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Has anyone on Anastrozole had eye/sight problems?

Posted by frantik223 @frantik223, Aug 2, 2023

I’ve been on Anastrozole since march, I’ve had side effects that have been discussed here but I haven’t seen anyone mention eye or seeing troubles. I am experiencing eye twitching which I have heard about but in my peripheral vision I have wavy lines and now when I blink I see flashes of light. Also my floaters seem to have increased.

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mimzy | @mimzy | May 22, 2024
In reply to @dgayle "I am 73 y and have been on Anastrazole since the end of January. I began..." + (show)
@dgayle

I am 73 y and have been on Anastrazole since the end of January. I began to notice a problem with my vision a few weeks ago. It was difficult to focus ( in the right eye more than left), and blurry vision. I used glasses for reading before, but even using them is not correcting the problem. I had an eye exam 2 years ago , but now (in May ) I am told that I have cataracts. I am also finding that my hair is thinning A LOT. It is particularly noticeable as I had thick hair before where the hair stylist would have to thin it when cutting, but not now!
I can’t run my fingers through my hair without lots of hair strands coming out in my fingers.
I attribute this to my taking the Anastrazole. What can be done about these issues.

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I have no answers for you, but I have you in my thoughts

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freckle1 | @freckle1 | May 22, 2024
In reply to @dgayle "I am 73 y and have been on Anastrazole since the end of January. I began..." + (show)
@dgayle

I am 73 y and have been on Anastrazole since the end of January. I began to notice a problem with my vision a few weeks ago. It was difficult to focus ( in the right eye more than left), and blurry vision. I used glasses for reading before, but even using them is not correcting the problem. I had an eye exam 2 years ago , but now (in May ) I am told that I have cataracts. I am also finding that my hair is thinning A LOT. It is particularly noticeable as I had thick hair before where the hair stylist would have to thin it when cutting, but not now!
I can’t run my fingers through my hair without lots of hair strands coming out in my fingers.
I attribute this to my taking the Anastrazole. What can be done about these issues.

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Cataracts are very common in older people. I had mine removed about a year ago, and glaucoma stents inserted at the same time. I have no hair loss. Been on anastrozole for two years. Stress is a very common cause of hair loss. A young acquaintance recently had severe hair loss because of stress about his visa renewals. Now he's fine. So it's impossible to know whether anastrozole is the cause of your problems.

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raebaby | @raebaby | May 22, 2024

I don't take anastrozole but when I found my eyes hurting 50 years ago, I mentioned it to my 10 year old daughter. She responded, "That's what you said when you were pregnant with Suzi." I was astonished to learn from her that I had a surprise pregnancy that began 5 months after the birth of my middle daughter! I think it was hormonal.

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swva | @swva | 22 hours ago

Did you continue taking your anastrozole?? Or did you stop because of these issues. I have been on for 3 years and have recently been experiencing those wavy lines , more floaters and not as clear vision

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swva | @swva | 22 hours ago
In reply to @frantik223 "I have had similar symptoms- started with anastrozole and switched to letrozole after 6 months with..." + (show)
@frantik223

I have had similar symptoms- started with anastrozole and switched to letrozole after 6 months with a month off between medications. I had eye twitching, waves lines (like my eye lashes were in the way of my vision), flashes of light when I blinked and increased floaters. Went straight to the eye doctor and he didn’t see anything alarming- now I find my eyes are dry (like if you wear soft contacts and they are totally dried out in your eye) AND I don’t need my contact anymore, my vision in my right eye is better without the contact. I need to go see the eye dr again but in the interim I had breast reconstruction, dealing with shoulder problems so now it’s time to go back to the eye doctor.
Hope this helps

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So these visual changes resolved after going off of anastrozole???
I have been on for 3 years and recently developed those wavy lines in left eye. I am finding eye doctors and even my oncologist don't know much about eye issues with these meds

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swva | @swva | 22 hours ago
In reply to @jc1926 "I have been on Anastrozole for about a year and a half. I noticed that I..." + (show)
@jc1926

I have been on Anastrozole for about a year and a half. I noticed that I was needing my reading glasses suddenly for distance. I went to the eye doctor and was prescribed bifocal contacts. I told the doctor about my meds and he didn’t seem to think they were the cause, but honestly he wasn’t sure.

I don’t know if this helps, but it did seem like shortly after starting Anastrozole, my vision changed.

This is off subject, but I also have noticed that I bruise more easily on Anastrozole.

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I too am having visual changes after being on anastrozole for 3 years
Ophthalmologist and oncologist don't seem to be well educated in visual problems with this medication

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