1st Neuro visit - What should I ask/tests?
 

Hi,

I have my first neuro appointment in two weeks in United Kingdom on our NHS service. I have waited two months for this appointment and need to get as much out of it as I can.

I have had loss of sensation since January this year starting in feet which in the last few months has moved up to my torso to just under my bra line. Also mild sunburn pain on shins which is now on thighs a bit but luckily I have no pain anywhere and my arms and hands are not affected at all, for which I am very grateful. The front of my legs seems to be worse than the back and buttocks seem ok.

Just in the last couple of weeks my thighs and legs generally feel very wobbly and getting up the stairs is a lot harder than it used to be so I worry that I am losing strength in my legs. Also feel a bit spacey and unbalanced and can tell that my gait is not what it used to be, especially when I first get out of bed or stand up from a chair, those first few steps feel and look very odd.

At this visit I want to be an informed patient (but not a know it all) and just wondered if anyone has any advice what tests I should ask for if none are offered to me? My GP originally just told me to come back if it got worse, which it has so am grateful that I am at least seeing a neuro dr. The one I am seeing specialises in epilepsy but am hoping he is up to speed on PN. My under the foot reflexes were non existent when I saw my GP, what does that mean? My B12 and folate were tested and are both high as was creatinine which is something to do with kidneys but GP said nothing to worry about. Vit D was tested about a year ago and was high as I was taking D3 capsules but stopped them at that time and not been tested since.

I was diagnosed with distal motor neuropathy in USA (when I lived there) in 2006 as `i had pains in legs but they went away and no reason was found and had forgotten about it until this numbness started .

I am taking Benfotiamine, R lipoic Acid, A Cetyl Carnitine, Selenium and magnesium since June after reading your wonderfully helpful forums here (Thanks Mrs. D).

Any help would be much appreciated.

Two very good sources that list many tests--
 

--are the Dr. Latov/Quest diagnostics paper for serological tests:

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/test...ripheralNeurop

--and the Liza Jane spreadsheets, which were designed to be as comprehensive a testing list for neurological symptoms that various minds here and elsewhere could come up with:

www.lizajane.org

The problem, of course, is that neurological symptoms from peripheral nerve conditions can be exactly the same as those that stem from brain or spinal cord conditions, and it often takes a lot of time and expense to tease out just where things stem from.