Inflamed Temporal Artery with head pressure

Question

I'm a 23-year-old male, and my blood pressure remains normal (120/70 or 120/80) thank God.

More than 3 weeks ago I had suddenly got up from the squatting position to the standing position, I felt something twitch immediately above my left ear. On placing my fingers there where I felt the twitch I found that it was some kind of artery (since I could feel it pulsating). I compared the pulse with the cartoid artery and found that the pulses of both coincided with each other. Thus I came to the conclusion that it was an artery that twitched, and that twitching was actually a heart beat.

During these 3 weeks I would occasionally feel the twitching in the same area. I remember once that, while I was sitting on a chair, I had to suddenly get up and run, and while I did that I could clearly feel the twitching (heart beat) in that area immediately above the ear.

But during these last 3 days I've been feeling pressure on the left of the temple (near the twitching takes place), and when I feel the temporal artery I feel that it is harder and bulging than the one in the right temple. The pressure comes and goes, but the artery remains inflamed. There is no headache, no dizziness, no numbness, no fever, etc.

So I went to a neurologist who ordered some blood tests and an MRI. The blood tests were ESR and WBC, among many other. Both the MRI and the blood tests came back normal, thanks to God alone. ESR = 5, WBC = 5.58 10^3/mm^3. The MRI showed nasal polyps, which is normal since I've had them since childhood.

Now the neuro says that he can't do anything else and told me to take paracetamol (acetaminophen). He said that it could be normal and that I'm just obsessed with it. He also said that it cannot be any kind of Temporal Arteritis, since ESR and WBC came back normal.

My questions are:

1. Do I need to give other blood tests, such as CRP, ANA, and RF, to really rule out any kind of inflammation?

2. Is MRI enough to show if there is aneurysm or not?

3. Could it be vasculitis? What tests should I give to see if it's not?

4. What should be my next move? Should I wait for it to subside or for the symptoms to get worse? Or should I act fast and see another neuro or another specialist?

Now a days I'm feeling head pressure in the right ear as well.

Thank you for any help.

Qatada · Answer

On the report for doppler it is written "vertebrobasilar insufficiency".

What can I do to treat it? Can exercise help improve the condition?

anuragsrivastava · Answer

Hi, It sounds like that you have benign positional vertigo but if you are significantly affected then I would suggest approaching a physiotherapist for treatment, He/She would like to suggest few exercises that may be of help in your condition. These exercises may help in improving vestibular nerve (Nerve involves in balance) function so the condition. In addition, I would suggest getting a neurologist opinion here as well in order to get complete neurological assessment and further approach. Hope this helps.

Qatada · Answer

I went to another neurologist and he ordered doppler scan for carotid arteries, and they found that the blood volume flowing through the bilateral vertebral artery was 101 ml/min, which, they say, is a little below normal.

I've also felt some dizziness in the past few days.

The doctor prescribed ginkgo biloba. Will this solve the problem?

Can exercise improve the condition?

Qatada · Answer

For more than 6 months I have GERD and I haven't done anything about it. Could my problem be related to GERD?

Qatada · Answer

I already said in my original post that I've seen a neurologist who ordered blood tests and MRI of the brain, both came out normal (ESR and WBC was normal)

Also, I do not have headache, only pressure near the left ear (where the artery is inflamed) but sometimes also in the right ear. 

Also, it is not tender to touch, nor does it hurt when I comb my hair.

Isn't MRI enough here to find a problem, or do I need an CT scan as well?

If it's not temporal arteritis, then what could it be?

anuragsrivastava · Answer

Hi, Thank you for your question. This may be the temporal arteritis condition. In temporal arteritis condition headache is usually concentrated in the one region of your head and it is tender to touch and things like combing your hair may be painful. But in addition to this for any persistent headaches, possibilities like migrainous, cluster, tension and refractive errors that need to be evaluated thoroughly with the help of a neurologist here. Migraine like headache can be throbbing, one sided of face & head and preceded by aura (starts with blurred vision). Cluster headache may appear as burning, explosive in nature and tear appears from eyes. Tension headache originates with stress and anxiety disorder. Please arrange an appointment with a neurologist right away who will evaluate the further underlying disorders by clinically examine you & ordering MRI or CT scan here that may be the main reasons of your headache attacks & other symptoms and can provide you an appropriate treatment. Hope this information proves helpful to you. Take Care & Regards!!!

Qatada · Answer

I just like to add that before this problem started I took an antibiotic without any reason, thinking that I had an infection. I took Cefutil (Cefuroxime (Axetil) ).

Could it be possible that this problem was caused by taking an antibiotic without there being any infection?

Also, these days I always feel tired in the eyes.

Should I just start taking another antibiotic, just in case it is an infection?