Hey all, just got back from the EMG, where I was told that everything was normal (hooray!). I had it in 3 places in my right leg, 3 in my right arm, and one in my right hand (where I have been feeling cold and stiff sometimes like I posted before).
Going into it I was thinking "no big deal, just an EMG" - being on this forum makes it seem as normal as getting your temperature taken! But man, it was pretty rough for me. I was sweating profusely, the needles hurt pretty bad and I feel a little bruisy right now in some of the places they poked me. The electric shocking part was almost worse for me, I hated it! I can't believe you all have done this so many times, and now I really appreciate you brave folk who have taken it in the tongue and other tough spots.
Unfortunately my neuro seemed pretty young, a little bit cold and not that reassuring given the results. There were 2 med students also who just kind of lingered in the background (didn't introduce themselves even). On the third point in my leg, they started mumbling to each other, left the room and brought back a clearly older, more senior neuro to quickly look at it. Then they all mumbled a little more, the older guy left, and they proceeded with my arm. I clearly have soem health anxiety like most of us here, so you can imagine the thoughts going through my head at that time...not good. At the end, the neuro said "everything is pretty normal, hopefully it's just something benign" - again, I think doctors should have a clear understanding of what health anxiety is like before they say anything because we all know we'd be satisfied with something a little more definative than that statement
Regardless, I'm happy with the outcome. I'm waiting for my CK test results again (they were elevated last time, but the test was taken the day after I exercised) and if they're normal I think I'll be able to move on and check a few bad boys (i.e. NMD) off the list in my personal "diagnosis of exclusion" for BFS. Still on the list: something autoimmune (HIV is negative), a lingering virus/bacteria or post-viral syndrome, and a chronic adverse reaction to Lariam. So the journey continues...
Thanks so much to everyone for their support here - it's really great to have an accessible community like this for the tough times, and hopefully I'll be able to "give back" more as I grow stronger. Enjoy the springtime!
Update: CK was normal yesterday 2 weeks of relative rest after the first elevated test. Alright!
Going into it I was thinking "no big deal, just an EMG" - being on this forum makes it seem as normal as getting your temperature taken! But man, it was pretty rough for me. I was sweating profusely, the needles hurt pretty bad and I feel a little bruisy right now in some of the places they poked me. The electric shocking part was almost worse for me, I hated it! I can't believe you all have done this so many times, and now I really appreciate you brave folk who have taken it in the tongue and other tough spots.
Unfortunately my neuro seemed pretty young, a little bit cold and not that reassuring given the results. There were 2 med students also who just kind of lingered in the background (didn't introduce themselves even). On the third point in my leg, they started mumbling to each other, left the room and brought back a clearly older, more senior neuro to quickly look at it. Then they all mumbled a little more, the older guy left, and they proceeded with my arm. I clearly have soem health anxiety like most of us here, so you can imagine the thoughts going through my head at that time...not good. At the end, the neuro said "everything is pretty normal, hopefully it's just something benign" - again, I think doctors should have a clear understanding of what health anxiety is like before they say anything because we all know we'd be satisfied with something a little more definative than that statement
Regardless, I'm happy with the outcome. I'm waiting for my CK test results again (they were elevated last time, but the test was taken the day after I exercised) and if they're normal I think I'll be able to move on and check a few bad boys (i.e. NMD) off the list in my personal "diagnosis of exclusion" for BFS. Still on the list: something autoimmune (HIV is negative), a lingering virus/bacteria or post-viral syndrome, and a chronic adverse reaction to Lariam. So the journey continues...
Thanks so much to everyone for their support here - it's really great to have an accessible community like this for the tough times, and hopefully I'll be able to "give back" more as I grow stronger. Enjoy the springtime!
Update: CK was normal yesterday 2 weeks of relative rest after the first elevated test. Alright!
