@davidrossgarrett Hi David and welcome to Connect. There could be many reasons for the symptoms you are experiencing, and you could go down a wrong path if you assume that you know the reason for this, and it would be a mistake NOT to see a doctor to assess the situation. You are right to check your blood pressure, and there could be caffeine or dietary reasons for high blood pressure, but stress and being upset cause huge spikes in blood pressure too. That happens to me, and I have to work at not letting things bother me. It's the fight or flight response that does this, and it's even possible to have fight or flight affect you while you are sleeping if you have sleep apnea. A friend told me that, and after she got a CPAP machine her anxiety got better because she wasn't struggling to breathe in her sleep, and the anxiety was driving up her blood pressure during the daytime. 170/110 is pretty high for blood pressure. I recommend getting a blood pressure cuff so you can take your blood pressure several times a day and keep a log for your doctor. They recommend that blood pressure should be under 120/80. The higher number is your heart contracting, and the lower number is the resting phase between beats. With a resting pressure of 110, your vessels have a lot of pressure all the time which is not good and it can cause damage over time if it stays high. Also take your blood pressure laying down, vs standing and sitting up and give it several minutes to stabilize in between doing this and record any changes for your doctor. Blood pressure medicine is usually inexpensive.

I made a mistake not long ago thinking I had a long ongoing sinus problem because I had always had allergies and sinus problems, and it wasn't until I found a soft spot on the roof of my mouth that I realized I had a tooth absses that was eating a hole in my jawbone around the tooth. I had an absses years ago and a root canal was done to stop the infection and save the tooth. Well what happened recently was that the root canal had failed and the infection spread into my jaw bone, and that required oral surgery to clean up the infection. I had been through dental problems at a young age because of trauma to the tooth, and I didn't know that root canals often fail as they age, so I ignored my symptoms until it was a big expensive problem and I hadn't had a dental X ray in awhile even though I saw my dentist every 6 months. The dental X-rays were usually done on the molars and this was a front tooth. Even though I know a lot about my health, I still made a mistake because I assumed I knew the answer.

I also want to let you know that a physical misalignment of the skull, neck and jaw has the potential to compromise and alter blood flow to the brain, and habitual bad posture can affect that too. Here is an article written by a physical therapist who trains other PTs, and he explains a lot of these issues and has other good articles on his website. The atlas and the axis he talks about are the 2 vertebrae that hold up the skull at the top of the spine and they have to be in proper alignment. You might want an evaluation by a spine expert or a physical therapist who treats spine issues. Here is the article, see what you think. https://mskneurology.com/treating-migraine-headaches-addressing-atlas-thoracic-outlet/ Problems of blood flow disruptions to the brain will cause light headedness. Tingling and numbness can be related to blood pressure too and other causes. If it is something specific like when your leg falls asleep from the circulation being cut off for example for something like crossing your legs, it will be numb, and when the circulation starts going back in, it will tingle. If tingling and numbness are related to a change in body position, it could be something different altogether, like a physical nerve entrapment problem, something like carpal tunnel. There can be neuropathy causes too.

You could have more than one cause at the same time, and a doctor should be able to find them or rule others out. Has a doctor done a blood test to diagnose Diabetes? Diabetes does cause neuropathy. You are correct about too much dietary sugar and carbs that convert to sugars are not good for diabetics. My dad was a diabetic, and that is related to heart disease. You are young, and if you have this, you should control it now in order to be healthy as you age. The inflammation caused by diabetes affects the arteries and leads to plaque deposits and heart disease, and also raises risk of strokes. It's great that you are aware of health related things, but health is so complex, it really takes a medical professional to work out the causes of symptoms. Thanks for reaching out here on Connect.

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