Finished treatment 16th Sept after 3 FEC, 3 TAX and 15 + 5 boosters rads. I am triple negative so thats me all done treatment wise.
I need to look at managing my stress levels and bring down my high blood pressure as I had it checked this morning and it was a horrendous 159/107 which is extremely high (I’m 41). My doc has said that I have to have it checked twice a week for the next two weeks and if it hasn’t got below 140/90 I must go back and see him. It was quite a shock as I have just returned from a weeks holiday in Ibiza and thought I was chilled out! Heard about a couple of BC ladies who have sadly passed away last week and maybe this has made me stressed?? Not really sure at all why I have high BP. Doc also said that I had to try and forget everything and that we all die sometime and to not let it rule my life…typical man statement which I have surprisingly let the comment fly over my head!
Has anyone else experienced this and how have you managed stress? I would be grateful for any advice.
I have started taking the herbal remedy ‘Kalms’ as this also helps manage hot sweats and menopausal symptoms…supposedly!
Last year I was asked by my clinic if I would volunteer to do a 6 week stress management course via the local cnacer centre. I was very sceptical and thought if I didn’t like it I would only do the first session (of 6). However, I really got a lot out of it as it went into breathing and meditation techniques plus yoga. Over a year on I now get up an hour earlier then my OH in the morning to do an hours yoga from a CD I was given on the course; I have also joined a local class once a week. When I feel myself getting stressed I do a meditation from a CD. I find it makes me calm down. As I live by the sea I often sit by the shore and gaze at the water which is another meditation technique.
This past few months I have needed help dealing with the fall out of this and was offered some counselling session via my oncology clinic. This has greatly helped and I will be discharged after my next session. I had a disastrous start to the year in anew job and was struggling with menopause stuff, but now I’m coping and have focus.
My BP went up and stayed up just after I’d finished treatment for a second primary 11 years after the first - that was 4 years ago, when I was 48.
It wouldn’t stay down without medication, so I’ve been on a single drug Diovan (Valsartan) for about three and a half years now. It seems to have done the trick and I’ve noticed no side effects. GP said not to worry about my BP being on the high side as I had no other major risk factors - ie I didn’t smoke, wasn’t overweight, wasn’t diabetic, etc - said my risk of dying from a stroke was minimal - ha-ha - I did point out to her that as far as threats to my mortality were concerned, stroke was currently a long way down my list.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it - it’s very treatable. (GPs are really on the ball about it these days as they can earn extra money - not sure if it’s for the practice or themselves! - when they identify people with hypertension). I think high BP can run in families (it certainly does in mine) - it’s good that yours, if it’s permanent, has been picked up early.
Not sure of the connection between stress and high BP. I’m pretty sure that not everyone who gets stressed has it, and that there are people with brilliant, laid back lifestyles who develop hypertension.
Have no idea if there is any connection, or evidence of bc sufferers showing permanently raised BP after treatment. Has it happened to anyone else? As you say, it would be interesting to hear of anyone else with a similar experience.
I have extremely low blood pressure and a slow heart rate and I shout and swear and panic constantly. Can’t understand why I am apparently so chilled out. The person who appears the most laid back in my team at work is a man who told me last week that he has high blood pressure.
So I think some high blood pressure must be just bad luck.
I find that exercise helps when I feel edgy. Also, a number of studies have found that regular exercise is associated with improved survival, mood and energy levels among breast cancer patients, although one study suggests that the risk of recurrence is halved only among women who exercise AND eat five fruit and veg a day. Still, halving of recurrence is pretty good and the general health advice is to eat five fruit and veg anyway. Something weight bearing, like walking or running, is better if you are at risk of chemopause, since it will help fend off bone loss (really wish someone had told me that one, since my spine is now a bit thin and at the age of 44 I find myself doubting that I will be able to do enough to fend off osteoporosis). There has been alot of research on the benefits of exercise to BC patients. I don’t know why the doctors don’t tell patients this (four years ago I was told to rest, which is actually exactly the wrong advice for a number of reasons). Maybe it is that most of the research has been in the US and that there isn’t a pretty/handsome sales rep drawing oncologists attention to it.