constant runny nose & teary eyes - help!

In the scheme of things this is a minor annoyance, but it's driving me crazy. A year ago I was on taxotere. I had lots of difficult side effects, all of which resolved, except teary eyes and running nose - and it is constant. My eyes water all the time - people often think I'm crying. My eye doc said there's a procedure to put tubes into the tear ducts, but said the success rate isn't very high & doesn't recommend it. Also my nose runs all the time as if I had a cold. My skin is always sore from the blowing & wiping. It's miserable to be out to eat, or anywhre & be always dealing with this. My onc. doesn't have any suggestions. I know this is from the taxotere & I've been off it for a year now, so I don't think it will get any better. I can't take drugs like sudafed, etc. I have a bad reaction from them, and I don't have allergies, so don't know if they'd help anyhow. Is there anyone else who has dealt with this? And did you find anything that helps? Thanks. Pam

Funny, you would do the same post I was just thinking about doing. Yes, I have the same problem with eyes. I wake up in the morning with my eyes almost glued together. I went to the eye doctor. He was no help. He said I had dry eyes and gave me some drops that don't help. I also get runnng nose especially when I eat. My onc. thinks it's allergies and told me to try Claritin. I haven't tried it because I think it is chemo related along with my other symptoms. The onc. nurse told me that Taxotere is known to cause eye problems and that sometimes it is permanent. That's all I have to say on the subject. If you find out anything that helps, let me know.

Hope --- Yes, it is worse when I eat too. I'm sorry to hear you are dealing with this too. But glad to have the confirmation from someone else that this is taxotere related and that maybe I'm not crazy. I sure hope we can get some help because I can't stand this. Thanks for responding. Pam

I wonder if the hair in your nose never came back? My nose use to run constantly when I was on chemo because I had lost all the hair in my nose. Maybe yours never came back? I never got all my eyelashes back

Ladies, I am NOT on Taxotere, but have the same problems. Sometimes the eyes tear so much, I can read! I'm on Navelbine/Herceptin. It's one or the other. Add seasonal allergies to the picture, and ain't we got fun!

Love and light,

Lisa

I had the same problem while I was on taxol but it resolved. My eyes ran so much it was as though I were crying. And yes, everything got sore from wiping all the time.

My onc said that they didn't know what caused this problem. She lined me up with an opthamologist who was interested in dealing with chemo patients and told me to tell him that this was a problem that needed studying and if he wanted to start something she would be happy to refer patients to him.

Maybe we need to alert some aspiring PHd's or willing opthamologists or something who might be willing to tackle this problem.

My onc said that she knew of no one who was trying to pursue the cause of this annoying problem.

I just saw an opthamalogist for the same thing. He did say I could have glass stints put in, that they are high maintenance. He would do it if I was desparate. He also said the damage was permanent. Taxotere is also excreted in the tears causing scarring in the ducts. Had I been assessed earlier, I could have had silicone stints put in to manage the problem and prevent further damage. Unfortuneately, it's part of the package. Sometimes it is difficult to read too. My tears are sticky too and that makes dirt adhere to my face too. I find just rinsing my face with water helps that. I wish there was a better solution. My nose seems to run more also, which does not make sense since the ducts are narrowed, you would think the nose would run less. However, I currently don't have any nose hair either. Ah, the joys of surviving! Hang in there.

I had the same thing from Taxol both times. It resloved about 6 weeks to 2 months after completing the treatments. I was concern because I have had a tear duct reconstruction (from scar tissue and having so many sinus infections growing up). So far nothing permanent from the chemo. I used lots of refresh tear drops but still had scratchy and blurred vision. I stay away from all cigarette smoke. Hugs, Sandy

My eyes are still watery even though my last Taxotere treatment was in Feb. '03. I have an eye appointment next week, so I'll ask my opthemologist. But after reading these posts, I guess I'll just have to live with it. Darn, I kept hoping it would gradually get better.

Boy, I can relate. My eyes are gradually resolving and the problems are minor now. My oncol. had me use LacriLube. It is OTC but what a difference!!!! It was the only thing that gave me relief. SO-o-o-o much better than the liquid tears I had been using. I finished Tax. on Nov. 3rd. Eyes are basically normal now except that tears run to my "crow's feet" and irritate that area. A little antibiotic ointment helps a lot! Good luck.....Judy

WEll, girls - it DOES eventually get better. Taxotere was really hard on me, and they don't say anything about these side effects (they are minor, I guess)when you get the info sheets.
I was only off the Taxotere for 6 months when I had to go back on a new regimen for mets. So, was just getting some lashes and nose hair back when it all went again.
Taxol was not as hard on my eyes as the Taxotere. I did not look like I was crying all the time!
I have the pollen and dust allergies, so a runny nose is part of my "territory" whether I am on chemo or not. But, it WAS worse on chemo.
I find that Allegra is better for me. The Zyrtec allergy relief seemed to bother my heart a little with fluttering. I have needed to take some allergy medicine really constantly while on chemo, even in the winter. It helped me sleep.
Two years out the nose hair is back, but my eyelashes are still a bit sparse. (Wish it was the other way around!) Eyesight is restored to prechemo vision with no change of glasses. Eyes mainly tear when something I am allergic to passes by.
Patience and being NED are the key in my case. We just can NOT go though the battering of tough chemo and come out exactly the same. But I must say that the chemo was not as bad as I had been warned by some older survivors.

