Question: Hello I had PRK (LASEK) eye surgery (both eyes)on thursday afternoon. I am taking Durezol 4 times a day, It is Saturday morning I just took Durezol but I accidentally dropped 2 drops in my right eye instead of one. Should I be concerned? Should I continue with the regular dosage schedule? I can't really ask my doctor because office is closed now. Please help. I am also taking besivance 4 times a day and bromday once a day. and over the counter lubricant eye drops. It was 930 am today (saturday) 03/23/2013 when I accidentally took an extra drop of durezol. My next scheduled dose is around 2 or 3 pm this afternoon so I would appreciate a response before then. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Hello again Dr. Shah, sorry to bother you. I have a similar issue again unfortunately. It is now 1 pm here, (3 hours after my last question was asked). I am supposed to take Bromday once a day, and I just put one drop in each eye. Unfortunately, the drop that was supposed to go in my left eye might have missed it's target but I am not sure. I felt the drop roll down the left side of my face, but I also felt some liquid in my eye, so I am not sure if the drop went into my eye. Some of it might have gone in but I am not sure. I will try to be more careful and accurate. This was approximately 20 minutes ago. Should I attempt to put another drop in my left eye, or should I wait another 24 hours for the next dose. Thank you again.

Okay I understand, thank you very much. I do have a few more minor follow up questions. Certain parts of the instructions for these prescription eye drops intimidate me, for example, " do not touch the tip of the dropper to any surface, this could cause infection or vision loss etc...". I do try to avoid letting the tip of the dropper touch my eye, but I might be holding it too far away and that might be why I am missing my eye entirely sometimes.

Anyway, yesterday when I was done taking Besivance and I went to close the bottle, I think I touched the tip of the dropper to some part of the edge of the cap. I am continuing to use the same bottle. Please tell me if you think this is okay, and will I know/feel if something is wrong?

Also, how important is the part that says apply pressure with your index finger to the inside part of my eye after taking drops. I usually do not do this because I find it awkward. I usually put one drop in one eye and immediately follow it with one drop in the other eye and then keep both eyes closed for one minute without using my index finger to apply pressure, is this okay?

I am scheduled to see my surgeon for a follow up visit on Monday afternoon (about 40 hours from now)to take out the post-op bandage contact lenses. I already had one follow up visit Friday morning the day after surgery with an optometrist that works at the same building, he checked out my eyes briefly and said everything looks okay. The day after surgery my eyes felt surprisingly good, but days 2 and 3 are very uncomfortable. My eyes feel very dry and sensitive to light, but I suppose this is expected so I just have to be patient maybe. I am using the over the counter lubricant drops every 15 to 30 minutes.

I would like to take a shower before Monday. With regards to having water around my eyes in the shower is this okay as long as I keep my eyes closed? I will avoid shampoo etc. and I will try to keep the soap away from my face, but can I have water run down my face and eyes with my eyes closed?

I notice that after I take my prescription eyedrops, particularly durezol, there is a lot of build up of what appears to be mucous around my eyes. It is near the inside corner near the nose. There is always some accumulation of something around the middle part of my upper eyelids. I try to wipe this away but I would like to know what is the proper/sanitary way to wipe dirt/debris away from my eyes without the risk of of infection. I know that my post op instructions say avoid rubbing my eyes and I do a good job of that. But I would like to know how to clean my eyes once or twice a day in a hygienic manner.

One last question, my prescription for prednisone tablets is short one pill. I am supposed to take 6 pills on day 1, 5 pills on day 2, 4 pills on day 3, 3 pills on day 4, 2 pills on day 5, and 1 pill on day 6. This totals to 21 pills and I was only prescribed 20, is this worth mentioning to my doctor on Monday?

Thank you again Dr. Shah, and have a nice day.

Thank you again. In your opinion, should I start using a different bottle of Besivance since there is a chance I touched the dropper to the cap of the bottle? Since this has happened I have continued to use the same bottle, 2 more times and counting.
Just to confirm, if I dip a cotton ball into distilled water, I do not have to boil the distilled water right?
Thanks again.

Hello Dr. Shah I just wanted to get your opinion on a few things. I just went back to see my doctor 4 or 5 days after my PRK procedure. I thought I was going to have the temporary bandage contact lenses removed but he recommended waiting until Thursday so I will be going back on Thursday to have them removed.

Anyway, I was taking Restasis for dry eyes prior to this procedure and he told me to go get back on it starting today, I just wanted to make sure this is okay while I am still wearing the bandage contact lenses.

He mentioned I am healing well and my vision is 20/50 right now which is not bad, does this seem about right to you? My prescription before the procedure was -7.50 astigmatism both eyes.

He mentioned that the bedtime shields/glasses (to keep me from rubbing my eyes while sleeping)are not necessary, I never received these, do you agree with this?

I mentioned my Prednisone prescription was one pill short and I only had two left instead of three, so he told me to take one today and one tomorrow, that seems okay right?

And he said something about I am 80% healed, which is good, does this sound reasonable?

I was also prescribed percocet before the procedure but I do not take these because it is not necessary, I do not have pain, these are not necessary right?

Thank you.

Thank you very much.
My doctor prescribed Restasis for dry eyes about two months ago. I was wondering how I can talk to him about getting off this medication. I don't feel like I really need it. Dry eyes do not bother me that much, and I would be more than happy to use over the counter lubricant drops several times a day as needed. Restasis is very expensive, and I do not like being dependent on a prescription medicine every 12 hours. It also takes months for the effects to kick in. I just started taking it again this morning after taking a week off because of the PRK surgery. I am going to continue taking it for now, but at some point I would like to stop. I don't want to offend the doctor and tell him he has misdiagnosed me, but I just don't really think I need Restasis, I feel like it is over-prescribed for no reason. How may I approach this.
Thank you.

Hello and thanks again. I just got back from having my bandage contact lens removed. I am going to stop taking Besivance and Durezol in about three days, and then I will start taking lotemax 4 times a day for one month. I received a prescription for lotemax GEL over a week ago, but it was not covered by my insurance. Today I received a prescription for lotemax, but it is not the gel. I don't really know what the difference between the two are, the gel appears to be liquid drops in a bottle just like the rest, it is a little confusing. I have a few samples of the gel from the doctors office but I will not be using them since I filled a prescription for lotemax (not gel) today and it is a 10mL bottle which should last me longer than the samples of the gel. I am just looking to get some clarification on this. I will also be using Restasis, is there a certain amount of time I should wait before using Restasis and Lotemax. I would also like to know if it is normal to use lotemax 4 times a day for as long as 30 days. I was told my vision will continue to improve after today and my follow up appointment is in three weeks. I am wondering if the way I see in three weeks will be an accurate representation of how my vision will be from that point forward. Also I am using over the counter artificial tears and I would like to know what is the minimum amount of time I should wait before using these before and after I take the prescription eye drops (Restasis, Besivance, Durezol, Lotemax). Also is it alright to use Besivance and Durezol within three to five minutes of each other, this is what my post-op instructions say and I just want to confirm that.
Thank you.