Hi folks :wave:

First post today ! I usually try my best to answer questions on forums before posting myself, but I hope you forgive me for this time ;)

I went to the eye doctor today, first time in... long time. I left relieved, but also kinda disappointed.

I've always had poor vision in my left eye, amblyopia according to the docs. Had glasses, patches (wasn't really cooperative with that one !), doctors, more doctors - and I got sick of it. Of course, now I'm a grown up, so I decided to take care of my good eye !

The optometrist I've seen today was really nice. I told her what bothered me : my bad eye tends to drift out and I think its vision got worse.

After examination, she said my good eye was healthy. Although I do have astigmatism, my vision is almost 20/ 20 in that eye.

My bad eye though is only 20/300. I does drift out a bit. But nothing can be done, and it's not bad enough to be referred to an ophthalmologist. There is also a strong possibility that it'll drift more in the future.

I mean, it's nothing that I haven't heard before, excepted for the "drifting part" which is new to me. I'm not excessively self-conscious. But f***, I wish I had normal eyes !

So, questions :

1) I am normal to feel that way ?
2) From your own experience, do you think my eye will drift more ?
3) How do you deal with that ?

I'm really interested by your experiences !

Thank you all... and sorry in advance if my grammar isn't perfect, English isn't my first language. ;)

Well, can't blame you for feeling the way you do. Wish I had normal eyes too. (I have a different problem.)

There's a couple things: eye docs would say patching in an adult is useless and they might be right, but there are a few who say it helps at any age. It would have to be intensive, which is pretty near impossible to do and carry on a normal life.

The next thing is VT or Vision Therapy. I have read, from the horses' mouths, some ophthalmologists say that there can be improvement in the case of exotropia (outward drift). Don't know how successfully it would be when the acuity in your bad eye is so low, or if that would matter. If undertaken, it would also have to be done intensively and consistently, but wouldn't interfere with daily life.

The last thing is surgery. It wouldn't improve the bad eye's vision, but would stop its drifting. That one is a consideration for down the road, if it gets worse. Strabismus surgery is common.

Hope that helps.

Hi KeelaC,

Thank you so much for your input. :)

I know that patching would be impossible - on top of that I'm a teacher, so lessons wouldn't be that fun with me half blind !

As for vision therapy, I've never heard of it. Which kind of doctors do you see for that ?

I'm a little bit confused with who does what in term of doctors here in Canada. See, in France (where I'm from), we only have ophtalmologists (and their 6 months waiting-list...) and opticians (just sell glasses and do the fitting). We do not have optometrists.

So in order to see any kind of specialist, I need to be refered by a GP or my optometrist. I ask her about seeing an ophtalmologist yesterday, but she said he wouldn't do anything more. So I'm basically stuck. :confused:

As for surgery, I wouldn't consider it now. My eye looks ok on a daily basis, people said they barely notice it. I'm not self-conscious... yet :D

I guess it got me to know how low my vision was in this eye. It stopped being mesured long time ago, and I know I can't see. But when I ask the optometrist yesterday what was my vision in this eye (so 20/300), she added that I would be in really big trouble would I lose my good eye. Not a nice thing to think about...

Bonjour.
I'm in Canada too. First, the optometrist had no business saying an ophthalmologist wouldn't do anything. It might be true, but you're entitled to an ophth consultation, if you want one. The experts on strabismus are pediatric ophths who normally take adult patients because of the lifetime follow-up necessary with strabismus. Surely, your GP would give you a referral, if you asked.
VT is practiced by certain optometrists. Perhaps a search using "vision therapy and optometrist" would turn up something. Strabismus is probably covered as a medical expense, don't know about vision therapy. VT has a good chance of working in your case, because the drifting is intermittent and not too severe.


To protect one good eye, you should wear polycarbonate lenses.

Bonjour ;)

My optometrist pretty much discouraged me from going to see an ophtalmologist, she said the waiting-list was very long and blablabla. I don't have a GP and it's a real problem to find one who accept new patients. I've been living in Ontario for 4 yrs and the only time I needed to see a GP I had to go to a walk-in clinic. :confused:

I quite don't get the referal process - one more thing which doesn't exist in France (although we do have a complex system overthere too !).

Which province do you live in ? I've heard that OHIP covers eye exams for those who have specific conditions, but apparently I'm not covered, I had to pay last time.

As for vision therapy, I'm gonna research that as soon as I get a chance. Thanks for letting me know about his option.

Bonjour ;)

My optometrist pretty much discouraged me from going to see an ophtalmologist, she said the waiting-list was very long and blablabla. I don't have a GP and it's a real problem to find one who accept new patients. I've been living in Ontario for 4 yrs and the only time I needed to see a GP I had to go to a walk-in clinic. :confused:

I quite don't get the referal process - one more thing which doesn't exist in France (although we do have a complex system overthere too !).

Which province do you live in ? I've heard that OHIP covers eye exams for those who have specific conditions, but apparently I'm not covered, I had to pay last time.

As for vision therapy, I'm gonna research that as soon as I get a chance. Thanks for letting me know about his option.

Look into this Directory : Find a Doctor -- The College of Optometrists in Vision Development ... http://www.covd.org/membersearch.asp?cn=CA.

Eyes

Thanks for the link, but apparently no doctor is close to where I live (and no, I do not live in Nunavut). Am I the only one with eye drifting in my city ? :dizzy:

I'm in Ontario, too. Hamilton area.

Your optometrist should not have charged you. I went to the OHIP website and made sure. You are entitled to an eye exam every 12 months, free of charge.

