Am writing a summary of myasthenic weakness. Have been reading some posts on the site about SFEMG´s and don´t ever remember having any needles involved in the SFEMG I was referred for. Does this sound about right?......
Ulnaris and Facialis muscles......3 and 10 Hz each time with a total of about 50 electric shock/spasms..... no needles but 2 flat electrodes - like silver batteries taped to wrist and neck. Took about 20 minutes.....result averaged out few days later (no decrement on my results)

There are two different tests. The one you described with flat electrodes, and the single fiber EMG which uses a needle to target a single nerve fiber. I had both, but it sounds like they made your dx without the single fiber EMG (be thankful).

Thanks BackwardPawn. If what you are saying is correct then I really appreciate this because my doctor thinks what I had was an SFEMG and he wrote me off because of that

The diagnosis I got abroad is not 100% valid in the country I live in. (different countries´ cultural perspectives in medicine??)

What I am thankful for though is some really nice and helpful people hanging around this forum and some extremely useful information that I found by accident when googling SFEMG info and finding awesome post by Alice md

Hello again

Can you tell me the actual name of the test I had in English. Roughly translated my paper reads..´decrement investigation´
Googling that I have only gotten something in German that I don´t understand.

When I called the neurophysiologist´s office and asked what it was I actually had taken there the secretary said ´EMG or nerve conduction velocity test - it´s the same test´ (the doctor who referred me in the first place was clearly mistaken calling it an SFEMG) I am super confused!

NCV = nerve conduction velocity (oftentimes done to study peripheral nerve decrement)

EMG = electromyography (totally different form NCV). More specific to neuromuscular studies

SFEMG - a special kind of EMG...Single Fiber electromyography

Only after I flunked the NCV did they begin to investigate further with the EMG and then SFEMG.

You can google these to get a great deal of detail on each. Some of the articles can be quite interesting.

The NCV is done with jelly and sticky electrode pads. Both of the EMGs are done with electrode needles inserted into tissue.

Lots of technicians do the NCV and EMG. But it takes a very experienced technician or neuro to administer and read the SFEMG.

Hope this helps.

..Thank you......

Ok, I had both the EMG & the SFEMG & both tests required needles...sometimes a bit uncomfortable & sometimes painful...the doctors do try not to cause a lot of pain, but it does happen & is usually very brief...my EMG was considered normal as were my antibodies (negative that is), so they went forward to do the Single Fiber EMG... in order to get to a "single fiber" within a muscle that has multitudes, it entails very special technique & "searching" & a very experienced doctor/technician to accomplish this...took hours, or seemed to..& even I could see the decremental changes in the action potential of the test which was positive.....

My weakness is totally "limbic"...both legs & arms, which tends to limit every movement I want to make....the test for the single fiber was done on my face & occular muscles & was quite significant....so far no occular problem...hmmm

just my thoughts, Dottie