Has anyone had autonomic nervous system testing?

Hi Everyone,

I did call the office to cancel the testing. I found the manufacturer's of the home ANS product and looked at the particulars of how they administer the test. There were several parts of the test that I know mom wouldn't be able to withstand, such as the cuffing of her arm to cause an arterial occlusion and then releasing the cuff to see how quickly her blood flows through her arm. Somehow that doesn't sound like a good idea for a 90 year old.

I had to fight off a sibling who though "it could give us good information" but when I responded with and then? that caught her off guard. I appreciate all of your comments as it gave me the fortitude to follow my gut feeling. I appreciate all of you for weighing in and thank you for virtually keeping me company.

I looked it up too, on autonomicdysfunction.com, and found that it can do so many things that it sounds like snake oil. I’m on the list, and I'd forget it. This is the list:

“Patients to Consider for Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) testing:

Patients with Symptoms Suggesting Autonomic Dysfunction
Syncope
Orthostatic Hypotension
Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)
Pain / numbness in feet
Numbness in hands
Cardio Metabolic Syndrome
Cardiac patients with silent ischemia
Diabetic patients
Pre-diabetic patients
Impaired glucose tolerance
Insulin resistance
Blood pressure disorders
Resting tachycardia
Congestive heart failure
Sleep Apnea
Chronic pain in extremities
Digestive disorders
Patients with chronic inflammation
Rheumatoid Arthritis”

Thank you all for taking the time to look this up and reply. This is the traveling cardiologist who recommended this and they will do the test in my home. It's amazing the things they can do in your home.

She did have that tilt table test about 15 years ago, and passed out and what they said was yup, she's got vasovagal and vertigo, but not the vertigo that responds to exercises.

She can't follow instructions well and the woman who called to set the appointment up said they will "measure her BP and heart rate and put her hands and feet on discs to check for any nerve damage." And yes, all of that will make her nervous. Now, in my mind, I think this is totally unnecessary but then I wonder why in the world this is important and am I missing something?

I did call the office this morning and left a message saying I had questions as to the plan for after the testing. What is the doctor looking to find out from performing this test? I did not hear back but I will call again in the morning.

I so appreciate all of you taking the time to answer and being so supportive. Thank you!

I agree. I didn't put my Mom thur anything aftervshe hit a certain stage. At stage 6 will Mom be upset by being touched by strangers. My Mom got where she didn't like men. Here's what I found.

http://peripheralneuropathycenter.uchicago.edu/learnaboutpn/evaluation/autonomic/index.shtml

My sister just had it done after fainting one time and no no NO she will not go through that ever again. She’s only 53 with no other health problems.. yes, it made her “faint” again so she might need to not get up so quickly in the middle of the night. So many tests for the next 2 weeks and it ended with no diagnosis, not even orthostatic hypotension 🤦🏼‍♀️

Your mother is homebound and has Alzheimer’s according to your profile. And she’s 90. this testing is probably unnecessary unless she’s got problems that NEED to be treated and this testing will diagnose the problems. You are absolutely right to question the necessity of the testing and what will be accomplished. I really believe that there comes a time with our elders when it’s time to stop going to doctors and specialists for every little thing and just take a palliative approach. Give them the best quality of life, rather than trying to keep them alive as long as possible. If taking your mother out for this test is going to disrupt and upset her, then.....good has to outweigh the bad.

I just looked this up.

How will your mom respond to tilt table testing? Can she follow instructions?

A very wise geriatrician said to me "if you're not going to do the treatment, don't do the testing".

You need to ask the doc what the treatment would be if they find neuropathy. Will it help with the vasovagal problem?

I would ask the doctor, because they just think in terms of training. He may have never realized that your mom is 90, stage 6 and has mobility problems.

I just read a quick article about this, I would question his motivation for the test.

Never ceases to amaze me that once a specialist gets you on their calendar they just keep scheduling visits, no matter what.

You can say no, no procedure, she can't deal with it.