Connor74
New member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2021
- Messages
- 4
- Reason
- Learn about ALS
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
Hello and thanks for your opinion.
A summary of my story:
Almost five months ago I had a traumatic health scare which caused me a significant amount of stress together with many unexplained physical symptoms. I quickly lost my appetite started having digestive pain, and within a few weeks ended up in ER with transient strong involuntary muscle contractions that would last about an hour then stop, leaving me physically exhausted. The ER doc said this was likely a panic attack but noted that my potassium levels were right on the bottom of the range.
After returning from hospital the stress regarding my health and the new low potassium value continued to play on my mind. Fatigue started to slowly affect me and my sleep became fragmented, insomnia set in around four months ago and a strange sensation of prickling in my hands.
Then three months ago my doc told me I needed to take a strong course of antibiotics to clear a stomach infection pylori. While doing this I felt worse than ever but continued with it to completion. The fatigue now was worse than ever and I started getting strange muscle jerks and twitches in my sleep. Of course my doc said this was all due to stress and advised I take a benzo for sleep and if that didn't help start on an anti depressant.
I took the antidepressant and it helped to get to sleep but not stay asleep, I was having terrible dreams and waking every hour all night long and was convinced I had done terrible disease. Further trips to the ER and the hospital neuro told me I was fine but was depressed. I was given SSRI and told it would fix all my issues.
A month ago after feeling like a zombie on antidepressants and wondering if the fatigue would ever go away I decided to ask my doc to send me to a neuro for EMG and NCS. I told him I had been suffering from muscle twitching and fatigue / weakness and needed someone to do a proper thorough exam. The doc agreed and a week and a half ago the neuro evaluated me and said not to worry, I don't have any neurological disease to worry about.
I felt reassured for about a day, even though I had no answer as to what was causing all my problems. Now I realised something and it has me concerned again.
The Neuro did a nerve conduction test on my right leg and arm and stated that my nerve velocity was normal, in fact even faster than most people. He also said my reflexes were stronger than normal but the same on both legs and not a concern.
He then did needle EMG in my right leg just above the knee (inner quad I guess) and while testing he asked me to push my knee down against the surface I was laying on while he measure the response. He told me he saw no fib or fasic and everything seemed completely normal. I was suprised about no fasic and said it might have been because I was stressed. He assured me that fasics can't be stopped or controlled if I had something serious.
Now, heres where I need your help. I don't why he only did needle EMG on that one muscle in my leg, I was thinking later about how I have constant twitching in my calves and only occasionally in my quads. But he didn't ask which muscles are hotspots to test. I've even had muscle aches and cramps in my calves together with a lot of tingling in my feet and other parts of the body.
Should I try and schedule to see him again to check my calves this time? Or would the EMG in just that one spot have shown any issues with the calves anyway?
I apologise if all this sounds ridiculous but I have had months of health anxiety already and want to stop worrying and going around in circles.
Thanks to anyone who can help me!
A summary of my story:
Almost five months ago I had a traumatic health scare which caused me a significant amount of stress together with many unexplained physical symptoms. I quickly lost my appetite started having digestive pain, and within a few weeks ended up in ER with transient strong involuntary muscle contractions that would last about an hour then stop, leaving me physically exhausted. The ER doc said this was likely a panic attack but noted that my potassium levels were right on the bottom of the range.
After returning from hospital the stress regarding my health and the new low potassium value continued to play on my mind. Fatigue started to slowly affect me and my sleep became fragmented, insomnia set in around four months ago and a strange sensation of prickling in my hands.
Then three months ago my doc told me I needed to take a strong course of antibiotics to clear a stomach infection pylori. While doing this I felt worse than ever but continued with it to completion. The fatigue now was worse than ever and I started getting strange muscle jerks and twitches in my sleep. Of course my doc said this was all due to stress and advised I take a benzo for sleep and if that didn't help start on an anti depressant.
I took the antidepressant and it helped to get to sleep but not stay asleep, I was having terrible dreams and waking every hour all night long and was convinced I had done terrible disease. Further trips to the ER and the hospital neuro told me I was fine but was depressed. I was given SSRI and told it would fix all my issues.
A month ago after feeling like a zombie on antidepressants and wondering if the fatigue would ever go away I decided to ask my doc to send me to a neuro for EMG and NCS. I told him I had been suffering from muscle twitching and fatigue / weakness and needed someone to do a proper thorough exam. The doc agreed and a week and a half ago the neuro evaluated me and said not to worry, I don't have any neurological disease to worry about.
I felt reassured for about a day, even though I had no answer as to what was causing all my problems. Now I realised something and it has me concerned again.
The Neuro did a nerve conduction test on my right leg and arm and stated that my nerve velocity was normal, in fact even faster than most people. He also said my reflexes were stronger than normal but the same on both legs and not a concern.
He then did needle EMG in my right leg just above the knee (inner quad I guess) and while testing he asked me to push my knee down against the surface I was laying on while he measure the response. He told me he saw no fib or fasic and everything seemed completely normal. I was suprised about no fasic and said it might have been because I was stressed. He assured me that fasics can't be stopped or controlled if I had something serious.
Now, heres where I need your help. I don't why he only did needle EMG on that one muscle in my leg, I was thinking later about how I have constant twitching in my calves and only occasionally in my quads. But he didn't ask which muscles are hotspots to test. I've even had muscle aches and cramps in my calves together with a lot of tingling in my feet and other parts of the body.
Should I try and schedule to see him again to check my calves this time? Or would the EMG in just that one spot have shown any issues with the calves anyway?
I apologise if all this sounds ridiculous but I have had months of health anxiety already and want to stop worrying and going around in circles.
Thanks to anyone who can help me!
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