ecutchins
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2013
- Messages
- 33
- Reason
- PALS
- Diagnosis
- 11/2013
- Country
- US
- State
- Minnesota (MN)
- City
- Fridley
I a 60 year old male that has developed some disturbing symptoms. I went to my family doctor and she referred me to a neurologist for an EMG. I went to the neurologist and instead of the EMG he sent me for an MRI of the cervical spine and the brain with and without contrast along with a CT scan. He got the results and called for me to come in as soon as possible. I was sure that I had a pinched nerve in my neck that was causing the weakness in my right arm. Well it turned out that the MRI's showed that everything was fine with just normal wear and tear. He then scheduled me for the EMG on my arms. He did the EMG on my right arm and then stopped the exam and said that I'd have to reschedule for the left arm and also my legs.
I can't lift my right arm above shoulder height, lift groceries into or out of a shopping cart, comb my hair very well, use a hair dryer or shave. I also have an extremely hard time with buttons and getting a polo shirt over my head is difficult. When I get dressed in the morning it consist of several small steps with rest breaks in between. My hands have started to curl and I can't open jars or even tear open a package of sweetener. I also can't be trusted to carry things more than a few feet without the risk of dropping.
I didn't get the results of the EMG on the right arm but I did get to talk to the doctor for a few minutes. He did agree that ALS was one of the possibilities but he wanted to do more tests. During the EMG there seemed to be plenty of noise wherever he stuck the needle except in the bicep area. When the needle was inserted in those areas there was dead silence.
Just wondering what others experience has been.
I can't lift my right arm above shoulder height, lift groceries into or out of a shopping cart, comb my hair very well, use a hair dryer or shave. I also have an extremely hard time with buttons and getting a polo shirt over my head is difficult. When I get dressed in the morning it consist of several small steps with rest breaks in between. My hands have started to curl and I can't open jars or even tear open a package of sweetener. I also can't be trusted to carry things more than a few feet without the risk of dropping.
I didn't get the results of the EMG on the right arm but I did get to talk to the doctor for a few minutes. He did agree that ALS was one of the possibilities but he wanted to do more tests. During the EMG there seemed to be plenty of noise wherever he stuck the needle except in the bicep area. When the needle was inserted in those areas there was dead silence.
Just wondering what others experience has been.