Hi,
I am having my first ever EMG tomorrow. I am hoping that it will give some more answers. I know this may sound stupid, but, if the doctor is doing the test will I find out what the problem is tomorrow? Also, my husband's company is having a party tomorrow also, and, I was wondering if I will be hurting from the EMG? I just want to know ahead of time, since, I know my hubby really wants me to go to the event. Any insights are appreciated. I hope everyone is doing well today.
Angie
Angie,
It's not a picnic, but bearable. The dr,. inserts needles into whatever area he is checking, in my case it was my legs. Then he runs current into the needles. How bad it feels depends on how muhc nerve damage you have had. I had some minor bleeding from the site, but they looked like pin sticks. YOu can handle the after pain with some tylenol, or if you are on pain pills they will take care of it.
You won't get the results tomorrow. The dr. will write up his results and send it to the dr. He may give you some verbal info, but not anything hard copy..
good luck..i gotta scoot. You can do your hubbies event..just play the gentle martyr>LOL
The doctor that is doing the EMG is my physiatrist. I know longer see my ortho, since they sent me to physiatry. I am taking pain meds, but I won't be able to take them until I get home. I can't drive on percocet.
I thought I would give you a little EMG tip, they use a pen (marker) to measure length etc.... Rubbing alcohol will remove the pen mark. Soap and Water will make it fade in 3 days. I just had an EMG done for my neck, it wasn't a picnic. Best thing you can do during the EMG is trying to relax as much as possible.
__________________
I had the prodisc surgery at level L4-5 on October 9,2003. I have L3-4 and L5S1 starting to go bad... but will look into that in the future. Epideral blocks are helping.
Hello, yes it is quite uncomfortable but bearable. You will feel the needle sticks and the shock for that shock thing(dont know the name), but it should not stop you from enjoying the party. Like someone said you may have some slight bleeding from the sticks but just a spot or too. Good luck tomorrow and let us know how it turnes out. Take care
Rachel
my physiatrist also did my EMG and he actually told me as we were going along what his findings were,so you may at least know something by the end of that test.alot just depends on the doc doing it and whether you ask him about his findings during the procedure.if you actually ask him to tell you whats up,he will most likely tell you.but it will all be wrote up eventually and you will get a full printout of the overall findings.it will state normal or abnormal reading then give the velocity that was flowing thru a particular nerve,and any muscles that are not being stimulated properly by a particular nerve.i found out with this particular test that i actually not only had alot of nerve damage from my spinal cord surgery but also lost eight intrinsic(fine motor?)muscles in my forearm down thru my fingers.its pretty acurate when it comes to actual damage or loss of nerve conduction in any nerve.but remeber,this test will only reveal acutual real nerve damage or destruction of the nerve not intermittant/posistional compression,unless your posistion happens to be compressing that nerve during the study.so you can have lots of nerve created pain that is caused by intermittant compression,not constant(which would show) and have a completely normal EMG.it will only show real compression and or damage.it also wont show nerve pain caused by inflammation so if this test doesn't show exactly what you are feeling or what you thought it would,this would be why.
i actually had hellish nasty c spine pain with a herniated disc in my c 6-7 the very first time i had an EMG,way before my spinal cord surgery occured,but despite my agony,the test came up perfectly normal.i was really shocked as my pain said different,very different,but when the neurologist who had done this one explained to me what this does and does not show,well,then it made sense since i did not have any nerve root compression at that point.just so ya know.and you should be just fine to go out that evening,the pain generally only lasts a few seconds during the actual test.please keep us posted as to what you find out,K?good luck to you and have fun at the party.Marcia
__________________
3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
Thanks everyone for the replies and info. I really appreciate it.
The shock part of it wasn't too bad. But, the needle part was pretty painful. I felt like a human pin-cushion. She tested both legs and some muscles in my lower back. I was pretty sore leaving and when I got home I felt very sore. I did go to the party last night. It was very good and had some really good food. I had to keep popping pills though..not that it is any different any other day. Today, I am still sore. My physiatrist couldn't give me any definites since I had surgery before and she wanted to really get a good look at all the data. She did tell me that my left leg seems relatively ok, but she thinks there is something going on with my right leg. Usually, I would have problems with the left, but now it is both legs and hips that are giving me problems. So, I will have to wait until the 21st for the results.
Thanks again to everyone who responded. I hope everyone has a good weekend with little or no pain.
I am glad you survived the ordeal and were able to attend the party last night. I pray that you are not in to much pain the next couple of days and please let us know the results when you find them out.
