Need help for runny eyes from taxotere

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Need help for runny eyes from taxotere

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  • LRM216
    LRM216 Member Posts: 2,115
    edited September 2009

    Can anyone help me - I don't know what to do about my constant runny, teary eyes after each of my taxotere tx's.  I am almost 2 weeks out from my 3rd taxotere (one to go) and my eyes are running non-stop for days now.  It's most annoying and troublesome.  Does anyone know what one might do to alleviate this?  My sinuses have also opened up the floodgates, so between my runny nose and my runny eyes, I am miserable.  Thanks for any input.

    Linda

  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited September 2009

    Hi, Linda ~ Last summer/fall when I was on it,  I remember someone on the TC thread suggesting eating a banana for the runny eyes.  Not sure why or how that's supposed to help, but it might be worth a try.  Sorry you're so miserable, but I remember the runny eyes didn't last for very long.    Deanna

  • Texas357
    Texas357 Member Posts: 1,552
    edited September 2009

    You might want to make an appointment with an opthalmologist because taxotere can cause the tear ducts to scar over and close. That may be temporary or it may require surgery to correct. It's one of the first things my oncologist warned me about before I started taxotere.

    I finished Taxotere in April, had splints implanted in my tear ducts to re-open them in June, and my eyes still water nonstop. The good news is that my opthalmologist feels that when the splints are removed in December, the tear ducts should be good as new.

  • leggo
    leggo Member Posts: 3,293
    edited September 2009

    Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride tablets worked for me. I now all oncs feel differently about taking meds with chemo, so you might want to check with your onc first before you take it.

  • LRM216
    LRM216 Member Posts: 2,115
    edited September 2009

    Much thanks to you all for your suggestions.

    Linda

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited September 2009

        I had surgery to correct mine also, It was like looking through a windshield in the rain with wipers that weren't moving fast enough...tears were just flowing over my lower lids and down my cheeks.  The tears have improved, but the tubes (cannulae?) they put in certainly did not get rid of the problem....tears still run down my cheeks, but not as frequently or as heavy as it used to be. .  I am still using the drops that were prescribed and go to be checked by the surgeon again this next Wed.  I was thinking the surgery was a miserable failure, but maybe as Texas wrote my eyes won't go back to normal until they remove the tubes....I was thinking the tubes were to keep the ducts open and they would start functioning again, but maybe it's after they remove them that they work.  I sure do hope that is the case because I would hate to have gone to the trouble of having it done, not to mention the cost, to have it not work.  Just another one of those wonderful little SEs from chemo...I did not do taxotere, but Avastin, same family. 

  • blondie45
    blondie45 Member Posts: 580
    edited September 2009

    Mine were sooo bad that I bascially couldn't read or do anything but keep sitting there with a kleenex to blow my nose and wipe the tears. Here are the 3 things that I did (not sure if all of them are helping or just one but I am not changing anything at this point).

    The first thing I did was go to my ophthalmologist and get punctal plugs put in (it really does not hurt), second thing I added a good fish oil like from Cooper Elements, third when they are actually instilling the Taxol for that hour (may be longer if you are dose dense as I go weekly) I put lubricating drops such as Bion Tears in my eyes about 3 to 4 different times throughout the infusion.

    Like I said not sure which of the 3 or if all 3 of these things are helping but I am doing fantastic in the dry eyes/watery eye area since i added these things. It took about 1 to 1/2 weeks to notice a difference after the punctal plugs were put in.

    Dawn

  • Texas357
    Texas357 Member Posts: 1,552
    edited September 2009

    Dawn, I wish now that I'd used some kind of moisturizer on my tear ducts during treatment. No one -- not even the opthalmologist -- suggested it. I've been taking the fish oil to help with Femara pain, but haven't noticed that it helped with the watery eyes.

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