I’m going to see my endo tomorrow, and he wants to do a nerve conduction and a doppler test. I’ve only been diabetic for a few months, and I already saw a podiatrist who tested my sensation in my feet, which is fine. I’m guessing if this was fine my nerve conduction test will be fine too. Not sure what is gained from a doppler test. I spoke to my insurer, and i still have about $200 in benefits left in labs and tests for the rest of the year. However, I don’t want to do the tests just because I can, if there’s no other good reason to do them, especially after reading this article about health care costs - http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-american-health-care-killed-my-father/7617/
really i’ve sorted out my insulin troubles from the past few weeks, but i have to see him because i don’t have an apidra or lantus prescription yet. any good reason i should do these tests?
I had one done a few years ago when I was having pain in my foot. Not very comfortable. My dr. said it was the first symptoms of neuropathy. The whole thought that I had pain in my foot scared me enough to get myself together and get my diabetes under control. Necessary? Ask him why he wants to prescribe the test?
I was someone who came down with neuropathy in 8 days in 20002, from taking an antibiotic, so I did those tests. I would say it is a waste to do if you do not have neuropathy that you can feel as pain. Sure, my GP says numbness is related to neuroparthy, but I think that is more of a poor circulation problem. And you did not mention that, so I think you are wasting the funds on a pointless test. Instead check www.labtestsonline.org and find another useful test for a problem you do know you have, but don’t test for vitamins and do a silly thing like take them in the two preceding days.
By the way I cured myself of that neuropathy but it took 8 months and I’ve been fully cured since 2003.
If you want to do an interesting useful test, measure homocysteine only in a hospital setting where you can be sure the blood is analysed within 2 hours of being drawn from your arm.
If you are taking B vitamins, don’t get a test for any of those…that is a waste of effort as it will be high, but the homocysteine test will reveal a lot more about how well your body uses B vitamins.
Another tip is don’t use VitC for two days before blood tests, to ensure the red cell count is not depressed by a false reading. But you could lower LDL cholesterol significantly by taking VitC throughout the day all the rest of the year as it is an excellent antioxidant vitamin to lower damaging free radicals.
As a recently diagnosed adult I’m not sure if your body has been affected the way a Type 2 is when diagnosed. But I believe it would be to your benefit to make sure there is no nerve damage. I’ve had those tests and it’s not painful so take the tests to be on the safe side.
Your date of diagnosis simply reflects when your diabetes was identified. You don’t know when it started and what damage may have occurred. However, nerve and circulation problems take some time (years) to develop and it is unlikely that someone who has a sudden onset T1 would have problems. Usually, nerve problems occur at the extremities, usually the feet first. If your feet are fine, then it is unlikely that condution tests will display anything. The doppler test is used to guage circulation and detect PAD, again a condition that usually sets in after years of elevated blood sugars.
I am surprised that your endo wants to these tests himself. I had to see a neurologist for nerve conduction studies. If you don’t feel they are necessary and cannot afford them, then tell the endo. You are entirely within your rights to request a justification for the tests and put them off for at least another month. You have had quite a ride this year, and your endo of all people should be understanding.
i have full sensation in my feet, no pain, and i got a cut recently that healed within a day or two. if the nerve conduction test is to check for neuropathy, i probably don’t need it because i have no symptoms.
the doppler test might be useful since it’s related to circulation. my feet fall asleep a lot, which i think is because i sit at my desk most of the day with one leg folded under the other, but i don’t know for sure what the reason is. when i say a lot, i mean like 4-5 times a day. although, when i saw the podiatrist he checked the pulse/circulation of the major arteries on my feet and found them to be normal.
Did you specifically mention this way of sitting to the doctor, as it could answer it for a young person too, so the idea of the nerve conduction tests seems unnecessary. The doppler test is to check blood flow and consider whether there are clots.
If you just told the doctor you feet went to sleep that frequently and did not mention the way of sitting, then it would make a doppler test worth while, but sitting like that seems to be the reason.
When they test you, you will not be compromising the blood flow and they will say you are fine, so it is a matter of how completely you revealed the situation to the doctor. Later in life, if a person does have a cramp and massages the leg, thinking to ease out of it, I have heard that if it was a real clot, it could be dislodged and cause problems elsewhere. So, if you want to do the doppler, there is more reason for it than for the nerve conduction tests because nerve damage doesn’t come and go based on position of sitting.
I think you have answered your own question. What they suggest to people who might have a clot is to take an asperin immediately to help dissolve it and they warn to avoid massaging it. That was the advice on a Larry King show with a panel of doctors discussing the dilemma.