Comments on: Our first Eye appointment- Eek! http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/ babies, toddlers, and young kids in glasses Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:47:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Ma http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-701 Ma Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:47:30 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-701 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/ If your child is +4 in both eyes, then I don't think your child has amblyopia. Almost by definition, amblyopia means the 2 eyes are different. You can read about it here. http://www.kidslike.info/how_to_treat_your_childs_amblyopia The article has describes how one family treated their 6-year-old child with computer games and sports like homemade bowling. The child went from 20/400 to 20/20 in 4 months. http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/
If your child is +4 in both eyes, then I don’t think your child has amblyopia. Almost by definition, amblyopia means the 2 eyes are different. You can read about it here.
http://www.kidslike.info/how_to_treat_your_childs_amblyopia
The article has describes how one family treated their 6-year-old child with computer games and sports like homemade bowling. The child went from 20/400 to 20/20 in 4 months.

]]> By: Andie http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-611 Andie Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:05:08 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-611 Ann Z, thanks for explaining about the link btw accomodative esotropia & lazy eye. It's been awhile since I first obsessively researched everything, so I think I only stored up the info that impacts us directly. I know my son is farsighted (that's why we have glasses) and they were hoping just glasses would be enough, but his eyes were still quite crossed so we went onto the patch - with surgery in the wings if that didn't work. The patch is to help the weaker eye get strong, so obviously one eye was weaker than the other. I wonder if the brain had started turning off signals and that's why, or if it's a physical thing and the eye has to work out its focusing muscles. Well, as long as it works! Now that we are on 1 h/ day I see more crossing in the evenings than I used to. I am wondering if I should go to 2 h/day one day, and 1 h/day the next ... or just keep on at 1h/day until I see the PO's assistant. Or see if I can get DS to sleep more, so the eyes don't cross so much when he is tired! I've noticed DS's lenses are pretty scratched up now, and the cable temple comes off every so often (we go into the optometrists' and they glue it back on for us). I think we should get him a new pair ... but w/ DH out of work for the past several months, now is not the best time. I feel guilty and sad about it. We're in the phase of the job hunt again where we've been in suspense for a week plus, waiting to hear if *this* opportunity will be the one ... so I keep putting off the new glasses in the hopes that we'll have money coming in again soon (and benefits too). Not that DS has complained, but I can see the scraches when I clean his glasses. I know that's kind of off topic, but I hope you don't mind me sharing how this extra stress of my sweetie in glasses feels, when going through normal life ... Ann Z, thanks for explaining about the link btw accomodative esotropia & lazy eye. It’s been awhile since I first obsessively researched everything, so I think I only stored up the info that impacts us directly.

I know my son is farsighted (that’s why we have glasses) and they were hoping just glasses would be enough, but his eyes were still quite crossed so we went onto the patch – with surgery in the wings if that didn’t work. The patch is to help the weaker eye get strong, so obviously one eye was weaker than the other. I wonder if the brain had started turning off signals and that’s why, or if it’s a physical thing and the eye has to work out its focusing muscles. Well, as long as it works!

Now that we are on 1 h/ day I see more crossing in the evenings than I used to. I am wondering if I should go to 2 h/day one day, and 1 h/day the next … or just keep on at 1h/day until I see the PO’s assistant. Or see if I can get DS to sleep more, so the eyes don’t cross so much when he is tired!

I’ve noticed DS’s lenses are pretty scratched up now, and the cable temple comes off every so often (we go into the optometrists’ and they glue it back on for us). I think we should get him a new pair … but w/ DH out of work for the past several months, now is not the best time. I feel guilty and sad about it. We’re in the phase of the job hunt again where we’ve been in suspense for a week plus, waiting to hear if *this* opportunity will be the one … so I keep putting off the new glasses in the hopes that we’ll have money coming in again soon (and benefits too). Not that DS has complained, but I can see the scraches when I clean his glasses. I know that’s kind of off topic, but I hope you don’t mind me sharing how this extra stress of my sweetie in glasses feels, when going through normal life …

]]> By: tjmtoms http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-582 tjmtoms Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:47:09 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-582 Ann Z- I understand about the eye muscle surgery for Zoe now since you said that the glasses corrected a lot of the crossing and for what it didn't correct- the surgery fixed. I read that if glasses fix the crossing with accommodative esotropia then surgery is never recommended. But with Zoe it didn't "fix" it. Ah, I made an error in my original post. I said that I got her glasses from icframes.com however I actually got them from theyedoctor.com. I looked at so many!!! That is the site with the awesome search engine, that really helped out. You can pick the sizes, material (plastic, wire), shape, color and more!! The only real trouble I have had with ordering online is that I found that most of the sites are drop-shippers. They order from the manufacturer and then send them to the buyer, so it takes 2+ weeks to get the frames. It would take even longer if you ordered the lenses as well. The option for faster shipping would be a waste of money because you are only speeding up the shipment from the drop-shippers site. They have to still wait to get the frames from the manufacturer which you have no control over. McKennas frames are supposed to be shipped to me today and I am really anxious to see if they fit properly. If they do then we are taking them to Sears ASAP to then be sent out to have the lenses put it- that is another 5 days- ugh!! Oh, Ann- My husband is a Marketing Manager at Sears and is chummy with a lot of the guys there. Comes in handy!! We get great deals on stuff. Though I don't think we really needed a BBQ grill that you can put 40 burgers and grill shrimp with. But, hey it was $150 for us vs. the original $480. I will post information when we get the frames- and ofcourse a picture!! Even without the lenses- LOL! Ann Z- I understand about the eye muscle surgery for Zoe now since you said that the glasses corrected a lot of the crossing and for what it didn’t correct- the surgery fixed. I read that if glasses fix the crossing with accommodative esotropia then surgery is never recommended. But with Zoe it didn’t “fix” it.

