Blood pressure after radiation treatments

Before my beam radiation I had high blood pressure well controlled with medication, diet and exercise. I am still taking the same meds, have the same diet and exercise going but in the last few days I've felt the BP starting to rise and on my home BP machine it's up by 20 points on the upper number. I've got an appointment with the doctor in the morning to get it checked out but was wonder if any of you other RT guys have had changes in how medications respond before and after radiation. Wondering what changes my body is going through that could cause this.

I am sure the doc will adjust meds and things will be fine but was just curious if others had a similar experience.

Andrew

I have high BP under medication. Before / during / after RT there has been no variance whatsoever.

My Insurance company called after SRT and the guy kept reminding me to have my BP chechked frequently, and I have never had a problem with high BP. Maybe something about radiation causes some changes. Two years out and BP is still as good as it gets.

Michael

I am off to see my internist in about an hour. I changed BP meds last summer as I was getting side effects from the lisinopril (dry cough). The new stuff lorstan seemed work fine for awhile but it seems to have stopped working for me. Now I am thinking that I've just built up a tolerance for the drug.

Or that my stress level is going up at work.

I expect my doc will just make a simple adjustment and things will work out.

But it's hard after PC not to want to blame everything bad that happens to my body on PC. Guess I was feeling that last night.

Andrew

I saw the Doc and she ordered a bunch of blood tests just rule out things but mostly she thought it's likely just a bit of stress and left over effects of the advil I was taking up till last week. The doc just upped my med dose and told me to call her in a week.

I haven't changed my exercise - three days a week on the treadmill and a long walk on Saturdays. Stress is likely and the doc thinks I might be having a bit of depression from the whole PC thing that might be a factor.

and I've had BP meds lose the effectiveness on me before. And when I started this med they started me at the lowest dose.

It's likely that just the increased dose will fix this.

Just a final follow up on this. I did need to have my BP meds adjusted but then I need that every couple of years anyway so no big deal there.

The thing that took me back a little was my doctor wanting to have a longer conversation about depression and how I was sleeping. I'll admit that I wasn't sleeping all that well in the couple of weeks after the radiation treatments which I just put down to work stress and PCa worries and the disturbance of my normal routine. The doc had me take sleeping pills for about 10 days and has suggested that lack of sleeps and stress just might have been the factors in pushing the BP up. She is more than a bit concerned about me slipping into depression now that the treatments are done but thinks if my sleeping returns to normal I should be fine.

Kind of weird ground for me but I guess a case of PC can push you over into depression land. Still I don't know. Well, last night was the last of the sleeping pills. They did make me sleep but I am unsure if it was a good idea.

In any case, my BP is back to normal and I have had a few good nights of sleep.

Had biopsy in August 2011, 8/12 cores tested positive. Elected to do robotic removal, Sept 2011. First PSA levels at 6weeks, were 0.05, 3 months out 0.07, 6 months 0.25, 7 months 0.24, 1year 0.57. Beam Radiation recommended and treatment started in Dec 2012. Finished treatment first part of Feb 2013. Now the crux of my problem, before I started radiation I never had high blood pressure it always ran 118-125/70-78. After first week of treatment it jumped to 170-190/98-108. It didn't matter if the reading was taken before treatment or after it pretty much ran that high at treatment facility. I would check it later in the day at home with same type blood pressure machine as was at clinic and it would be down slightly 160/90-98. I asked the dr at the clinic if this was normal and was told some men's reading are higher due to anxiety of going thru the treatment I'm not so sure I'm buying his explanation,and am concerned as my grandfather died of heart attack at 69, my daddy had 2 heart attacks at 67 and my sister just had light one this week. Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. I am seriously considering going to a cardiologist although I have pretty lousy insurance. Oh my age is 60 as of Jan this year.

TW53:

I've re-posted your comment as a new thread so people can say hello without watering down InTheShop's discussion.

A few things I have noticed about my blood pressure. I have what doctors call "white coat hypertension". I worry about my blood pressure a bit and having it measured in a doctor's office makes it higher. My primary care doctor always measures it twice. His nurse does it when I come in and he does it again after we have chatted a bit and I am less nervous about being there. That's always lower.

When they took my BP while I was being prepped for my robotic prostatectomy my pressure was sky high. Apparently existential mortal terror makes your blood pressure rise. Who knew?

Also, I am a big guy with big arms. If they use a standard size blood pressure cuff the Velcro(tm) is always just about to let go as they pump it up and my numbers are always ten points higher than if they use a bigger cuff.

Welcome to the forum!