One of the many tests that everyone
helped us fund (thank you!!) was my EMG testing. Because of my muscle
weakness, my absent ankle reflexes, brisk arm reflexes, and the abnormal
muscle biopsy (which shows muscle denervation), my neurologist ordered
full EMG studies of both arms and both legs.
I meant to post about this last week, but honestly I was too traumatized to keep thinking about it. I knew the test involved electrical shocks, and I even knew it involved needle testing. I've even had this test once before in 2012. But I have to say, I was not prepared for what happened. I guess at this point we need to be super thorough, so the testing was nothing short of extensive. And traumatizing.
I was expecting the test to be simple, and thought that I would go to these tests alone. Fortunately, my wise mother insisted on taking off work to drive me on both days. They did my arm testing on one day, and my leg testing the next. At first I was bugged that they would make me schedule on two different days. (The testing was in Glendale, so it was pretty inconvenient to drive out there twice.) But after the first day, I realized why they required separating the tests. I wouldn't have survived both in one day.
To put it simply, the first day they did extensive shock testing to look for Myasthenia Gravis (MG). My muscles weaken dramatically with repeat strength testing in the clinic, so MG was added to the list of possible diagnoses (for my neurological symptoms, not my brain lesion). For this part of the test, they take metal prongs and jab them into specific areas of your muscles, and then send electrical shocks. Because MG is a disease where your muscles fatigue with repeat stimulation, the test involves repeated shocks. One shock was enough to make my whole body jump off the table. They would do test shocks, and then run seven shocks in a row. This was repeated in several locations, on both arms. I can't even say. It was awful. I was holding it together, but just barely.
There were several other less dramatic shock studies. Then came the needle studies. I'm not going to lie, I cried through the whole thing. Like a baby. Super awkward.
They stabbed a full size need probe (I was expecting some kind of acupuncture needle--wrong!) into various sites in my muscles to read the electrical signals as the muscles were moving. I think they picked eight different sites on each arm, and the tested (stabbed) each site several times. Just to be thorough. They made me flex my muscles into the needle, which was the worst part. My arms were bleeding from dozens of spots, I was crying like a baby. The whole thing was a big mess. So much for being tough. My mom was so great, she helped me focus on my breathing instead of what was happening. I almost couldn't do it, but that really did help.
The hardest part was coming back the next day to repeat all of that on my legs. Like I said, it was pretty traumatic.
EMG Results
The results suggested muscle disease, so at least maybe that points us in a right direction. It ruled out Myasthenia Gravis and ALS (thank the heavens!) but didn't point to any specific diagnosis. They are sending me to a neuromuscular specialist to take a deeper look at this. Hopefully we are getting closer to some answers.
I meant to post about this last week, but honestly I was too traumatized to keep thinking about it. I knew the test involved electrical shocks, and I even knew it involved needle testing. I've even had this test once before in 2012. But I have to say, I was not prepared for what happened. I guess at this point we need to be super thorough, so the testing was nothing short of extensive. And traumatizing.
I was expecting the test to be simple, and thought that I would go to these tests alone. Fortunately, my wise mother insisted on taking off work to drive me on both days. They did my arm testing on one day, and my leg testing the next. At first I was bugged that they would make me schedule on two different days. (The testing was in Glendale, so it was pretty inconvenient to drive out there twice.) But after the first day, I realized why they required separating the tests. I wouldn't have survived both in one day.
To put it simply, the first day they did extensive shock testing to look for Myasthenia Gravis (MG). My muscles weaken dramatically with repeat strength testing in the clinic, so MG was added to the list of possible diagnoses (for my neurological symptoms, not my brain lesion). For this part of the test, they take metal prongs and jab them into specific areas of your muscles, and then send electrical shocks. Because MG is a disease where your muscles fatigue with repeat stimulation, the test involves repeated shocks. One shock was enough to make my whole body jump off the table. They would do test shocks, and then run seven shocks in a row. This was repeated in several locations, on both arms. I can't even say. It was awful. I was holding it together, but just barely.
 |
| Right Before Testing Started |
There were several other less dramatic shock studies. Then came the needle studies. I'm not going to lie, I cried through the whole thing. Like a baby. Super awkward.
They stabbed a full size need probe (I was expecting some kind of acupuncture needle--wrong!) into various sites in my muscles to read the electrical signals as the muscles were moving. I think they picked eight different sites on each arm, and the tested (stabbed) each site several times. Just to be thorough. They made me flex my muscles into the needle, which was the worst part. My arms were bleeding from dozens of spots, I was crying like a baby. The whole thing was a big mess. So much for being tough. My mom was so great, she helped me focus on my breathing instead of what was happening. I almost couldn't do it, but that really did help.
The hardest part was coming back the next day to repeat all of that on my legs. Like I said, it was pretty traumatic.
EMG Results
The results suggested muscle disease, so at least maybe that points us in a right direction. It ruled out Myasthenia Gravis and ALS (thank the heavens!) but didn't point to any specific diagnosis. They are sending me to a neuromuscular specialist to take a deeper look at this. Hopefully we are getting closer to some answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment