Nerve test worries

Hi everyone,

Think I just need to sound off about my neurophysiology tests I had today, feeling a bit emotionally delicate now (and quite anxious).

I had my tests (EMG, muscle tests, reflexes and some TENS-machine like thing where the Neurophysiologist seemed to measure my nerves) and they weren’t too bad, the EMG kind of hurt like hell but it was in small doses. I am aware that these tests aren’t textbook MS tests.

Then I could sense a slightly concerned atmosphere from him & his technician (and so could my boyfriend who isn’t a worrier like me!). He asked me a number of curious questions. My reflexes were ‘brisk’ which seemed to concern him and I’ve seen a few other people say they were told the same on here. He told me my muscles were normal, but I’m very sure my nerves showed something not right.

He asked if I walked late as a baby (I didn’t, was normal there).

He asked if I have ever had my spine MRI scanned, I said yes my lumbar, so he asked if I’d had any other parts of my spine scanned, I said no but that I’d had my head scanned a fortnight ago. I know that MS lesions can be found in the C & T spine but not the L. He asked why I’d had my head MRI, so I told him that my consultant’s words were ‘to rule out Central Nervous involvement’, and then piped in with ‘I think that’s things like MS’ and he seemed to have a look of almost relief when I said that.

He asked if I had any problems with my urine or bowels, and I told him that yes, I have trouble telling when I need to urinate until my bladder is very full, and that when I was in hospital and had a renal ultrasound I had to have a full bladder and when the nurse measured my urine when I finally had a pee it was virtually 1 litre and that the nurse commented on how much that was! I don’t really have trouble with my bowels.

He also asked if I had any trouble with my vision, which I said I’ve not had any scary episodes but I have floaters in my vision, and in the past 3 years I’ve gone from having perfect vision to quite dodgy eyesight.

Is it all just me being overly sensitive or is it that all of these questions are suggesting he found something that might suggest something like MS? I think it’s a bit of both, I know that something came up that isn’t ‘normal’, I could definitely tell that, but he also (at the beginning) asked about my condition called endometriosis (affects ladies) and that that can also cause nerve problems, but it’s very rare for that to happen. I’m quite relieved because I always thought my GP thought I was making it up!

Could do with some reassurance one way or the other really, or a bit of both really. Just feeling a little delicate here in limboland and the more I have tests done the more I get hit with some realisation that I may have MS. I do know that it could quite easily not be MS, or could have a much more simpler explanation, but I’m on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.

I’m also having an attack of extreme tiredness (which I guess could be emotional) and vertigo, and also found out last week (extremely tenous link here…) that my mum’s cousin has MS.

Sorry about this page of waffle, just needed to get my day off my chest.

Rach x

Some complete speculation: the walking question might have been an attempt to see if there is something genetic or metabolic going on (conditions that often first appear in childhood); the endometriosis question might have been a reference to Hughes Syndrome, but possibly other things that I’m not aware of; the vision question is probably related to MS and other demyelinating conditions that affect the eyes (there are actually quite a few).

Saying all that, and I know it’s easier said than done, but I really recommend trying not to read too much into what he asked and what sort of looks were used. It could have been something, but it equally could have been nothing. Tbh, the questions are so woolly that I don’t think he had anything specific in mind at all. He may even have simply been being a bit naughty in that he was looking for pointers for what to look for in the data rather than analysing the data just from the neuro’s info.

Btw, it is possible to get MS lesions in the lumbar spinal cord - it’s just that there’s not much of it so the odds are less, plus MS seems to prefer the higher up areas.

Karen x

hey as Karen says…try not to read too much into things…sometimes they have to ask about things that could affect the results that are pre existing ie a long standing lazy eye could also produce a slow reaction the same as ON could re VEp test. cold feet can also affect results … fingers crossed re results em x

I know that I was reading too much into it… I’m a bit of a thinker and that can turn me into a worrier, but I find links where there might not be any. Although my boyfriend was under a similar impression.

Thanks, I think you have put my over-active imagination into a slightly lower gear!

I guess all I can do is wait and see…

x