Based on your entire neurological work up, they should be able to distinguish between something like carpal tunnel and als. That said, i know there are many stories on the internet of people being told they had carpal tunnel and turned out to have als. In these cases, I have to assume that there was/is more to the story. One thing i know for a fact is that many times the info posted on the web is incomplete or not completely factual.
Anyway, for a person to be dx'd with als, there has to be clear evidence of denervation in 3 (i think) distinct areas of the body. I'll leave that explanation to some of the more studied members of the board. I made a deal with myself close to two years ago that I wasn't going to be an expert on als until I needed to be. I didn't want/need the added stress that doing that research was causing. I would suggest that every new member take that approach. Thankfully to date, I haven't needed any first hand knowledge of als, and God willing I never will! Now if i could just forget all that carbage I learned about it before I made that deal with myself .
Here is my concern:
Since I think I have Carpal Tunnel, I'm concerned that the EMG will not be "clean" and the worrying will continue. I really need some closure after all this time (as fas as ALS is concerned)