Nitric Oxide - Bulging Temple Vein - Permanent?

[skinny668]

This is my first post, great forum you have here! I've been searching all over for answers but have come up empty handed, so I figured I'd try this a shot to see if anybody here has had a similar experience.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine turned me on to Nitric Oxide supplements. Some people say they don't work, but man, they worked for me. The effects were immediate. Instantly, I was adding 2-3 reps on almost every set I did. Over time, my body started to improve as well. At age 37, I'm the most ripped I've ever been in my whole life and have become quite vascular as well. I've always been pretty lean, so I've always been somewhat vascular. But after a couple years on and off of Nitric Oxide, I've had lots of new veins started to appear that I've never noticed before.

Most of the veins I like. However, there is one that I HATE!! A month ago, I was driving to the gym and had my sunroof open. The sunlight was hitting my temple and bam, there it was. A vein was going down the entire length of my temple, like a wiggling worm. Over the next few weeks, this bothered me more and more, so I finally quit the supplements. My stack was Jack3d, Creatine 189 and GNC's NO supplement. I quit all of it. I expected my veins to gradually start to return to normal, but nothing has changed so far. Some of the veins on my body might be going down a bit (possibly because I'm trying to take some time off the gym as well), but the one in my temple is still there.

At rest in a cool room, you can barely see it. But as soon as I do anything to raise my body temp just a bit, boom, the vein pops out (see attached pic of me sitting in the sun the other day). Anyway, I've done a lot of research on this, and it doesn't seem very typical for "normal" people. By normal, I mean the rest of the world with normal levels of body fat, etc. As I walked around the mall yesterday, I couldn't help but look at everybody else's temples. Not one vein to be seen. My online searches revealed the following possible causes for your temple artery to become prominent:

• Weight Loss
This isn't for me, I've weighed the same for years now

• Stress
I'm going through a divorce, so I'm sure that's not helping. But I've been pretty stressed with work for years now, so stress is nothing new to me.

• Age
Possible, as I am 37 now. But I would expect to aging to be more gradual. This vein came on very suddenly. In fact, I looked through a whole bunch of photos. I found one from just a couple months ago. It was hot, at the beach, all the conditions to cause the vein to freak out. But there's no vein. Not even a hint of it.

So that leads me to possible damage from the NO Supplements. After all, they all tout "get huge bulging veins" and that's exactly what I have. We all know that NO supplements are a powerful vasodilator. But now I'm worried that my temple vein has been dilated and is going to be permanently bugling. I have been freaking out (cause it's quite ugly on my face), and went to the doc to get my blood pressure checked. I'm 110/70, which is supposedly perfect. She said it was a cosmetic issue only and recommended I talk to a vascular specialist. Uhghg. My god. What have I done to myself???

The only photos I can find online that match mine are of old people suffering from Temporal Artesis, which is a very serious condition for old folk and something that I most definitely do not have. I've attached two photos. One from January, one from March. They are taken from different angles, but both show the same temple. As you can see, in January, I was totally fine. And now in March, I have a huge vein. WTF???

So my question to all of you... Do any of you that take NO supplements have this condition? Do any of you have this condition that don't take NO supplements? Do any of you know if this level of vasodilatation is permanent?

I'm going to make an appointment with a vein specialist, but figured I ask around the bodybuilding community to see if any of you had similar experiences on the past. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[D3Baseball]

Someone may have a more in-depth take than this, but quite simply I don't think this is related to your supplementation. Nothing in these supplements would be "permanent" as the ingredients all have relatively short lives (no more than a day, max). Moreover, the science behind most common "NO boosting" ingredients is rather dubious. There is only one or maybe two things that boost nitric oxide and they are not contained in the supplements you listed. You were probably getting those great results because of the stimulants including in the supplements, and of course creatine has its own positive effects.

I don't know about this vein, it could be related to working out intensely. However, rest assured your supplements haven't harmed you.

[skinny668]

Moreover, the science behind most common "NO boosting" ingredients is rather dubious. There is only one or maybe two things that boost nitric oxide and they are not contained in the supplements you listed.

