Feeling my pulse at the back of my head

[O2Bfree]

The past couple years I've been increasingly feeling my pulse at the back of my head. There's no pain, I've never been prone to headaches, but there's a nearly constant dull pounding that tends to get worse when I'm tired. I don't notice it so much when I'm occupied, mostly when I'm sitting quietly or lying in bed. I've been thinking about asking my PCP about it, maybe I should get a scan to see if there's a problem with my blood vessels or something. I probably have some arthritis in my neck, maybe that's contributing to this sensation?

Anyone else have this and have discovered the cause?

 

[LOL!]

I don't have this, but I see no reason not to ask your PCP about it. Let us know what they tell you please.

I am thin and can watch my pulse in the artery near the surface of the inside of my upper arm. It grosses out my wife though.

I don't have high blood pressure and my resting heart rate is in the low 40s and upper 30s.

Not on any medication.

 

[mystang52]

Anything medically out of the ordinary needs to be checked by a doctor. Don't wait.

 

[O2Bfree]

I don't have this, but I see no reason not to ask your PCP about it. Let us know what they tell you please.

I am thin and can watch my pulse in the artery near the surface of the inside of my upper arm. It grosses out my wife though.

I don't have high blood pressure and my resting heart rate is in the low 40s and upper 30s.

Not on any medication.

No high blood pressure, pulse rate, or medication here either. Ah, the mysteries of aging!

 

[badatmath]

I just recently heard someone say this can indicate a heart valve issue but would honestly not know if true. I think you should consult a doctor.

 

[O2Bfree]

I just recently heard someone say this can indicate a heart valve issue but would honestly not know if true. I think you should consult a doctor.

I had echocardiogram a few years ago, and my heart structure checked out fine. I did end up having an ablation for an "accessory pathway", an extra electrical circuit in my heart that was causing tachycardia episodes. I'll keep that in mind though, new things can certainly pop up these days!

 

[cbo111]

A friend had similar symptoms. His doctor said too much diet soda might be causing the problem. No kidding! He stopped drinking Diet Pepsi and the pulsing went away after a couple days. Unfortunately, he enjoyed his diet soda so much that he resumed drinking it a few months later and said he would just put up with the pulsing.

 

[O2Bfree]

A friend had similar symptoms. His doctor said too much diet soda might be causing the problem. No kidding! He stopped drinking Diet Pepsi and the pulsing went away after a couple days. Unfortunately, he enjoyed his diet soda so much that he resumed drinking it a few months later and said he would just put up with the pulsing.

Interesting! No diet soda here, though I do drink quite a lot of coffee sometimes.

 

[ocean view]

Could you be dehydrated? I experience something similar when I hike and I’m getting dehydrated.

Keep in mind that coffee/caffeine is a diuretic, so perhaps you are taking in less water than you think.

 

[street]

^ I can tell you if I drink to much coffee it can do some strange things like that. I cut back and drink no coffee in the late afternoon and has done wonders for me. I will have a small cup mid afternoon but I do pay attention to it now.

 

[MRG]

Could you be dehydrated? I experience something similar when I hike and I’m getting dehydrated.

Keep in mind that coffee/caffeine is a diuretic, so perhaps you are taking in less water than you think.

+1
Dehydration can cause a multitude of problems. I'd still be at the PCPs office this week.

 

[pacergal]

Could be tension or migraine headache, even if you feel no pain per se. The constant, dull pounding would be pain to me.
Definitely check in with your PCP. Stress, anxiety, caffeine, dehydration are all possible culprits.

 

[O2Bfree]

Could you be dehydrated? I experience something similar when I hike and I’m getting dehydrated.

Keep in mind that coffee/caffeine is a diuretic, so perhaps you are taking in less water than you think.

I doubt if I'm dehydrated. Urine color doesn't indicate that problem; rather the opposite at times in fact.