Are emg's painful? endocrinologist warned me that it would be very painful

Most likely not: Most people experience some discomfort with electrical stimulation (nerve conduction part) and also with the pin (needle) insertion (electromyography part). Rarely, some patients (in my experience less than 2%) experience more than discomfort and can not tolerate the study properly. The study is then best aborted by common agreement between the patient and the examining physician.

I tell most of my: Patients that the test is more annoying than painful. The needle part can be uncomfortable but not unbearable. Everybody is different whenever it comes to pain tolerance. If you begin the test and feel that it is overly painful, then ask the doctor to abort the procedure.