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Just saw my primary care doctor and he told me that he sees wasting of the muscles in my calf on the left side along with the neck muscle on the left and he is very concerned. He said from my symptoms and my now large muscle loss I need to see a very good neuromuscular neurologist at UCLA who are experienced with muscle wasting diseases.

I thought I had hope from that last EMG but he stated that EMG's are highly interpretive and that I need to see a specialist in this ASAP. sucks cause i felt a lot better after neuro told me clean EMG. Sorry for venting this way I am just so young to have this happening to me. Sucks right now. I truely hope they find some kind of miracle problem that they can fix me with, I am crossing my fingers.

Thanks for listening guys.
 
Keep in mind that a neuro interpreted your EMG and said it was clean, while it is a GP (less trained in things neurological) that is second-guessing a better trained expert. Only borderline EMGs are "highly interpretable", and the neuro who did that EMG gave you no indication that your EMG was borderline. Not to mention the fact that the neuro didn't confirm these "huge" losses of muscle bulk that has your GP in such a twist.

Frankly, if I were you, I'd find a new GP -- one who is not so alarmist about things outside his field of expertise. If he thought that what he is seeing now was that serious, why didn't he refer you to UCLA specialist in the first place?
 
Do not get ahead of yourself. There are lots of possibilities besides ALS. It is not that EMG's are highly interpretive it is that they are only as good as the person performing them. However a trained Neurologist should know how to properly do one.

If I can give you a piece of advice, there are people on here of all ages who were diagnosed at different stages of their life, saying you are too young to have "this happening" (not sure how old you are) certainly can be deemed inconsiderate to others.

ALS does not discriminate by age or anything else for that matter and there is no good age to get sick.
 
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I agree, dont let your GP lead you along the wrong path. A neurologist can spot atrophy! I have an alarmist GP. I really like him, but he always over reacts, and if I do accept his opinion, and run off to see a specialist, he is usually way off base with his examination.

My husband is a neurologist and sees atrophy on me, that neither I or my neurologist sees, it's just his anxiety. So atrophy can be subjective as well. I am not saying your GP is wrong in what he sees, just leave it to the experts.

An EMG is as Only as good as the person doing it, and who knows the expertise of the 1st person doing your EMG. All things considered, a second opinion certainly seems wise.

I hope it all turns out ok.
 
Hi Notknowing...

I read your post and can identify with your fears. I also have been searching for answers and nothing yet has turned up. I live in southern california and actually visited with the Neuromuscular Clinic at UCLA. I had an EMG performed there along with consultation...UCLA has a great reputation, however the bedside manner was less than desirable. In any event best of luck to you!
 
Sorry for the inconsideration, I agree but did not mean anything by it. Just nerves talking. I have had an amazing life thus far and am thankful for every minute of it so I am sorry for feeling sad for a moment. Like I said if I get a reprieve from this diagnosis I will dedicate my life to finding a cure to this disease. I want to save all of your lives and this disease will have no home anymore. Polio was whipped out like that, we need to focus as much effort as they did back then.

Again sorry for the slip of the tongue.

Thanks Alyoop for the advice and kind words.

stvhck private message me if you don't mind maybe we can be support for each other as we go through this process. We probably live very close to each other.

Thanks to everyone on here, seriously proves the generosity of the human spirit.
 
Remember a clean EMG + no Als :)
 
I understand what having an alarmist GP can do - that's what essentially got me into my whole mess in the first place (though me and me alone has been responsible for it continuing). Remember, as these guys have said, you're talking about a specialist versus a generalist opinion; which one would you be more apt to put stock in?

And, again as mentioned, a clean EMG is a clean EMG, that's it. The borderline cases I'm sure are absolutely the interpretive ones, but it doesn't sound like yours was. My doctor specifically stated to me that he did NOT see anything borderline in the results, exactly for that reason. I'm also all for second opinions, but starting down that road when you might not need to question the first can be a long and scary one. Just something to keep in mind.
 
Hey everyone,

Loosing the ability to walk on my left leg, I now know what it means to be clinically weak. I can't stand on my toes anymore on my left leg. Got a neuro appointment at UCLA on Monday, hopefully I can get some answers here. Seeing I just had a clean EMG from a neuro locally on thursday and now my left leg is beginning not to work is somewhat troubling. It's like my knee is giving out but my calf muscle is wicked weak also.

I am a lefty so this sucks even more. The clean EMG doesn't seem like she did it correctly or cared. What other reasons could my left leg start failing me all of a sudden? Seems to be pretty aggressive which obviously sucks.
 
it actually feels like my leg is just not wanting to work. This weird muscle stressed feeling is now half way up my thigh.
 
I think your mind is starting to screw with your leg. ALS just doesn't work like that.

AL.
 
I hope not Al but whatever is wrong with me its happening fast. My leg is aching right now and feels very weak. I couldn't get up off the toilet today which was a bad sign. I can barely support myself on it, I wish it was in my head but its real just as my muscle wasting.
 
I am not a Dr and obviously can not see or feel what you can. If I were you I would take a deep breath, stop doing at home tests and see what the specialists at UCLA says.

Good luck and please let us know how it goes.
 
My Gp said the same thing about atrophy on hands and loss of 'muscle bulk', AND my ALS neuro told me I had atrophy in lower leg (inside of shin) but when emg'd on those area's and clean, als was ruled out. My ALS doc did not agree with atrophy on hands ( I will tell you that they have lost muscle bulk and ache and feel weak daily), but did agree with leg...Anyway, I am still here with no diagnosis yet almost 4 yrs later. I know how you feel, I really do. I have times like recently, that my hands hardley hold my steering wheel. Yet, somehow I am still functioning and it seems to wax and wane and that is not typical of ALS. I dont know what my muscle problem is yet but I just want to reassure you that there are other muscle disorders out there and people in the same boat as you.

blessings
 
Thanks to both Ted and awieleba for the reassurance. Thanks everyone and I will keep you posted on how everything is going. Thanks again everyone.
 
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