# Why Could Angela Merkel have Tremors? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 10, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835 "2019-07-10T14:43:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/1 "2019-07-10T14:43:16Z")
I understand there has been a third public case of tremors today. She says she’s fine. You figure she must have more attacks while she was out of the public eye. She is 64 years old. A quick glance at Wikipedia did not show any obvious medical problems. Any ideas what might be causing this? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/2 "2019-07-10T14:45:18Z")
Parkinson’s? Wait didn’t the Germans also invent amphetamines? Hmmm ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/3 "2019-07-10T14:59:45Z")
Since the OP is asking for speculation, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/4 "2019-07-10T15:15:37Z")
[Essential tremor.](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/essential-tremor/symptoms-causes/syc-20350534) I have it, and take medication that helps, but doesn’t stop it. It makes it difficult to type, which is one reason why you’ll sometimes see a lot of typos\* in my posts. Ditto with my sister. Our father had it. His mother had it so badly that she eventually had to use a wheelchair. Clearly it sdeems to run in the family, but in our case the doctors tell us it’s “idiopathic” which is fancy medical talk for, “Your body parts shake because they shake.” _ETA:_ Typos like “sdeems” ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/5 "2019-07-10T15:25:16Z")
Thank you **Kent,** that is very interesting. I especially appreciate the comparison with Parkinson’s Disease. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/6 "2019-07-10T19:16:40Z")
She’s a big fan of Kevin Bacon? Oh, you mean the condition; not the Blu-ray. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/7 "2019-07-10T22:06:01Z")
“German Chancellor infested with Graboids. Film at 11.” ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/8 "2019-07-18T05:27:41Z")
Tremors is also a side effect of anti-seizure medicine. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/9 "2019-07-18T05:31:46Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > [Essential tremor.](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/essential-tremor/symptoms-causes/syc-20350534) I do too (no meds for me). My mother does as well (and takes meds). For me, it usually manifests when I try and drink from a glass or soda can. It usually abates if I just stop trying to take a drink and set the glass down. I can almost always pick it up again immediately with no shaking. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/10 "2019-07-18T05:41:46Z")
For me it’s one of the symptoms of it’s-not-MS, and the first one visible to a casual observer; it’s triggered by certain types of stress. The best thing I can do is avoid those stresses; once I start having symptoms, the recipe is “a sofa and a blanket”. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/11 "2019-07-20T01:04:51Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > She’s a big fan of Kevin Bacon? Oh, you mean the condition; not the Blu-ray. I figured the OP could tell if she had tremors if he got some drone footage of her yard. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-could-angela-merkel-have-tremors/836835/12 "2019-07-20T04:05:46Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I do too (no meds for me). My mother does as well (and takes meds). For me, it usually manifests when I try and drink from a glass or soda can. It usually abates if I just stop trying to take a drink and set the glass down. I can almost always pick it up again immediately with no shaking. I have it as well (as does my Mom). Mine is most noticeable when trying to write in a small defined area. Give me an empty white board and I’ll probably be fine, but give me one of those forms where you have to put each letter in a box and there is no chance. It also gets worse with stress. These are reasons why I don’t think this is her condition because the examples I have seen she is just standing with her arms crossed. That is never a concern for me.