Accepting Benign Symptoms Timing?

I just wondered out of interest how long it took those of you who haven't had an EMG to accept your symptoms as a benign condition?

Thanks

The very first neuro I went to said, "I can see your fasiculations, I have no need to do an EMG to prove they are there" and she said this after the rest of my neuro clinical exam was basically normal ..no abnormal reflexes, no obvious atrophy or weakness, no loss of sensation etc...
I still wasn't totally convinced but an emg would not have been what convinced me...going to a nunmber of other doctors, including a well renowned neuro at University of Ca. medical center, who said the exact same thing, is what convinced me. That is not to say that I still am not on a hunt for the cause and a treatment but I do not feel an emg in most cases is terribly helpful in the case of BFS. Lynn

I've been twitching just over two years and never had an emg. Very frankly, I still cannot accept this is benign. My feet and calves go insane 24/7...it's amazing really. I want to accept it but it's just very hard to get beyond the abnormality of my body.

Carl, EMG or no EMG, I am sure you will do fine. From reading your posts, there seems to be no evidence of weakness at all, only a feeling of weakness, which is extremely common and which I have experienced myself.

In answer to the original post, less than a month. You might also ask how many people have had multiple EMGs and continued to worry. After careful consideration, I reasoned that my symptoms fit BFS like a glove, and that if I insisted on worrying that I might be among the very small percentage of people who twitch for a totally different reason, then I might as well worry about lung cancer, a brain tumor, a car accident, or any of the other causes that were equally or more likely to cause my death.

Oh, and the car accident almost happened:

Hi Bill,

Thank you very much for your continued support. As I mentioned to Mark, I need it!

Bill did you see a doctor for your symptoms or decided that they were innocuous based on a comparison of your symptoms with the description of BFS? BTW, you are absolutely correct that a number of folks have the EMG performed but continue to worry excessively about whether they have the "big" one.

My dilemma is when my Neurologist examines me tomorrow and IF he determines (hopefully) that there is no clinical evidence for *** or any other neurological disorder BUT insists that I have an EMG whether I should go along with his recommendation or say no thank you! So the question remains will a thorough clinical neurological exam conducted by a highly skilled neurologist, in and of itself suffice to rule out ***? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Regards, Carl

I agree with others who've said that an EMG, while it can be helpful, can just as easily create more worry. If you have a totally clean EMG, it pretty much rules out a lot of nasty diseases. However, many EMGs are not totally clean. Mine wasn't—I had a complex repetitive discharge on my right shin and difficulty relaxing my right thigh. To this day, my leg feels "odd" sometimes, but that EMG was over a year ago and my right leg still works just fine. EMGs are just like other tests that can find "abnormalities" that are perfectly harmless. Many MDs recommend against whole body MRIs on healthy people because they'll turn up cysts and other oddities that, while harmless, could cause unnecessary worry and even trigger someone to seek surgical help.

Of course, if you have real weakness (not perceived), an EMG is a crucial part of a neurological workup. However, it's only a part—a clean neuro exam (which you've had) is just as important.

I'd say it took me about 7 months...maybe 8 to really come to terms with it. I had one neuro visit and no EMG. And, I still twitch like crazy- calves...and random ones all over.

I'm at 10 months or so now I think...

Shelley