Vision changes anyone?

Cathelen72
Cathelen72 Member Posts: 33 Member
Has anyone experienced an effect on their eye sight after radiation? I had more rads on my left side than on my right as that is where my three tumors were found. Now it seems even with my glasses on my left eye is out of focus. Maybe it's because I'm going to be 40 in six months and has nothing really to do with treatment?

Comments

  • SIRENAF42
    SIRENAF42 Member Posts: 202
    Blame the cancer LOL
    I had to go see an opthamologist due to my vision being blurred and my eyes just hurt all the time. The radiation caused chronic dry eye, I am now on Restasis. It has relieved the constant strained feeling and also helped with my blurred vision.

    I asked if I need glasses and she said your 44, readers should suffice for now, said at "our age" its kinda inevitable.... I told her Id prefer her to blame it on the cancer and not my age.... :)
  • palmyrafan
    palmyrafan Member Posts: 396
    I would make an appointment
    with a Neuro-Opthalmalogist to get a complete eye workup done. They will check your vision, do visual field tests, check your peripherals and do an OCT test which is like a mini-MRI of your eyes. They should be able to tell if there is any changes to your vision.

    Teresa
  • Puggle
    Puggle Member Posts: 88 Member
    Not sure if it's a coincidence
    Not sure if it's a coincidence or not but my husband, who has always had excellent vision, noticed a change about a month ago. This was about the time he finished his treatments of rads and chemo. He is 50 and has had reading glasses for a couple of years but his far vision was always fine. He went to have his eyes examined and now needs bifocals. His MO didn't seem to think it was the treatments but who knows.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    Hi Cathelen

    Yep you are getting old, but not that old that you should have problems just yet. Radiation and Chemo as in your case with NPC can affect your vision depending on where the doctor had the beam aiming. There is always a chance that the hearing or the eye sight will be effected by the treatment. Suggest going to see an Ophthalmologist, but you need to do it at one of the major cancer intuition and not a local city doctor. As they don’t deal in problems with people that had cancer, all they will do is to give you the run around. More then likely they are going to tell you need glasses.

    Here is to wishing you well and welcome you in to the forties.
    Hondo
  • tesa
    tesa Member Posts: 123
    Hondo said:

    Hi Cathelen

    Yep you are getting old, but not that old that you should have problems just yet. Radiation and Chemo as in your case with NPC can affect your vision depending on where the doctor had the beam aiming. There is always a chance that the hearing or the eye sight will be effected by the treatment. Suggest going to see an Ophthalmologist, but you need to do it at one of the major cancer intuition and not a local city doctor. As they don’t deal in problems with people that had cancer, all they will do is to give you the run around. More then likely they are going to tell you need glasses.

    Here is to wishing you well and welcome you in to the forties.
    Hondo

    My mother has had problems
    My mother has had problems with her left eye ever since she finished her radiation treatments last year. The left side is where she had the radiation and that eye constantly would tear and itch. The sun and bright lights also irritate her eye.
  • nwasen
    nwasen Member Posts: 235 Member
    vision
    I think anything is possible after a lot of radiation. I found after being on the PEG for months that I had better vision at night! After going off the PEG it went back to normal...so for me was the nutrition. But I truly believe that anywhere that radiation touched could change. Good luck and glasses aren't too bad....once I hit 40 I had to wear them...(I am 61 now)
    Nancy
  • ToBeGolden
    ToBeGolden Member Posts: 695
    Wierd Visual Disturbance
    I started having a weird visual disturbance about 10 months post rads. However, I don't think the disturbance is rad related.

    My visual field "jumps" with every heart beat. At first it was just in my right eye, but after a couple of months, the visual disturbance was in both eyes.

    Went to Neuro-Oth, had MRI/MRA, found nothing. The Neuro-Opth said he often has patients with strange visual disturbances, but seldom can find a reason for them. And he says that the symptoms don't progress or kill the patient. But if the patient dies, how would he know. I don't have any return appointments, so the neuro-opth won't know how the symptom progresses.

    Sometimes I can ignore the symptom and other times it affects me. I been having a little trouble with depth perception, judging steps and the like. Need to use a hand rail.

    But the visual problems are the least of my worries. Pain in the side of my face and in the ear, with the likelihood that the C has returned occupy me. I am being followed.

    I did find one person on the Internet who reported my "exact symptoms". He/she also did not get any explanation or treatment from doctors.

    +++++
    As an aside, cataracts become troublesome as one gets older. Cataracts distort the visual field. I have very severe cataracts due to lifelong use of steroid eye drops. But cataracts can develop from the sun. So use those shades and see better longer.
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member

    Wierd Visual Disturbance
    I started having a weird visual disturbance about 10 months post rads. However, I don't think the disturbance is rad related.

    My visual field "jumps" with every heart beat. At first it was just in my right eye, but after a couple of months, the visual disturbance was in both eyes.

    Went to Neuro-Oth, had MRI/MRA, found nothing. The Neuro-Opth said he often has patients with strange visual disturbances, but seldom can find a reason for them. And he says that the symptoms don't progress or kill the patient. But if the patient dies, how would he know. I don't have any return appointments, so the neuro-opth won't know how the symptom progresses.

    Sometimes I can ignore the symptom and other times it affects me. I been having a little trouble with depth perception, judging steps and the like. Need to use a hand rail.

    But the visual problems are the least of my worries. Pain in the side of my face and in the ear, with the likelihood that the C has returned occupy me. I am being followed.

    I did find one person on the Internet who reported my "exact symptoms". He/she also did not get any explanation or treatment from doctors.

    +++++
    As an aside, cataracts become troublesome as one gets older. Cataracts distort the visual field. I have very severe cataracts due to lifelong use of steroid eye drops. But cataracts can develop from the sun. So use those shades and see better longer.

    Hi Rick

    I started having problems like that a year or so back and still get it every now and then. But for me it was more like a movie camera not being stable and jumping all over the place or that was how I was seeing it. Then a few months later I started to go blind so went to see an Ophthalmologist at MD Anderson and she found a lot of pressure on the eye nerve. They then did a spinal tap and found I had too much pressure on the brain and it was causing the problem with the yes. They put me on Diamox for a few months and that cleared up the problem. Every now and then I still get a little problem with focusing but it is a hold lot better then before.

    Wishing you well
    Hondo