AIBU to be worried about blood flow in neck?

[RaeCJ82]

When I lie on my sides at night my pulse is really strong in my neck on the right side and not so strong at all on the left! AIBU to be worried about this? I've been experiencing dizziness for 3 months now and I also have head heaviness. I've had heart checks but nobody's every checked the arteries in my neck.

Well, when you lie on your side, one side is fighting against gravity to push blood over your upper side and the other side has gravity to help blood flow over your lower side, so for example you’d expect lying on your left side to feel the pulse be stronger along your upper right side because it’s pushing blood uphill.

YANBU to have concern about your dizziness. Have they checked your ears? Have you recently hit your head? Has your blood sugar been checked for signs of diabetes?

When I lie on my right side and feel my neck the pulse is really strong through the side. Not so much on the left side when I'm lying on my left.
Yes, I do have some fluid in my middle ear and am taking a steroid spray to try and clear them but this has just been diagnosed. Seems strange that my symptoms have been going on for 3 months.
It's giving me terrible anxiety, which is made worse by my heart rate dropping below 60 when I'm sitting with feet up or lying down.

Ah, well the fluid in the middle ear is probably causing your dizziness. So that is explained at least.

It could simply be cogenital if you’re feeling pulse manually as the arteries aren’t always exactly the same distance under the skin on both sides of the neck. However, since it’s making you very anxious, you could ask for a blood test to see if you have any markers of heart disease. They’ve already checked your heart so you know that is working as it should. Are you able to take a walk every day? This will help your circulation as well.

Tbh you sound as though you have some health anxiety, but then the only cure is to be told you're okay after having checks, so perhaps you should ask to be referred again. Did you see a cardiologist, or were your checks done by your gp?
You might naturally have a low heart rate, a lot of people do, and 60 really isn't that low. You will only make yourself more anxious if you sit continually taking your pulse. My heart rate has alway been on the low side and often drops down into the 40's, but it doesn't make me feel any different. (BTW, I do have a cardiologist who is aware of this, and I do have a mild heart problem due to being an old fart). So, get yourself checked out again, if nothing is wrong, move on and forget about it.

Yes I do think that this whole dizziness thing has caused me to be anxious and I have referred myself for some CBT to combat it. Never experienced it before but this dizziness has just blindsided me!
I had some blood tests and they checked all inflammatory markers, d-diner etc. They also did a fbc, thyroid, glucose etc and the only thing that came back was a very slight vit d deficiency. I think the normal range is from 50 and my result was 47.
I think it's just that I can't believe middle ear fluid would cause the dizziness for 3 months without resolving so I'm looking for anything else it could be.
I also have ectopic beats but maybe that's from anxiety. I'm getting a 7 day event monitor in about a week and a half to check them.

*d-dimer

Your body isn't symmetrical OP, so you shouldn't expect it to behave exactly the same on each side. For example, pregnant women are advised to sleep on their left side. If it made no difference it would just be any side wouldn't it.

That said, if you are worried the only way to fix that is to speak to your GP and they will advise.

It's giving me terrible anxiety, which is made worse by my heart rate dropping below 60 when I'm sitting with feet up or lying down.

I take my pulse when I am bored in meetings, and it is often down at 57/58 bpm.

You sound like a bit of a hypochondriac. Is everything else in your life okay? You seem overly focused on your health.

Middle ear related balance problems can be effectively indefinite unless addressed

Actually, this is called pulsatile tinnitus and can be quite serious. It can be a problem with a blood vessel in your brain and you should get an MRI.

The head pressure is very disconcerting. It feels like my head is too heavy and it's being pushed downwards. Assuming that it's all ear related but it's not pleasant.