Doxazosin

"All alpha blockers, including doxazosin, can cause intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS), but doxazosin less so than tamsulosin. " Hank

Derek I was told by an eye surgeon that they can work around if they know, plus if you stop taking it for a week or so and it's out of your system it's OK to have the surgery - have you heard otherwise?

I think Tamsulosin is not the same type of drug anyway, it's not for lowering blood pressure. I took Prazosin once for BPH, it's a related drug and it lowered my blood pressure with no sexual side effects whatsoever. In fact it lowered it too much - Prazosin also known as "minipress" I believe if i remember from Australia.

Hi Mike, it is good to know that IFIS is reversible.  Hank

Tamsolusin is of the same family and is also an alpha blocker and lowered my BP.

The effect on the eye/eyes stays when it is out of your system according to my surgeon who commented why do they give me all the awkward ones. In my case it had only effected the right eye. I don't know if there was a connection but that eye developed PCO and I needed later laser surgery. 

I once asked the practice nurse if Amiodarone was the most complained about drug prescribed. She said No it's Tamsulosin. Yes, by men I replied. No, she said by their wives.

Not sure how true the stories are about the meds, since most of the people taking them are in the age group that may be cause for lower sex drive. I take Tamsulosin, 2mg and it did not affect my BP or sex drive.

well Derek says not, my surgeon was clear that if they know you are on Tamsulosin they can still do the surgery, and it helps to stop a week or so before, though he didn't say outright "IFIS is reversible"

I'd be interested in seeing some research on it.

I had stopped taking it a considerable time before I knew that I was going to have cataract surgery,

Wiki says, Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) is a complication that may occur during cataract extraction in certain patients. This syndrome is characterized by a flaccid iris which billows in response to ordinary intraocular fluid currents, a propensity for this floppy iris to prolapse towards the area of cataract extraction during surgery, and progressive intraoperative pupil constriction despite standard procedures to prevent this. 

IFIS has been associated with tamsulosin (e.g., Flomax), a medication widely prescribed for urinary symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Tamsulosin is a selective alpha blocker that works by relaxing the bladder and prostatic smooth muscle. As such, it also relaxes the iris dilator muscle by binding to its postsynaptic nerve endings. Even if a patient has only taken tamsulosin once in their life, that dose is enough to cause IFIS during cataract extraction indefinitely Various alpha-blockers are associated with IFIS, but tamsulosin has a stronger association than the others.

So Derek did you have cataract surgery? How did it go and did the surgeon say Flomax made it harder for him to perform surgery?

The left eye was done first and was evidently quite straightforward. The right eye done three months later by a different surgeon at the same hospital gave rise to comments on floppy iris syndrome and why was he given all the difficult cases. So far as I was concerned the end results were no different and coincidence that the right eye later developed CPO and needed a  laser procedure. 

It's good to know that they were able to have a successful outcome with you - I suppose that confirms what my surgeon said, it was probably one of his assistants who claimed it's reversible if one stops taking it, I think my surgeon said they just need to know ahead of time. I don't remember because I was in pain from him fixing a small retinal tear which was very close to a nerve.

Where it says that one tablet can cause it makes it rather dramatic. Quinolones can also have a bad effect in a very short time on some people..