Well I got back from having my EMG to see if I have Carpal Tunnel. It turns out I have CTS in my left hand, as well as some muscular atrophy, and I'll probably have to have surgery. My right hand didn't show any signs of having CTS although I've been having problems with it, but I was told that 1 in 14 people will have an EMG and even if they have CTS, the EMG may not show it.
I was pretty nervous before the EMG as I've read reports that it can be pretty painful, but it wasn't that bad. The doctor that administered it joked around alot and used alot of sarcasm which I personally enjoy
But he was up front and honest at the right times and made me feel comfortable which was great.
For those who don't know what an EMG is, it is a test that checks your nerve and muscle function. It consists of two parts:
The first part is an electro-shock test. They place either loops around your fingers or pads similar to those on a heart monitor on the areas they want to check. Then, a device that looks like a taser is placed on different areas (in my case parts of my hand and my arm) and a you're given a small zap. It was actually kind of fun in a sick sort of way *lol* Some of the zaps were stronger than others depending on how well your nerve is that they're testing. A few of them made my hand jump so that made things interesting
The second test was a needle stick test that checks your muscle response. I hate needles so I was really nervou about it. Basically a small, fine, needle (like an accupuncture needle) is inserted into the muscle in various spots (6 spots between my hand and my arm in my case) and you hear static on a speaker. You're then asked to move a particular way and you hear more static. That was pretty cool I thought. It wasn't really painful, no more than getting blood taken, although it was uncomfortable once or twice when he had to push the needle deeper into my muscle to get a better reading. I'd say that the shaking and nervousness I felt just because I don't like needles, was worse than the actual discomfort or pain.
So if I do have surgery it looks like I'll be out of work even longer because I can't go back to work and then go out again. Our screwed up system at work won't allow me to do that again without having disciplinary action.
Wish me luck for a good end to all this
I was pretty nervous before the EMG as I've read reports that it can be pretty painful, but it wasn't that bad. The doctor that administered it joked around alot and used alot of sarcasm which I personally enjoy
For those who don't know what an EMG is, it is a test that checks your nerve and muscle function. It consists of two parts:
The first part is an electro-shock test. They place either loops around your fingers or pads similar to those on a heart monitor on the areas they want to check. Then, a device that looks like a taser is placed on different areas (in my case parts of my hand and my arm) and a you're given a small zap. It was actually kind of fun in a sick sort of way *lol* Some of the zaps were stronger than others depending on how well your nerve is that they're testing. A few of them made my hand jump so that made things interesting
The second test was a needle stick test that checks your muscle response. I hate needles so I was really nervou about it. Basically a small, fine, needle (like an accupuncture needle) is inserted into the muscle in various spots (6 spots between my hand and my arm in my case) and you hear static on a speaker. You're then asked to move a particular way and you hear more static. That was pretty cool I thought. It wasn't really painful, no more than getting blood taken, although it was uncomfortable once or twice when he had to push the needle deeper into my muscle to get a better reading. I'd say that the shaking and nervousness I felt just because I don't like needles, was worse than the actual discomfort or pain.
So if I do have surgery it looks like I'll be out of work even longer because I can't go back to work and then go out again. Our screwed up system at work won't allow me to do that again without having disciplinary action.
Wish me luck for a good end to all this
