Like Mel, I think I will have to pass on this. I have never been able to find out why this reaction occurred, but it was NOT fun. I will have to settle for just getting by the way I have been.

Karen: I don't know about the muscle part, no one seems to know why this reaction occurred and claim never to have heard of anything like this.

Prior to that, painwise, I can't think of anything other than some joint pain that seemed to move around, and then the feet hurting. ???

Daniella: I will send you a PM.

Alkymst: Maybe the UPenn Neurologist is correct in that skill determines the discomfort, but I am not too excited about being tested again...

Joe: Do you mean that the more you become numb, the less you feel when they do these?

Thanks all,
Cathie

My Emgs and NCs were ok with me because I didnt feel a thing. My husband was in the room and I could hear him gasp but I didnt feel anything. When they did the sural nerve biopsy, I didnt feel that either. I just cant feel. I guess Im lucky.
The sural nerve biopsy wasnt fun but it did show my nerves were being eaten up fast from the inside out. I have a beutiful 5 inch scar to prove it, but still there was no cure so I dont know why they did it other then see it was real!

Dana

I never felt anything either, just a couple muscle twitches only from an EMG and nothing from a nerve conduction test, i don't know whether its the skill of the operator or if its how damaged the individuals nerves are or what it is really.
I wouldn't hesitate to have another if i had to, i am happy and lucky that it doesn't affect me after reading how some of you guys talk about, it sounds like slow torture.

I had that reaction on the first. Being a old nurse i agreed to let a
Resident do it (they got to learn) not on me for that again. I was
on fire. Than went to Mayo,this time a skillled Dr. no trouble at all.
Why i'm still not sure. Just know that resident is a Dr. on the loose
now. I would consider a second opin.if this is a problem for you,
they can be a good idea anyway.

You have tummy Neuropathy don't you could you tell me more about it,
I hear it's rare,but i seem to be as well. Sue

Thanks I pm you back. I was also thinking when I had mine the doc told me that he would start with less energy to see how I coped. Could you ask maybe for them to start with less? I don't know if that is possible but the doc told me some people are more sensitive so that is why he started slow.I still think maybe another doc too.

I felt the emg/ncs less in subsequent tests and also had no additional pain as i had had with the first one for a week. The numbness had spread between the tests.

You should have seen Alan when the Social Security guy had him in for a nerve conduction and emg. Alan had applied for Social Security Disability about 6 years ago when he couldn't feel the pedals of the car and I made him STOP DRIVING, before he killed us. We were at a red light and he thought he had his foot on the brake and we started rolling and Alan said "Oh my god, I can't feel the brake". That's when I said "enough, we are not doing this any more'. So we adapted to not having a car.

Then he gets the letter to come in for an examination at the Social Security evaluation offices. So we go and I go in the room with Alan and the guy says 'okay, Alan, this might sting a bit" and Alan goes "oh, sting away, I don't feel a thing". The guy smiled (not believing a word Alan said'.

Well, the look on the guy' face was priceless. He kept zapping him and saying 'YOU DON'T FEEL THIS, ARE YOU SERIOUS". Finally when he gets to a portion above his foot and Alan felt THAT!!! the guy goes "whoa, you have some case of neuropathy here".

Alan was approved 3 months later. He never had to appeal.

I guess (because everybody I know gets turned down 2 times), that this guy KNEW Alan could not drive anymore and couldn't do his job.


Oh, I have a question about diabetic neuropathy. I once read that the majority of diabetics with neuropathy, don't have the pain, they just get the numbness. Is this a true statement?

Melody

Hi. I'm going to email you as well but was thinking of you cause I just had my second emg and an ssep which was way worse. Anyhow this time with my emg I was in so much more pain and even now am throbbing through 2 vicadin. I had tears and I was thinking that it may have been worse because my symptoms are worse the past few days. So maybe when you had your emg your symptoms were flaring and that made it worse. Will see how I will be later and tomorrow but I don't think I can go through that again when I'm having a flare up. Also I don't know if I said this but just because something is rare such as your after burning with the emg doesn't mean it can't happen. I guess I hate when my feeling are not validated so I hear you and I hope you can find a way to get the help you need without extra pain.

