Quote:
Originally Posted by en bloc
I'm not sure that would give me a warm & fuzzy if he's never done it and is using instructions. It's not like it's a difficult procedure...very easy, in fact, but still the handling and such of the samples is very important, not to mention getting the correct depth of tissue.
Let me also add that I don't understand why he (or the other place) is only getting ONE sample. That doesn't make any sense at all. I had 3 three from each leg (ankle, knee and thigh). The reason is to assess length and non-length dependent SFN by seeing the density at different levels of the leg. This is very important. You may not need all three on both legs, but at least two should be done on the same leg (ankle and then knee or thigh as the other).
Maybe Glenn will chime in with more details on just how important this is.
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En Bloc you express my concerns perfectly. Warm and fuzzy i am not which is precisely why I'm asking on here. This same GP recently misled me about the results of my lumbar puncture - which turned out to have been contaminated by a traumatic tap. My guess is that although he says he wants to save me the wait and travel time he actually wants to save the practice money on expensive airfares and consultant fees. And get some professional tick boxing done and have some time off the usual coughs and colds no doubt!
And so I am worried but I must also say that my problematic symptoms have intensified many times over since I had my neuro tests in mid January and I think the autonomic neuropathy has superseded the SFN now - I'm having respiratory problems, GI problems and issues with my nose, ears and jaw. So we are seriously thinking of leaving our home and heading for pastures with much better facilities for rheumatology and neurology within the year.
So even if he doesn't do it properly as I'd like - I will continue to push for doctors to find causes behind all this - hopefully somewhere that the specialists know what they are doing. He is taking his instructions from the lead neuropathologist in the country and so I guess I have to trust that this includes how many biopsies to take. I might make an apt to see him tomorrow about my respiratory issues and dizziness and print off the link Lou Lou sent me with diagram.
Meanwhile I'm not getting quite as much neuropathic pain as I was despite the withdrawal effects of coming off Cymbalta. So it's all very complicated but I'm grateful for all advice I can get.