Eye surgery for strabismus in teens?

Brandon Kim8 said:ovako:
I first saw an eye doctor at age five due to vision issues. My parents were told I had strabismus along with astigmatism, if my understanding of the diagnosis was correct.😕

That's when I got my first pair of glasses.There wasn't even a word spoken about the exercises.).
My first doctor was from that same year.Gone.Another doctor stepped in to take his place. He's different. Continued his therapy.My condition wasn't improving. It didn't bother me much, at least not back then.

My glasses have become a nuisance—typical for someone my age. My doctor wasn't interested in explaining my condition or discussing actual options.

I’ll admit I’m not an expert on the older studies, but the last three clearly showed my condition hasn't changed—just a three-diopter increase in both eyes and some squinting in the left.

For two years, I've been dealing with debilitating headaches, nausea, and intense pain around my eyes. It reached a point where I had to seek a second opinion from another doctor.

The specialist examined me, answered my questions thoroughly, and concluded that my right eye doesn't need a +3.0 prescription. It barely needs a +0.5. They convinced me such a shift couldn't happen in such a short timeframe.Medical malpractice? Maybe.
Even if I forget my own potential. Too late.Becoming a functional adult—which is my ultimate goal—is one thing. But I’m still stuck on a single question that has no answer.
Is there any way to fix my eye strabismus?
My doctor didn't have an answer, and my specialist refused to even look for one.

I have another question.

How does one even contract strabismus?
On both sides of my family, there isn't even a hint of eye disease.

You posted this in the wrong thread.

Please ask the moderators to move this to the medicine section
...

Look, if everyone else is jumping on this bandwagon, then fine, count me in too... just do us all a favor and shrink that massive signature of yours...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/strabismus/symptoms-causes/dtx-20050731
You can actually find most of the answers to your questions right there in that link.

As for whether your first doctor made a "mistake" by giving you a correction that was 2.5 diopters too strong—you can actually test this yourself! Just put those old glasses on and check your distance vision using only your right eye (make sure to cover or close your left eye, of course). If the prescription was indeed too high, your distance vision in that eye should look really blurry. On the flip side, if we assume your previous doctor gave you the correct prescription for the right eye (+3), then your vision with the new +0.5 prescription might still seem okay because younger people have much stronger accommodation power—basically, your eyes work harder to compensate for the difference. The only real issue there would be some confusion from the other open eye or maybe seeing double.
Now, if your vision with those old glasses (+3 in the right eye) looks terrible at a distance when you cover the left one, it doesn't necessarily mean the measurement was wrong. It might actually be a specific type of proactive therapy for strabismus that isn't universally accepted or understood by every ophthalmologist out there. See, if the right eye gets blurred out by that extra "plus" power, the left eye (the squinting eye) takes over the heavy lifting for distance vision. This is actually a way to prevent the squinting eye from becoming even weaker; in fact, it's standard practice for many American eye specialists to have patients patch their healthy eye for certain periods to force the weaker eye to develop.
Honestly, I find it hard to believe your previous doctor's measurement was just flat-out wrong—I mean, it’s tough to see how someone could miss the mark by that much, especially multiple times.

Regarding the chances of fixing it completely, unfortunately, the odds aren't great once you're an adult. Strabismus surgeries are performed, but they aren't exactly risk-free—there are definitely downsides to consider, which are listed in the last few lines of the link I shared regarding treatment efficacy in adults.
http://healthline.com/health/strabismus-treatment
I personally know someone who went through that surgery back in their teens, and honestly, there wasn't any noticeable improvement in their condition afterward.

Thanks.

Does anyone happen to have a specialist they could recommend?
I still want to see if there’s any shred of hope left to be found....

Melissa Davis46 said:thanks.

Does anyone happen to have a specialist they could recommend?
I really want to see if there's any hope left for this....

