Kids with Eye Issues

[Jennifer]

I'd love to hear if any of you have experience with this/something similar.

We found out several months ago that C has a "bad eye" that is extremely far-sighted. This is apparently not that common with little kids and hers is really bad. We tried glasses, but at her check up today, we found out they haven't helped at all. Basically her brain doesn't realize she has that eye and doesn't try to use it at all. It makes me sad. We have to start with patching (6/8 hours during the day instead of the "typical" 2 they try for kids her age), in hopes her brain will realize that she has that eye and will begin to use it. It just breaks my heart. She's so sad and doesn't want to do this at all. I feel like her eye doc (who is awesome) doesn't hold a ton of hope of this working, so I'd LOVE to hear some success stories. Pretty please???

[Leila]

My kids just have run of the mill poor vision, so I really have no advice. I couldn't read and not post though--{{{HUGS}}} for you and C! If you're worried this doctor's not doing enough, seek a second opinion!

[nesser1981]

My DH has a terrible eye, so much that he had to have corrective surgery for his lazy eye when he was really small. He wore a patch for a while, but he was like 2. He wears glasses now and has since then, but he also has some other eye issues as well. But the patch did help him.

And another friend of mine, her little girl had eye surgery as well and wore the patch, she was probably around 5 and I think it really improved her vision as well. The surgery I think was more to correct the muscles around the eye, not her vision, she wears glasses, but is cute as can be in them. I know the patch helped her a lot, we were around when she was wearing them and she had really cool ones, you guys can decorate them. I think she had to wear hers pretty much all day too. I'm sure she'll adjust to it.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Jennifer - first off ((HUGS))

Aiden was diagnosed with amblyopia this past January. He has benefitted from just wearing glasses, but we have another checkup on October to see how it's worked long-term,and will decide then if eyepatching is necessary - though we're considering going ahead with the 1hr a day now.

I hope you're seeing a pediatric opthamologist. Ours told us that many kids develop this later than the pre-K/toddler stage, and that eyes change a lot over time. Our optometrist pretty much wrote him off when she diagnosed it, and we were so happy to find someone who knew better and could give us better treatment plans, better diagnosing, etc.

Eye patching REALLY helps. You can find some really cute patches for her - check out Etsy.and then do a google search for amblyopia patches, etc. You guys can even make your own. She'll feel abnormal for awhile, but you just need to keep encouraging it.

Amblyopia does effect her depth perception, as well, so it might explain some issues she's had (like catching a ball) that you could never figure out before.

[emmasmommy]

emma had/has strobismis issues in her left eye. hers was a muscle placement issue but her brain was overcompensating for the crossing and she wasn't using her left eye. it would just wander in.
she had surgery to move the muscle to where it should be. she will have to wear glasses probably for at least 2 or 3 more years but at her check up just last week, her dr said that with her glasses on (she only has a bifocal for when she's looking at things close up bc that's when her eye crosses most) she has NO crossing at all. at the time of the surgery, she had no 3d vision. now, her 3d vision is perfect as well. i really have nothing but amazing things to say about her doctor and what he has done for this kid. it's amazing to me.

[Nikki Epperson]

I talked to you a bit about this on FB, but big hugs to you and Miss C. I know it's hard, but hopefully this will work and she'll have better vision because of it!

[Ramona the Pest]

My six year old was just diagnosed with the same thing, but just milder. She patched for 30 minutes a day for 6 weeks and now we're doing glasses for a year.

My other daughter who is now 11 was diagnosed with a different eye thing, but basically she was seeing everything twice. Her eyes weren't working together-its' a convergence issue. She did 16 weeks of intense vision therapy that greatly improved it! She has to wear glasses too, because she is a bit far sighted, but it has helped so much in her schooling!

I have a friend who both of her children has had Amblyopia and she shared with me this site. Maybe it will have some insights that will help you too!

http://www.amblyopiakids.com/

[isaacsmom]

Another one who has been there. (((hugs))) Patching is not easy. We started with my oldest son when he was about 18 months. His eye crossed in but also, he wasn't seeing out of it -- just like your daughter -- his brain was not recognizing that his eye was seeing anything. We patched at first for the 8 hours a day. And then we did surgery on the muscles on the inside corners of both eyes. And we wore glasses - for a while he had prisms on the one lens. Then we went to a pediatric ophthalmologist and he suggested more patching and then he had surgery again, this time on the outside and bottom muscles. This completely fixed his inturning eye. Also, after another year or so of patching, his vision is almost completely normal out of BOTH eyes and we were able to quit wearing glasses. His treatment was a TOTAL success!!!

