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Pulsating Temporal Arteries

Hi, I am a 25 year old male, 6'1 and weigh about 12 stone. Lead a generally healthy life and eat a balanced diet. SInce I was 21 I have had a problem with my adrenaline. I used to work as a kitchen porter in a very busy restaurant, in this restaurant the working conditions were extremely bad, there was no air conditioning and you could be on your feet for eight hours at a time in a very hot kitchen.

During the period I was working there I noticed that my body started to become quite vascular, I had never been vascular before this and no one in my family is vascular either. I assumed that because of the working conditions and how hot it was in the kitchen that maybe my veins/arteries had just become more noticeable because of the heat. During this time I was under a lot of other stress, I was in my final year in college and also had women troubles as well as other personal problems that were causing me stress.

Anyway, at this time my temple arteries became prominent on both sides of my head. I assumed it was due to stress and the swelling would reduce at some stage. This has not happened and they are permanently swollen on both sides of my head and any kind of physical activity causes them to swell and bulge on the sides of my head, and pulsate really hard and really fast. I used to play drums, be in a gym and did rowing for two years after all of this, but have since had to stop all of these hobbies because my body gets too worked up.

It has become so bad that it has disrupted my sleep, and has reached a point where I have severe insomnia, and have had sleeping problems for the last 18 months, I can not sleep unless I either use sleeping tablets or drink alcohol. I am on the verge of losing my job because I can not handle the workload anymore as the lack of sleep has taken away all of my energy.

Also, any physical activity seems to cause my body to act up and the temple arteries to go nuts on my head, as well as my heart pumping really fast. If I masterbate it causes this to happen, also having sex causes the same issue and then I can't sleep after both of these things, if I go for a run, or do sit ups or push ups or any form of exercise I get pumped up and again can't sleep.

At this point I am at my wits end I do not know what to do, I am currently using mirap which is an anti depressant, and having previously over the course of the last year used zopitan as well as other prescription sleeping tablets and herbal sleeping pills to try to sleep.

I also tried to kill myself two weeks ago, I was drinking heavily and when I got home I took as many zopitan tablets as I could in the hope that I would end it all. I do not want to do this again and I am glad that I did not die, but I have reached a point where I feel that I cannot handle this situation anymore. I need some advice, I will be going to see a therapist but I am not looking for any psychological advice, I need to get the physical problem fixed, and any suggestions of it being in my head will not help.

I need to be able to exercise and do normal physical activities that I used to be able to do before all of this? I have seen other posts about hypertension, or temporal arteritis are any of these the possible cause? Can this problem be fixed?

I have had my blood pressure checked, and also I have had tests to determine if my thyroid is overactive, the results found that my blood pressure is normal and my thyroid is normal, are there any other possible things I could check to help find out what the problem is?


3 Responses
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12803799 tn?1427315791
Hello Vienboy.  I'm glad you are reaching out especially in light of the suicide attempt.  I wouldn't normally just reply on very many of these community talk things but I have a similar issue.  I have a pulsing twitching Temporal Artery mostly on my left side.  I've been checked for Arteritis but there was no conclusive results.  Another similarity is that I have been taking anti-depressants for many years. The question entered my mind whether we are looking at possible side effects of medications.  Most importantly, the thought of suicide because of the torturous discomfort and sleep interruption has crossed my mind more times than it should.  YOUR NOT ALONE!  Do you have any more history with taking depression or any other mental health medication?  
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Avatar universal
I have similar issues with the temporal arteries but not the deep psyc issues. Mine is from criminals assaulting me and intentionally damaging the walls of the arteries through blunt force to them multiple times.  They put extreem pressure on them using their thumbs.   I do not believe they can be repaired.  Duel ligation would be the only medical technique to solve the enlarged artery issue but is very risky. That is the advice from doctors.  Transplanting healthy arteries is risky as well and would leave a large scar.  The artery feeds the scalp area and the end result would be questionable and again risky.   It is a serious issue and even more so for the younger patient.  Women often cover them up with their hair, but men have more of a challenge.  If there is a better way to do this I would like to know about it.  If there is medical risk in the temporal arteries swollen and not GCA / TA, I would like to know that also so that the reason for insurance being responsible for the surgery could be applied.  Currently the patient has to pay if surgery isn't  considered medically necessary.  I would feel that the risk of developing infection or clotting would be increased by the damaged arterial wall...?
Helpful - 0
363281 tn?1643235611
I really think you need to see a neurologist and also a good psychologist. The neurologist will do some tests to determine why you are having these problems, and the psychologist will help you in dealing with the mental anguish that these problems are giving you.

As to not wanting psychological advise, well, sometimes that is needed to help you deal with the root of the problem, there is nothing wrong with seeing one, some can really be a big help even if the problem IS physical.
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