bigguy
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2012
- Messages
- 37
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Country
- US
- State
- Texas
- City
- Austin
Hi all,
I have been having some strange symptoms. The right side of my mouth droops slightly lower than the left when I smile or make facial expressions and the right back side of my tongue feels sluggish and thick even at rest. I gradually started slurring my speech about a month and a half ago (I noticed it even then) and it has gotten worse since, as people now ask me to repeat myself a few times a day.
I can still move my tongue rapidly around my mouth and have no trouble "tenting" my cheeks with my tongue. Blood tests have come back normal, CT and MRI of the head have also both come back normal. An EMG/NCV performed on my right and left arms and my left thigh also came back normal except for mild polyphasia in the left first dorsal interosseous. He even stuck the needle in my orbicularis oris part of my mouth where my mouth is drooping and got nothing. My tongue was not EMG'd.
I'm only 19 and have no family history of ALS yet I am seriously beginning to consider that I may have bulbar onset ALS. I'm going to go in for another EMG later this week. Should I ask him to poke directly in the area of my tongue that's feeling weird? Or can the EMG needle poke anywhere in the tongue and elicit abnormal findings?
Thanks for your time.
I have been having some strange symptoms. The right side of my mouth droops slightly lower than the left when I smile or make facial expressions and the right back side of my tongue feels sluggish and thick even at rest. I gradually started slurring my speech about a month and a half ago (I noticed it even then) and it has gotten worse since, as people now ask me to repeat myself a few times a day.
I can still move my tongue rapidly around my mouth and have no trouble "tenting" my cheeks with my tongue. Blood tests have come back normal, CT and MRI of the head have also both come back normal. An EMG/NCV performed on my right and left arms and my left thigh also came back normal except for mild polyphasia in the left first dorsal interosseous. He even stuck the needle in my orbicularis oris part of my mouth where my mouth is drooping and got nothing. My tongue was not EMG'd.
I'm only 19 and have no family history of ALS yet I am seriously beginning to consider that I may have bulbar onset ALS. I'm going to go in for another EMG later this week. Should I ask him to poke directly in the area of my tongue that's feeling weird? Or can the EMG needle poke anywhere in the tongue and elicit abnormal findings?
Thanks for your time.