I have finally received the results of my EMG test and need your input...This test give at UFHealth in Gainesville, Florida. The first part of the test was administered by a tech. and the second which was suppose to be given by the doctor, never occurred. The doctor said that he did not need to perform the rest of the EMG test given the results below...
Interpretation and Conclusion: This is an abnormal study with electrophysiological
evidence of a length-dependent axonal polyneuropathy. I do NOT see evidence of
CIDP.
So, now my wife and I are left wondering what next.
I think I would get a Second opinion a EMG is like checking a broken wire. CIDP would be like the wire has no cover in our case the nerve has no cover. I get a EMG 3 times a year to see if it is progressing mine is in remission. The DR said we have to check it often I will never get back what I have lost. If I were you I would find a new Nero. One that understands CIDP. The faster you can get started on what ever treatment they want for you the better in my case it was IVIG. I did that for 18 months and got feeling back in my fingers and face. They do not think I will get my legs and hands back to normal. GO GET A Second opinion ASAP. Good luck and God bless
If not CIDP then you need to know what you have got… so many auto immune diseases share symptoms so insist on more tests .wishing you a speedy diagnosis
My first emg was Negative too. I knew I wasn't crazy. I had numbness and tingling in my legs. I could barely support my own weight. I went to my car after the test and cried because no one would believe that this was really going on. I then spent 4 days in the hospital doing useless tests which all came up negative. Forward 2 weeks and I wake up with foot drop. Got back to the hospital, within 24hrs I was diagnosed with cidp. I would honestly keep fighting for a diagnosis regardless if its cidp or not. It is frustrating to feel like you really are going crazy when all the tests show there is nothing wrong. If someone would have listened to me in the beginning it would have been alot easier because I could have started a treatment earlier. I am sorry you are going through this. Keep on until someone can tell you what is wrong!
I agree with all based on my experience. "electrophysiological
evidence of a length-dependent axonal polyneuropathy. " sure sounds like CIDP to me.
MY CIDP was also confirmed by a spinal tap. I agree that you need to find a neuo that works on CIDP , FInd him fast, so you can get going if that is what you have. solumedrol seems to work pretty well for me, but I wish I had started it sooner.
EMGs are so unreliable at times that even European and the American Neurological Society are leaning toward giving more weight to the clinical finding and especially the onset and clinical course of the process (b/c it definitely is a process) rather than relying so heavily on the findings of demyelinization of the long nerves AND a abnormally high spinal fluid protein which sometimes may only be moderately elevated. Nerve biopsies are not the diagnostic tool they were once thought to be. A high % are equivocal. What CIDPer needs more questions than answers? Consider seeking out a known “Center of Excellence” for CIDP on the internet, like Vanderbilt in Nashville.
We have all been this indecision. Hang in there. Persevere. Ask the direct/tough questions and don’t leave without the answers. God Bless.
I had EMG tests performed by techs. The neuro I have now performed the entire EMG. If you can go to the Center of Excellence at Vanderbilt I would advise you to go there you will gt a definitive diagnoses. If I were able to go I would.
After months of EMG's, blood tests, ultra sound, etc, My Neuro recommended I start IVIG, he had also ordered an MRI with contrast that came back normal and a spinal tap that came in a 506 for protein with 450 being the upper limit of normal. He called 506 mildly elevated. I'm just wondering, of the dozens of tests which came back negative, only my EMG's showed a lot of demyelination and axonal loss, and my spinal fluid in only "mildly" elevated, is that typical in CIDP?
He said we would give IVIG and depending on the results of IVIG perhaps order a nerve biopsy, I assume if the IVIG was ineffective.
Yitzi, my partner has "slightly elevated proteins", but is the worst case of CIDP her neurologist has ever seen. He calls her his miracle because she is still alive.
The definition for diagnosing CIDP has changed a few months ago, loosing up the criteria set by tests for diagnosis. I think it is a step in the right direction. Everyone is different, and is helped by many different things. Finding that formula that helps you individually is what you need to do.
I say stop splitting hairs over the specific diagnosis of auto immune disease of the PNS... and just leave it at that and focus on finding things that help one go into a remission. (Which typically is not IVIG (the bandaid and giver of false senses of confidence)).
I had a spinal tap years before my sural nerve biopsy. The nerve biopsy was what showed the damaged nerve and therefore got my diagnosis from Mayo Clinic of CIDP.
Hey there! My road to diagnosis was six long months and many many tests but the ones that narrowed it down the most were an EMG (showed my muscles were fine, nerves were not), a LP (showed high levels of myelin protein) and an MRI of my entire spine (showed my nerves 'lighting up'). I then was hospitalized for an IVIG load to see if there was any improvement. There isn't a definitive test for CIDP so I know it's frustrating. Keep your hopes up & remember to always be your own advocate! I went through many doctors until I found the right one. Keep us posted!