So hang in there! It takes a while for treatment, but being very consistent and persistent with the treatment pays off! Also, we ordered all of Isaac's patches from http://www.ortopadusa.com/ They have fun designs for boys and girls and are appropriately sized based on the age of your child. This was a big deal for him and made him feel "cool" in front of other kids at daycare/preschool.

[taracotta7]

Jenn, I don't have any advice but I just wanted to send you hugs and let you know that your DD is in my prayers. ((HUGS))

[mjajmom]

Jennifer, hugs to you, I know how gut wretching it can be to deal with issues with your DD's eyes. My son had strabismus. At age 2.5, his left eye started turning inward in December. We tried glasses briefly but that did not work. We patched for a while until his eye stopped drifting inward and we could do surgery. Patching was very critical because it keeps sending signals to the brain to make sure that eye does not turn off completely. Keep up the patching (no matter how much DD fights it). He had surgery that May to tighten the muscles on both eyes.

We also did lots of vision therapy exercises before and after surgery (we found a local place that specialized in vision therapy and did lots at home each day). This involved trampoline jumping, tossing balls into buckets, hitting a ball tied to a string from the doorway (that was a favorite), using finger puppets moving around his face to make the eye move from left to right, and hitting balloons. Lots of things to help their depth perception and working on moving their eyes all around. While the doctor said we didn't need any vision therapy after surgery, I was adamant that we would do lots of exercises to keep strengthening his eyes.

We continued check ups every 6months, then every year. And now at age 9, we declared victory that he no longer has to go to the eye doctor (there's a chance the eyes can still drift requiring a 2nd surgery, but if they can make it to age 9, it should be never happen). The doctor still calls him the miracle baby because he never required a second surgery and has perfect vision and depth perception. He's excellent at sports and is a pitcher in Little League.

Hang in there. Do lots of research. Get other opinions. Be creative with fun little eye strengthening games you can create for DD. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[luckyme]

Our DD has something similar. When she was two, we noticed her squinting, so we brought her to a ped eye doctor and he diagnosed her as being extremely farsighted. She received prescriptions in the +6.00 range. Six months later, she was diagnosed with accomodative strabismus and amblyopia and we started patching her 6 hours a day and her prescription changed too (I forgot what now). Within a year we were down to patching 4 hours per day, then 2 hours and now she's 6 and patched 1 hour per day. Her prescription is at +8.00 in her weaker eye and +7.00 in her strong eye.

Her eye doctor said she is not a candidate for corrective eye surgery and will always need glasses. On the plus side, when she is mature enough, she can wear contacts which will help take the weight of her lenses/frames off her face. (Such a strong prescription is heavy!)

PS - I second the ortopads! They made my DD love patching - she gets to pick out a fun patch every day. There's also a fun book called "The Patch" which she likes to read from time to time.

[jessica31876]

not much advice from me either. I have horrible vision and have for as long as I can remember. Without my glasses I really cannot see. Everything just looks like one big bright ball of blurry colors.I can make out general shapes of things like doors and the tv but for instance when I take the eye test I cannot read any of the lines on the test. Not even the biggest one. I remember how hard it was though when they didnt know that was the issue and I could not see the board in class. I literally had to walk up to the board and have my face two or three inches from it to copy work down. One of my teachers didnt believe me and would not let me so I had really poor grades in her class. Anyhow I know this is not the same thing but just wanted to tell you to just encourage her to wear the patch and that its ok to be different. (I was teased for wearing glasses for years).

[glumirk]

I have no experience, but modern medicine I amazing, and so is the human brain. The more I learn about photography the more amazing I think the human eye is. It helps that DH is an optical engineer (lasers and night vision and telescopes, not glasses) so I can ask him all sorts of questions. Good luck! You've got some great advice and success stories already!

[kendallt]

Just wanted to chime in with some more hugs and prayers for you, sweets! You're an amazing mom, and I know you guys will get through this.

[NeverendingJen]

I was diagnosed with severe amblyopia at 4 years old. I wore a patch during all waking hours until I was 8, and part time until I was 12. I was almost legally blind at the time of diagnosis my vision was so bad, but after the years of patching and constantly changing precsriptions, my vision is now pretty decent.

