Tweet
I have been on Fosamax for 6 years and had never heard there was a connection with the serious eye problems I have. There is alot to read out there so check it out there. This was a topic on Dry Eye in 2008, thought it bears repeating.
Ophthalmologists Dr. Rick Fraunfelder and his father, Dr. Frederick T. Fraunfelder, from the Casey Eye Institute (Oregon Health Services University, Portland, OR), wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. They state that currently there is no mention of the potential side effects of bisphosphonates in the Physicians' Desk Reference for Ophthalmology.
Any patient on a bisphosphonate who reports vision loss or ocular pain should be referred to an ophthalmologist, the Fraunfelders advise. Specifically, physicians caring for patients who are taking bisphosphonates should "look out for deep boring eye pain, a red eye, photophobia, and decreased vision." One possible side effect of the bisphosphonate medication is scleritis, a vision -threatening and potentially blinding condition if it goes unrecognized and untreated. "A finding of particular importance to clinicians is that no case of unilateral or bilateral scleritis that developed in a person receiving bisphosphonates resolved, regardless of therapy, until the bisphosphonate was discontinued," they explain.
Another eye condition called conjunctivitis seldom requires treatment and usually decreases in intensity during continued exposure to a bisphosphonate, but discontinuation of the bisphosphonate may be required for the ocular inflammation to resolve.
Physicians need to be aware that more than one ocular side effect can occur at the same time
Ophthalmologists Dr. Rick Fraunfelder and his father, Dr. Frederick T. Fraunfelder, from the Casey Eye Institute (Oregon Health Services University, Portland, OR), wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine. They state that currently there is no mention of the potential side effects of bisphosphonates in the Physicians' Desk Reference for Ophthalmology.
Any patient on a bisphosphonate who reports vision loss or ocular pain should be referred to an ophthalmologist, the Fraunfelders advise. Specifically, physicians caring for patients who are taking bisphosphonates should "look out for deep boring eye pain, a red eye, photophobia, and decreased vision." One possible side effect of the bisphosphonate medication is scleritis, a vision -threatening and potentially blinding condition if it goes unrecognized and untreated. "A finding of particular importance to clinicians is that no case of unilateral or bilateral scleritis that developed in a person receiving bisphosphonates resolved, regardless of therapy, until the bisphosphonate was discontinued," they explain.
Another eye condition called conjunctivitis seldom requires treatment and usually decreases in intensity during continued exposure to a bisphosphonate, but discontinuation of the bisphosphonate may be required for the ocular inflammation to resolve.
Physicians need to be aware that more than one ocular side effect can occur at the same time
Comment