
October 23, 2002
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Sammamish, Washington, USA:
My 44 year old sister, who has had type 1 diabetes for 34 years, is remarkably healthy, but has recently been shaking continuously. She also had thyroid cancer at age 28. Could the shaking be a result of the diabetes? Do you feel it is unrelated?
Answer:
There is not enough information available to me to determine the cause of the shaking. When individuals have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, they are usually placed on thyroid hormone replacement doses that suppress the TSH level down into the low normal to low range. This may cause tremors and symptoms of hyperthyroidism in some patients. Additionally, hypoglycemia from treatment of type 1 diabetes with insulin may cause occasional shaking, but it would be unlikely to cause shaking all the time.
She needs to be examined by a physician for the diagnosis of the appropriate problem
JTL