Head and Neck Cancer and the possible consequences.

I am a survivor of squamous cell carcinoma at the base of my tongue. I'm now 18 years out. Everyone seems to have the usual problems, and I'll tell you it can get better, or maybe I've just gotten used to it. However, I just read a recent article about the underdiagnosis of baroreceptor failure, and thought I should contribute my experience to make others aware of the possible side effect.

Eight years ago, while taking my BP after experiencing a mild headache, I thought my cuff was broken. My BP had always been good, and there had never been an indication I was having problem. I went to Urgent care to have my cuff checked, and my BP was still in crisis stage. They escorted me to the ER. The Dr kept asking me why I wasn't being treated by my PCP. $4,500 later, I was diagnosed with baroreceptor failure.

I was told by the cardiologist who made the diagnosis that I'd have to learn to live with it. Another told me I wasn't their bread and butter, but he did refer me to a "fall" clinic due to the syncope I was experiencing. No one see to have an answer on how to treat this. I quickly learned that taking BP pills is a crap shoot. You keep trying until you find something that works. Unfortunately, there are a lot of side effects you have to deal with in the interim.

It's been a real experience trying to manage the problem. I'm either over medicated and repeatedly crash, or undermedicated and the spikes are frequent. Hypotension has the worst symptoms, especially when my BP drops down below 80/50. My vison blurs, and I feel like I've been run through the ringer. However, it is the hypertension that does the most damage.

I've experienced a dilated aorta, thickening of the heart walls, possible lung scarring, and who knows what else. I track my BP several times/day and medicate accordingly. Metoprolol, combined with hydrochlorothiazide, was effective in reducing the hypertensive spikes without too many hypotension incidents. Unfortunately, I developed a serious cough with it and had to stop. I'm currently taking Losartan, 10mg, along with the Hydrochlorothiazide, 12.5-25mg, as needed. The peaks and valleys are still significant, but not as severe, for the most part.

It is unclear whether it was the radiation or the surgery that caused the problem, but I believe it is imperative if anyone goes through such treatment, they monitor their BP to catch the problem early. I wasn't made aware of the problem as I think it wasn't well understood by caregivers. Good luck to you all.