Ah, I made an error in my original post. I said that I got her glasses from icframes.com however I actually got them from theyedoctor.com. I looked at so many!!! That is the site with the awesome search engine, that really helped out. You can pick the sizes, material (plastic, wire), shape, color and more!! The only real trouble I have had with ordering online is that I found that most of the sites are drop-shippers. They order from the manufacturer and then send them to the buyer, so it takes 2+ weeks to get the frames. It would take even longer if you ordered the lenses as well. The option for faster shipping would be a waste of money because you are only speeding up the shipment from the drop-shippers site. They have to still wait to get the frames from the manufacturer which you have no control over.
McKennas frames are supposed to be shipped to me today and I am really anxious to see if they fit properly. If they do then we are taking them to Sears ASAP to then be sent out to have the lenses put it- that is another 5 days- ugh!!
Oh, Ann- My husband is a Marketing Manager at Sears and is chummy with a lot of the guys there. Comes in handy!! We get great deals on stuff. Though I don’t think we really needed a BBQ grill that you can put 40 burgers and grill shrimp with. But, hey it was $150 for us vs. the original $480.

I will post information when we get the frames- and ofcourse a picture!! Even without the lenses- LOL!

]]> By: Dear Doctors of our Children’s Eyes « little four eyes http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-581 Dear Doctors of our Children’s Eyes « little four eyes Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:34:35 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-581 [...] Doctors of our Children’s Eyes tjmtoms’ post about their first eye exam got me thinking again about how tough these eye exams can be, not just [...] [...] Doctors of our Children’s Eyes tjmtoms’ post about their first eye exam got me thinking again about how tough these eye exams can be, not just [...]

]]> By: Ann Z http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-580 Ann Z Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:09:50 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-580 Thank you so much for posting this, those first appointments are so hard - I remember trying desperately to focus on what the ophthalmologist was saying while trying to hang on to a screaming child at the same time (she hated having the light shined in her eyes). Andie, accomodative esotropia is not the same as lazy eye (amblyopia), but they are very closely correlated. Basically, having accomodative esotropia puts a person at very high risk of developing a lazy eye as the brain starts to turn off input from one eye to keep from seeing double. Amblyopia "involves lowered visual acuity (clarity of sight) in one eye which can not be corrected by glasses or contact lenses." (http://www.children-special-needs.org/vocvis.html), which is why patching is indicated, since glasses don't completely solve the problem - the problem is more that the brain isn't recognizing fully the visual inputs from the eye. For Zoe, they determined at her first appointment, that both eyes were equally dominant, and her vision was correctable with glasses. So no patching for us, and I'm hoping that the glasses and surgery will have her eyes aligned so that she doesn't suppress vision from one eye and develop amblyopia. You asked about accomodative esotropia and surgery. You're right, for purely accomodative esotropia, surgery is not indicated. Zoe has what I read referred to as "Partly accomodative esotropia" which means that part of her eyes crossing is due to being farsighted, but part of it is not. The surgery only corrects that cross that is not resolved by the glasses. So Zoe still crosses her eyes when her glasses are off. Good luck with the glasses! I can't wait to see Mckenna with them on, and I think it's awesome what you're doing to get her prepared. And how did you get that Sears hookup anyway?? Thank you so much for posting this, those first appointments are so hard – I remember trying desperately to focus on what the ophthalmologist was saying while trying to hang on to a screaming child at the same time (she hated having the light shined in her eyes).

Andie, accomodative esotropia is not the same as lazy eye (amblyopia), but they are very closely correlated. Basically, having accomodative esotropia puts a person at very high risk of developing a lazy eye as the brain starts to turn off input from one eye to keep from seeing double.

Amblyopia “involves lowered visual acuity (clarity of sight) in one eye which can not be corrected by glasses or contact lenses.” (http://www.children-special-needs.org/vocvis.html), which is why patching is indicated, since glasses don’t completely solve the problem – the problem is more that the brain isn’t recognizing fully the visual inputs from the eye.

