do not believe it's nerve related and leaning towards dexa since it stops after she stops taking it but I've never heard of that being a side effect for it.

TXLorelei

I had my first AC treatment a week ago and I did have shaky hands 2-3 days afterwards. Yesterday (day 7) I felt well enough to knit.

I also felt slightly off-balance while walking during those same days, but I don’t know if the AC or the steroid caused it.

sunnysocal11

Thanks for the reply TXLorelei! My mom has also been off balance too, on the week after the chemo cycle she pretty much goes back to normal from everything except for minimal fatigue. Sounds like similar experiences with the hands. I hope your first cycle went well without too many side effect!

ShetlandPony

I'm sorry I do not have any answer or information for you, sunny, but I want to comment on " I messaged my moms oncologist in the portal, nurse got back to me and she said it could be possible dexa is causing it and to keep an eye on it and if it got worse or any new symptoms let them know." I'm sure doctors routinely have nurses screening their messages, but I would want to make sure to get the actual doctor's input on this particular issue. Unless the nurse actually said "Dr. So-and-so says to tell you..."

ARmom4

Dexa is a steroid. I would get shaky and have trouble sleeping when I was on it. I also would get a burst of energy. It's like taking an "upper". I think it might have that effect on your mom. That's why it goes away when she doesn't take it.

ShetlandPony

Perhaps the doctor will consider lowering the dose.

jhl

Yes, shaking hands, difficulty with balance is a normal side effect of dexamethasone. Can I ask how old your mom is? Does she take any other medication? Normal pre-infusion doses are anywhere from 4-10mg. It is not neuropathy.

I think it is worth mentioning to the oncologist the next time she see's him/her. It is not uncommon at all to have a dose reduction or even a discontinuation. Does the shaking bother her? How does she sleep during her 'on' chemo cycle? Insomnia is a worse side effect than shaking.

Anonymous

Definitely ask about a dose reduction. During AC I reduced the dosage I took at home until I learned I didn't need any at home at all.

sunnysocal11

Hi jhl and SerenitySTAT, I'm going to reply to you both here. She's 64 years old. She gets 10 mg of dexa in her infusion at chemo, then takes 8 mg daily in the morning (2 4mg tablets) on days 1-4 after initial infusion.

She is taking Zofran and Compazine on a schedule for nausea. She was also prescribed Olanzapine after her first cycle due to some nausea issues she had. The Olanzapine started cycle 2, taken on days 1-4 of chemo. She also takes Pepcid and Claritin daily. No other medication other than supplements approved be her care team.

The shaking does not disturb her, it's stronger in the morning when she wakes up and then subsides by noon time. I'm keeping a closer eye on it now since it happened again this 3rd cycle, but from what she says it stops completely after stopping the dexa. No sleep issues at all. She's definitely hyper on days during dexa, constantly getting up and wanting to things but able to fall asleep consistently at 9 pm daily.

Serenity, how much was your initial dexa dose and how often were you taking it?

ShetlandPony, thanks for the response. I will follow up on Monday and see if I can hop on a call with the oncologist directly.

Anonymous

I don't remember what the dosage was, but I only took a 1/2 dose one day after my first AC infusion. Except for that day I didn't take any meds at home. I was fasting so that probably kept down the side effects. I didn't like being on steroids and felt good enough to stop.

Since there are 2 tablets she could try to space them out. I wouldn't wait too long to avoid disrupting her sleep.

Anonymous

Does she take the steroids with food or coffee? It will raise her blood sugar levels. I had to stop coffee because it tasted terrible during chemo.

sunnysocal11

Yes she was instructed to take the dexa with food. She has 1 small cup of decaf coffee in the morning.