Head & Neck Radiation / BP

SIRENAF42

Hondo said:

Hi Sirenaf


One of the things I love most about being part of CSN is the information we get.

I have been telling my Ocl doctor about my pb problem for months and he never would give me an answer as to why, all I can think is maybe he does not know. The first time I said something about low pb to my heart doctor he hit right on it. His problem right now is trying to figure out what to do with someone whose pb goes between 170/ 117 to as low as 80/47

I know about the dizzy all-day feeling and when it hits I just don’t feel like doing anything. You are right the side affects seam to never go away

I said it before, and I will say it again... CANCER SUCKS

I will let you know what my doc says. Do you ever get chest fluttering, like bubbles or butterflies on the left side?

Hondo

SIRENAF42 said:

I said it before, and I will say it again... CANCER SUCKS

I will let you know what my doc says. Do you ever get chest fluttering, like bubbles or butterflies on the left side?

fluttering
I don’t get the fluttering in the chest but I do get tightness that I believe was a heart attach but the doc found nothing wrong with my heart, like you said just a cancer sucks side affect

Take care

denistd

Hondo said:

fluttering
I don’t get the fluttering in the chest but I do get tightness that I believe was a heart attach but the doc found nothing wrong with my heart, like you said just a cancer sucks side affect

Take care

BP
Some of the blood pressure numbers you guys get are real high and real low. Yes the fluttering feeling is caused by irregular heart beats usually, this can be controlled by drugs like lopressor. Believe me if you start to have chest pains that are leading u to an attack you will know it, when I had my chest pains before surgery it felt like a bear hug from the incredible hulk. Cancer sucks alright, since I got diagnosed it seems like there is an epidemic but it's just that now I take notice. My dizziness has completely gone away and I take lopressor which also lowers BP, BP is usually around 120 over 75, which is great. Denis

Hondo

denistd said:

BP
Some of the blood pressure numbers you guys get are real high and real low. Yes the fluttering feeling is caused by irregular heart beats usually, this can be controlled by drugs like lopressor. Believe me if you start to have chest pains that are leading u to an attack you will know it, when I had my chest pains before surgery it felt like a bear hug from the incredible hulk. Cancer sucks alright, since I got diagnosed it seems like there is an epidemic but it's just that now I take notice. My dizziness has completely gone away and I take lopressor which also lowers BP, BP is usually around 120 over 75, which is great. Denis

Hi Denis

I am currently seeing a cardiologist for problems with bp and tightness in the chest, so far all the test he had done show no problems with the heart. Most of the problems he is finding are due to the massive amount of radiation I had going through two treatments for NPC. He is still up in the are on what to do for the bp going up and down so far, I see him again later this month so I hope he comes up with a plan.

Take care

delnative

denistd said:

BP
Some of the blood pressure numbers you guys get are real high and real low. Yes the fluttering feeling is caused by irregular heart beats usually, this can be controlled by drugs like lopressor. Believe me if you start to have chest pains that are leading u to an attack you will know it, when I had my chest pains before surgery it felt like a bear hug from the incredible hulk. Cancer sucks alright, since I got diagnosed it seems like there is an epidemic but it's just that now I take notice. My dizziness has completely gone away and I take lopressor which also lowers BP, BP is usually around 120 over 75, which is great. Denis

I've got high blood pressure
I had it before cancer, and it was pretty well under control thanks to meds. I think that losing about 40 pounds thanks to cancer has helped by BP.
However, the talk about "fluttering" in the chest really hit home. One day, not long after my TX ended, I was in the basement doing laundry. I'd dropped something on the floor, and when I bent at the knees to pick it up, I started to get woozy and I had a weird feeling in my chest. It's as if I was very aware of my heart beating, which is not something I usually notice.
It kept up for about 45 minutes, at which point I called 911. The ambulance came and the EMTs found that my heart was beating rapidly and the rhythm was off. They shot me up with something (I forget what) and the effect was almost immediate. My heart rhythm went back to normal.
They took me to the ER, where they did an EKG and other tests, and determined that I'd had an episode of SVT: supraventricular tachycardia. (You can Google it for more info.)
My cardiologist said it is impossible to determine whether this came from the rads and chemo or something else. It was pretty scary, and I haven't had an episode since.

