Help for Droopy Eyes from Botox

Thank you for your question. Sorry to hear about the droopy eyes. It sounds like you are experiencing ptosis. It is something that can be partially corrected with the use of eye drops. Your physician would need to prescribe it. It will also wear off as the effect of Botox wears off.

Eyelid droop is a rare, but known, side-effect of Botox.  The good news is that this is NOT permanent, and you do have some options in treatment...A droopy eye-LID due to Botox can be treated with Apraclonidine eye-drops which can provide a small (2mm) improvement -- Apraclonidine 0.5, 1-2 drops, 3 times per day. Make sure you put in one drop at a time, tilt your head back, and close your eyes to make sure none of the eye-drop leaks out.Be sure your prescribing physician discusses all the potential side-effects of the drops, such as "adrenaline-like" symptoms like anxiety or heart pounding; you may also experience eye irritation, eye dryness, and eye pain, amongst other symptoms. If these symptoms occur, you will likely need to take some lubricating eye drops, lower the dose, switch the eye-drops, or stop the drops altogether...In the future, be sure to seek the services of an experienced physician injector. I think the key with Botox lies in truly understanding the anatomy of the injected area, and more importantly the variability in the anatomy between patients -- for brows, the forehead, and anywhere else you plan on receiving a Botox injection. This includes having a firm understanding of the origin, insertion, and action of each muscle that will be injected, the thickness of each muscle targeted, and the patient variability therein. As an aesthetic-trained plastic surgeon, I am intrinsically biased since I operate in the area for browlifts and facelifts, and have a unique perspective to the muscle anatomy since I commonly dissect under the skin and see the actual muscles themselves. For me, this helps guide where to inject and where not to. However, with that said, I know many Dermatologists who know the anatomy well despite not operating in that area, and get great results.Good luck.

 It's not unusual for patients with
transverse forehead wrinkles and vertical frown lines to undergo treatment with
botox. Unfortunately, the botox can sometimes migrate and effect the
surrounding structures. When botox migrates in an inferior direction, the
elevators of the eyelid can be effected which causes the eyelids to droop. This
occurs in about 1 to 3% of patients undergoing botox injections and appears to
be related to the technical skill of the injector. 

In someone who has
developed eyelid droop and looks like they've had a stroke, paralysis of the
eyelid elevator is the most likely cause. In most cases, this problem will
spontaneously resolve in 4 to 8 weeks, but variations occur depending on the
amount of botox given and the strength of the underlying muscle.

When patients are
unwilling to wait for spontaneous resolution, several options are available.
These include eye drops, which partially reverse the impact of botox. These
include the eye drops alphagen and lopidine. Both are associated with excellent
clinical responses and high levels of patient satisfaction.

If you've developed eyelid sag following botox, it's important to consult
your plastic surgeon. With these eye drops, this problem can usually be
satisfactorily addressed.