Since I began Avastin last year my blood pressure has been up. It has been up high enough to cause frequent headaches and some anxiety. Getting it under control has been a long process.

I am on 4 drugs now which makes me a little nervous. First Benazepril which we doubled 3 times (5-10-20-40mg) which certainly did not decrease my BP. Then my infamous ED visit added Hydrochlorothiazide which also had little affect. It is a mild diuretic so it will help prevent CHF which is a possible side effect of my chemo and it help controls proteinuria which I do have so I am fine with that. My 3rd was added last chemo which is Amlodipine. I love Amlodipine!!! My systolic BP is down to 120’s-140’s . (It was 150-170’s) (Systolic is the top number.) My diastolic (Diastolic is the bottom number) is still a little high in the 80’s-90’s. (It was 90’s- low 100’s). So today we add Corvedilol.

I have been taking my blood pressure at home which does run a little lower than the office. I now insist they use a manual BP cuff instead of the machine which pumps up 3 times in a row without letting the pressure down which causes pain, anxiety and does falsely elevate my BP even higher than it actually is. I will ask for my BP after they access my port, that will buy me about 10 minutes and it should be closer to my home readings.

I am grateful my NP called to add a BP med which my primary care provider recommended. I was slightly aggravated that they did not ask me what my BP was running at home since we added the Amlodipine. I am not shy. I told them.

Sometimes, I suspect they doubt I am actually taking my BP. All doubt should have been eliminated since my ED adventure. I called the office because my BP was still up before chemo started the following week. Off I went, very reluctantly and I did stay those 8 hours I waited (instead of walking out which I seriously considered.). I figured going up on Benazepril would not work. I definitely needed a new drug.

So I am happy my BP is improving. I would love to fix it and titrate the Benazepril off since it was ineffective and does have some risks.