Done Chemotherapy And Radiation Therapy. Now Has Blurred Vision, Medicines Made Him Vomit. Prognosis For Vision?

Posted on Sat, 23 Jun 2012

Question: My husband has not long finished radiation/chemo on throat cancer .... which is now cleared but now he has blurrred vision, his eyes will not focus,they seem to cross. There is some facial numbness & pain ..left side. He had a CT scan this week which show clear too. He also started Efexor-xr for depression (75mg), only had two tablets which has made him vomit,weak,dizzy. So has not taken anymore. How long will this medication take to clear his system, he has lost so much weight that cannot afford to be sick like this. What do you think is the prognosis with his eyesight ?

Answered by Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (4 hours later)

Hello

Thanks for the query

Efexor xr contains venalaflaxine which is known to cause dizziness and blurring of vision in about 10% of the patients. However the symptoms start coming down within a week of stopping the drug

In your husbands case there are chances that it might not be because of the drug because you are telling us that he has taken it only for two days and the eyes are crossing, which means that there is weakness of the muscles of the eyes which is causing his blurred vision along with that he has numbness of the face.

Please approach a multi speciality hospital which has oncology, XXXXXXX medicine, neurology and ophthalmology for this condition.
Ideally for him a MRI with contrast should be done to rule out an embolism/ thrombi which might be the culprit which is causing the problem. It is basically a small clot which is causing reduced blood supply in the brain

Please follow these advises until you XXXXXXX the doctors

1. Give him ample bed rest
2. High calorie diet which should include carbohydrates like rice, wheat, milk and milk products
3. Keep him a semi dark room and avoid direct exposure to sunlight
4. Never leave him unsupervised
5. Avoid travelling
6. Watch out for slurring of speech, weakness of limbs

I hope I have answered to your query, if there are no further queries please accept my answer

I wish him a speedy recovery

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (7 hours later)

It seems he is suffering from double vision, both eyes ...... so would treatment be the same

Answered by Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (1 hour later)

Hi and thanks for the reply

I need to more about the double vision to answer you better. Please answer to these questions:

1. Is the double vision gone when one eye is closed? if yes then which eye?
2. Is the double vision side by side or up and down?
3. Is it present throughout the day?
4. Any history of defect in the cornea or glaucoma or any eye disorder prior to this?

Please get back to me with these answers; I can certainly help you better.

Awaiting your reply.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (20 hours later)

Sorry I've taken so long to get back to you. In answer ....
Question 1 .... either 2..... side by side 3.....Yes 4......No

at present he has an eye patch over the left eye .... it cuts out the double vision & helps his balance ..... wearing the patch on either eye, stops the double vision ....... he feels the right side is the weaker.

Answered by Dr. Rakesh Madhyastha (1 hour later)

Hi,

Thanks for giving a detailed reply

It looks like your husband is suffering from lateral rectus palsy. It is basically a weakness of the muscle that helps move the eyeballs. Please take him to a neurologist soon. He difinitely requires further evaluation and most importantly a detailed physical examination.
Also kindly follow the advises I had given in my first reply

I hope I have answered your query, if there are no further queries please accept my answer

I wish him a speedy recovery

Regards

Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad