taxol and the eyes

Dear Holly:
I am afraid that blurred vision- sinus problems, etc. are a fact of taxol's side effects. My nurse told me it would do no good to have an eye exam until I had been off taxol for at least 3 months--in order to get a true dx. I had weird stuff happen that I have forgotten already. Nails can have problems--sometimes the gums.
You can't get bored on chemo----something new always coming up that you have not been warned against! People who sail right through chemo with minimal effects do not know how thankful they should be!!
Let me know if you have any other weird happenings, and I will be glad to share my knowledge. God bless you.
Hugs from Brenda

Neuropathy, a problem that sometimes occurs with chemotherapy treatment. It is damage to the nerves. It can occur from some chemotherapy drugs used in conventional cancer treatment.

There are three major goups of nerves in the human body, the peripheral nerves that carry information to and from the limbs, the nerves that supply the bowels and other internal organs, and the nerves of the head which connect to the ears, eyes, taste buds, etc. Nerves in any or all of these major groups can be affected by certain chemotherapy drugs.

Nerves are vulnerable to many kinds of damage. They can be damaged by certain cancers. This may be caused by the cancer cells producing a particular kind of biological agent that interferes with the function of the nerves. Sometimes, they can be damged by drugs used in chemotherapy treatment. The chemotherapy drugs that most likely cause nerve damage are the vinca alkaloids(vincristine, vindesine and vinblastine), platinum drugs(cisplatinum, carboplatinum) and the taxanes(taxol, taxotere). These drugs have the potential of interfering with nerve function.

You may notice symptoms in different areas of your body depending on which groups of nerves are affected. Symptoms in the hands and feet happen when peripheral nerve damage happens and are not rare with vinca alkaloids. The first sign of nerve damage is usually a feeling of tingling and numbness like what you experience when your foot goes to sleep after you've been sitting for a long time in an uncomfortable position. If the problem progresses further, it often produces weakness of the muscles, resulting in loss of strength at the wrist or the ankle. You will notice difficulty in doing up buttons and picking up coins. You may notice that you will tend to trip while walking up stairs or dragging your feet and tend to have a wide-based gait. In severe cases, the weakness may be so severe that you will need a wheelchair.

When the nerves in the bowel are affected, constipation is the earliest sign. In a few people, the abdomen becomes bloated with a distended bowel that is basically paralyzed. Some of the nerves in the head can also be affected. Platinum drugs can affect the auditory nerve and cause loss of hearing and tinnitus(ringing in the ears). Vision can very occasionally be affected.

A lot depends on how quickly your cancer treatment can be stopped. Sometimes the need for treatment is more urgent then the residual nerve damage. Sometimes, the balance between benefit from the drug and the side effect of nerve damage is more finely balanced.

Once treatment has been stopped, recovery is usually slow. It may take months to get even partial improvement and often there will be some residual impairment, either a motor weakness or a sensory numbness or both. Recovery is slower in the feet and legs than in the hands and arms.

There is no specific treatment that enhances nerve recovery. There are no drugs that will directly stimulate nerve regeneration or recovery. If you have severe and prolonged pain, then the pain may require narcotics often combined with antidepressants. In some cases, certain types of anticonvulsants would be helpful. Treatment options are subjects that you should discuss with your doctor, so you have accurate expectations of potential benefits and side effects.

gdpawel said:

Neuropathy, a problem that sometimes occurs with chemotherapy treatment. It is damage to the nerves. It can occur from some chemotherapy drugs used in conventional cancer treatment.

There are three major goups of nerves in the human body, the peripheral nerves that carry information to and from the limbs, the nerves that supply the bowels and other internal organs, and the nerves of the head which connect to the ears, eyes, taste buds, etc. Nerves in any or all of these major groups can be affected by certain chemotherapy drugs.

Nerves are vulnerable to many kinds of damage. They can be damaged by certain cancers. This may be caused by the cancer cells producing a particular kind of biological agent that interferes with the function of the nerves. Sometimes, they can be damged by drugs used in chemotherapy treatment. The chemotherapy drugs that most likely cause nerve damage are the vinca alkaloids(vincristine, vindesine and vinblastine), platinum drugs(cisplatinum, carboplatinum) and the taxanes(taxol, taxotere). These drugs have the potential of interfering with nerve function.

You may notice symptoms in different areas of your body depending on which groups of nerves are affected. Symptoms in the hands and feet happen when peripheral nerve damage happens and are not rare with vinca alkaloids. The first sign of nerve damage is usually a feeling of tingling and numbness like what you experience when your foot goes to sleep after you've been sitting for a long time in an uncomfortable position. If the problem progresses further, it often produces weakness of the muscles, resulting in loss of strength at the wrist or the ankle. You will notice difficulty in doing up buttons and picking up coins. You may notice that you will tend to trip while walking up stairs or dragging your feet and tend to have a wide-based gait. In severe cases, the weakness may be so severe that you will need a wheelchair.

When the nerves in the bowel are affected, constipation is the earliest sign. In a few people, the abdomen becomes bloated with a distended bowel that is basically paralyzed. Some of the nerves in the head can also be affected. Platinum drugs can affect the auditory nerve and cause loss of hearing and tinnitus(ringing in the ears). Vision can very occasionally be affected.

A lot depends on how quickly your cancer treatment can be stopped. Sometimes the need for treatment is more urgent then the residual nerve damage. Sometimes, the balance between benefit from the drug and the side effect of nerve damage is more finely balanced.

Once treatment has been stopped, recovery is usually slow. It may take months to get even partial improvement and often there will be some residual impairment, either a motor weakness or a sensory numbness or both. Recovery is slower in the feet and legs than in the hands and arms.

There is no specific treatment that enhances nerve recovery. There are no drugs that will directly stimulate nerve regeneration or recovery. If you have severe and prolonged pain, then the pain may require narcotics often combined with antidepressants. In some cases, certain types of anticonvulsants would be helpful. Treatment options are subjects that you should discuss with your doctor, so you have accurate expectations of potential benefits and side effects.

I hope you got my e-mail saying Thank You for sharing this info.
Brenda

I finally found out from one of the nurses that vision problems are very common when you're on chemotherapy. For me, my eyes got blurry so I needed stronger reading glasses. I never had "floaters" or dry eyes....just blurriness.

Holly, I have just completed my 8th taxol treatment and have noticed that my vision is very fuzzie, especially for distance. I always have a sinus infection and my eyelids are a bright pink. Has anyone else noticed pink eyelids? They are very sore, too.

Had no probs with Taxol
I didn't have any problems with eyes while on Taxol. On A/C they ran continually. 10 mths after the last of 12 Taxol I got horrible pain pressure around and behind right eye. Pain pills did nothing but DEX kept the it under control. Took Dex for roughly 2 weeks and it was gone. Saw eye Dr - he couldn't find anything wrong - CT scan showed nothing either. Going on 4 months now with nothing happening.

Susan

jessiesmom1 said:

Taxanes and the eyes
Hi Holly,

I had 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of Taxotere which is a taxane drug related to Taxol. I can't say that I had any vision problems but I had (and continue to have) excessively watery eyes. My last infusion was 6 months ago and my eyes continue to water. The opthamologist told me this is a well know side effect of the taxanes. I wipe my eyes all day long and cannot wear eye make-up due to the constant watering and wiping. Exceedingly unpleasant and inconvenient to say the least.

yep....I;ve got the Taxol eyes too
Weird eyes..get tired reading and doing computer...blurry...can;t read street signs...squinting....prescription changes...on Taxol as well...on my 6th of 12 treatments. Today they were dry as well. As someone else said, always something new happening with the chemo!

I'm very thankful my side effects have been pretty mild so far though. Feeling tired today, really dragging. Long nap this afternoon and now off to bed...hope tomorrow will have a bit more energy.

Good night all!

Laura

carkris said:

I had dry eyes requiring eye
I had dry eyes requiring eye drops. I also have peripheral neuropathy, in my hands and feet. it extends in certain pathways up my legs. I had weird sensations on my face like a bug crawling on it, and also pain and itchy feeling going up my arms. I had the visual spots and that was diagnosed as neuropathy in the eyes. That went away quickly. Neuropathy is numbness but it is also painful. Every sensation is magnified. Walking without shoes is painful, but closed toe shoes feel like they are 2 sizes too small. even though they are not. I have found clogs are better, and I got some sneakers at a running store, that were wider in the toe box. In the beginning I was very unsteady on my feet, and I find on unfamiliar surfaces, I compensate by looking at my feet. This is because the feet are not sending the messages to the brain by sensation. It feels like you are walking on pillows. anyway B6 is supposed to help and some people say glutamine. Yes lol chemo is never boring!!! P.S. I had AC and taxol.

Taxol eyes: may be worth checking with eye doctor
The nurse told me there was no point in getting a check up since my eyes would continue to change; however, I went anyway as I was really having trouble seeing. With my insurance new glasses were only $34 (MY Eye Doctor) and even nicer, as I had explained to them that the vision changes were due to chemo/steriods they said they would switch out the lens for free if my eyes changed back. They were also really helpful in finding reasonably priced frames and lens that would deal with the sun sensitivity (I;m going on to FEC after the Taxol round is done).

It;s worth trying, I think, to get a temporary correction if the cost is reasonable..walking around blurred for 3-6 months is no fun! Also, if you have contacts like I do, the monthly type, you can switch them around in different strengths..sometimes just a .5 adjustment can make a big difference in clarity. Again, My Eye Doctor was super helpful on that and gave me different lens to try on in the office to see which ones worked best.

Laura