Tri
29 days agoMember
Eye health changes
Hi all, wondering if anyone else has experienced deterioration or changes in eye health? Iโve recently been diagnosed with early macular degeneration and a slight worsening of pre-existing glaucoma...
Hi Triโ
My eyes have been dry since I started chemo 2 years ago, and didn't improve when I finished and swapped onto letrozole and abemaciclib.
I've been to the optician several times, and they say my overall eye heath is fine, but I have very dry eyes. I also have more floaters than I used to. The dry eyes are worse at night when my eyes stick together.
On my last visit I was told I have a Blepharitis infection in my eyelashes ๐คทโโ๏ธ and to use optisooth wipes which are infused with tea tree, and this seems to have improved things a bit. I'm also using Cationorm drops which I'm finding better than Hydro Forte at the moment (I think I have tried every eye drop in Chemist Warehouse). My optician also recommended it.
I think it's going to be a long term issue for me. I'm hoping it might improve a bit when I finish abemaciclib later this year.
All the best Katie
HiKatie46โ thatโs really interesting. My morning eyes sound the same! Can barely open them but eventually they decongest. Thanks very much for suggesting Cationorm, I will give it a go.
Itโs good and I am glad for youKatie46โ that, so far, thereโs no degradation in your overall eye health.
I just wonder about the chemo treatments and/or AIs - whilst they may not necessarily be causal in themselves, might they be like an accelerant. For people who might have a family history and who might have eventually developed macular, maybe we are triggered and the condition develops more rapidly (because of chemo or the sudden switching off of our hormones by AIs).
I am not sure if itโs too niche but maybe an optometrist and ophthalmologist with an interest in oncology issues could be interviewed in a BCNAโ podcast or article.