I'm going to Hoipkins next week for the first time. You do need a referral from your doctor to get an appointment. My doc at UCLA (who is supposedly the PN guy, but not so good) knew one of neuropathy guys at Hopkins and sent him an email. Dr. Cornblath, the doc at Hopkins immediately replied. This was in June. When I called I was given the appointment for the 19th, so that should givre you an idea on the wait time to get in there.

I would say that you should be as agressive as you can to get an appointment. In my case I'm at UCLA, one of the major medical centers, certainly on the West coast, and they really know very little about PN. Get to a place that specifically specializes in what is afflicting you.