Paxton said...
And, if I may jump in very late in the thread. . .
I think I saw a reference to your RO possibly prescribing FloMax during/after treatment. My SBRT RO did, too. Then a couple of months later, when I had my annual eye exam, I mentioned the FloMax to my ophthalmologist, saying that I had taken it for a limited period, but was no longer taking it. He immediately took notice, and thanked me for noting that to him. It turns out that if one HAS EVER taken an alpha blocker like FloMax, Rapaflo, or the generic equivalents, it needs to be mentioned to your eye doc. This is because the use (current or past) of such meds may cause a condition known as IFIS, or interoperative floppy iris syndrome. I didn't absorb all the technicalities, but it means that if you ever need eye surgery (cataracts, or other cause), the eye surgeon will need to take additional precautions to avoid complications during the surgery. My doc did say that using FloMax would not change the outcome of cataract surgery, but he needs to know of the use of FloMax to be aware to be watchful.
So - I don't mean to add a scare. Just to caution guys to tell "all meds" to the eye doc, too.
Just to add some anecdotal "data," I took tamsulosin (Flomax) for BPH for many years, and eventually had cataract surgery. My surgeon did indeed find I had "floppy" irises, but took it in stride and I had very successful eye surgery. It may have been the nurse assisting, rather than the doc, who mentioned the connection to Flomax just after my first eye procedure. But yes, I would mention Flomax at your office visit. Given the age group for cataract surgery and the number of men with BPH on these drugs, I would think that most eye surgeons have experience with the syndrome.
While we are on the subject of cataract surgery, I chose to have the doc make the incisions with the laser instead of by hand, only because he said that with the laser, in addition to the cut used to remove and insert lenses, he could make some "relaxation" cuts around the periphery to correct some of my astigmatism. He was able to correct that completely in one eye and reduce it by about
50% in the other. Just mentioning it for others who are very nearsighted with astigmatism. (Were it not for my marked astigmatism, I would not have paid the extra per eye for the laser pre-procedure, which wasn't covered by my insurance.)
Djin