Not diagnosed yet

Posted by scaredycat @scaredycat, Jan 29, 2023

Hi, new here, scared, and not officially diagnosed yet.
I have a lot of anxiety about seeing doctors so I pretty much never do.
This summer I started not feeling well and even though they say there's no symptoms I suspected hypertension.
I went to a walk in clinic to get my blood pressure checked and it was so high they said it was close to hypertensive crisis.
They started me on medication and 2 weeks later my toe went numb. Yet somehow also extremely sensitive to touch. Sometimes it burns.
I asked if this was a medication side effect and they said no.
Fast forward to today and 3 blood pressure medications later my toe is still numb and now so is 1 thumb.
I don't even know what type of doctor to see for proper diagnosis but I think I have peripheral neuropathy.
I have an appointment with a general practitioner but it's 2 months from now. What kind of doctor do I need for a diagnosis of this numbness and burning?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.

John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jan 29, 2023

Hello @scaredycat, Welcome to Connect. It can be a little scary when you don't know what's causing your symptoms and they come on rather suddenly. A neurologist may be your best choice for getting a diagnosis by running nerve conduction tests, EMG or a skin punch biopsy if needed. There are some blood pressure and other medications that can cause neuropathy symptoms. Here's a list of some of them:
-- Neuropathy secondary to drugs: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000700.htm.

I'm not a doctor or medical professional but I suspect your pharmacist may know a lot more about side effects of the different medications than most doctors. You might want to just give your pharmacist a call and explain that the symptoms started shortly after taking the blood pressure medications.

What helps me when I have upcoming appointments is to write out a list of questions that I would like to get answered or some help to understand what might be going on. If you want to give that a try for your upcoming appointment here is a good site for learning how to do it -- https://patientrevolution.org/visit-tools.

Are you able to call your pharmacist for possible suggestions for questions to discuss with your GP at your upcoming appointment?