Cataracts

[geterdone]

Was wondering if anyone has had problems cataracts during or after treatment? It seems it holds true for some with preexisting conditions to be heightened during treatment and the lasting effects after. I started having problems after starting TX with my right eye not focusing properly and started getting double vision at night and has progressed during TX and thought it just maybe the meds at the time and waited until the end of TX to see if it would clear up and at 14 weeks post std soc it has not. Went to the eye doctor to have all the vision checks done and was confirmed that the cataract in my right eye has progressed since 2004 and it wouldn’t be as bad if not for the location or the eye for that fact of the matter. The darn thing is it’s sitting right in front of the optic nerve which is causing the blurred double vision at night, bummer. Not much could have been done before or during TX but may be of interest to those who have any preexisting eye problems, always wondered what happened to those missing words when typing, just thought it was the brain working faster than the fingers, lol.  

jasper

[smaug48]

Please let us know how the intra ocular surgery goes when you have it done.  Best wishes that it goes smoothly and that you have a quick recovery.

Jasper, thanks again for asking the question.

smaug

[geterdone]

Thanks!

It is amazing how these drugs may fast forward any pre-existing conditions one may or may not hold in their future and to pay attention to your body and marked events while on these meds from the start of treatment. I am also amazed at the progression of it in just a year and thankfully it is just the right eye and not both. The left is clear but will have to work a little harder to compensate for it along with the new prescriptions. The computer images of the eye were astounding and all the veins looked in good shape and put my anxiety to rest about the possibility of a leaking one. Hopefully the cataract will stabilize going further into post TX and will have it rechecked in 6 months or if there is a more noticeable difference going forward now that there are base lines to work with because of its location and I’ll know soon enough if there is, lol. It is an absolute that at some point and time there will be a corrective surgery which I am calm with except for if it is scheduled on a Monday morning.

Thanks! Glad to hear that others have had similar problems.

jasper

[Happyhungry]

I also had a pre-existing and slow developing cataract just  prior to treatment.  It was at a very early stage and completely correctable with prescription lenses.  During TX it degenerated very quickly and now, about 18 months later, I have to have intra ocular surgery to replace the lens.  My experience during TX was one of rapidly deteriorating vision in the right eye as the cataract changed very fast. It is quite disconcerting because of course it is not recommended to have intra-ocular surgery while your immune system is under TX.  The possibility of infection during the operation is substantially increased.  So you just have to tough it out, changing your lenses almost every month in my case in order to get as much vision out of the cataract as possible.  Its quite alarming how quickly this condition deteriorates under TX.  On the bright side, however, once TX is over, getting the lens replacement is supposed to be a relatively straightforward operation with very low risk of complication.

[smaug48]

I have cataracts from when I got radiation treatment 26 yrs ago, but didn' t do anything about them because they haven't been a problem due to their location.    Glad to to get the heads up about monitoring it, since I just took shot #20 out of 72.  I haven't had any vision problems so far.

I'm sorry to hear about the situation you are in now.  What are your options for treatment?

smaug