Well I was in this past Friday for my EMG (more info at www.nlm.nih.gov ) and I have to say… this not at all a comfortable process.

My morning at the hospital consisted of two parts really. In the first, they attached sensors to various parts of my left and right arms, and then ran current to them from various other parts. This was to measure both how much current travelled, and how fast it travelled. It’s a very odd experience to see your arm and hand responding completely independently of any effort on your part. Very odd.

Then followed the more painful bit, where the doctor actually stuck needles in various muscle groups, and then started wiggling it around inside the muscle as well as moving deeper. Fucking Ow. This was apparently to passively measure nervous system activity in those various sites.

In the end, it turns out I do indeed have the apparently rather rare brachial plexus neuritis. There is damage to both the nerve sheathings and the nerves themselves in my left shoulder and arm. A couple of bright notes however. The condition does eventually resolve itself, although the regeneration of the various nerve pathways will take months. Also, the worst of the pain is now gone. I still get a lot of discomfort, but at least I can type and drive now. The driving I’m keeping on a restricted basis however, and my boss has decided to keep me on restricted duty at work as well. So no driving out to clients for the next week or so.

It’s just nice being able to get back to work.