I thought almost all NO Supplements contain L-Arginine, which is known vasodilator?

[itzDodge]

Regardless of body weight change your body composition has likely improved and that is why you have maintained improved vascularity.

[skinny668]

Regardless of body weight change your body composition has likely improved and that is why you have maintained improved vascularity.

Possible. But I do remember I was really low body fat back when I used to take an ECA stack a couple years ago. I found old pics. No vein. This monster literally just bursted to the surface out of the blue. And I'm certain my body composition hasn't changed much in the past 6 months or so.

I'll let you know what the vascular specialist has to say...

[schnitzer31]

i wouldnt worry about it too much.i have sth very similar but pops out only during lifting.u can get it checked out by a specialist just to be on the safe side but i wouldnt stress over it if i were u

[Mexisack]

I thought almost all NO Supplements contain L-Arginine, which is known vasodilator?

Arginine has been proven to be ineffective.

[mastrflex]

Arginine has been proven to be ineffective.

what makes you say this?

[SwolenONE]

what makes you say this?

scientific literature.

[mastrflex]

scientific literature.

links?

[skinny668]

Arginine has been proven to be ineffective.

Well, something in those NO supplements was working as advertised because I was getting significantly better pumps and became much more vascular while I was on them.

[pizzic17]

Well, something in those NO supplements was working as advertised because I was getting significantly better pumps and became much more vascular while I was on them.

Yes, during your workout you will be more pumped, and in return more vascular. But none of this leaves permanent changes in your vascularity. What you are seeing is veins that did not exist because your bodyfat was higher. This would be the case most of the time, but in yours I'm honestly not really sure. How much bodyfat is carried on the forehead? I'd get it checked out to be safe but it's probably just something you're going to have to accept.

[skinny668]

Yes, during your workout you will be more pumped, and in return more vascular. But none of this leaves permanent changes in your vascularity. What you are seeing is veins that did not exist because your bodyfat was higher. This would be the case most of the time, but in yours I'm honestly not really sure. How much bodyfat is carried on the forehead? I'd get it checked out to be safe but it's probably just something you're going to have to accept.

My face and forehead are very thin. It's low body fat combined with a normal aging process. What scared me is the rather sudden appearance of the vein, combined with the NO supplement usage. But seems to me everybody is saying any potential vasodilatation that occurs from these supplements is temporary. Sounds like my next steps are to try to gain some weight. Sucks though, 'cause my abs look great, as do the veins over the rest of my body. It's a bit of a catch 22.

[Hawks58]

My face and forehead are very thin. It's low body fat combined with a normal aging process. What scared me is the rather sudden appearance of the vein, combined with the NO supplement usage. But seems to me everybody is saying any potential vasodilatation that occurs from these supplements is temporary. Sounds like my next steps are to try to gain some weight. Sucks though, 'cause my abs look great, as do the veins over the rest of my body. It's a bit of a catch 22.

So you are going to gain body fat to lose the vein on your forehead? Is it really that bothering that you are willing to gain bodyfat in order to lose the vein? There is also no telling how much bodyfat you will need to gain in order to lose it.

[RS6759]

It's going to be difficult to gain bf along your forehead and temples. Might just want to accept it.

[thewheeler]

I am having similar experiances. I starting using kre alkalyn 6 months ago. Recently I noticed the buldging vein. At first whenever my heart rate went up. Now I can semi see it at rest, ready to bulge, if my heart rate increases. I stopped with the supplement after my sister asked me about the vein. My mother claims she noticed it in the fall around the time I started with the supplement. They are unware of the supplement connection and I am hoping it will go away now that I have stopped with the supplement. I am a 31 year old male, in decent shape. I do have variouse veins in my leg, which may indicate geberal poor circulation. I have recently lost some weight and I am balding both of which are contributing factors to the visiblity, however at the time my mother noticed the vein I had just started the supplement and had actually gained weight.

