Re eyesight, Femara (Letrozole) effects on eyes

@kmakm and anyone else for that matter who are on this drug or been through the treatment process - yes get your eyes checked!!

I have been wearing glasses for a few years now - like some I started off for reading and now I need multifocal for both reading and distance hence I am a regular visitor to my Optometrist.  

When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer he made the point that he will always do a pressure test on my eyes as a precaution.  As I was new to this BC business and not realising how BC would keep giving I just thought, oh yeah that's good!  Now I realise the relevance and importance of it all!

When I had the bleed he went into a great explanation of the lymphatic system and other health issues that can contribute to eye health deterioration as well as the this could be a random thing from a sneeze or the like!

Don't muck about with the eyes is my message!!  Get them checked!

Letrozole has made my eyes dry. I didn't realise that can lead to more serious problems. I suppose I better go get them checked.

The suppression of oestrogen leads to traction (pulling) of the vitreous gel leading to retinal bleeds and retinal detachments. 

Your observations are Very interesting, @"Annie C"  ....  It was about this time last year that I had exactly that happen to my eye - the vitreous gel pulling away from the lining  of my eye on the inside ( I thought it was a retinal detachment) and that was BEFORE I'd received my diagnosis, surgery, Rads  & AIs!!     SO - if the BC was already chewing up/feed by my oestrogen - it may already have been depleting it, hence the gel sac pulling away??

Your concern is very real re not taking it & recurrence vs taking it & going blind - and such a difficult decision to make!   :(   

Take care my friend  xx

@arpie @Romla
I 've had dry eye for a number of years now. However it was the more serious side effects (retinal bleeds and retinal detachments) on eyesight from letrazole that made me decide to pass on the AI. I fear losing the remaining central sight in my left eye ( I have no sight in my right eye) more than I fear a recurrence. Something the breast surgeon could not quite understand. 

I have read this report. It was one of the first to raise the association between adjuvant therapy and visual disturbances (report was published in 2011). There are more recent reports published by the American Opthalmology Association online raising this very problem. Oestrogen is necessary for eye health. The suppression of oestrogen leads to traction (pulling) of the vitreous gel leading to retinal bleeds and retinal detachments. 

Good find, @iserbrown !!

As they should here, too @Romla --  possibly another area that @wingman  and her associates could add to their research list!!   ;)  

 

No @arpie but reading with interest.Am aware American Ompthamology assoc asking members to monitor patients on AIs

Reading about the 'dry eye' part of that report rings true with me .... I've had that for some time & just a feeing of 'something else' I can't quite put my finger on ..... 

@Romla  @"Annie C"   ... have you seen this report?

Brain too tired to process it all but I did have vision problems during chemo and the onc said it was one of the side effects and it would take some time to come back properly.  So far, no further issues on Letrozole.

Jury still out on this on lots of tests and research

Onc visit this week 

The association is real 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3205820/

Not sure if this helps but my eye pressure spiked coincidentally as I started Letrozole and have needed a lot of surgical intervention for the past year including trabeculectomy , needle blebs and laser.I asked my eye specialist and was advised Tamoxifen is a risk but not Letrozole.I also raised it with my oncologist who did not consider it an issue. I had glaucoma managed with ganfort drops successfully for some years prior to this issue.I do wonder as AIs are acknowledged as relative newbies which have not thus been researched as much as Tamoxifen.