Very Dirty EMG (pics attached). Scared With No Answers.

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Here is the deal.

If you are told that they cannot rule ALS out, expect another exam in 3-6 months.

If you are told it is NOT ALS, the next thing out of your mouth should be~

Then what is causing it?

You need that question answered and that is what the professionals are getting paid for.

Gold standard. Trust your doctor, if you don't, the right move is to get one you do trust. You just did that.
 
First things first. I wanna start this follow up by saying thanks a million to the PALS and CALS who take the time to respond to this DIHALS forum. The work you all do here to help health anxiety sufferers cannot be overstated.

I had another EMG with a neurologist who diagnoses als this past Tuesday. He acknowledges there is slight a slight difference in my FDI muscle between my left and right hand but after my EMG he said “I don’t see any concerning nerve damage. Follow up with me in two months to see how you are doing and please stay off google.” Of corse I left there happy but then the next day my head was racing “what if he told me he saw nothing because he saw how much anxiety I had and the follow up in 2 months is to give me bad news?”. My family thinks I’ve lost touch with reality to think a doctor would lie to me like that. I’m doing my best to talk myself off that ledge. I just can’t help but to focus on the twitches in my hand and the difference on muscle tone. Hoping my ocd is just playing tricks on me.

Wanted to make this follow up for anyone who my be looking at this thread in the future. There is nothing I can do at this point but wait for my two month follow up and to tell myself the doctor would have ordered follow up tests immediately if he thought something was wrong.

Doing my best to calm down and not let this rabbit hole get the best of me even though it still is.

Again thank you so much to the supporters of this DIHALS forum for doing everything you do.
 
Your family is correct. Doctors do not lie to make you feel better. They would be risking their license for one thing. But also how many times do you think an ALS specialist delivers bad news. Every. Single. Working. Day. They give diagnoses, they tell people they can no longer walk safely, ( wheelchair ordered) eat safely, ( feeding tube advised)that they need breathing support that they need hospice. It never ends.
some of our diagnosing doctors were kind. Others were not. But none of them lied or evaded

follow your doctor’s good advice and sign off google, this forum and also any other groups that may feed your worries

best of luck
 
Please go get yourself help. You have lost touch with reality and it is no one's job to help you out with that. Only a professional can do that. Good luck to you and take good care
 
I will just jump in and agree, there is no way known a doctor said that to you without it being true.
Stay off the internet, please for your own health.
 
You answered your own questions.

Of course, if there were any reason to suspect ALS, he would not have made the statement about no concerning nerve damage. Most people have hands (and arms, calves, feet, etc.) with slightly different musculature. And twitches mean nothing with a clean EMG.

2 months is a safety valve, not a red flag. Likely he saw you were anxious and thought a follow-up would be reassuring. If you need more help with the OCD, it is worth addressing while you are young, lest it take over your life.
 
Tag, I can not see how one more reply from you is going to change anything.
Your thread, which has now crawled on for two pages, needs to be put to rest.

You need help ASAP and it's not for ALS, which this forum is dedicated to....
not Health Anxiety/OCD posters (you) who have a severe denial issue to the
real root of their continuing posting... regardless.

"My family thinks I’ve lost touch with reality to think a doctor would lie to me like that."

No one here would disagree with your family who knows you better than we would,
could or want to.... at this point. Just being blunt which you need more of from
others.

Get help... no need to reply.
 
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I’m sure I’ll get banned for this but I have no where to turn. Family won’t talk to me. My wife left with my kid. Never really had friends so this is my only hope.

Today I noticed that if I flick my left FDI muscle or tap it hard, it will induce the twitching in that area. That’s where my first EMG had “low grade chronic denervation”. I’ve read this is the kind of concerning fasiculations that nueros look for. I am just absolutely stricken with fear again. I can’t even do anything at this point but cry.

I am so sorry for continuing to post but I just have no idea what to do. I hear so many stories of people my age (31) getting diagnosed lately and it’s tuning my life.

Thank you for hearing me out. I truely owe everything to you all.
 
Tag, it's pretty clear you're struggling with some serious anxiety. While it's tied to a fear of ALS, the people here are not able to provide you the care you need. This forum exists to provide support and community for those who have been touched by an ALS diagnosis. While we are very sympathetic, the kind of help and support you are in need of can not be found here.

You are deserving of support and care- I really hope you will seek it out with someone who is trained and equipped to provide it to you. Your doctor can provide resources, as well a therapist or counselor can be really helpful. Your doctor can also provide you with further help on what to do next with regards to finding out the source of your symptoms. I do recommend you don't keep searching here- this forum will only add to your stress and keep you fixated on something the doctor has told you is not in the cards for you.

Please take care
 
Please seek more/different counseling. It is your only path forward. Obsessions do tend to scare off family and friends when they persist and are overwhelming to deal with. They don't do much for you, either.

I have found no evidence in the medical literature of what you say relative to the tap. In small studies, electrical stimulation with validated equipment showed some effect on neuronal excitability, measured again via validated equipment, in patients who already had proven ALS based on all the testing. These were not people like you.

In your case, "mild chronic denervation," which is very common (many of us have suffered relevant injuries at some point) does not equal the widespread chronic AND acute denervation that an EMG would need to show before a neurologist who had seen clinical weakness (that you don't have) could even think of ALS.

Your journey back to feeling better begins in Florida, not on line. All the best. I am closing this thread; please do not open another.
 
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