Very Interesting!!!

I never thought about the carotid arteries being effected by radiation. I may check into a scan as well. Thank you Larry!

Lynn

I have the exact same issue. To be perfectly honest, for a while it was scaring the shit out of me. Carotid hardening (and issues similar) are a by-product of radiation to the artery. You can get an ultrasound for cheap and that is the best way to find out if blood flow is an issue. I just had one last month and mine is 15% blocked, which is no big deal and that isn't my problem. I still have the problem, and have talked with all my docs about it and no one can put their finger on anything. I finally went to see an otologist who made a diagnosis of benign positional vertigo, which can come and go in people, and is an inner ear problem. Considering that, that part of our anatomy got some radiation being close to the field, there could be co-factors from that causing things. I saw a cardiologist, because this is also a symptom of left ventricle insufficiency, and after a treadmill that just about proved that I am in great shape for a 98-year-old woman, he concluded that that was also not an issue. I have heard this from several individuals who have chosen just to live with it. Me, I can't go there. I want to know what the mechanism is behind this, so I am still exploring. It's amazing to me how similar dig

Hi,

My husband, Jim, had the same problem after he was treated for tongue base scc (T3N2cM0) in September 2000. His internist said the condition is called "orthostatic hypotension," which is just doctor-speak meaning a drop in blood pressure when you stand up. He said it was caused by radiation damage to baroreceptors in his neck.

The way I understand it, the baroreceptors are supposed to sense the change in posture when you rise from a sitting or lying position and trigger a temporary rise in blood pressure to send more blood to you head.

The doctor prescribed Proamatine (midodrine) three times a day. That was very effective, but it tends to keep the blood pressure somewhat elevated at all times, and it was pretty expensive and no generic version available.

Last year, a Mayo Clinic study found that pyridostigmine, a drug commonly used to treat myasthenia gravis, was an effective treatment, with practically no side effects. Jim has been taking pyridostigmine for several months now, and it has controlled the dizziness and his blood pressure is normal.

Barb

Friends,
Thanks for the good information. I don't think that it will turn out to be anything serious, but, fortunately I have a good friend who is a radiologist and he has me scheduled today for an MRA ( angiogram ) at no cost. He thinks that it is best to at least look at the worst scenario first...serious blood flow blockage, and then take it from there. I imagine that it is something like what Barb and Brian discussed.

I'll let you guys know when I get results. Thanks again.

Danny G.

I am a big sissy! I went to the hospital where my buddy the radiologist arranged for me to have the MRA...Magnetic Resonance Arteriogram in the MRI machine. The tech, who was very nice, asked me if I was claustrophobic and I told him no. I had an MRI back when I was first diagnosed and survived it.

Well, when my turn came and he put me in that tube there was no way! I knew that I had to get out of that thing and I immediately started knocking and told him to let me out!

Since I drove myself they could not give me a valium or xanax, so I just had to blow it off. When my friend the radiologist gets back in town next week I think we will try something a bit easier, like ultrasound.

DG

Well Danny
One thing I have learnt over the past three years is that the more they do to you the worse the panic levels get.. all this rubbish about it gets easier as you do more... nonsense.. I'm sure they can see a yellow streak running through me now..
prayers.. love and hugs
Helen

Danny,

I've found I have to keep my eyes shut the whole time for an MRI -- from the time they start sliding me into the tube until they pull me out. Somehow when I do that I can trick myself into thinking I'm not in that tiny, enclosed space.

Cathy

Danny, you are not alone. Among all the tests, MRI is the one I fear most, although it didn't cause pain. Like Cathy, I had to close my eyes throughout the journey and imagined that I was in a beautiful and peaceful place. Even though I have no religion, I repeatedly prayed to God in my heart that I could get it over as soon as possible.
In response to your problem of equilibrium,low blood pressure may be a major cause but in my case, my bp is pretty normal and sometimes especially when I had it measured in the hospital, it was very high. I still experience what you do occasionally. Luckily the frequency has dropped. I feel dizzy when I sit in the sofa too long and try to walk to the kitchen. I have to stop for a moment and get hold of something before I can walk again otherwise I may fall. Anemia can be the cause but since it is not serious, I ignore it. Unlike Dinah, I only have such symptom after completing treatment and so I guess something in my body has been damaged by the radiation or chemo. I am also advised by doctors that we should not get up at once when we wake up. Lie on bed for a few minutes first before landing on the floor.

Karen.

Ok, I'll admit it - I take Zanax an hour before an MRI or PET scan. I figure it's better for all concerned to be as relaxed (and motionless) as possible.

I had a fair amount of equilibrium issues in the early post Tx, probably because of anemia, etc. but not much lately.

I remember my taking my mother to a series of MRI's. She told them she didn't want to "bother" them all day so just do them all at once. She spent 2 hours, 45 minutes in the tube. I saw a 300 lb gentleman coming out sweating and swearing he would never go back in that tube. He said 5 minutes was all he could take, even after the valium. My mother said she made up a song, sung to the tune of Oh my darling. The words were something like, "In the hole...in the hole...in the hole, I go..." She was fiesty, all 50 lbs!

Danny G, I still get that strange electric current like feeling down my spine when I stretch my neck to look down. It is much more pronounced when I am standing or walking. I posted something about it a while back and was relieved others experience it. I just wish I knew how to make it go away.

Ed