Dry eyes & deteriorating vision

[Merridith]

Hi everyone:

I took the usual chemo: 4 A/C, 4 Taxol followed by 1 year of Herceptin. (Last infusion this December!!!!!!!!!! Yahoo!!)

I am currently being plagued by very dry eyes and deteriorating vision. When I started the treatment, I had 20/20 vision. After the A/C taxol combo, I got my first pair of glasses for distance. A year later, I believe that I need new ones. I also think that my close up vision needs correcting as well.

Although I realise that age + menopause are positively correlated to vision deterioration, I am also blaming the chemo for what appears to be sudden rapid deterioration. Are other people experiencing the same?

Also DRY eyes!!! They are driving me nuts. I am putting both artificial tears in my eyes PLUS eye gel every couple of hours. I even put the drops in at night a couple of times. Last night, one eye was so dry that the eyeball actually adhered in one small part to the eyelid! Wow was that painful!

Is there experience out there in dealing with this? Does it go away after the Herceptin stops?

I have also heard that chemo really escalates your probability of getting cataracts. Has anyone else heard this?

Thanks in advance for your best tips!
Merridith