Adverse effects after EMG?

Ran74 said...
Prior to being diagnosed with Tick Borne Relapsing Fever, Bartonella and Babesia, an EMG was performed on my left side. Since then, my left side has become extremely weak. Has anyone experienced this? My only thought is not knowing I had Lyme at the time, inserting a needle and electric currently only aggravated the bacteria inside my body and possibly spread the bacteria even more than it was already?

When did you have it?

I know the EMG hurt like he// when I had it done.

Edit to add; I also had a nerve conduction study

lyme disemminates throught the body including the brain and all major organs within days of infection

so i would not be worried about the needles used in EMG doing anything of that sort

the symptoms of asymmetrical dysfunction are pretty common with lyme - and may be completely unrelated to the EMG

my partner developed complete loss of use of her left arm along with a great deal of pain due to Lyme
its known to do this via inflammation of the nerves where they exit the spine - a condition called radiculitis
radiculitis usually resolves by itself after a few weeks

I had a lab tech take my blood and she hit a nerve.
I yelped and said “I think you hit a nerve”
She continued to take my blood.
I also had a bad bruise that was a few inches in area.
I had nerve pain for quite awhile after. I think it took a few months before it subsided.
I called the company who employs the lab tech and she said the lab tech should have immediately taken the needle out.
Plus she said the bruise I got was because when she put the needle in the vein - it went through the vein and the bruise was from that .

She continued to work at the lab and I just said - “she’s not taking my blood” and they’d get a different lab tech for me.


I had already a phobia of needles… and this made it worse.

about a month or two later she wasn’t there anymore.
I wonder if there were more complaints besides mine.

i will post the guide for exercising with Lyme i wrote some time ago

you can start at pretty much any stage of illness - but the key is finding what you can tolerate and starting below that level - and only very gradually working up

some form of resistance training is advisable for increasing strength and promoting immune function - without triggering post exertional malaise - rather than anything aerobic
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Exercising safely with Lyme

i think exercise has helped my recovery significantly.

obviously exercising with Lyme is not a straightforward proposition
many will feel they cannot possibly exercise at all - and overdoing it is all too easy, and can actually set you back with more fatigue and adverse symptoms.

i didn’t think exercise beyond maybe walking was a possibility for me despite exercising most of my life - due to feeling so ill with Lyme.

however, i have been surprised to find that even when feeling pretty weak and awful - i can not only start to exercise (if done carefully) but actually gain strength and physical capability - despite how uncomfortable exercise feels now - vs before i got Lyme.

not only does this give me all the benefits that exercise normally gives people:
better mood, sleep, overall health, self esteem etc
but it has actually increased what i can get done in a day - vs before i started
in other words it has helped me move my recovery forward in measurable ways

so, i thought i would post a few words i put together on how to exercise with lyme (as someone who experienced chronic fatigue, PEM etc)
much of it is in line with Dr Burrascano's guideline
but adds a bit more specific guidance.

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Dr Burrascano talks about this in his 2008 guidelines for lyme treatment - see the sticky post at the top i think its in there somewhere - its well worth a read

basically we each have an ideal window to exercise in - whether sick or elite athletes

the bottom of the window is defined by the minimum amount we need to do to send a signal to our system to repair itself stronger in preparation for the next challenge
the upper end of the window is defined by the level beyond which we do more harm than good

the issue is that with lyme, especially in the beginning the lower end of the window is very close to the top end of the window- and such is a very narrow margin between doing enough and doing too much

also aerobic activities ( activities like jogging or HIT) seem to trigger much worse responses than anaerobic ones like resistance training. Dr Burrascano highlights this also - and it has been my experience too.

he also says its the strength exercises that are the most important for the immune system and essential to get better from lyme - so its good that you are looking into it.

as an example, I can walk 3-4 miles at a fast clip and be fine the next day - but if i try to run for even 100yards i will have ill feelings and extra fatigue the next day. yet I can do resistance exercises - like press-ups and dumbbells as long as i am careful. i had to build up very gradually at first though.

my advice:
-keep up the walking - its a great basic form of exercise and doesn't seem to trigger PEM unless you overdo it

-add in gradually some form of resistance training
- so weights, isometric etc - whatever works for you

-work out where you tolerance is - deliberately do too little to begin with and work up to find your limit - then back off a little.

-be systematic - keep records and have a target for each workout - make only v small increments each workout to avoid PEM reactions

-you will likely need longer recovery periods to begin with - so - esp if you have issues with PEM maybe only exercise 1x per 5-7 days

-later aim to gradually bring this down to 2-3 days in-between - and eventually every other day

-it will be slow at first - do not be discouraged - momentum will build

- focus on recovery as much as the actual exercise part

---diet ( your body needs good nutrition when fighting this thing and exercising) to recover well

---sleep - this when your body rebuilds itself best - the better you sleep, the better you will recover from exercise and the faster you will progress

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i am following the above plan and am now able to workout 45mins every 3rd day and am getting stronger almost every workout ( something that hasn't really happened consistently since my mid 20's) - despite also treating lyme with antimicrobials at the same time.

i'm not saying exercise will feel good - it will not to begin with - but stick at it - be systematic - increment slowly - and you will be surprised how much you can do.

good luck!!

Great post, Garzie!

I’m finally going to get back to playing tennis this spring.
We will ride our bikes to the tennis courts, play tennis and ride home.
It’s a short ride - about ten minutes.
May get back to running as well.

I have been intermittently doing weights and the elliptical but it’s boring… lol.