Hello, I have a raised temporal artery on the right side. The nerves around my both eyes are painful and I get pain in both temples and in the back of my head and at the base of my skull and neck, along with the occasional dizziness. I have flickering in both eyes (but I do suffer from anxiety after falling backwards down some stairs and hitting the back of my head.) I have had 4 (yes 4!) MRI s - I have a herniated disc at C5/C6 which is relatively large but not compressing on the spine or nerves and the 2 x MRI s which where of the brain and cervical spine could show no reason for the symptoms. My doctor suspected temporal arteritis and I had 2 weeks of Prednisone (3 days on 60mg and then reducing as I saw an Opthamologist who thought it unlikely to be temporal arteritis as I am 44 yrs old, My ESR is 2 and my CRP is less than one - he decided against doing a biopsy). My blood pressure normally is on the lower side around 108/73 - which is not unusual for me - except during stressful times when it has raised to 140/90 (when I am having anxiety - which has been quite a few times recently). I am going back to see another Opthamologist for a 2nd opinion next week on my doctors advice and then seeing a Neurologist for possible trigeminal neuralgia. And my Orthopaedic Surgeon thinks I probably have cervical radiculopathy. My question is rather than take the prescribed pain type medications (Gabapentin and Nortriptyline) which I am reluctant to take because of the side effects (I am not very big and all these medications don t seem to agree with me and the pain I don t think warrants that), what type of supplements or things can I take to protect my arteries/veins and secondly do you have any idea what else this could be? Is it normal/ok to have a raised temporal artery? Is it safe to go to a cranio osteopath or have acupuncture? I feel like I am going round and round in circles and whilst pain I can live with - I would really like to ensure my eyes are ok! Your opinion/advice is much appreciated.