--Jim in Delaware

Hondo

delnative said:

I've got high blood pressure
I had it before cancer, and it was pretty well under control thanks to meds. I think that losing about 40 pounds thanks to cancer has helped by BP.
However, the talk about "fluttering" in the chest really hit home. One day, not long after my TX ended, I was in the basement doing laundry. I'd dropped something on the floor, and when I bent at the knees to pick it up, I started to get woozy and I had a weird feeling in my chest. It's as if I was very aware of my heart beating, which is not something I usually notice.
It kept up for about 45 minutes, at which point I called 911. The ambulance came and the EMTs found that my heart was beating rapidly and the rhythm was off. They shot me up with something (I forget what) and the effect was almost immediate. My heart rhythm went back to normal.
They took me to the ER, where they did an EKG and other tests, and determined that I'd had an episode of SVT: supraventricular tachycardia. (You can Google it for more info.)
My cardiologist said it is impossible to determine whether this came from the rads and chemo or something else. It was pretty scary, and I haven't had an episode since.

--Jim in Delaware

Jim
I bet that scared the day lights right out of you, I will need to keep this SVT in my book of memories just in case, great post thanks again

SASH

Hondo said:

Jim
I bet that scared the day lights right out of you, I will need to keep this SVT in my book of memories just in case, great post thanks again

BP
I have the print out from the link above and will be talking to my GP on Thursday about this to see if this might be the source of my BP going high some times, and being abnormally low others.

SIRENAF42

delnative said:

I've got high blood pressure
I had it before cancer, and it was pretty well under control thanks to meds. I think that losing about 40 pounds thanks to cancer has helped by BP.
However, the talk about "fluttering" in the chest really hit home. One day, not long after my TX ended, I was in the basement doing laundry. I'd dropped something on the floor, and when I bent at the knees to pick it up, I started to get woozy and I had a weird feeling in my chest. It's as if I was very aware of my heart beating, which is not something I usually notice.
It kept up for about 45 minutes, at which point I called 911. The ambulance came and the EMTs found that my heart was beating rapidly and the rhythm was off. They shot me up with something (I forget what) and the effect was almost immediate. My heart rhythm went back to normal.
They took me to the ER, where they did an EKG and other tests, and determined that I'd had an episode of SVT: supraventricular tachycardia. (You can Google it for more info.)
My cardiologist said it is impossible to determine whether this came from the rads and chemo or something else. It was pretty scary, and I haven't had an episode since.

--Jim in Delaware

Fluttering
This fluttering is driving me nuts, my dr appt cant come fast enough. I have them throughout the day, rarily in the mornings. Its a feeling that you would get when someone scares you and you cant catch your breath and you get that feeling in your chest.... Weird stuff

Hondo

SIRENAF42 said:

Fluttering
This fluttering is driving me nuts, my dr appt cant come fast enough. I have them throughout the day, rarily in the mornings. Its a feeling that you would get when someone scares you and you cant catch your breath and you get that feeling in your chest.... Weird stuff

Hi Sirenaf
I just remembered something; a few years ago my wife was having some problems with her heart fluttering. They ran all kinds of test and could find nothing wrong with her they ever did an angiogram and her heart was in very good condition. I ask the heart doctors if in some way her Thyroid medicine could be the cause, the heart doctor said anything is possible.

So we went to out family doctor who put her on the med and the doctor did not want to take her off it until I told him either you switch her to another brand of thyroid med or I will take her off of it altogether. After a few weeks on the new Thyroid med her problems with fluttering have stopped, she still has a few now and then but that it all.

I don’t know if you take any med for thyroid problems or not, may be some other type of medication. Think back to when the problems first started and what you may have started to take about the same time.

