All,
Had my appointment with the EMG expert at Penn today. (On my earlier posts, you can see that unlike most people on this board, my EMGs in Jan and Feb showed active denervation in the legs and chronic denervation in every limb, so my stress levels were pretty high.) The neurologist reviewed the EMG results, looked at the MRIs of the cervical and lumbar areas of the spine, reveiwed all of the other tests, and then gave me a thorough physical exam.
At the end of the exam, he said that I DO NOT have motor neuron disease, MS, or anything like that. He said that there were no changes in strength or reflexes, as well as no atrophy. He discussed that the EMG changes are all explained by the four herniated discs of various degrees that I have in my spine. He also said that the active denervation was 3 areas of +1 on a scale that goes from 0 to +4, so the active denervation was very slight, and only seen in 3 out of around 30 spots.
He went on to say, "We have a saying around here. PATIENTS worry when they come to us with fasciculations and no loss of strength. WE worry when we see patients with fasciculations and clear [objective] loss of strength. (Sound familiar to anyone?) He said that I had "Benign Fasciculations". I said, "Is that Benign Fasciculation Syndrome?" He said yes. He then said that four of the neurologists at Penn have ongoing fasciculations. Finally, he said that BFS + the herniated discs explains the physical symptoms, including pain and localized fatigue, that I've been having in various places of the body.
He suggested a follow-up EMG in 2-3 months (6 months from the first one). If there were no changes in the EMG or an improvement, then his 99% assurance of not having anything bad would go to to 100% (or as close as he could get without promising that "Nothing will ever happen").
So MANY, MANY thanks to Bill (j_sageurge), TrisTrip, 17Wildcat17, Troy, and all of the others who provided tremendous guidance and support. I look forward to remaining a part of this great community and adding my own thoughts and experiences to people who post with concerns or questions.
Had my appointment with the EMG expert at Penn today. (On my earlier posts, you can see that unlike most people on this board, my EMGs in Jan and Feb showed active denervation in the legs and chronic denervation in every limb, so my stress levels were pretty high.) The neurologist reviewed the EMG results, looked at the MRIs of the cervical and lumbar areas of the spine, reveiwed all of the other tests, and then gave me a thorough physical exam.
At the end of the exam, he said that I DO NOT have motor neuron disease, MS, or anything like that. He said that there were no changes in strength or reflexes, as well as no atrophy. He discussed that the EMG changes are all explained by the four herniated discs of various degrees that I have in my spine. He also said that the active denervation was 3 areas of +1 on a scale that goes from 0 to +4, so the active denervation was very slight, and only seen in 3 out of around 30 spots.
He went on to say, "We have a saying around here. PATIENTS worry when they come to us with fasciculations and no loss of strength. WE worry when we see patients with fasciculations and clear [objective] loss of strength. (Sound familiar to anyone?) He said that I had "Benign Fasciculations". I said, "Is that Benign Fasciculation Syndrome?" He said yes. He then said that four of the neurologists at Penn have ongoing fasciculations. Finally, he said that BFS + the herniated discs explains the physical symptoms, including pain and localized fatigue, that I've been having in various places of the body.
He suggested a follow-up EMG in 2-3 months (6 months from the first one). If there were no changes in the EMG or an improvement, then his 99% assurance of not having anything bad would go to to 100% (or as close as he could get without promising that "Nothing will ever happen").
So MANY, MANY thanks to Bill (j_sageurge), TrisTrip, 17Wildcat17, Troy, and all of the others who provided tremendous guidance and support. I look forward to remaining a part of this great community and adding my own thoughts and experiences to people who post with concerns or questions.