more bad news

I'm not familary with it hon, but you gotta do it. The curving in the spinal cord could need surgery. He's only looking out for you.

Here is the truth as I felt it, it is not as bad as child birth, this is true, it hurts like he.., but if it must be done, it must be done.  With child birth, at least at the end you have a precious blessing.  At the end of the EMG, you have the results of a test you need.

So, maybe take a anti anxiety med, like valium, or xanax and get thru it.  I was lied to by my doctor (who is no longer my doctor), she told me it was nothing, and looked at me with scorn when I was cursing at the pain it caused me.  Well when it was over, I suggested she have one done, while I look on.  She did not find me amusing, but then I was not kidding, so there was nothing to be amused about.

We are asked to go thru the most grinding tests on there way to finding out or at least trying to find out what is wrong with us.  We are made to pay for these tests to try to find out what is wrong.  I know it must be done, I know that many things are asked of us, so that maybe we can finally get the help we need.  I think what should be asked for is a little compassion, and alot of truth.

Take care, hope you find out what you need to know to help you have a quality of life, it can be done, even if it hurts on the way.

Kat

I have also had several EMG's done in the past. I did not find them to be extremely pleasant, but I also did not find them to be that bad. An epidural during childbirth hurts a lot more in my opinion. I also found the pain to be nothing at all like childbirth.

I also find a toothache to be more pain than childbirth. So I probably have a pretty high pain thresh hold, but I really do not consider the slight pain from an EMG to be that bad.

It is a very important test and will tell the doctors a lot. I had to have it done by 3 different doctors and then I had to have yet another to check for Small Nerve abnormalities. The first EMG's all came back normal and finally the last person that did my EMG recommended this Small Nerve test and my doc agreed to it and we finally found out that my small nerves do not register - they are just not there. It causes me not to sweat. Which explains why I cannot cool down like other people. When I am in hot conditions, I overheat every time and sometimes pass out. So finding this out was very important to me.

Trudy in Ohio

Hi SoSickAndTired. You've already had a lot of great responses. I just thought I'd pipe up a little too. I've had a few EMG tests. The first one I had was with a sports medicine doctor. I wouldn't recommend that. The process isn't any worse, they just aren't trained well enough to read them well. They think they can do it because they're practiced at acupuncture. If you get a good one, I'm sure they can do an adequate job. I had a much better experience with the neurologist and the neurosurgeon. They really know their stuff. They were also much more understanding (most of their patients have spine issues). And instead of acting like I was stupid because I couldn't relax a muscle (that they said most people can't), they took care of it by resetting the needle somehow.

More to the point of your concern. I was very nervous going in as well. I wouldn't call it a fun test. I agree with WhiteBeard, everyone experiences pain differently. So I'm not even going to try and find a common experience I can compare it to. I think, though, that it is a test that does sound worse than it is. And like everyone else has said, it is worth it if it can lead you to better treatment for your existing pain. Being another male, I cannot be certain, but I don't think "not as bad as childbirth" is a good way of putting it. After all, there are many things I imagine are not as bad as childbirth. Like stubbing my toe, or a static shock from a door knob, probably even a paper cut . I imagine that your doctor has probably never had an EMG done to them (as this isn't exactly a test usually suggested by a GP), so perhaps they can be forgiven for throwing a wide net. I imagine the last thing a doctor wants is to tell you something and have you come back irate that it was more painful than they said.

For the test, if you have a sociable doctor, it is a test you can talk to them during (except when they're listening to the machine). I don't know about others, but I'm much more comfortable when I can talk to my doctor and they can tell me what they're up to and how it's going. My neurosurgeon stopped at one point to let me listen to what nerve damage sounds like. It all just sounded like broken static to me, but apparently that told him something.

Anyways, I hope your test goes well, that it hurts way, way less than you imagine, and definitely that it helps you and your doctors improve your treatment plan and make everyday better for you.