Hope this help you some, take care.

delnative

SIRENAF42 said:

Fluttering
This fluttering is driving me nuts, my dr appt cant come fast enough. I have them throughout the day, rarily in the mornings. Its a feeling that you would get when someone scares you and you cant catch your breath and you get that feeling in your chest.... Weird stuff

Hey, SirenaF42
FWIW, that sounds a lot like the SVT that I had. One thing you can try the next time it hits -- and it won't do you any harm if it doesn't work -- is something that my cardiologist recommended.
She told me that if it happened again, I was to lie on my back and then (there's no delicate way to put this, but I'll do my best) strain as if you were straining to have a bowel movement that was being uncooperative. (Delicate enough for you?)
Dr. Cardio said that often is enough to get your heart rhythm back in order.
And, FWIW, the attack that led me to call 911 was preceded by several much more minor episodes. And all of them happened in the morning.


--Jim in Delaware

SIRENAF42

delnative said:

Hey, SirenaF42
FWIW, that sounds a lot like the SVT that I had. One thing you can try the next time it hits -- and it won't do you any harm if it doesn't work -- is something that my cardiologist recommended.
She told me that if it happened again, I was to lie on my back and then (there's no delicate way to put this, but I'll do my best) strain as if you were straining to have a bowel movement that was being uncooperative. (Delicate enough for you?)
Dr. Cardio said that often is enough to get your heart rhythm back in order.
And, FWIW, the attack that led me to call 911 was preceded by several much more minor episodes. And all of them happened in the morning.


--Jim in Delaware

delnative
That was nicely put lol.

I have my appt today lets see what he says. Right now I am in allergy HECK and have a sinus headache that may win the battle over staying at work... Dang MOld in the air is kicking my butt!!!

Stuffy, heart racing and achy

Sirena

denistd

SIRENAF42 said:

delnative
That was nicely put lol.

I have my appt today lets see what he says. Right now I am in allergy HECK and have a sinus headache that may win the battle over staying at work... Dang MOld in the air is kicking my butt!!!

Stuffy, heart racing and achy

Sirena

fluttering
When I was in the hospital for my carotid artery, the same doctor that did my heart did the endarterectomy. I told him that sometimes it felt like my heart skipped a beat. He said that is called brachycardia (I think, could be wrong) and said that on average the heart will do this 30 or 40 times a day and is completely normal, he said this happens to everybody it's just that you notice it when you have heart problems. Denis

SASH

SASH said:

BP
I have the print out from the link above and will be talking to my GP on Thursday about this to see if this might be the source of my BP going high some times, and being abnormally low others.

Talked to Primary Care
I spoke with my Primary Care today and he said it would only affect if the BP was low and were getting dizzy and light headed. Might only be his opinion so you might want to ask your docs too.

SIRENAF42

denistd said:

fluttering
When I was in the hospital for my carotid artery, the same doctor that did my heart did the endarterectomy. I told him that sometimes it felt like my heart skipped a beat. He said that is called brachycardia (I think, could be wrong) and said that on average the heart will do this 30 or 40 times a day and is completely normal, he said this happens to everybody it's just that you notice it when you have heart problems. Denis

Update
My blood work and office EKG looked great, however he is still concerned with the fluttering. I wore the "heart monitor vest" for 24 hours, and wrote down any time I felt flutter. He is going to review it and I have another appt in 2 weeks. So I get to wait... God I love waiting JHAHA


Sirena

Hondo

SIRENAF42 said:

Update
My blood work and office EKG looked great, however he is still concerned with the fluttering. I wore the "heart monitor vest" for 24 hours, and wrote down any time I felt flutter. He is going to review it and I have another appt in 2 weeks. So I get to wait... God I love waiting JHAHA


Sirena

Hi Sirena

Seem like that is part of our life these days, wait and see, like we have nothing better to do. I hope they find the problem and get to feeling well again.

Take care