Hypertensive/Hepatic/Renal or Diabetic Encephalopathy? Something else?

@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.

@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.

I was never informed, not once in my life, that systemic poor circulation could kill a person.
I've never heard "systemic poor circulation" mentioned as a cause of death in obituaries or coroner's reports.
I never even thought about it because who does? Maybe everyone did but I failed to notice.
If I die from the ongoing crisis that's currently ailing me then my cause of death would indeed be SYSTEMIC POOR CIRCULATION. I can't drink half a glass of juice without hours of tingling.

@davidrossgarrett I am not sure what you are talking about here. I talked about issues as examples in the context or if it was my own experience or that of someone else that I knew. It sounds like this has been a stressful situation for you, and that you want a diagnosis and a plan of care. I did not try to make a connection of your symptoms to any medical problem; I just wanted to let you know what symptoms could be connected to a particular medical problem as general information. The same or similar symptoms can indicate different problems and it all has to be figured out by a physician. In my earlier post to you, I was giving examples of health problems and how they can be missed. My goal is to teach patients how to advocate for themselves with their health providers. I am not a medical professional, but what I have learned from advocating for myself and my elderly parents is the experience that I try to pass along so someone else can learn from it in case it may benefit them. If it doesn't benefit your situation, that is fine. Medicine is complex and you need a good detective to figure out where your symptoms are coming from if they could have more than one cause. I have had success in figuring out things my doctors have missed, but I also made mistakes because I assumed I knew what I was doing. No one here on Connect can diagnose your symptoms, but we can offer what we have learned from our own or our family's experiences with health care.

May I recommend that we should not try to diagnose ourselves unless we have the medical training to do that? Life comes with no guarantees, and we have to do the best we can, and ask for help when we need it and everything is a choice that we either make or not. The things you mention are red flags to me that need further attention in my mind. You don't have to agree with me. What I often do is help try to explain something in language that is easier to understand. As a patient, please understand that doctors are under a lot of stress to get things right. I am not making excuses for doctors who don't listen, but they are human, and if a stressful conflict arises at an appointment, it will direct their attention away from trying to solve the problem. I go to appointments prepared with questions, respectful, and in the spirit of hope that there will be an answer and advice I can benefit from. I am grateful for the good doctors I have in my life, and some have changed my life and I make sure they know how much I appreciate their contribution. I give them credit, but also I recognize that what I brought as a patient is part of the success of the appointment. I do understand that employers can be difficult when asking for time off, but there is a Family and Medical leave Act that applies to scheduled time off from work for medical issues and a doctor will need to sign forms for this. You can contact your human resources person if this is something that you need. The choices are yours and if you need a different medical opinion, there are other doctors out there. I have moved on when I didn't get answers and found a doctor who was able to help me. I hope that you can do that too. If you believe that your health is in serious danger, as you suggested, I hope you will seek qualified help. Thanks for reaching out.