Please keep me up to date on your experiance either on this thread or at thewheeler87@yahoo.ca

[mraikman]

This is my first post, great forum you have here! I've been searching all over for answers but have come up empty handed, so I figured I'd try this a shot to see if anybody here has had a similar experience.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine turned me on to Nitric Oxide supplements. Some people say they don't work, but man, they worked for me. The effects were immediate. Instantly, I was adding 2-3 reps on almost every set I did. Over time, my body started to improve as well. At age 37, I'm the most ripped I've ever been in my whole life and have become quite vascular as well. I've always been pretty lean, so I've always been somewhat vascular. But after a couple years on and off of Nitric Oxide, I've had lots of new veins started to appear that I've never noticed before.

Most of the veins I like. However, there is one that I HATE!! A month ago, I was driving to the gym and had my sunroof open. The sunlight was hitting my temple and bam, there it was. A vein was going down the entire length of my temple, like a wiggling worm. Over the next few weeks, this bothered me more and more, so I finally quit the supplements. My stack was Jack3d, Creatine 189 and GNC's NO supplement. I quit all of it. I expected my veins to gradually start to return to normal, but nothing has changed so far. Some of the veins on my body might be going down a bit (possibly because I'm trying to take some time off the gym as well), but the one in my temple is still there.

At rest in a cool room, you can barely see it. But as soon as I do anything to raise my body temp just a bit, boom, the vein pops out (see attached pic of me sitting in the sun the other day). Anyway, I've done a lot of research on this, and it doesn't seem very typical for "normal" people. By normal, I mean the rest of the world with normal levels of body fat, etc. As I walked around the mall yesterday, I couldn't help but look at everybody else's temples. Not one vein to be seen. My online searches revealed the following possible causes for your temple artery to become prominent:

• Weight Loss
This isn't for me, I've weighed the same for years now

• Stress
I'm going through a divorce, so I'm sure that's not helping. But I've been pretty stressed with work for years now, so stress is nothing new to me.

• Age
Possible, as I am 37 now. But I would expect to aging to be more gradual. This vein came on very suddenly. In fact, I looked through a whole bunch of photos. I found one from just a couple months ago. It was hot, at the beach, all the conditions to cause the vein to freak out. But there's no vein. Not even a hint of it.

So that leads me to possible damage from the NO Supplements. After all, they all tout "get huge bulging veins" and that's exactly what I have. We all know that NO supplements are a powerful vasodilator. But now I'm worried that my temple vein has been dilated and is going to be permanently bugling. I have been freaking out (cause it's quite ugly on my face), and went to the doc to get my blood pressure checked. I'm 110/70, which is supposedly perfect. She said it was a cosmetic issue only and recommended I talk to a vascular specialist. Uhghg. My god. What have I done to myself???

The only photos I can find online that match mine are of old people suffering from Temporal Artesis, which is a very serious condition for old folk and something that I most definitely do not have. I've attached two photos. One from January, one from March. They are taken from different angles, but both show the same temple. As you can see, in January, I was totally fine. And now in March, I have a huge vein. WTF???

So my question to all of you... Do any of you that take NO supplements have this condition? Do any of you have this condition that don't take NO supplements? Do any of you know if this level of vasodilatation is permanent?

I'm going to make an appointment with a vein specialist, but figured I ask around the bodybuilding community to see if any of you had similar experiences on the past. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

What you are seeing is the superficial temporal artery. Your supplements are not causing these. While everyone has them, there are no answers as to why they are only visible on some people. Loss of subcutaneous fat and thinning of the skin in the face as we age can make them more apparent but gaining weight will not do much to disguise these. Only known permanent remedy is surgical ligation by a vascular or
cosmetic surgeon although it's not easy to find someone who does this for cosmetic purposes in US. Much more common procedure in UK and Canada for some reason. Please respond with your results (if any) at
resolving this problem.

