Hmn--it seems as if you're already familiar with the problem in diagnosing peripheral nerve symptoms--problems in the back and spine can produce symptoms almost exactly mimicked by those of more systemic causes.

What type of work-up have you had already? It seems interesting that the test you mentioned was ordered for you, as it represents a search for rather rare causes of neuropathy. Moreover, Athena is not the only lab that does those tests--Quest and others certainly do (I've had them all). But have you had a multii-hour glucose tolerance test, antibody tests, tests for vitamin/nutrient/toxin levels yet? (Alcohol abuse can lead to neuropathy, but it is more often from nutrient depletion than the alcohol itself.) And have you had directed nerve conduction studies to see if your back might be the cause of all this (I assume you've had an MRI)?

This clinical application paper lists the initial line of serum tests for neuropathy causes--check it against what you've had done:

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/hcp/...eralNeurop.htm

And, do come on over to our peripheral neuropathy forum, if you haven't already:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum20.html