Peripheral Neuropathy: Diagnosis
With neuropathy, like many neurological diseases, early detection is critical. The longer neuropathy goes undiagnosed, the more difficult it becomes to treat. Although nerve damage can be mild initially, it can spread and become much more serious, even irreversible, if left untreated.

Your doctor may perform nerve conduction studies and electromyography to determine if nerve damage has occurred and to what extent. EMG can also help to distinguish whether symptoms are related to a neuropathy or to a muscle disorder.

Lumbar puncture is sometimes useful to be rule out infectious diseases like meningitis, high or low levels of cerebrospinal fluid, and to detect abnormal protein levels.