DIBH anxiety post treatment

JoeyLiz

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone else who underwent DIBH during RT gets anxiety when asked to hold their breathe for scans/examinations?

Or if it's just me...

Julez1958

Hi I didn’t have anxiety as I have done a lot of snorkelling and that’s what it reminded me of!
I do suffer anxiety about
pretty much all medical stuff and was a complete nervous wreck before my mastectomy and later reconstructive surgeries.
I do know a lot of women have had anxiety with the deep breathing though so you are not alone.
I did find all the staff very caring and helpful where I was so I hope they can help you through it.
im not sure if taking something like Valium would help or not , you do have to stay very still so it might not be right.
Hopefully others on here may be able to give you some tips.

Locksley

What does dibh mean.

iserbrown

https://www.petermac.org/DIBH#:~:text=Deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) is a radiation therapy technique,move away from your chest.

Locksley

Thankyou @iserbrown.   Yes @JoeyLiz this is what I had but didn't know what it was called.   I do have  anxiety when I have a scan I think it's just everything all comes back to me.  Sending you a hug. 

Cath62

Hi 

I find i get anxious about all the scans, tests etc now. I practice meditation which helps but it is all rather unsettling. Maybe time helps but seems to me it is something I will need to work on.

Anne65

I was worried before treatment when the rad onc told me that I had to do it. I remember practicing before I started treatment & I thought there was no way i would be able to hold my breath for that long. I did however, surprise myself during treatment. I remembered the cover of a book that was given to me by my BC nurse. It was a picture of a beautiful landscape. So peaceful & tranquil. I focused on remembering that picture & shut my eyes. I got through every session apart from the very last one, when they had to stop the machine as I took a breath. They all commented on how good i was & that there was only one time that it didn't work...i guess i cant be perfect all the time & it also proved that the rad machine does stop as soon as it detects that you have taken a breath!! xx

Keeping_positive1

I couldn't hold my breath, I waivered too much and couldn't stay within the "lines" I was meant to.  When I went for the practise of the DIBH I went well the first time, then the following two times I couldn't do it, and they knew I would have trouble as I had double appointments (both breasts), so they found another way around it, I am not sure exactly how they did that!  The radiation therapist said they have other ways for people that cannot manage to do the DIBH correctly, I just kept breathing too deeply, I could hold my breath, but not at the consistent depth.  I have had follow up ECG's and heart scans etc. and nothing sinister going on, and I hope it stays that way

lrb_03

Hi @JoeyLiz. I didn't do dibh despite left sided tumour.  It simply wasn't suggested and I didn't know about it until reading something here on the forum. Having said that, it takes a conscious effort to stay calm during scans. I can't imagine the feeling that breath holding would invoke. I doubt you're alone in those feelings

Other than that, how are you?

Jwrenn

I played a game with myself by counting when I had to do the DIBH, I practised it before hand when I couldn’t go to sleep. I only had one time when I had a problem doing it, in the last session I wasn’t on the same machine and it didn’t have the screen to watch while you were doing it so it just wasn’t the same. 

cranky_granny

@JoeyLiz i did the dibh. Nearly 5years ago now  Practiced a lot before rads started. The staff were really helpful. 

The snorkel i used was set for the amount of breath i had to hold. Once that got set. At the right level. I only had to overcome how long i had to hold for. 

Music was good the whole session doesn’t take that long as a rule 
i reckon most time was spent setting up and lining up for the beams to hit the right spot
i figured I’d rather not have my heart zapped. 

The whole thing i sort of made a game out of it. 

If you can’t do it like the others have said there is ways around it. 

It was vital that i got it right at the Time due to margins on my sternum after tests came back. 

You will know when you do your set up and practice run if you can cope

 

Halla

@JoeyLiz Yes I find focusing on my breath makes me anxious generally. When I pay attention to it I feel like I can’t breathe deeply enough , like my breaths are too shallow and I need to gasp for air. But I did get used to it during radiation after the first few times so it ended up being fine.