exploringexistence
Well-known member
Yesterday I went for a follow up with my neuro to discuss the EMG and some meds he put me on for my ET. I made sure to ask a lot of questions because as you can see by a number of my posts lately, I am still very anxious.I asked him first that if someone could have a clean EMG and ever have ***. He told me, "No way. No How." He told me that the test rules out a number of NMDs and he read off a bunch of diseases besides *** that I have never even heard of and reassured me I don't have any of them. I also asked if an EMG can be done too soon. He said (as many of you have already told me as well), that if the twitching was being caused by ***, it would immediately show up and that it doesn't matter which side of the body or where that they test. Then I asked him if someone could have an EMG and develop *** like a month later. He told me "No." I also asked how long an EMG is good for, like how long can a person be rest assured they are fine. He didn't say specifics, but he told me, "A good long time." So I said, "Months?" Then he nodded his head. I brought up the under the tongue twitch and he told me it's nothing more to worry about than any other twitch. He said the tongue twitching isn't more indicative of NMD either. I also brought up hotspots, although I didn't use that word and told him I have had an elbow twitch for days. He said that having a twitch that lasts and lasts isn't anything to be concerned about either, if you have normal exams and EMG. Then I told him how I even twitch walking around now in my legs and I mentioned how I was writing and typing and had twitches in my arms and hands mess me up. I told him I jerk sometimes too. So he told me, "It doesn't matter at all. It is all benign." So I said, "Well I heard twitching in tensed muscle is supposed to be bad" and he said, "Poohbah." 
He told me that it isn't true. He told me TONS of people twitch and there is nothing wrong with them. He also told me that a clinical exam is really all that is needed to rule out *** (for those of you who never had an EMG) and that neuros usually only do the EMG to reassure people. I also brought up my continued problems with speaking and I asked if anxiety can really cause slurring and messing up words and he said, "Most definitely. You'd be surprised at what it can cause." He told me that I should rest assure that I am 100% neurologically intact and that the neuro who did the EMG is highly trained and a specialist in reading them, so if something was there, he would have found it. I told him about how Zoloft seemed to make everything worse for me too and he said that my body obviously can't tolerate the drug. Then he told me that he didn't believe any other testing was needed and I need to learn to relax and to come back in a couple months to see how I'm doing. I hope that info might help those of you who are still nervous even after being told you are fine. I have to admit, I did feel a bit better. I went to the grocery store after and my calf was twitching away while I walked and I didn't panic about it. That's already a slight improvement 
I am going to see a psychiatrist next month so hopefully I can get my mind on the road to recovery.Nettie
He told me that it isn't true. He told me TONS of people twitch and there is nothing wrong with them. He also told me that a clinical exam is really all that is needed to rule out *** (for those of you who never had an EMG) and that neuros usually only do the EMG to reassure people. I also brought up my continued problems with speaking and I asked if anxiety can really cause slurring and messing up words and he said, "Most definitely. You'd be surprised at what it can cause." He told me that I should rest assure that I am 100% neurologically intact and that the neuro who did the EMG is highly trained and a specialist in reading them, so if something was there, he would have found it. I told him about how Zoloft seemed to make everything worse for me too and he said that my body obviously can't tolerate the drug. Then he told me that he didn't believe any other testing was needed and I need to learn to relax and to come back in a couple months to see how I'm doing. I hope that info might help those of you who are still nervous even after being told you are fine. I have to admit, I did feel a bit better. I went to the grocery store after and my calf was twitching away while I walked and I didn't panic about it. That's already a slight improvement I am going to see a psychiatrist next month so hopefully I can get my mind on the road to recovery.Nettie
Many of the things your doc said were reinforcement of what mine have said and it was good to hear again. Thanks for giving us an update. By the way, how was the EMG---was it very painful???Cindy