Can feel pulse in head
Posted , 2 users are following.
sorry me again with my constant headache chat...i had 5 days headache free this week, 5!!! thats amazing for me since ive had them almost constantly since October. today when im chilled enjoyed xmas films and feeling very relaxed. out of nowhere. headache. now im anxious but only because the headache is back.
when i place my hand on my temple i can feel my pulse really strongly. is this normal and ive just not noticed it before?
my brain is trying extra hard to convince myself its my thyroid (typically something i havent been tested for yet) i have absolutely no other symptoms of thyroid issues but you know anxiety, its always very convincing. i need to keep away from google.
i dont even no what my point is. just gutted the headache is back. my family dont really get anxiety so i feel a bit alone in this struggle.
wishing everyone who celebrates a happy and hopefully anxiety and physical symptom free Christmas.
1 like, 3 replies
Guest emma74461
Posted
Hello,
Okay, both tension headaches and migraine syndrome can very commonly produce a pulsating effect in the temple areas of the head. Placing your finger there and detecting it is quite common and muscular tension acts as a transducer in accentuating your pulse. As you might well guess, tension is also the likely culprit for the headaches as well. Pulsatile tinnitus is also a common occurrence and persons who experience it describe being able to hear their pulse in their ears. This is because the auditory nerve, which runs very close to the internal carotid artery amplifies the pulse through muscle tension that once again acts to transduce the sound to the extent it is audible due to the circumstances described. Both instances described are entirely normal.
With respect to your thyroid, none of what you describe would be among the symptoms common to thyroid dysfunction. It also depends upon whether you are speaking of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, both of which bear a constellation of symptoms outside the realm of what you suspect.
If you primary care physican provides an annual lab screen, then if medical necessity can be justified a simple TSH value can be obtained to determine whether your thyroid is functioning normally. In the absence of such a test, thyroid tests are most commonly sought as a consequence of the symptoms and the company that they keep prompting your physician to have blood drawn and a TSH level performed.
In the presence of anxiety, I can tell you as a retired medical professional that nothing of what you describe would suggest pathology is at hand and based upon your concerns, there is no medical necessity to seek a TSH level. Persons with health anxiety tend to demonstrate excessive vigilance both internally and externally.
As usual, I will state here that online forums are an excellent source to locate people with similarities that most often aid in providing reassurance that you're not alone in your difficulties. The internet, however, is a very poor resource regarding medical advice. So despite the portions of my reply relevant to your concerns that pertain to medical issues, it is always advisable to seek out answers directly from your primary physician. Once that has been accomplished, the forum is a far more appropriate in sharing any findings, or lack thereof, with others who have similar concerns or inquiry.
Best regards
emma74461 Guest
Posted
thank you for this @arthur56997@
im sure my headache symptoms are from anxiety but it worries me when i feel relaxed and not anxious at all but the headache is still there, all day. i cant notice any triggers, unless you count just being alive and here! how on earth do i get it to stop when i dont feel anxious, as in panicked. i use to panic but now ive overcome that is this just a new way my anxiety is manifesting? i dont get panic, shaking, faint rapid heart beats any more just constant dull headaches for 4 months now without a break.
thank you for the reassurance about thyroid. i dont have any other symptoms aside from a constant tension headache.
Guest emma74461
Posted
Okay, several points to bring forth into the discussion here. Over many years, I had patients who exclaimed "But how can this be due to anxiety? I don't feel anxious or nervous in any manner?"
Realize that as anxiety ratchets upward and becomes chronic, the features that people more typically recognize to be associated with anxiety are transformed into somatic, or physical manifestations of the disorder. In other words, physical symptoms that are very much like those caused by real disease become salient and represent the presence of intense forms of anxiety such that psychological manifestations of anxiety are accompanied and, in some cases can predominate, chronic anxiety.
The symptoms that you describe being associated more purely with Panic Disorder are those more caused by activation of the body's fight-or-flight response and are largely associated purely with physical manifestations of significant increases in adrenalin.
Also be aware that Panic Disorder, while often found to accompany chronic or protracted forms of anxiety, is different in that it results from reductions in the neurotransmitter GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid. So the absence of the symptoms of Panic Disorder in no way constitutes the non-presence of chronic and intense anxiety. Again we're talking about two distinct issues rather than the suggestion that they are one and the same.
If you've experienced the unrelenting headaches for the period of time described, then unless you've already discussed the matter with your primary doctor then the suggestion here is to visit or request re-evaluation of the headaches with particular attention to discussion of medications that can bring about relief.
I can share with you, however, that headaches can be quite difficult to treat successfully because their origins can be wide-ranging and can often test the patient's diligence in working with their physician as different medications are administered on a trial basis until a suitable one is found to bring about relief.
Lastly, the fact that the headache symptoms abated briefly before returning is also evidence that the syndrome is more associated with tension and other factors related to anxiety and most definitely not any type of prelude to something more sinister. Regardless, there is nothing to suggest that you should be required to tolerate the persistent pain associated with the headaches so it's important not to merely accept a response to your medical complaint that "it's just anxiety," as if to infer that treatment is not necessary in such instances. No patient should be made to tolerate pain as a consequence of its suspected origin and reduction in pain through effective treatment in certain instances very often leads to the diminished source or origin of the discomfort as well.
Best regards