I had a nerve conduction study done in August of 2003. It was ordered by a neurologist that suspected either carpel tunneling, the beginnings of Fibromyalgia and/or Peripheral Neuropathy. I found it painful and unpleasant during the NCS test. I felt weird when I left to head back to work that afternoon and my thumbs felt like they were burning. I went to bed that night and when I woke up I literally couldn't move. I felt like I had been hit by a Mack Truck. It felt like someone had pounded me all over my body with a baseball bat. It also felt like the Nerve Conduction Study tests were still going on. I was getting electrical shocks of shooting of pain up my legs and deep muscle spasms. From my elbows down to my finger tips were shooting electrical pains. I did not have the strength to life an object - I picked up a book and couldn't lift it up to read it. I had to lie in my bed for weeks not being able to do anything for myself. Unfortunately my Neurologist was away for a long conference and couldn't see me for about 6 more weeks. I finally had to go out of desperation to my local Emergency Department to do something about the pain. A Neurology Resident on call had never heard of anyone reacting to a NCS in this way but suggested anyway that I be put on Neurotin starting at a small dose and working up to a higher does three times daily. The Neurontin did the trick quite quickly as far as pain management was concerned and some of the shooting pains and muscles spasms quieted down. Unfortunately the Neurontin had terrible side effects. I had difficulty with short term memory and felt like I had a brain fog. The side effects got progressively worse so I had to get off the Neurontin. It has been almost 7 years since the Nerve Conduction Study. I was eventually able to phase back into my work - but I was forced to cut down my work (and salary) to only two days a week. I just couldnt function like my old self anymore. I still have muscle weakness and fiery burning pain. I cant feel my toes, feet, fingers and hands at times. I cannot sit in a theatre chair, I own a memory foam mattress on my bed, and my easy chair is also extra padded with memory foam. I eventually was able to hold onto my book but have to prop it in a pillow on my lap to read it. I cannot hold it up for any extended periods of time. I have been to see specialists who to this day say that they cant believe that a Nerve Conduction Study could have caused all of this - they had never heard of it before. You can imagine the frustration of the people that you are going to for help are shrugging their shoulders and cant help you. One doctor was a little bit nicer to say that he thought that the NCS somehow triggered something that was already laying dormant in me. No one can convince me that that nerve conduction study didn't effect me in a negative way. I live in constant pain and continue to lose the feeling in my hand and feet. I can take nortryptilline 10mg once a day only to take the edge of the pain off - when we tried me on a higher dose I was sweating profusely right through my clothes - so I had to be content with just the 10mg dose up to today. No one can explain what happened to me back in 2003 I would like to find out so that it can be corrected. I had to quit dancing classes, all extra curricular activities that kept me fit, I had to cancel a meditation group that met in my home once a week because I couldn't sit in the chairs for the period of time to run the group. I cannot go on trips anymore because I can only sleep on memory foam beds only. I cant go to the theater or go see movies or shows - sitting in the hard narrow theater seats is excruciating. I now have a little grand daughter and I cant do the things that she wants to do with her nanny. She doesnt understand why I can play like everyone else can. If anyone could shed a light on what could have happened to me - please let me know. Its been 7 long, painful years.

Hi all i have a question for any one that may have a issue like mine. Just the high points for now after a VERY painful emg to my left hand and arm. I have a single burn mark at one of the needle sites.the pain during that test was beyond words it was between my thumb and pointer finger in the middle of the soft part. Dr's say never seen or heard of this b/4 long story short i had a work related injury to my left hand and wrist the hand hyperextended backwards over wrist. as part of there attempt to treat they are looking at or toward carpal tunnel type damage. to involved to explain where their going with this w/c injury but my question is this. why the mark . and could they have damaged the hand ? dr had emg test done before having a mri. which came apx 2 months later. which showed that there was a TFCC tear in the wrist needless to say left hand is a wreck it is in a semi hard cast for now till i can sort out who did what and if more damage was done by the emg than was ord there.any thoughts will be helpfull. Dave.