Patient Guide to Prepare for Autonomic Lab Testing

The patient referred for autonomic testing should undergo the following test preparation:

Autonomic Testing Information

• No alcoholic drinks 14 hours before your study.
• No nicotine (cigarettes) or caffeine (tea, chocolate, coffee or caffeinated soft drinks) 3 hours before study.
• No constrictive clothing such as Jobst stockings, corsets, binders on the morning of the study.
• Please eat and drink normally (DO have breakfast/lunch) prior to testing except for caffeine and chocolate.
• Skin should be clean: no lotion, oil, cream, or perfume. Make-up is fine (except for TST test)
• If the patient has a cardiac pacemaker, please call the Autonomic Laboratory for special arrangements.
• Testing sometimes causes dizziness or fainting. If these are your symptoms it would be better to have someone drive you. Otherwise, it is fine to drive yourself.
• Certain medications, if permitted by the referring physician, may need to be stopped prior to the study. If medications are unsafe to stop, we will test you and take this into account when interpreting the results.*

*The Autonomic Laboratory is a testing facility only. Although a physician will be involved in interpreting the study, this does not constitute a consultation (for which a separate referral would be necessary). We therefore cannot make any medical recommendations nor advise as the safety of discontinuing your medications.