Duotrav side effects

[Girtonian]

My dad is 95 and was prescribed duotrav drops about 5-10 years ago. He also had laser surgery. He has been suffering for a few years now with a terribly mred, itchy, flaky rash on his face. Also with night time urinary incontinence. Recently my mum checked the contraindications - and both things are listed. She has taken him off the drops pending talking to the eye specialist mid August. I’d be interested to know if anyone else has had a similar experience? Are there alternatives? He is doing much better now in both departments! But I’m concerned the pressure may be building up in his eye.

[Ktpink]

Hello there, I would always suggest talking to the dr about bothersome symptoms of any kind. I say this as gently as possible but I don’t think stopping his eye drops is a good idea without talking to the dr about a possible alternative. Good luck to dad.

[Hidden]

I agree with Ktpink although the side effects are obviously upsetting to your dad I really wouldn't stop his eye drops either without seeking medical advice. Eye pressure can build up pretty quickly for some people when stopping their drops. Could you or your mum phone the eye clinic and explain the situation and how distressing it is for you dad and an alternative could be prescribed. All the best to your dad .

[Girtonian in reply to Hidden]

Thank you and also to Ktpink. This is pretty much what I thought. My mum says their GP agrees with them re stopping the drops until the next eye clinic appointment, which is a telephone consultation on 18 August. She is sometimes a bit economical with the truth though and gets a bit muddled up, so I'm not 100% sure this is actually what the GP said. It is certainly true that the rash on my dad's face got so bad the doctor thought part of it might be a squamous cell carcinoma and we had to take my dad for a biopsy on a lump which came up over his eyebrow. The rash on his face has now almost cleared - except for the wound where he had the biopsy, which is very slow to heal. Unexpectedly, his night time incontinence also stopped when they stopped the drops. It's not surprising they are not in a hurry to start the drops again. I don't think my mum really understands what glaucoma is (I wasn't too sure myself till I looked it up). At first she argued that he hadn't got glaucoma at all, even though he's been going to the glaucoma clinic for years and all three of us children have been getting free eye tests because of it. It's hard for me to reason with her as she gets angry and thinks I'm saying she can't cope. Underneath it all she is fearful that we want to put them in a home, which is not at all the case! I am interested though to see if anyone else here has had these kind of side effects? And whether a change in medication is possible?

[Wales99 in reply to Girtonian]

So sorry to hear what you’re going through with your parents. I completely understand- I had the same with my mum. Although we did get power of attorney & also got her to write a letter of authority to her Drs surgery for them to deal with my sister & I. I’m not sure if your mum would go for that though. My mum had Glaucoma & was always having trouble with her drops- like you, I knew nothing about it & didn’t think I would ever get it & if I did then it would be picked up early because I was having regular eye tests. Not the case. It was missed by Specsavers. That’s another story though. Going back to the drops I used to say to my mum that it wouldn’t matter if she missed a few. I now know how important it is to keep up with your drops. Like others, I wouldn’t recommend stopping them. If you speak to the eye clinic I’m sure they will be happy to suggest an alternative, my consultant was very good about changing mine when I had problems with one lot of drops. Good luck & keep us posted, there is always someone to talk to on here. 😊.

[Nala2509]

HelloSorry to hear your dad is experiencing side effects to the drops he is taking. I can’t comments on those particular drops or side effects, however I have suffered from side effects from the first drops I was prescribed by the eye clinic. I contacted the secretary who passed my concerns to the consultant and my appointment was brought forward at the hospital. After discussing my concerns my drops were changed and so far no further problems. If you are able, I would recommend you contact either the consultant secretary or the eye clinic direct for advice, but personally I would not stop using the drops until this can be sorted out for your Dad. Good luck, I hope you Dad feels better soon.