My fine motor skills are starting to slip... ack

[Aster]

Within the last few months, I have noticed a discernible tendency for my hands to become clumsy with motor tasks requiring fast and precise actions.

Like sorting through homework papers. Using paper clips. Typing. Where I used to do these tasks effortlessly, I am now having to deliberately slow down.

My fingers sort of feel... a bit loose on my hands. It is hard to describe.

After a few months of this not going away, I am becoming concerned. Is this a precursor to advanced aging? I have seen some of my (much much older) colleagues with shaking hands, and I am afraid that I may be going down that same path. Is there some diet or exercises that I can do to help treat this or delay future degradation?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I like my fingers.

[Liquidambar]

How old are you?  At about age 40, I asked my doctor whether it was normal aging for me to notice a deterioration in fine motor skills.  (My issues were with smaller things than you describe, such as doing a necklace clasp.)  My doctor said that's not normal at that age.  She suggested it might be from pinched nerves or similar.  Given all my shoulder and wrist issues, I can readily believe that.  I haven't followed up with a specialist since it isn't getting any worse, and since I'm already wasting enough time dealing with the various joint issues.

If I were you, I'd ask a doctor about this.  It sounds worrisome.

[backatit]

See a neurologist. It's almost certainly nothing, but it will make you feel better. I went through something similar (am still going through it) although I already knew I had rheumatoid arthritis, but there are a ton of causes. I have adjusted (I use a Macbook, which has a softer keyboard now, and am investigating the dragon software for future use).

[sockknitter]

Ask for a full blood panel to check vitamin B12 levels. I have pernicious anemia and reported symptoms to my doctors for several years before I was finally diagnosed, but my body probably developed the condition much earlier. Within 48 hours of my first synthetic B12 injection, I felt as though I was fully awake for the first time in years.

Once I completed the initial treatment (daily injections for a week, followed by once per week) I realized how much fine motor coordination I had lost in my hands. I'm a musician! The nerve damage can be permanent if not caught early enough. I'm not a vegetarian, and many physicians fail to recognize B12 deficiency in the US and other developed countries with generally easy access to food. Apparently some of our elderly in nursing homes are assumed to have Alzheimer's or dementia, when they are actually suffering from B12 deficiency.

[bopper]

Also conditions that affect your nerves should be ruled out, e.g., MS.

[Second Chance]

Also try standing and close your eyes - see if you fall in a particular direction. But obviously don't do this either w/o help or near a sofa. Just looking for cerebellum stuff to rule out. Agree its worth getting a neuro exam unless youre a self hacker and would rather follow the videos and do one on yourself. Since it's both hands, that rules out some. Guess if you had other obvious symptoms, you would have mentioned them. Hopefully, youve just used them more than ever past few months. or used different keyboards etc. I had vague neuro stuff for years before becoming sidelined by illness (sorry, didn't mean to scare you - and that one wasn't really one of them, nothing obvious anyway).

[sitehound]

I agree with other -- see a doctor for a full work-up. If you notice a change, it may be real. I don't want to scare you, but I do think it would be wise to rule out MS (as mentioned upthread) and ALS.

[Hegemony]

As I understand, the initial symptoms of ALS are different (nerve twitches), so please don't be alarmed by the mention of ALS.