sore eyes.

Hi Denise,

If it is the white of the eye that is a pool of bright red blood then it is a sub-conjunctival haemmorage (think I spelt that wrong) and this can occur quite frequently on glivec. It is also reasonably common for people not on glivec. It is just a burst blood vessel and as such clears up in a few days and requires no treatment. It may be worth having your blood pressure checked as very occasionally it is associated with high blood pressure.

I would agree with Bee that it is not a reason to stop taking glivec.

regards
Susan

hi denise,
i fully support all the other replies to your post. you should not stop taking Glivec without consultation with your doctor. the list of most common side effects of Glivec includes eye bleeds.
make sure you see your doctor soon and meanwhile please reconsider your decision to stop taking Glivec.

i found an eye bath of a few drops of HyperCal mother tincture (hypericum and calendula)in warm water helped a lot. the blood vessels involved seemed to heal much quicker when i used this tincture and it is very soothing.
you can order it online or by phone from Ainsworths homeopathic pharmacy.
best wishes,
Sandy ;o)

I am sorry to hear some of you are having this side effect :( Has anyone ever suffered from their eye running? This too comes in cycles but can last about 3 weeks, it drives me mad and I never thot it could be a side effect but only started since diagnosis????????
Donna

Hi, Denise,
I started on Imatinib in 2000, and started having eye bleeds in 2001, just occasionally at first, then quite often later on.The Dr’s then would not admit, or didn’t know, that it was caused by Imatinib. It’s to do with thinning the walls of the blood vessels in the eye, that’s what I was told much later on. I also found that it occurred more in my left eye than the right. I also found they would “pop”,( you can feel it go) if I bent down to pick up something heavy. Had some pretty exhaustive tests done at hospital to check it out, but everything OK. It’s just “cosmetic.” I came off Imatinib in March this year, and the bleeds stopped not long after. Found it quite good at Halloween and for frightening errant children, (just joking about the last bit.) I know you might find it worrying, but keep taking the tablets, be guided by your consultant and don’t panic everything will be OK
Regards Les.

On higher doses of glivec I am i still have reflux and other vomiting especially If I have had milk.

Stopped taking milk in tea, yoghurt, and creamy things.

Seem much better - however for breakfast I still have muslei etc with a small amount of milk and every now again feel queasy.

Has anyone else had this experience with milk products or a change of taste in some foods.

I could imagine that the drugs would cause some deteriation of teeth enamel if vomiting or reflux?

What management routine if having to have teeth cleaned, filled or taken out is recommended - does anyone know?

At onetime my Haem. thought it would be advisable to have a course of antibiotics before going to the dentist? I have not had to go - but I am going soon for a check-up?

Sue

Hi

This is a very common side effect.
According to my local optician who coincidentally also is a specialist at Moorfields eye hospital he recommends that NO eye drops are used as this only spreads the blood around the thin layers of the eye making it look muck worse.

He does how ever recommended that if the eye bleeds are very frequent, that you do go for a check up with the optician earlier rather than later. They can check the back of the eye to see if this is just a surface problem with no further cation needed or whether some other for of treatment is needed. I was DX in Aug 2004 and like others sometimes fell a ping in my eye and instinctively look in a mirror.

I sometimes have a kaleidoscope effect where a circle of moving diamond effects seems to be happening. This is a MIGRANE without a headache.

Regards

Steven D

I was dx in June 2003 and have been on Gleevec since Dec of that year.
I also suffered from a great deal of eye bleeds, especially in my left eye. I occasionaly had them in the right eye, but they were mild and cleared up in a few days.
The one in my left eye would last for a few weeks before clearing up, and then the cycle would start again.
Fortunately I seem to have passed through that phase now, with the last one about a year ago.
My eyelids are puffy in the morning, but by midday are almost normalised.
I have been ph negative for about three years now, with a > 4 log reduction.
I will be going for my annual BMB later this month, but I have never felt better.
I am a very active 62 year old, but retired after my dx.
Hang in there, the side effects are a small price to pay for the overall benefits the medication.

i cannot directly answer your first question as to 'why' Glivec affects the eye's in this way, but it is a common side effect.

you can try to alleviate the symptoms with a homeopathic remedy called Euphrasia. it may help the itching and redness heal quicker. i would suggest you use an eye bath of warm water with 2 drops of homeopathic Hypercal tincture and bathe your eyes with this. it is very soothing and helps blood vessels to heal much more quickly. hopefully you have access to a homeopathic pharmacy. if not you can buy remedies online at
Ainsworths homeopathic pharmacy in London, or Helios which is based in Kent. both have websites.
hope this is helpful.
Sandy ;o)