Vision changes with gem/cis
- This topic has 10 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Thanks for the update on how everything went, and hope that the eye drops do the job for you.
My best wishes to you,
Gavin
Iowagirl…That’s pretty much how I feel. I just wanted to make sure that there was not serious or permanent going on. It’s a little bit of a nuisance to have my vision off kilter for awhile, but nothing I can’t live with. And the ramped up use of eye drops really does help.
IMcherry……that’s pretty much what I was told also….not to go get new glasses or eye exam until a good amount of time after the chemo had ended to allow everything to normalize again. I just “got through it” and it really didn’t bother me THAT much when I knew what the problem was.
This morning I saw the ophthalmologist at M. D. Anderson. They retested my prescription and found that, after a week of frequent eye drops, my vision had changed again, moving back part of the way towards what it was last fall. She found no evidence of glaucoma or nerve damage. She said that vision changes were very common in chemo patients due to the drying effect of the drugs used (both in the premed cocktail and in the actual treatment). This is especially true in people like me who tend to have dry eyes anyway. The dryness changes the surface of the eyes, sometimes causing deposits on the eye, all of which can cause significant although transient changes in vision. I was sent home with a recommendation to use good quality eye drops without preservatives at least 3 times a day (and always before computer use or any activity that causes long-term staring where blinking may be reduced). She also specifically warned against getting any new glasses for the duration of chemo, as my vision (as has been the case over the last 2 months) could change dramatically on a week to week basis. No need to consider altering therapy.
Imcherry, I , too, thought I had vision changes with Gem/Cis and a few months after I was done with chemo, I went to see my opthamologist on the advise of my oncologist. The guess was that the steroid used during chemo had raised my blood sugar and screwed up my vision for a while due to high blood sugar.
He checked my vision, which came out almost identical to what it had been in the year before I had surgery and chemo,. So, apparently, whatever vision disturbances I had, were resolved when the chemo and steroids were done and discontinued. However, I also still felt that my vision wasn’t as good as it had been. That’s when I discovered that my lenses in my glasses were pretty badly scratched and thus, I couldn’t see through them as well. I just hadn’t paid attention to them much during the chemo to notice. .. LOL Had to laugh, to think two doctors and I …none of us thought to consider the scratches.
Julie T
Imcherry……I too am interested to hear the oncologists comments on the increased hyperopia. Perhaps eyestrain is part of it, as you mentioned improvement of the condition occurs with decrease of intense reading and eye lubrication, but it would be good to know. If though related to Gem/Cis then it would be nice to know whether it is a temporary condition.
Hugs,
MarionHi there,
Thanks for letting us know how things went with this. Glad to hear that you have been referred to the opthalmologist at MD and I am sure that you will get more answers there. Please let is know how things go for you there.
My best wishes to you,
Gavin
The visit to my regular eye doctor (an optometrist) documented that my vision had changed quite a bit in both eyes since my last regular appointment in September 2014. (I started chemo in late April.) I’ve become significantly more farsighted in both eyes. I contacted my oncologist, and he referred me to an M.D. Anderson ophthalmologist. I will be seeing her tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, taking better care of my eyes (good eye drops multiple times a day to relieve dryness; warm compresses; limiting use of my e-reader) has improved the symptoms quite a bit from last week.
Imcherry…..yes, rarely, temporary vision loss may occur with cisplatin Please make sure to contact your oncologist.
Hugs,
MarionHi there,
Glad to hear that you have an app with your eye doctor to discuss this issue and I would also mention it to your onc as well. It could be related to the chemo but also to your watching videos and reading etc but I would say best to mention it to your onc as well. Here is a link that may be of interest to you as well –
You could do a search of the site as well to see if others have posted on this issue and off the top of my head I am sure that I can recall some posts about this before. Hope all goes well with the eye doctor and please let us know how that goes.
My best to you,
Gavin
My vision has gotten significantly worse over the last 2 months since I started chemo. The problem is, I’m not sure if this is related to the chemo, or perhaps to eyestrain with the big uptick in the number of hours I spend watching videos and reading books on my Nook. I have an appointment with my eye doctor this p.m. to see what his take is. Has anyone experienced this with standard gem/cis?
- The forum ‘Adverse Reactions & Side Effects’ is closed to new topics and replies.