EMG Negative
 

So I was told by the neuro that I am completely normal. EMG Negative! This cracks me up as that test was done to both of my arms but yet I left the with only one arm with total nerve pain. It heightened all of my pain. I would say it was just the test if my other arm hurt too....yeah it doesn't....but it's not nerve pain. I just don't understand this test. I have had five of them and they all have been negative yet I have had eight nerves corrected and it has relieved all my symptoms except some numbness and pain when the weather is bad. Normal stuff after a nerve surgery. I am being referred on to vascular. Maybe it's vascular too but I am sure it is nerve. I mean give me the benefit of the doubt...yes you have a medical degree but I have lived in this body for 40 years I know a thing or two about it. I am so tired of dealing with neurologists if it's not there in black and white it doesn't exist! I have been dealing with nerve crap for 13 years I just can't do it anymore. I am so tired of being told I don't have nerve pain or pain in general or that it's stress or I am nuts. I think I am just going to cancel that appointment I just can't hear a no again....afraid I might go postal in his office....lol! Nobody in my life gets it or understands what it feels like to be in constant pain. Having one of those days where I just want to cut myself off from the world.....After PT I am pulling the covers up over my head Yes, I am bitter and angry party of one :)

a negative emg doesn't mean anything
 

According to some of the top TOS guys, an emg doesn't mean anything if it is negative. Mine was negative BTW. It only means something if it's positive. My mom's was positive and she has neuropathy. I still have TOS even with a negative EMG.

My NC/EMG was negative. It doesn't mean a thing with TOS! It should only be used to rule out other issues. Iris is completely correct.

So with a negative emg and minimal to no arterial compression found via a Doppler study, do many people pursue surgery if they are in severe pain?

Yes. If the symptoms suggest TOS and everything else is ruled out many people pursue surgery for a chance at reduced pain. Many NTOS sufferers go in blind which is why it has a lower success rate. In a good chunk of those cases, TOS was never the actual problem so the scalenectomy or first rib resection wouldn't have done them any good. But you can't "see" NTOS so it's a calculated risk.

Prior to my two surgeries, I had x-rays, EMG, CT scan, nerve conduction study, vascular study, and a vascular ultrasound - everything came back normal aside from the vascular study, and I still had symptoms. I had tried PT twice with two different providers, and both said they could not assist me. That's when I decided surgery was the best option...I'm 26 and didn't want to live a life where I couldn't open a jam jar, carry my groceries, do my make up, etc.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions. :)

I went to pt and he said he best friend is a spine surgeon and they were just having a conversation about emgs. That they only catch what is being pinched at the moment. So if you aren't pinched during the test then it will be negative. He also said its good that I am going to vascular as I need to rule it out. He said this is going to be more of a process of ruling things out. Story of my life......if I could ever walk into a docs office and hear hey I know what's wrong with you I think I might have died and gone to heaven. He really worked me over today. It seems that my arm nerves especially my ulnar are tight. He manipulated my arm in ways that I could feel the whole nerve pulling from my shoulder to my hand......what a weird feeling! Pain is no fun tonight my ulnar is one unhappy camper all the way from my neck to my pinkie finger tip. Well tomorrow is a new day :). I go to vascular on the 12th until then I will continue pt. I love my pt and he will help me with the puzzle....think he likes a challenge ;). Thank you all for your words of wisdom.....it is much appreciated!

i know that pulling sensatoin!! it is so weird!!!!!!!

i imagine a thin fishing line sliding thru all these different areas

thanks for sharing the info
i was lying down when they did the test and my right shoulder im sure was very droopy, i wonder if my emg being slightly off but not conclusive was reflecting my shoulder instability, either intermittently compressing p minor or stretching bp, just guessing. but i am also right handed so hrmm

i have thought about doing a bunch of weight lifting and then getting the tests done LOL but my main concern is chronic 24/7 numbness

Everyone i talked to said emgs are not a good tool for diagnosis unless of course it's positive. I agree feels like a string! Pt also wonders if I am having some shoulder instability. I am still hurting from pt on Tuesday. I go back tomorrow grrrr it is just so painful and I haven't even recovered from the last appt. Well the upside is I might get a neck massage.

Shoulder instability should be quite obvious. I had pretty severe bilateral shoulder instability that was corrected in 06 and 07 surgically. You should feel your shoulder slipping around, subluxing, cracking, grinding and it's very painful in a dull, aching, monotonous way. You should also feel like a full dislocation is completely possible if you do certain things. I used to pop my shoulders back in their sockets at least 30 times a day from subluxing and I threw them out of their sockets several times bench pressing, shot putting and various other stupid activities that I insisted on not being left out of lol. It's also very easy to diagnose and any orthopedic will notice it no matter what their experience/ability level is. Have you seen an orthopedic for it? MDI pain feels a whole heck of a lot like TOS pain. In fact, when my TOS pain first started I high tailed it in a panic to a few different orthopedics convinced that I wrecked my inferior capsular shifts. It took 3 of them telling me I was perfectly stable before I believed them and started exploring other possibilities. My MDI is also what make getting a TOS DX so difficult- everyone wanted to use the "easy" and "most likely" explanation instead of looking at the actual imaging and symptomology.