"give your head a wobble" = happening literally. What is it?

[wink1970]

I have developed what can only be described as a 'wobble' - my upper body has moments when it involuntarily sways from side to side (like wobbling your head but it's the upper body). It's not all the time, and just happens randomly.

Coincidentally, I met a woman in a pub garden yesterday who had a very serious version of this - she couldn't keep still. I wanted to ask her if she knew the cause but felt it would be rude.

anyone any wiser?

Recent covid jab? A girl in my daughter’s class developed a head “tic” after her jab. It lasted several months and then resolved.

No, not recently. This started about 4-5 months ago, it's at random times. Even the GP noticed it when I visited, but had no comment on the cause!!

Dystonia?

I have Dystonia and my head wobbles because of a no-no tremor in my neck, so it does sound like a possibility.

Thank you

@Pushkinia do you mind me asking when/how yours started? and is it random or at certain times?

After 5 months, I think you are within your rights to ask for a relevant referral OP. I'm a bit sensitive to GP's dismissing things that they can't diagnose/explain. How is your general health? Any medications? Bloods done recently?

I have generalised Dystonia, which started in my right hand/arm when I was 16. It then spread to my body, neck and shoulder, then my right leg. The tremor is constant when I’m awake but stops when I’m asleep.

I’ve been having botulinum toxin treatment for the last 5 years, which is injected into my neck (4 injections), shoulder (3 injections) and right leg (5 injections) every 3 months. This eases the muscle spasms for about 8 weeks.

Please see your GP. Very few know about Dystonia, but s/he should refer your to a neurologist if Dystonia is suspected.

@Pushkinia I developed a "no-no" tremor two years ago, it lasted about 6 months then gradually died away. In my case, I think it was stress-related. I mentioed it repeatedly to my GP but they didn't seem to want to invesitgate which was frustrating. I was quite worried it was an MS symptom... how did you get diagnosed?

@SilverGlassHare I saw a GP when I was 18, who said I had writer’s cramp, but, as I was studying music, decided to refer me to a neurologist, just in case. It was seriously affecting my studies.

I was seen in outpatients first, then had a week as an inpatient in the local hospital. As my symptoms had worsened by then, I was referred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London and spent another week in there under the care of a Dystonia specialist called Prof Marsden.

I’ve had Dystonia now for more than 30 years, but still hold down a job. I didn’t want the condition to rule my life completely, although it does have an effect on it.

@Pushkinia thanks for your response - I'm glad they took it seriously and that it's not affecting your life too much. It's very disconcerting.

@SilverGlassHare Thank you. I think I was lucky in being taken seriously at a young age, but very little was known about Dystonia in the 1980s. Movement disorder specialists are the neurologists who have most knowledge of it now.

My GP seems to ascribe anything wrong with me to stress. I’m not saying she’s wrong but it can feel very frustrating!

I'm with you there! It seems to me that women's symptoms are too often put down to "stress" and men's symptoms are taken much more seriously. If the tremor bothers you, keep going back to the GP. Mine is permanent, except when I'm sleeping or if the Botox injections are working, but the only answer is to keep bothering the GP until they take you seriously.

The tremor actually has stopped (which is why I fear it may have been MS - intermittent symptoms like that an be a sign of early MS) but I'll definitely push harder if it starts again. I agree that women's health issues are often dismissed as essentially "hysteria"! It's very regressive.