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View Full Version : I thought I might have benign fasciculation syndrome but I actually have nerve damage



Brawndo
10-11-17, 23:42
January 2017: started having eye twitching. Went away by March

February 2017: experienced series of panic attacks and noticed tingling in left ring and pinky fingers

July 2017: felt extremely sick the day after working out. Went to ER on suspicion of a slipped disc in my neck, CT scan only found mild degenerative disc disease. Orthopedic doctor said I just had muscle strain. Sent me for an EMG on my left arm, which found moderate to severe denervation of my ulnar nerve, suspicion of compression in my elbow. I continued to have worst neck pain of my life and severe anxiety with almost daily panic attacks. Ending up getting a cervical/brain MRI which came back negative, as well as an echocardiogram which was negative as well.

August - September 2017: I felt pretty good and was able to do more activities, which made me believe it truly was just a neck soft tissue sprain and the ulnar nerve finding was incidental.

October 2017: I went to PT for my arm which ended up aggravating my neck again. I also developed intermittent dizziness, popping in my joints, and pain in my right arm, muscle twitching randomly across my body.

Today: it's been over 4 weeks since my PT session in October and im not much better. I can't walk a mile without feeling unstable, like my knees will buckle or I'm sinking into the ground. I'm so afraid I have ALS or MS, but I don't think my doctors will be willing to do additional tests after all the tests I had in July. I was hoping I just had BFS or fibro, but the fact that I have actual nerve damage in my arm without any history of injury is scary

melfish
10-11-17, 23:54
Your doctor would have ruled out ALS when you had your EMG. I'm not sure what your question is.

tryingtosurvive1
12-11-17, 05:56
MS is not associated with abnormal nerve conduction results. It's diagnosed by MRI/spinal tap.
ALS generally presents with abnormal EMG, NORMAL nerve conduction.

An all-over neuropathy, like the one I have due to genetics, shows slowed nerves everywhere.

What it appears you have is neuropathy in one nerve. Probably *is* compression, if any other nerves had normal conduction.

Does this help? This is why some doctors don't want to give people EMG/NCVs if they are otherwise clinically normal, it just sends them down the rabbit hole.