You can find stories here from people who’ve already had surgery or are getting ready for it.
Supposedly, the chances of a successful outcome are much higher if the squint angle is minimal—and if your visual acuity, even with the best possible corrective lenses, is roughly equal to your other eye.
In certain cases, surgery might not help much at all, so it’s super important to figure out which category of candidate you actually fall into.
One risk that wasn't mentioned on that link is double vision after the procedure—there's a real possibility your vision could actually get worse in that regard. Also, the doctor mentioned on that site noted just one case abroad where someone had to undergo a second surgery because of double vision, so I’d take things with a grain of salt. Honestly, when you're dealing with top-tier specialists, it can be tough to find unbiased info if they have a financial stake in the questions being asked. I’ve actually dealt with doctors straight-up lying to me or using little tricks to push me toward an expensive LASIK procedure—and that was for a high-risk option involving both eyes at once! It really makes you realize there's a massive gap between the glossy advertisements and reality.
It’s actually pretty common nowadays for ophthalmologists to get a kickback from surgical clinics for every patient they talk into undergoing a procedure, so my best advice is to be really careful about whose information you trust.

I didn't have a single issue with my eyes until I was thirteen. Then, out of nowhere, these brutal headaches hit me and wouldn't let up for three months. I went through every specialist in town—doctors, neurologists, you name it—but nobody could tell me what was actually happening. Then, just as suddenly as they arrived, the pain vanished. The aftermath? Strabismus in my left eye. Now I’m stuck wearing glasses, though I've always been pretty skeptical about whether they actually do anything.

My eyes usually stay perfectly aligned and look normal. The only time I notice a slight misalignment—and things start looking double—is when I relax and tilt my head toward my right shoulder. My doctor mentioned it might be due to a paralyzed muscle causing headaches, specifically citing Brown syndrome.
@Andrew Jones12/">@@Andrew Jones12, could you tell me more about this? It looks like you know your stuff.

Here’s the situation:
I just wrapped up an appointment with my eye doctor—an ophthalmologist rather than a specialist in strabismus, which is precisely why I’m turning to this group for insight...🤷...
My current prescription looks like this:

DISTANCE LENS TYPES:

Right eye: +1.25 Dsph: -0.25 Dcyl os: 90
Left eye: +3.25 Dsph: -0.50 Dcyl os: 20
Pd: 62.5
ф 55

(which implies both astigmatism and strabismus in the left eye)

I’m wondering if there is any realistic possibility of me wearing contact lenses?
Please, give me some good news...😢

So, I’m 30 years old and I've been dealing with strabismus my entire life... basically, my left eye just drifts outward. I finally decided to get some professional eyes on it because I really want to go through with surgery. When I went for consultations in Washington, D.C., they told me an operation was an option, but since I live out in San Francisco, they suggested I stick to the specialists here. But then, the doctors in San Francisco wouldn't even touch it because some specific test indicated I'd end up seeing double afterward. According to them, the surgery is only really a viable path if you have poorer vision in the drifting eye, because if you can't see clearly with it anyway, those double images aren't as much of an issue... which is such a bummer. Anyway, I've been hunting around for more advice and people pointed me toward this one specialist at a children's hospital over in Washington, D.C., so I'm going to try my luck there. Nobody has even mentioned strabismus and lentils to me yet. It seems like the bottom line is that you definitely can get surgery for strabismus as an adult and your eye will look totally normal, the only real catch is the double vision if your sight is actually pretty good... If anyone knows more, check out the thread about strabismus and lentils on page four.

Hey, just wanted to reach out and see if anyone here has any recent news or maybe some personal stories regarding strabismus and lentils surgery for adults... I'm actually heading in for another consultation soon—I've already dealt with two different doctors giving me totally conflicting opinions, so now I'm gonna try my luck with a third one to see if I can finally get some clarity... if anyone has any advice or even just a little heads-up on what to expect, I'd really appreciate it...🤷🤷😕

My daughter actually had surgery to correct her strabismus when she was just three years old, following her doctor's recommendation. The main goal was to preserve her vision, though improving her appearance was definitely a plus too. She had the procedure done at Boston Children's Hospital, and nowadays, she wears glasses with a slight prescription whenever she remembers to put them on. She looks wonderful!