GrizzlyLeader
Well-known member
Well, I wished for a Merry Christmas and I got my wish. I saw the Director of the ALS clinic today and after the exam and emg and nct, he said he found 0% evidence of any muscular degenerative condition. After the clinical exam, he said he did not see any reason to do the emg and such, but said he would. I told him I wanted it. At this point, he told be I had BCFS. This is the 1st time a nuero has actually used the term for a dx for me. He mentioned he has had BFS for 20 years himself, so he understood what I was going through. During the nerve conductivity test, he said his dx might need to modified. He said 3 out of 4 limbs showed some mild periphial nueropathy.He thinks this very well could have been caused by diabetes. I was 1st diagnosed with diabetes type 2 a couple of years ago. I have since dropped 80 lbs and have gotten it under control, so hopefully, Ive about reversed that problem. Also showed mild Carpal Tunnel in both hands. My last nerve conduction test was performed by a technician but the emg was done by the nuero. He asked me this question. He said he was not impressed with the testing by the technician because they should have identified the periphial nueropathy. He also stated that an emg is only as good as the person performing it, although its tough to miss the bad stuff if you have a clue as to what you are doing. He saw plenty of twitching going on in my calves and fingers. He didnt even mention it until I asked him if he saw any on the emg. I told him at my finger and thumb when it started dancing. He looked, didnt care. He said, yeah, I see that. Same thing when my little toe started bouncing side to side. As stated a 1000 times on this site, he said twitching presented without weakness is just a twitch. The twitches can be caused by a # of things, but generally are nothing bad. I asked him what I could do about the cramping. I cant remember what he said. My sister, an RN, was with me and she was taking notes. I'll have to post later what he suggested. One of the odd things he did mention, get this, pickle juice. Sounds a little quacky I know. Anyhow, I really liked this Dr. His name is Dr. Darrah Heitzman at Texas Nuerology in Dallas. If anybody is from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I strongly recommend him. He was very understanding, personable, and informative. Christmas came a few days early for me this year. Merry Christmas to all on this board.
