Temporal Arteritis and Post Concussion Syndrome

Posted , 8 users are following.

I hit my head this past September in my attic and received a concussion.  My third concussion in four years and so a difficult recovery.  It has led to Post Concussion Syndrome and I've struggled with my head and different symptoms since the fall.  

Lately, in the past month or so, I occasionally if I walk to fast or my heart rate goes up, I feel a lot of pressure through my forehead and temples.  Feel the blood flow pulsing and throbbing through.  The past few weeks my left temple has been sore and bothering me.  Can not sleep on that side of my head at night.  Constantly applying pressure with my finger to ease the pain and can feel my pulse.  I had a call into my Neuro's office to ask if this is normal.  They put in the request for me to have lab work done to check for the inflammation markers.  I went in this morning and now I am waiting on the results.  I am I kind of freaking out and maybe reading too much on line.   The feeling and soreness is kind of radiatiing through more of my face now.  My ear is sore, almost like an ear infection, and the top of my jaw is sore. I am having a hard time being paitent and waiting for the blood results!!

I am struggling to find anything online that relates post concussion syndrome or concussion at all to this temporal arteritis.  Do any of you here know of a relation?  

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5 Replies

  • Posted

    It sounds very similar to GCA which means a trip to the ER. I've been told that other then temple pain there is also pain in your jaw when eating and a painful scalp. Do you not use a rheumatologist to treat your PMR? If not it would probably be in your best interest because your more likely to find one that is up to date on the disease. Of course you'll want to see what Eileen has says, she is so informed about PMR. Good luck to you. And if I were you I'd be buying a hard hat. I think they even come with beer holder! hahaha

    • Posted

      Thank you!!!  I have many a friend and family who want to buy me a hard hat!
    • Posted

      Are we talking an immediate trip to the ER or tomorrow afternoon after I work trip to the ER?  😩

  • Posted

    How old are you? That is relevant too!

    I think the reason you can't find anything online is because there is no link really so nothing has been written. GCA is due an autoimmune disorder caausing your immune system to attack body tissues in error while PCS is due to a head injury. You could argue that the head injury was a contributor to stressing the immune system and causing it to malfunction but no single factor causes GCA, there are many things which pile up over many years. 

    If there were a link I'd expect it to be mentioned here

    https://concussionfoundation.org/PCS-resources/what-is-PCS ;

    or in the Mayo Clinic article - and it isn't.

    You are under a neurologist and they diagnose GCA and care for patients in many countries. Yours is checking your inflammatory markers - and until you know them there is probably little to do. All these things take a bit of time - although the blood results should be available by now, it takes a couple of hours at my local hospital. They aren't always raised in GCA but it is unusual. I doubt anyone would diagnose GCA on the basis of your symptoms - particularly since you have an existing diagnosis to account for them and PCS can last up to a year or more. 

    Call your neuro again before you head for ER - they will probably also point to the existing diagnosis before going looking for zebras. There is little they can look for, they too will start with the blood tests.

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