eye problems

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johnnybegood
johnnybegood Member Posts: 1,117 Member
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
i know there is a lot of us that have the eye burning thing while on oxy and 5fu.my question is does anybody use eye drops or a prescription drop for this side effect.thanks and have a good day Godbless.....johnnybegood

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  • maglets
    maglets Member Posts: 2,576 Member
    #2
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    Hi Johnny
    yes I have eye problems too and i think it is the oxy not the 5FU. Sherrie had a lot of trouble with her eyes sort of freezing up in the cold.....sometimes mine are dry dry and sometimes they are teary and the tears sting. I went to the drug store and just got over the counter drops...I think mine have a little witch hazel for soothing in them,,,,usually the druggist will guide.

    After reading for some time my eyes don't focus and i have consideraby reduced my reading...sometimes just glancing at magazines.

    hang in, you are movin on girl

    love
    ~mags~
  • bdee
    bdee Member Posts: 304
    #3
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    Eyes
    I have lost all my eyelashes so my eyes tear a lot. Yes, the tears burn, but the doctor said it was just a side affect and would go away. Because of this, I think, my eyes are usually matted in the morning and I have to use an OTC eye drop to get my eyes open and focused.
    Well, not really focused because I can't read for very long either. Everything gets blurry. There are even some days I don't watch TV because it is so blurry I can't make out who is doing what to whom:)
    I haven't asked my doctor yet about some drops, but I might Tuesday when I go back for my 2nd maintenance dose. I hope I get through it as well as I did the first one.

    Debbie
  • dorookie
    dorookie Member Posts: 1,731 Member
    #4
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    eye sight
    I haven't had any problems with dryness or anything like that. But my eye sight seems to be getting a bit worse, now I dont know if its just because I am getting older a bit anyway, or what, but I need to get them checked. Anyone else having this problem?

    Beth
  • Shayenne
    Shayenne Member Posts: 2,342
    #5
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    dorookie said:

    eye sight
    I haven't had any problems with dryness or anything like that. But my eye sight seems to be getting a bit worse, now I dont know if its just because I am getting older a bit anyway, or what, but I need to get them checked. Anyone else having this problem?

    Beth

    Beth....
    It seems my eyesight during treatment is getting bad as well, sometimes the people on the TV look fuzzy or something, I don't know if it's the chemo or the prescription drugs, but my eyesight seems to just not be so clear as before, I'm going to have to get them checked soon, I'm on Folfiri, so no dryness or coldness sensitivity, just the whole eyesight is lagging :(
  • Buzzard
    Buzzard Member Posts: 3,043 Member
    #6
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    Shayenne said:

    Beth....
    It seems my eyesight during treatment is getting bad as well, sometimes the people on the TV look fuzzy or something, I don't know if it's the chemo or the prescription drugs, but my eyesight seems to just not be so clear as before, I'm going to have to get them checked soon, I'm on Folfiri, so no dryness or coldness sensitivity, just the whole eyesight is lagging :(

    Avastin....
    I do know that Avastin works by starving the tumors of their blood supply ...It was also used on my mother for a blockage in her right eye. It is starving the clot to try and allow the thinner to alleviate the pressure behind the eye and actually regenerate circulation...If any of you are on Avastin that may cause some of the problem but I noticed that my eyes watered a lot when on 5fu/oxi/leu.........
  • daydreamer110761
    daydreamer110761 Member Posts: 487 Member
    #7
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    Buzzard said:

    Avastin....
    I do know that Avastin works by starving the tumors of their blood supply ...It was also used on my mother for a blockage in her right eye. It is starving the clot to try and allow the thinner to alleviate the pressure behind the eye and actually regenerate circulation...If any of you are on Avastin that may cause some of the problem but I noticed that my eyes watered a lot when on 5fu/oxi/leu.........

    I'm glad
    To hear it is not my imagination....

    Like Mags said, I had problems all through the chemo with my eyes freezing up - mostly because they tear up so bad and when i went outside in the cold they would freeze and I couldn't see anything for a minute. Getting up in the morning it still takes a little bit to focus on things, and I have contacts so I just use rewetting drops. Sad movies were horrible, cause they all make me cry (shoot I cry at anything anyway) and it would burn for a minute or so.

    What I have noticed now tho, is that it seems as if my left eye is completely out of focus. my contacts were bothering me the other day so I chose to wear my glasses and could see better without them than with. With the contacts its really blurry. This stinks because I just got the new prescription and glasses just before all this chemo stuff started. Plan to ask the doc about it when I see him in 3 weeks....

    The worst thing is that I read alot, and my job entails alot of numbers and typing, I have to close one eye....
  • shoppergal
    shoppergal Member Posts: 118
    #8
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    dorookie said:

    eye sight
    I haven't had any problems with dryness or anything like that. But my eye sight seems to be getting a bit worse, now I dont know if its just because I am getting older a bit anyway, or what, but I need to get them checked. Anyone else having this problem?

    Beth

    eye sight
    While I was on chemo, I had the blurriness at times, couldn't cry because it burned so much, and because of all this, didn't read as much as usual.Every time I went for chemo my onc would ask if there where any changes to my vision. All of a sudden, I did start to notice that I was having a hard time focusing on things. Not only couldn't I see things close up, but I couldn't see things in the distance clearly either. I hve been wearing glasses since I was little so I knew something was up. I went to have them examined and there were changes in my vision that the dr said were probably from chemo.Now I notice that they have changed slightly again, but I'm waiting to see if they will continue to change some more before I do anything.
  • johnnybegood
    johnnybegood Member Posts: 1,117 Member
    #9
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    shoppergal said:

    eye sight
    While I was on chemo, I had the blurriness at times, couldn't cry because it burned so much, and because of all this, didn't read as much as usual.Every time I went for chemo my onc would ask if there where any changes to my vision. All of a sudden, I did start to notice that I was having a hard time focusing on things. Not only couldn't I see things close up, but I couldn't see things in the distance clearly either. I hve been wearing glasses since I was little so I knew something was up. I went to have them examined and there were changes in my vision that the dr said were probably from chemo.Now I notice that they have changed slightly again, but I'm waiting to see if they will continue to change some more before I do anything.

    thanks
    everyone for your replys. i will ask my onc about eyedrops.they are getting really bad as far as matting up in the mornings and also burning when i cry.which is quite often thanks again i love this board and all the friends i have here Godbless.....johnnybegood
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #10
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    good timing
    ooohhhh -- I have been concerned recently with my eyes (dry, teary, etc.). Hadn't made the link with chemo (duh - you'd think I would -- thought I had "allergies" -- ). Will ask my onc about this -- seeing him Tuesday.

    For those using/considering eyedrops, one thought: I cannot use "normal" eyedrops as the preservatives irritate my eyes (even pre cancer/chemo -- ah -- was there such a time?). So, I use those one-shot capsules (plastic, rip the head off). And go for moisture as opposed to "get the red out" (will I be sued if I say Visine) as those can be drying rather than moisturizing. At least this is my limited understanding...
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #11
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    Eye hear you
    I had eye problems from CPT11 (Irinotecan) where I would get blurry eyed for a day or so. No burning though from any of my chemos. I didn't have trouble with Avastin but everyone is different. I did not use any eye drops though to answer your question.
    -phil

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