My son is having one tomorrow morning, and he said that he appreciated the warning from the nurse making the appointment that it would hurt, so I decided to chime in. I have been through three, the last one lasted two hours. The electrical current will be the main source of discomfort or pain, the needles will not hurt. The longer it goes on the more annoying it will get. Kitt and I have hereditary neuropathy, I don't know if that makes it worse, but the tests do stir up my condition- I have escalated electrical zapping and buzzing for a few weeks after the test.

It hurts, but the pain is definitely not a reason to skip the test. It isn't as bad as a toothache or migraine, and if your doctor talks to you through it it is actually quite interesting and informative. My regular leg pain is worse than the tests. I actually like it, but that probably says something spooky about me.

My son is having it done to determine nerve damage after a car accident- he had a winged scapula afterwards. I am hoping it gives a clue to whether he has CMT. This is my second son, the eldest one definitely has it.