Hello again all, I am reporting back as my symptoms have progressed over the last few months and not sure what else to do with myself at the moment other than vent so hope that you all will have patience for me.
Twitching in my right leg has now evolved into further stiffness with frequent cramping and the twitching has also moved up into my right thigh. The stiffness is in my anterior tibialis but cramping is in interior tibialis as well as gastrocnemius. I now also have stiffness in my right deltoid with constant twitching.
My throat issue has now also become more concerning. When I swallow, I can physically feel the challenge of swallowing, but only on the left side of my throat. It is difficult to describe, but almost like a discomfort feeling that I feel when swallowing on the left side of my throat, but not pain. I also have hoarseness that was noticed by my doctor when speaking to him.
My neurologist seemed somewhat concerned about the progression to calf stiffness/cramping in addition to the throat issue. He explained that the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the left side of my neck could me causing the throat sensation that I describe.
He sent me to an ENT specialist who put a scope through my nose into throat and no issues visible. They then sent me for a soft tissue neck CT to confirm that nothing else causing the problem. The neck CT came back all clear so he suspects that it might be a muscular issue as mentioned by my neurologist.
The neurologist has now ordered a second EMG which he states will be a more thorough examination (first emg was only on one side of my body with calf, thigh, tricep). When I asked him about this he said that it is possible that the first EMG exam was not exploratory enough and since several months have passed, a second one should be done. I am now anxiously waiting for the date on this, which I am expecting to be a wait since it will be at Emory.
My questions are -
1) Do bulbar symptoms ever come with a physical feeling of difficulty swallowing, particularly only on one side of the throat?
2) The EMG situation seems so confusing. Some say one emg is enough, others say it's not. The fact that my neurologist says I need another one seems to confirm that one is not enough.
Any constructive comments on my situation that you could offer would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.