BobL43
DIY Senior Member
Past couple of months, I was experiencing some pain that sounded/felt like sciatica, and my primary doctor sent me to a neurologist. The Neurologist did some basic testing, and scheduled this EMG test for me, without telling me anything about what it was. When I got home, I Googled "EMG" and found lots of hits on the subject, with most people that have had this test done saying it was painless. Let me say this: THEY ARE FULL OF SHIT!
It felt to me somewhere between like being a moth caught in a bug zapper and being Frankenstein's monster being brought to life. It started off easy, with little zaps, and I told myself "this is not so bad". Then he turned it up a few notches and each time he zapped me with that cattle prod, I twitched like Galvani's little frog leg. But it HURT like an MF. After maybe a 100 zaps or so, he said part 2 was next, where he stuck needles into me and passed electric currents through me. The needle stick was not so bad, but when he had current flowing, and asked me to force my foot against his pushin on it, I could feel the burning in my leg.
I asked him if he ever had this test done to him, and he said he did during his medical schooling done by his fellow students. This guy looks like one of those science fiction doctors, bald and professional, but not human, except for a false "smile". I endured all this because I wanted to find out what was wrong.
I had a cystoscopy done a couple of times in the past, and I would rather have 5 of those than another EMG test. Maybe it was just this doctor, but be forwarned if you need to get this test done: It IS NOT PAINLESS!
I read that they do these tests on people with incontinence, for both bladder and bowel sphinters. Man, THAT should be a BLAST, Literally. WOO HOO! It is over. Just need some PT now.
It felt to me somewhere between like being a moth caught in a bug zapper and being Frankenstein's monster being brought to life. It started off easy, with little zaps, and I told myself "this is not so bad". Then he turned it up a few notches and each time he zapped me with that cattle prod, I twitched like Galvani's little frog leg. But it HURT like an MF. After maybe a 100 zaps or so, he said part 2 was next, where he stuck needles into me and passed electric currents through me. The needle stick was not so bad, but when he had current flowing, and asked me to force my foot against his pushin on it, I could feel the burning in my leg.
I asked him if he ever had this test done to him, and he said he did during his medical schooling done by his fellow students. This guy looks like one of those science fiction doctors, bald and professional, but not human, except for a false "smile". I endured all this because I wanted to find out what was wrong.
I had a cystoscopy done a couple of times in the past, and I would rather have 5 of those than another EMG test. Maybe it was just this doctor, but be forwarned if you need to get this test done: It IS NOT PAINLESS!
I read that they do these tests on people with incontinence, for both bladder and bowel sphinters. Man, THAT should be a BLAST, Literally. WOO HOO! It is over. Just need some PT now.