What's the Best Time for EMG?

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FreddieTheFox

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Hey everybodyI've got twitches for 1 month now but no weakness so far as I can tell.When is an EMG reliable for checking for A.LS? Should I wait or do it immediately? When is it clear?Thank You, Fréderick
 
I am new here too. However, I believe if you stick with THIS site and read the posts you will find some comfort. Personally, I would see your GP and request a referral to a Neurologist. The Neurologist will be able to investigate your issues and give you a some peace of mind.If you have not read "BFS in a nut shell" please do so. It helped me a lot. Also, make sure you have people around you for support.
 
Hello FreddieTheFox and welcome to the group. I hope you will find a lot of comfort with these folks. We have all been where you are and we are all moving forward---a day at a time :confused: . Many, many people have twitches and vibrations and burning sensations and other stuff. But, we are okay! Pleeeeeease stay away from the ALS forums---they will scare the pants off you----trust me, I know. Go back and read some of the older posts, especially the ones by Aaron. This guy's posts pulled me through a very dark time. There are many here you will talk about just where you are. Go visit your GP. If he refers you to a neuro, great, if he doesn't, its because he has no suspicions and that is great too, because it will mean that you are okay. Trust that and believe him. Whatever you do, don't let this overcome you. It is a vicious loop to get caught in. Stay in touch and we will all get through this. :cool: Blessings,Cindy
 
Hi, Sounds like a typical case of BFS. TRY and stay calm and stay off the any of the websites that are ALS related. You will just scare the hell out of yourself and raise your anxiety level, which will make your twitching worse. Then you will be caught in the horrible circle of twitch = anxiety = more twitch = more anxiety = even more twitching = PANIC! Best of Luck
 
Hi Fredierick-I live in Columbus, Ohio (and went to VERY good neuro's) and I got a difinitive answer on the EMG question you are asking (because I wanted to know for sure also). BOTH of my neurologists told me that within a month of twitches if they did the clinical test or the EMG they would BOTH have abnormalities that would warrant further testing. I find myself after about 2 years of this stuff still going AGAINST what my neuros said. Its very easy to do. Here are my tips for a you as I struggled with this every day:1. DONT try to find out what your symptoms mean from the internet. Go to a neurologist and get it looked at. Write down a bunch of questions on a notepad and take them with you. This is EXTREMELY important and will save you anguish because you have lingering questions you didnt ask (because you are wrapped up on what the doctor finds out). 2. Get plenty of sleep and drink a normal amount of water. DONT drink any stimulants (pop, coffee). Some people take a multivitimin (I do) but nothing ever helped my twitches. Both my neuros confirmed that with BFS there are no medications that will STOP the twitches, only decrease the amount you feel (but there are somtimes horrible side effects). 3. If you are on any anti-anxiety meds (such as SSRI's, Paxil, Effexor, Celexa) these can REALLY make your symptoms worse. I got to the point where I requested these because my anxiety was impacting my job, and my family and I was NOT sleeping. I was extremely obssive compulsive and looking at my muscles ever 15 minutes or so...sometimes more. These meds my neuro's told me are a last resort to get our fear under control and typically they can refer you to a therapist to help you get through this. Not that you need one, its just this is VERY taxing on you and can really play with your mind. 4. Get out and do something fun! There are TONS of us here that have twitches every day and all day (like me). Some are constant, some come and go and some are localized. That makes NO difference how or when or where you twitch (so save yourself weeks or months like me trying to figure out whats "bad" and whats "good"...its all just twitching). The best thing to do is to take good care of your body, exersize (this will increase twitches slightly but then they will decrease as muscle tone is improved according to my neuros). They wont go away, but with stress management and taking care of yourself you will feel MUCH better.5. I cant stress it enough, if you feel like you are "extremely upset" then talk to us on here. Send the senior twitchers a PM and we will be glad to work you through it. It can be a LONG ride (lifetime) or just a few months. But the majority of us have had it for over a year or MUCH longer. 6. This condition is not the same for everyone and it WILL CHANGE! One day you might feel REALLY tired, the next you are full of energy. Some days you will twitch ALL OVER and others you barely notice them. Some of us get cramps, and some of us have REALLY bad tremors. But the key is that its ALL normal for BFS or BCFS (the cramp variant). Just because your twitches ramp up means nothing. I can tell 2 days before I get sick...they go CRAZY! 7. Distract yourself and get a hobby or do something you really enjoy. More time busy will prevent you from staying on this site or any other site about twitches. I found that when I was out having fun I didnt really think about it at all. The worst you can do is sit around and wait to twitch...because it WILL happen. Best of luck...if you need anything you can PM me any time!Sean B.
 
Hello,If it would be A.L.S how soon after twitching starts would you feel weakness? Is that very soon or could it be for months? When is a person safe?I went to the GP and told me not to worry, just stress. I do also experience pain in some placesGRFréderick
 
Hi FreddieTheFoxFrom what I'm told by neurologists and here on this forum. If the twitching is a symptom of **S, they would see this immediatly in a EMG. Twitching alone is not THE symptom of **S, it's weakness and athropy. Only 6% of the **S patients get twitches and in most cases (95%) the first sign is not the twitching but weakness. Twitching can occur by healthy people and among a lot of other diseases (not deadly ones - only **S and HIV) So, if you are worried, get the EMG/clincial, you'll see your fine and don't ruin your life like I do. Wish you wellBart
 
And just to add further reassurance it is possible to have twitching, atrophy and weakness and still not have *LS since there are many other ways for nerves and muscles to get damaged or injured.From my perspective the sooner you get an EMG the better, because if that comes in clear you have nothing to worry about, because the abnormalities would be there in an EMG before you started noticing them.The *LS sites are places to stay away from, I know from experience not to go there, because you will read an incredible amount of misleading information about first symptoms there, most of which are experienced by every human being at some point in there lives. I for instance was scared because one person had mentioned hoarseness as a first sign, having just lost my voice completely. The same goes for brain tumours that never mind for some people a headache was the first symptom, it is a rare human being that has never had a headache.
 

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