Yesterday I had NCS & EMG tests. The Neurophysiologist asked me about my history, why I came to A&E and what conclusions other tests had come to so far. I explained that the brain scan showed signal changes and presented the possibility of demyelination. He explained that the above two tests would show whether the physical problems that I presented to A&E in August were physiological as opposed to neurological. If the tests were abnormal it would suggest that the cause of my back pain and left leg weakness were due to physical nerve damage, sciatica or disc problems. The MRI scan of my lumbar spine had been normal, only showing evidence of a "dehydrated spine" (I still don't know what this means so if anyone cares to enlightened me please feel free to comment!), so I was confident that it wouldn't be the latter of the three aforementioned diagnoses. He suggested that it would most probably be a normal result given that the head MRI had shown what it did.
The NCS test had me yelping like a little yappy dog! The chap put electrodes on to my legs and then sent an electrical impulse through my nerves - gaaaaaaah. It was only a slight electrical tapping feeling but it made me feel like SUCH a wimp! Bear was, unsuccessfully, trying to muffle his laughter from the corner of the room. It wasn't unpleasant as such; it felt just like one of those electric shock games that you unearth from the "Christmas games" pile in the back of a dusty cupboard every year, where the last player to press their button when the light goes off gets a sharp and startling electric shock. The second test, EMG, was admittedly unpleasant. A small needle was inserted in to my shin, calf muscle and ankle joint (the type of needle, for example, when you have a blood sample taken) and then I to move my muscles in specific directions whilst the electrodes recorded muscle fibre activity. The output of this was noise, so I actually got to hear my muscles working. Very strange. Anyway, I digress. The tests were... surprise, surprise, normal. The Neurophysiologist was not surprised by this and said that he would report his findings to Dr Bains, but overall this was an indicator that the issue is Neurological. So, another pointer in the direction of MS, or whatever other Neurological condition this could be.
Interested in what else this could be, I did what every other person normally does in this situation. I Googled 'causes of demyelination'. The two main conditions that came up in the results were Multiple Sclerosis and Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy. There were some other rarer conditions, none of which I fell in to the categories of a typical 'sufferer'. This is obviously for the Neurologist, who is better armed with a wealth of training and knowledge, to determine the cause, but I would expect that it is neither these conditions, nor indeed Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy. My money is going on MS. Bear asked me an interesting question on Thursday evening, "What are you going to do if it's not MS? You will have to change the name of your Blog!" It's a fair point, but I'm that convinced it is that if I'm proved wrong I will donate £100 to the MS Society.
On a hugely positive note, I woke up this morning bright eyed and bushy tailed. I feel like my normal self again for the first time in nearly 3 months, so I think I'm coming out of the other end of whatever this turns out to be. I read that MS relapses tend to last anywhere between a few weeks and a number of months.
So what am I doing with all of this renewed energy, I hear you ask?? I'm currently in the middle of a couple of loads of washing, cleaning the kitchen, tidying up and I will next tackle cleaning the bathroom and mopping the floors. It's not been touched in 3 months and I'm sick of looking at the grime. Rock and Roll!
Bear is taking me out tonight - we are going for dinner and the to see The Illusionists at the Hammersmith Apollo. He's a good'un :)
Saying that - where has he got to? He's not ducking out of his hoovering duties that easily!
Happy weekend everyone!
xxx
