I finally went and got my EMG today. I was so sure it was carpal tunnel.

Turns out, it's not. But probably something like it.

The EMG itself was a lot more painful than I expected. Most of the people I talked to who had one said it was uncomfortable but not outright painful. I think that might have been because most people went for carpal tunnel and perhaps only had to get needles and shocks from the elbow down. My pain goes from my fingertips all the way up my shoulder and into my neck, with tingling in my back, which meant I got needles (no shocks) all the way up into the back and sides of my neck and into my upper back. The doctor actually apologized since I wasn't taking it well (no crying or crying out, but I was hissing and shaking by the end). She did well to speed it up and try to get through it as fast as possible when it was obvious I was not digging it.

In the end, she told me that there's no problem with the nerve in my wrist or at my back. The probably is at my elbow. That's why the pain is so complete through my arm. She didn't give me a concrete diagnosis, just 'something is up with your nerve at the elbow'. But she definitely said it's not carpal tunnels.

Which is weird because I do have some swelling in my wrist, and that's where it started? But the symptoms are all the same.

My guess is it's cubital tunnel syndrome, then. Same thing, different part of the arm. Anything else, I'd think, and we'd be looking at a zebra and not a horse. I just have no idea what we'll do for treatment at this point. It's been months of using a brace on my wrist with worsening results and basically letting this get to the point it's gotten because the pain doesn't always happen at my elbow - it's almost always in my hand and wrist, and when it's bad, my whole arm. I'm not sure if she'll suggest I brace it and see what happens, especially since I was taking Ibuprofen 800's every 6 hours for a good while in June with little to no relief, and did so for a while until the heartburn got to be too much. I still take it when the pain is bad, along with tylenol, but neither have had any improvement, and that's the first line of treatment.

But I'll find out on friday when I meet with my doctor. I'm going to be emphatic that the pain, at this point, is getting to be too much. Today it's fluctuating between a 6 and an 8, but is just constantly there. It's exhausting. I've never dealt with chronic pain like this, and never nerve pain like this. If she can't give me something to take when I'm getting bad, then at this point, I'll probably go under her nose and get my medical marijuana card. A few of my friends have encouraged me to do so, and I have a legitimate reason now.