[KStax]

Try having 2-3 veins on both sides of your face...lol

[ExDubio11]

What you are seeing is the superficial temporal artery. Your supplements are not causing these. While everyone has them, there are no answers as to why they are only visible on some people. Loss of subcutaneous fat and thinning of the skin in the face as we age can make them more apparent but gaining weight will not do much to disguise these. Only known permanent remedy is surgical ligation by a vascular or
cosmetic surgeon although it's not easy to find someone who does this for cosmetic purposes in US. Much more common procedure in UK and Canada for some reason. Please respond with your results (if any) at
resolving this problem.

No, it's actually his superficial temporal vein, anterior branch. The artery is slightly deeper and only arises superficially at the level of the anterior pinna, wherein a pulse is typically taken.

[mraikman]

No, it's actually his superficial temporal vein, anterior branch. The artery is slightly deeper and only arises superficially at the level of the anterior pinna, wherein a pulse is typically taken.

While it is possible to confuse the superficial vein with the artery in these circumstances, the superficial temporal artery is in some individuals visible from the temple area all the way to the hairline. To suggest the
STA is ONLY visible at the anterior pinna is incorrect. More often, but certainly not always, is the temporal vein visible with the artery being "slightly deeper". This varies by individual, and can be differentiated by palpating the vasculature in question. If you can feel a throbbing or pulse, then it is the artery.

[stevedm]

While it is possible to confuse the superficial vein with the artery in these circumstances, the superficial temporal artery is in some individuals visible from the temple area all the way to the hairline. To suggest the
STA is ONLY visible at the anterior pinna is incorrect. More often, but certainly not always, is the temporal vein visible with the artery being "slightly deeper". This varies by individual, and can be differentiated by palpating the vasculature in question. If you can feel a throbbing or pulse, then it is the artery.

I have no dog in this fight (and this is an old thread you brought up) however...
Exdubio11 is correct. That is a vein. Trust me.

[Big_Spaz]

I have those veins on both sides of my face (right above the temple region) and I personally think they look bad@ss. But I have been told from time to time that they "look weird". It's just from low bodyfat, constantly straining (lifting heavy) and thin skin.

I don't sweat that kind of stuff. I mean you are who you are. No one is perfect.





-Spaz

[VaderWS6]

That's actually a parasite, have you traveled to the Amazon recently? :P

[Danes]

This is my first post, great forum you have here! I've been searching all over for answers but have come up empty handed, so I figured I'd try this a shot to see if anybody here has had a similar experience.

A couple years ago, a friend of mine turned me on to Nitric Oxide supplements. Some people say they don't work, but man, they worked for me. The effects were immediate. Instantly, I was adding 2-3 reps on almost every set I did. Over time, my body started to improve as well. At age 37, I'm the most ripped I've ever been in my whole life and have become quite vascular as well. I've always been pretty lean, so I've always been somewhat vascular. But after a couple years on and off of Nitric Oxide, I've had lots of new veins started to appear that I've never noticed before.

Most of the veins I like. However, there is one that I HATE!! A month ago, I was driving to the gym and had my sunroof open. The sunlight was hitting my temple and bam, there it was. A vein was going down the entire length of my temple, like a wiggling worm. Over the next few weeks, this bothered me more and more, so I finally quit the supplements. My stack was Jack3d, Creatine 189 and GNC's NO supplement. I quit all of it. I expected my veins to gradually start to return to normal, but nothing has changed so far. Some of the veins on my body might be going down a bit (possibly because I'm trying to take some time off the gym as well), but the one in my temple is still there.

At rest in a cool room, you can barely see it. But as soon as I do anything to raise my body temp just a bit, boom, the vein pops out (see attached pic of me sitting in the sun the other day). Anyway, I've done a lot of research on this, and it doesn't seem very typical for "normal" people. By normal, I mean the rest of the world with normal levels of body fat, etc. As I walked around the mall yesterday, I couldn't help but look at everybody else's temples. Not one vein to be seen. My online searches revealed the following possible causes for your temple artery to become prominent:

• Weight Loss
This isn't for me, I've weighed the same for years now

• Stress
I'm going through a divorce, so I'm sure that's not helping. But I've been pretty stressed with work for years now, so stress is nothing new to me.

