Tamoxifen and your eyes
 

Today I had a routine eye exam that turned out to not be routine. It was the most comprehensive and in depth eye exam I have ever had. I asked my beloved eye doc of 20 years why this exam seemed so different and he said it was because he was looking for crystals that could appear on my retina related to the Tamox.

I joking asked if that could make be go blind.

And he said yes. It is irreversible.

I thought I was well versed in the side effects of Tamox but somehow missed this one. Anyone else hear of this?

Re: Tamoxifen and your eyes
 

Oh yeah. My oncologist isn't very helpful, but he's a real nag about my annual eye and gynecological appointments. (For no reason, I might add, because I make the next year's appointment at the current appointment.)

You might want to read this (it's a PDF). It should allay most of your concerns, because it seems that eye problems are rare with 20mg doses. Those 150mg doses they used to give women were a real eye-killer, though.

http://www.aao.org/publications/eyen...prehensive.pdf

All my eye problems began with my thyroid. Tamoxifen hasn't made them any worse.

Re: Tamoxifen and your eyes
 

Thanks Rhonda, I will read it. One of my biggest fears is blindness as I have a family history of macular degeneration. I thought my eye exams couldn't get more in depth until today.

Re: Tamoxifen and your eyes
 

I'm right there with you, Leah, except the family history is for glaucoma (and cataracts, but those have become very nearly routine to fix). I've got some genetic wonks for macular degeneration, too, so even though the condition hasn't manifested historically, it still makes me a little nervous. I could handle losing a lot of parts, but not my eyes.

Re: Tamoxifen and your eyes
 

Lost my boobs. Will lose my uterus,cervix and fallopian tubes on Jan 5. Would really like to keep my eyes and the rest of me too. Stupid cancer.