[Jennifer]

Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement and support! We got through 6 hours today, but barely. She was so big and brave, but it was really tough on her. I didn't realize (even though I did, I guess I didn't process) how little she can see out of that eye. I had to help her up/down stairs, around house, with play, etc. We are def going to make an appt with a pediatric opthamologist to cover all bases. It's been so uplifting to hear so many success stories. I hope hers turns out to be one!
Thank you!!! xoxo

[LJSDesigns]

Hope it all works out well Jennifer. Hugs to you and your brave little girl.

[NeverendingJen]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement and support! We got through 6 hours today, but barely. She was so big and brave, but it was really tough on her. I didn't realize (even though I did, I guess I didn't process) how little she can see out of that eye. I had to help her up/down stairs, around house, with play, etc. We are def going to make an appt with a pediatric opthamologist to cover all bases. It's been so uplifting to hear so many success stories. I hope hers turns out to be one!
Thank you!!! xoxo

Speaking from experience, it's going to be a long week or two until she adjusts. She'll probably have a lot of headaches, get super frustrated and tired easily, and not be able to do a lot on her own, but once you start seeing progress it will help. I think for 4 years I was seeing the eye doctor every 3 months and getting new glasses every 6 months as my prescription changed, and I still remember each time I got new glasses and being able to see more out of my unpatched eye, how clear everything was, and noticing that the grass had blades, and wasn't just a fuzzy blur, etc.

Are you doing fabric patches or the stick on kind? At first my mom used to do all kinds of rewards for making it through the day with the patch, or however long I was supposed to wear it(otter pops, dollar store toys, later bedtime, etc), and it eventually moved to a week, and then even a month of wearing my patch properly and without major fuss would earn me special prizes(lunch out with mom, being allowed to have the tv in my room for a sleepover, etc). We did mostly the stick on patches and when I was home I loved to be able to color on them, add stickers, etc. so maybne that will help her like them too.

[Paula]

My son had a lazy eye when he was young. We had to dilate his good eye every morning and patch it so that he was forced to use his bad eye to see. He also had glasses that he had to wear to help. It didn't do any good, he's now legally blind in that eye.

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by Paula

My son had a lazy eye when he was young. We had to dilate his good eye every morning and patch it so that he was forced to use his bad eye to see. He also had glasses that he had to wear to help. It didn't do any good, he's now legally blind in that eye.

And I guess that pretty much sums up my biggest fear.

[emmasmommy]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

And I guess that pretty much sums up my biggest fear.

Jennifer, you know that the odds of things going the right way are much better than the bad. there's always a down side to every situation but with the right doctors I think anything is possible. you were with us through the initial journey with emma so you know how many times we switched doctors. I say if you are comfortable with your doctor and are comfortable voicing your own concerns, the rest is in god's hands.

[taracotta7]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

And I guess that pretty much sums up my biggest fear.

Oh Jenn. Every situation is different. Baby steps darling. You are following through with what you dr says to do. Just take on one battle at a time. Don't borrow worry from tomorrow for that has worries enough of it's own. (Matthew 6:25-32) I know that you are a amazing mom that will do EVERYTHING in your power to make this work for your daughter. You have many who are praying for your DD. Sending lots of love and hugs and prayers your way!

[Nikki Epperson]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

And I guess that pretty much sums up my biggest fear.

oh sweetie! I know you're worried, but in this day and age, with so many options, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Keep your head up, friend.
Miss C is obviously getting GREAT care!

[ayaandjudah]

Jennifer, I am in the exact same place. First off let me tell you about me.

I was diagnosed with Strabismus at age 10 months and wore glasses and was patched (on both eyes, at different times) for almost 5 years. Surgery to correct this was in it's infancy and my parents felt it was too risky to get.

I am now 35 and I have no binocular vision. I am only seeing things out of one eye at a time. My brain never formed duel pathways to my eye.

My daughter who is 7 has the same issue I did and we are going to be getting her to surgery after the summer.


I'd love to talk to you privately if you would like. I unfortunately am very knowledgable in amblyopea and strabismus and monocular vision.

I do want to stress that while I have "messed up eyes" I am a very happy and very functioning member of society. I promise that whatever happens, C will be just fine.

BIG HUGE HUGS to you.