I have it constantly while eating and it drives me crazy. It doesn't matter if I am eating cold or hot it just constantly drips and then drips down my throat and I start coughing. I have been on Taxol,Navelbine, Xeloda and Herceptin. Don't know which one to blame but I have had it for Three years. When I eat I sit with a box of tissues on my lap
Kathie

Hi,
I was given Prednisolone 1% OP SUS. It has help for the teary eyes. If you find help for the nose let me know!

I had the same problems with the runny nose and teary eyes while on Taxol and Herceptin. After six months off chemo, the teary eye eventually went away. The runny nose I get once in awhile even while on herceptin. When I had the teary eyes, the corner of my eyes would get so dry that it would cause little cuts from my continuous wiping. I started putting vaseline around my eyes and that relieved the dryness.

Wow, I didn't expect so many responses to my post. This shows me that it's a real issue for many. I'm going to bring these to my next dr. appointment. Thanks for the suggestions of some OTC stuff to try.

Although the teary eyes are annoying I'm much more eager to find a relief from the constant runny & sore nose. Some of you mentioned lack of nose hair. I never would have thought of that. My hair grew back after taxotere, but very thin, and I didn't get back eyebrows or lashes, so probably don't have the nose hairs either.

[old-turtle]

This may have been started by chemo, but may now be something else. Try googling "ocular rosacea".

[jones7676]

I had a friend who had this problem and the eye specialist put in tubes and fixed it. When we were at treatment, one of the nurses mentioned it shoud be TaxoTEAR. Apparently it is a pretty common problem although I never experienced this side effect. Perhaps you might want to check with an eye doctor before deciding that there isn't anything you can do......just a thought....I'm no expert.

[Sheila]

I have had this for 4 years straight while on Hereceptin, and worsened by Xeloda, Taxol etc....for the eys, I had the lacrimal stents put in my tearducts to OPEN them...they were like little collagen plugs...work wonders for about 4 days then nothing but tears. Then came Restasis....because although our eyes are tearing and we look like we are crying, we have dry eye sydrome, and the eyes are tearing to moisturize the surface.....thwe restasis works wonders....its expensive, and rprescription only, but ahhhhhhhhhhh, its so good! Now the runny nose...I am just a hanky queen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hutchibk]

I have had great luck with Patanol, too, for the watery eyes...

[Andrea Barnett Budin]

I was on Taxotere '98-''99. Had every horrid side effect possible. Among the most annoying were the constant tearing and the runny nose. My hand was permanently clutched around a tissue. I dabbed all day long. People thought I was crying, and strangers sought to comfort me! I kept a ziploc in my pocketbook to gather all the soaking wet tissues from tears to eventually make it to the garbage.

I went to 5 opthalmologists. I had plugs put in by one. Good for 4 days. Careful when washing my face, never rubbing eyes. Fell out. Replugged. Same deal. And expensive. Annoying.

Another said use these eyedrops. Another said use those. Another said dry eye syndrome (as all concurred) -- could do roto routering the ducts but major surgery you do only as a last resort. Friends of friends consulted and couldn't figure it out.

FINALLY, last opthal doc said use REFRESH + (only saline, NO PRESERVATIVES). I was using something I explained. How often, he asked? 4 X a day! NOT ENOUGH. YOU HAVE *SEVERELY* DRY EYE!!!!! YOU NEED TO USE ONE VIAL AN HOUR -- ALL DAY LONG! I did this. I kept them in my bag, by the toilet, by my bed, by my computer. I watched the clock, made note and followed orders. Within 2 wks I was down to 2 X a day + middle of the night runs to the bathroom. Long periods of closed eyes recreates dry eye pain. Been doing this since '98. Must continue this apparently.

BTW, I could spot those on Taxotere in the chemo room. The ones dabbing their eyes. One nurse told me a newbie at the far end of the room asked if I was all right. Concerned I was crying. Nurse explained to her, She's not crying... Blah, blah.

Runny nose improved w/eye control. Just have to dab from time to time. Keep lots of tissues w/me. Happens when I eat! Annoying. I use vaseline in nostrils at night and don't have *crusties* or terribly runny nose any more.

Eating while dabbing at eyes ev 10 seconds and nose ev 30 seconds is nearly impossible -- w/fork/knife/tissue. My kids were mortified that I kept a tissue tucked in my bra to be handy at all times. I didn't care. Some friends asked if it could be psychological. My husband Paul explained that Andi has an absolutely great attitude. It's severe dry eye syndrome! I really quite happy in fact!!
Andi