3 Months of Twitching: EMG Results

[jonny1johnny2]

IM 31, Ive posted a few times here so apologies to you all. Ive been twitching everywhere for 3 months. I had my 1st full EMG today- 4 muscles in right arm, 4 in right leg and 3 in left leg. All but 2 muscles tested were normal . The neurologist couldnt see any fasciculations clinically and felt my reflexes are normal. My issues besides the fasciculations have been that of extreme muscle fatigue on minimal exertion, swallowing difficulties (lots of mucous and difficult for food to get down- all the time for 3 weeks) and breathing issues. The neurologist said I dont have ALS ...BUT he saw 2 fasciculations in my right calf on EMG, and a "chronic neurogenic" change in my left tibialis anterior (1 shin muscle) but no weakness or other EMG signs. He said I dont have ALS - clinically I was normal and he did not see need to do an EMG on my tongue or back or neck muscles. He said he doesnt need to see me again. My swallowing is still definitely an issue. Does anyone know if you can have bulbar ALS but relatively normal limb EMG, and the significance of those findings? Very worried

 

[SlavinBreeze]

Trust your Neurologist completely. It's not necessary to perform EMG for bulbar muscles if limbs EMG were normal. 2-3 or more fasciculations in arm or leg are chronic changes. Almost everyone has it.

 

[sabre]

You do not have bulbar ALS...You just do not see bulbar onset ALS in guys your age. Your swallowing issue is most likely reflux and anxiety. BTW, if you are sticking your tongue out all the time, then you will eventually strain your neck muscles and that will make it hard to swallow as well...Ask me how I know that?If your neuro did you arms, specifically your shoulder and it was clear, then you do not have bulbar ALS or any other kind. I am learning that about the only time they do a tongue EMG is if you demand it or if they want to confirm a diagnosis. Recent medical journals have stated that EMG findings in the shoulder and neck muscles are just as accurate in diagnosing bulbar ALS as are tongue EMG's. Some think tongue EMG's are unreliable because that is just a difficult muscle to relax. Later...BTW, it is a bad sign when you already doubting the EMG the same day you had it done...You are in the clear.

 

[DonsGabriel]

Repeat testing of the tongue or constant swallowing is bound to inflame the muscles, which is going to cause some weird symptoms. I do wonder if BFS can aggravate this outside of the anxiety. Could be TMJ too, I have a pretty severe case of it myself. In any case, at your age, I'm sure you know that ALS is highly unlikely, at an incidence rate of 1 in ~500,000 to 1 in 2 or so million depending on which place you consult. Bulbar onset incidence rises sharply with age and is essentially non-existent in people your age. It can technically happen, but you can technically die by a meteorite impact tomorrow. Plus your original worry is twitching around your body, and now you're just basically grasping at something to keep the worry up. Relax. Lie down. Anxiety is proven to affect cardiovascular health, so if you want to do some real damage to yourself, this is a good way to do it!