Patients with any of the following conditions can go directly to their optometrist or physician to receive an OHIP insured eye examination: diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, cataract, retinal disease, amblyopia, visual field defects, corneal disease, strabismus.

I'm in Ontario, too. Hamilton area.

Your optometrist should not have charged you. I went to the OHIP website and made sure. You are entitled to an eye exam every 12 months, free of charge.

Patients with any of the following conditions can go directly to their optometrist or physician to receive an OHIP insured eye examination: diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, cataract, retinal disease, amblyopia, visual field defects, corneal disease, strabismus.


As of November 1, 2004 OHIP no longer pays for routine eye examinations for those between 20 and 65 years of age. http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/ohip/eyecare.html. So your optometrist was correct in charging you for an exam.

Strabismic amblyopia is not considered a "medical" diagnosis in that system. The optometrist may not have referred you because in their opinion there may be little that can be done, except perhaps strabismus (eye drift) surgery for cosmetic reasons. The surgery would not correct your vision.

Unfortunately patching is typically only successful in children under 8 years old, when the visual system is still developing. Adult patching shows little results unless it was to recover already successful patching results from childhood.

Thanks to all of you !

To be honest, I was expecting the exam to be covered because I do have amblyopia... Oh well. (I'm in Ottawa BTW).

Strabismic amblyopia is not considered a "medical" diagnosis in that system. The optometrist may not have referred you because in their opinion there may be little that can be done, except perhaps strabismus (eye drift) surgery for cosmetic reasons. The surgery would not correct your vision.


I guess you're right, and that's what she seemed to say as well. However, I'm definitly going to look into vision therapy. My eyes are getting pretty tired (I'm tough on them too : studying Chinese, full-time teacher... :rolleyes: ) and if there's any chance it could limit the drifting, I'm ready to try it.

Anadel is incorrect. As of 2004 ROUTINE eye examinations were no longer covered by OHIP. However, the conditions I listed above ARE. I copied that paragraph from OHIP's website (it's right under the paragraph she posted). I see an optometrist every 12 months and pay nothing.

Anadel is incorrect. As of 2004 ROUTINE eye examinations were no longer covered by OHIP. However, the conditions I listed above ARE. I copied that paragraph from OHIP's website (it's right under the paragraph she posted). I see an optometrist every 12 months and pay nothing.
I know you're right, but I guess I wasn't eligible for it... Don't know what to say, because I was charged for it. I don't feel like calling back my optometrist : "BTW, weren't my eyes bad enough to deserve a free eye exam ???" lol.

I have another question if you don't mind. I was wondering whether in Canada it was compulsory to have a prescription in hand to have the correction in glasses changed.

The lens for my bad eye is very strong (an attempt to correct it, but doesn't work s my doc. said) and the lens in my good eye has a light correction. I wanted to balance both eye, since I think the strong lens makes my eye turn even more and I don't benefit from it.

I went to a Lens Crafter store, but they said they need a prescription, even for a neutral lens. Does that sound right ?

(still a rookie with Canadian health system, sorry !)

I can't answer that question. It's the policy of opticians to require a prescription, but I don't know if it's government policy, the way drug prescriptions are.

Anadel is incorrect. As of 2004 ROUTINE eye examinations were no longer covered by OHIP. However, the conditions I listed above ARE. I copied that paragraph from OHIP's website (it's right under the paragraph she posted). I see an optometrist every 12 months and pay nothing.

I am correct......Strabismic amblyopia is not a medical diagnosis...and it isn't terribly rare. This diagnosis would be made during a ROUTINE eye exam.

I see how you could misinterpret the paragraph including amlyopia as a medically covered reason for the exam. That would apply for additional follow-up perhaps, to check on the success of possible patching or other treatment, but not for the initial routine exam.

oops....double post

Anadel: Maybe I'm belabouring the point since Desaparecida isn't asking the optometrist for her money back anyway. Are you saying amblyopia and strabismus would be covered by OHIP AFTER the first routine examination by an optometrist who makes the diagnosis? What about a pre-existing condition which those two certainly are? What about changing optometrists? Would she be rediagnosed each time? If D had been referred to the optometrist by a GP, the examination would have been covered, right? I think you are in the business and probably know what you are talking about, but I'm not clear on what you are saying. Please elaborate.

OHIP's explanation seems clear:
"Patients with any of the following conditions can go directly to their optometrist or physician to receive an OHIP insured eye examination: diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, cataract, retinal disease, amblyopia, visual field defects, corneal disease, strabismus."

Anadel: Maybe I'm belabouring the point since Desaparecida isn't asking the optometrist for her money back anyway. Are you saying amblyopia and strabismus would be covered by OHIP AFTER the first routine examination by an optometrist who makes the diagnosis? What about a pre-existing condition which those two certainly are? What about changing optometrists? Would she be rediagnosed each time? If D had been referred to the optometrist by a GP, the examination would have been covered, right? I think you are in the business and probably know what you are talking about, but I'm not clear on what you are saying. Please elaborate.

Sorry for not checking my thread this week, work has been crazy. ;)

Anadel, if you know more about this point (should my exams be covered ?) please, let me know. I must admit I really don't know...

My understanding was, some conditions (as listed by OHIP) are cover after this initial routine exam (basically, after the condition has been assessed). That said, it doesn't make much sense, as people move, change doc. etc. So does that mean you have to pay every time for an initial eye exam, THEN, get a free exam every X year ?

I know my condition isn't rare, but to be honest, I would have appreciate a referal... and the free eye exam. It definitely would encourage me to have my eyes checked more often. I'm still a student and... well, glasses + exams add up pretty fast. Oh, I guess we're all the same... :rolleyes: