Nerve conduction study - Spinal Cord Disorders Message Board

calico angel · 06-03-2003, 05:43 PM

Okay Gals & Guys,

I had my nerve conduction study done last week. Has any of you experienced this lovely machine?? Not fun!!

Although I think I was better than some (he said some leave the table wet from sweating so much) I was not too thrilled with this.

When he did the initial few shocks on my right arm I thought, "Not too bad." Then he did a few more and I'm thinking, "You must have to be a sadist to be able to do this to people!!"

The needle shocks weren't that bad, but I do have a horrible bruise (only 1, he stuck me about 18 times-but who was counting?) and my right thumb and finger are twitching throughout the day. My fingers are sore from where he put the tine (sp-tyne?) in between them and shocked me.

I have not see the report yet, but he did tell me I have quite a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. I kind of knew it, even though I had a dr. tell me I didn't. I think it's from my first career as an oral surgery assistant. We had to absorb extreme pounding from the dr. using a mallet and chisel on patient's jaws. Also holding a suction all day made my hands go numb. What fun...so maybe this will be my next adventure with the medical field.

Peace and healing to you all!
Kelley

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Kelley
Symptoms dating back to 1986?
Rear-ended 1999
Disc herniations C5-6 & C6-7
DDD diagnosed 2002
Surgery scheduled for 6-25-03

janie francine · 06-04-2003, 05:02 PM

Hi Kelley,
Yes, I had the "pleasure" of the test about 10 years ago. It's like banging your head on the wall - it feels so good when you stop!

Hope the results come out well! Keep us posted.
Jeanine

rollercoasterfan · 06-04-2003, 07:38 PM

Hi Kelley,

Yep....just had the test a few weeks ago. I had a digger for a Dr.....big bruises for two weeks on my right arm. This was my second one of these tests. When I was ready to have the first one done it was on Halloween 1998....after the test was described to me I thought I would come out like Pinhead....the character from the Hellraiser horror movie. It wasn't as bad as that but it wasn't a fun time either.

My results were very good and I haven't done any perm damage to the nerves. I still am facing the surgery because of course it would lead to damage if I didn't deal with things.

Glad that test is over for you!

Hugs,
Suzie

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ACDF 6-7 june 1998
Surgery July 2, 2003

franjo · 06-04-2003, 07:41 PM

Kelley~

I've had a few NCS's myself. They are NOT my favorite test! I think that when you have nerve damage, the sensation is misinterpreted by the brain, resulting in an intense, bone hammering pain. I say this because when my good leg (the left) is tested, it's tolerable, but when they start on my right leg (which actually has diminished sensation).....it's all I can do to keep from slapping somebody!

I'm glad you made it through...and hope no one got slapped. Man, are we warriors, or what?

Take Care,

~Teri

Memer · 06-06-2003, 07:02 AM

Hi Kelley,

It sounds like you might have to have surgery on your carpal tunnels. Hopefully, after your neck surgery, some of the problems in your hands will be gone and you won't need to do the carpal tunnel surgeries. I'm hoping that for you anyway.

I had two EMGs a few years ago because I had loss of function of part of my hand. Neither EMG was uncomfortable. I think that's because the two guys who did them were very good at their jobs. I have heard stories of people crying and having to get pain shots because of very painful EMGs, even taking off work. One guy said it was the worst pain he ever felt. I was just lucky, I guess. I had no pain whatsoever with either EMG.

We now know why I had the loss of nerve function to my hand. Back then, they had no clue. They didn't do an MRI at the time. MRIs were few and far between then (at least in this area), and docs didn't order them as much as they do now. The nerve regenerated after several months, and I could use my whole hand again. It began with horrible pain and then the loss of function. The intense pain eased up but never went away.

My NS says that it was all because of my neck herniations. Too bad they didn't do an MRI back then. Maybe I wouldn't have had to have surgery. At the very least, I could have had the surgery so that everything wouldn't have been compressed so long, causing all this damage. We'll never know. NS says some of the damage could be permanent. Only time will tell.

Have you gotten the rest of your results from your EMG yet? How are you feeling?

[This message has been edited by Memer (edited 08-05-2003).]