For Zoe, they determined at her first appointment, that both eyes were equally dominant, and her vision was correctable with glasses. So no patching for us, and I’m hoping that the glasses and surgery will have her eyes aligned so that she doesn’t suppress vision from one eye and develop amblyopia.

You asked about accomodative esotropia and surgery. You’re right, for purely accomodative esotropia, surgery is not indicated. Zoe has what I read referred to as “Partly accomodative esotropia” which means that part of her eyes crossing is due to being farsighted, but part of it is not. The surgery only corrects that cross that is not resolved by the glasses. So Zoe still crosses her eyes when her glasses are off.

Good luck with the glasses! I can’t wait to see Mckenna with them on, and I think it’s awesome what you’re doing to get her prepared. And how did you get that Sears hookup anyway??

]]> By: tjmtoms http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-579 tjmtoms Sun, 19 Oct 2008 20:36:27 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-579 Andie, I did ask about patching and the PO said that that was for vision. I of course was confused at that statement because it was my understanding that glasses were for vision. But I realized later that I had the wrong idea about lazy eye. In my daughters case, her vision is poor and causing the one eye and sometimes the other to cross in to find focus. He mentioned that the one that crossed in the most "she wasn't using" or lazy. Though she does use it and he didn't mention anything about amblyopia in her consult report. Even with that, because he is saying she is farsighted, the hope is that the glasses will enhance her vision, decreasing the need for her eye to cross, and hopefully allow the brain to receive images from that eye more frequently. If we find that the glasses help with the crossing though he still sees some amblyopia I am sure that the next step would be patching. Andie, I did ask about patching and the PO said that that was for vision. I of course was confused at that statement because it was my understanding that glasses were for vision. But I realized later that I had the wrong idea about lazy eye. In my daughters case, her vision is poor and causing the one eye and sometimes the other to cross in to find focus. He mentioned that the one that crossed in the most “she wasn’t using” or lazy. Though she does use it and he didn’t mention anything about amblyopia in her consult report. Even with that, because he is saying she is farsighted, the hope is that the glasses will enhance her vision, decreasing the need for her eye to cross, and hopefully allow the brain to receive images from that eye more frequently. If we find that the glasses help with the crossing though he still sees some amblyopia I am sure that the next step would be patching.

]]> By: Andie http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-578 Andie Sat, 18 Oct 2008 01:59:56 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-578 Communication is such a key in feeling empowered to move on. My son has accomodative esotropia, dx'd at about 28 months - my understanding is that it's medicalese for lazy eye ? anyway he is farsighted too and one eye would often turn in when he was doing close-up work - usually the right eye, but sometimes the other one too. Patching has been a big part of our regimen - we started with 5 hours/day and were monitored every 2.5 months or so by the PO's assistant, with an apt w/ the PO to adjust DS's perscription. Patching time has gradually decreased and we are now on 1 h/day, with the possibilty that we won't need the patch any more in a few months. My son's eyes have really straightened out (though I still notice some crossing when he's tired). I don't understand why patching hasn't been discussed for you, although perhaps since you've discovered this with your daughter so young, glasses may be all that you need to correct the crossing? I believe just glasses work for many people, so let's hope that's the case for you. Andie Communication is such a key in feeling empowered to move on. My son has accomodative esotropia, dx’d at about 28 months – my understanding is that it’s medicalese for lazy eye ? anyway he is farsighted too and one eye would often turn in when he was doing close-up work – usually the right eye, but sometimes the other one too.

Patching has been a big part of our regimen – we started with 5 hours/day and were monitored every 2.5 months or so by the PO’s assistant, with an apt w/ the PO to adjust DS’s perscription. Patching time has gradually decreased and we are now on 1 h/day, with the possibilty that we won’t need the patch any more in a few months. My son’s eyes have really straightened out (though I still notice some crossing when he’s tired).

I don’t understand why patching hasn’t been discussed for you, although perhaps since you’ve discovered this with your daughter so young, glasses may be all that you need to correct the crossing? I believe just glasses work for many people, so let’s hope that’s the case for you.

Andie

]]> By: motherhoodandpotatoes http://littlefoureyes.com/2008/10/17/our-first-eye-appointment-eek/#comment-573 motherhoodandpotatoes Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:52:16 +0000 http://toddlerglasses.wordpress.com/?p=467#comment-573 Yes, it's confusing at first with all the terminology! I guess it is hard to measure the exact prescription for a baby (my daughter was 4 months at her first PO exam and 7 months with her first pair of glasses) so for us, it was a lot of trying out different prescriptions to see how it helps her strabismus. I can understand your point about getting answers from the PO. For us, we wanted to know exactly what has to be done, etc, and it seems that generally isn't the case! Yes, it’s confusing at first with all the terminology! I guess it is hard to measure the exact prescription for a baby (my daughter was 4 months at her first PO exam and 7 months with her first pair of glasses) so for us, it was a lot of trying out different prescriptions to see how it helps her strabismus. I can understand your point about getting answers from the PO. For us, we wanted to know exactly what has to be done, etc, and it seems that generally isn’t the case!

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