• Age
Possible, as I am 37 now. But I would expect to aging to be more gradual. This vein came on very suddenly. In fact, I looked through a whole bunch of photos. I found one from just a couple months ago. It was hot, at the beach, all the conditions to cause the vein to freak out. But there's no vein. Not even a hint of it.

So that leads me to possible damage from the NO Supplements. After all, they all tout "get huge bulging veins" and that's exactly what I have. We all know that NO supplements are a powerful vasodilator. But now I'm worried that my temple vein has been dilated and is going to be permanently bugling. I have been freaking out (cause it's quite ugly on my face), and went to the doc to get my blood pressure checked. I'm 110/70, which is supposedly perfect. She said it was a cosmetic issue only and recommended I talk to a vascular specialist. Uhghg. My god. What have I done to myself???

The only photos I can find online that match mine are of old people suffering from Temporal Artesis, which is a very serious condition for old folk and something that I most definitely do not have. I've attached two photos. One from January, one from March. They are taken from different angles, but both show the same temple. As you can see, in January, I was totally fine. And now in March, I have a huge vein. WTF???

So my question to all of you... Do any of you that take NO supplements have this condition? Do any of you have this condition that don't take NO supplements? Do any of you know if this level of vasodilatation is permanent?

I'm going to make an appointment with a vein specialist, but figured I ask around the bodybuilding community to see if any of you had similar experiences on the past. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Genetic my friend.

Some people are lifting many years, in good shape,but you can barely see any veins. Some are more bloated and have more bodyfat ,but you can see veins on biceps and other places.

Dont let those veins bother you.

[ExDubio11]

While it is possible to confuse the superficial vein with the artery in these circumstances, the superficial temporal artery is in some individuals visible from the temple area all the way to the hairline. To suggest the
STA is ONLY visible at the anterior pinna is incorrect. More often, but certainly not always, is the temporal vein visible with the artery being "slightly deeper". This varies by individual, and can be differentiated by palpating the vasculature in question. If you can feel a throbbing or pulse, then it is the artery.

I didn't say it is ONLY visible at the anterior pinna. I am saying that the bulging vessel observed by many individuals across that region is the superficial temporal vein. I am well aware of the regions of palpation, and I don't know your background, but having seen the vein superficial to the artery in the temporozygomatic region in ~40 cadavers (and never once having seen the opposite), I think it's a fair conclusion that OP is talking about the vein.

I have no dog in this fight (and this is an old thread you brought up) however...
Exdubio11 is correct. That is a vein. Trust me.

I trust you.

[johnschweiger]

Hey do you still have the vein on your temple? I have recently started taking nitxic oxide supplement and today in the gym i noticed the same worm like vein on my temple. Im a little worried its permanent so please lemme know if your went away thanks

[hustlehard3r]

Hey do you still have the vein on your temple? I have recently started taking nitxic oxide supplement and today in the gym i noticed the same worm like vein on my temple. Im a little worried its permanent so please lemme know if your went away thanks

Nitric Oxide supplements (ESPECIALLY ARGININE) are not causing this.

[cudjh1]

Hi skinny668 / thewheeler / Big_Spaz,

Similar to your stories, I noticed these squiggly veins on my temples at the end of July and they did not exist before - it’s like they popped out overnight. They are permanently visible at rest but really pop in a freakish way if I’m hot / drink beer / workout. The only thing different this year that I can think of is I started lifting really heavy (for me) so I’m wondering if I permanently stretched these out (I have had visible veins on my hands & arms for years but never on my face). I went to a rheumatologist who ruled out inflammatory vascular diseases / conditions and who thinks it may be from the heavy lifting and consequent large spikes in blood pressure over the 7 month period combined with aging / thinner skin (I’m in my 40s) and genetics (being a more visibly vascular person naturally).

If any of you are still active on this board (or any others who have these visible temple veins all the time), have your temporal blood vessels returned to normal or do they still stick out like they were when you originally posted?

Have you found anything that helps make them less visible / eliminate them?

Have any of you had ligation surgery and if so, by who and how was the outcome / have they returned?

Thanks!