A bit worried and slightly self conscious....

Hi there! At a young age I started to have problems with binocular fusion. It started around age 6 or 7 and would occur when I was tired, reading, or out in bright sunlight. Basically my left eye would turn out to the left and I would prodominantly use my right eye to look at things. It wasn't something I was really aware of back then or that really affected me. When I was taken to the eye doctor about it, he said it was something that I would grow out of. Though I never did, instead it just got progressively worse. I started to get headaches and eye-strain on a daily basis, but none of the eye doctors I went to seemed to pick up on it or seemed to just ignore it. I'm 20 now and a couple of years ago people started to notice that my eyes were looking wonky in appearance and they couldn't tell where I was supposed to be looking! It was something that I was (and still am) very self conscious of. Basically my right eye is now quite a lot bigger than my left and tilts upwards slightly in comparison. My eye doctor finally prescribed prisms in my glasses which I have been wearing on and off for 12 months now. They have stoped the eye strains and headaches and my eyes look straighter in appearance. The muscles in my eyes now feel a lot stronger (if that makes sense), especially in the mornings. However, the diffence between the eyes is still there and my right eye still tilts upwards (though not as much as it used to) I was wondering whether continued use of the glasses is likely to further correct this problem or is it something that i'll just have to accept and live with?

[Forum-OD-MP]

there are probably multiple opinions on this but here's mine:

in my opinion prisms dont "correct" anything.  it is true that they frequently alleviate many, many symptoms such as the ones you describe, but when you remove the glasses you are back to the same way you were before.  its like a "crutch".  a crutch is not therapeutic.  a crutch doesnt really "correct" anything.  its the same with prisms.  while you are wearing the prism your eyes will appear straighter and your binocularity symptoms will be less, but the prisms themsleves are not affecting your eyes in any way.  at least not in my opinion.

so...further use of the prism may (or may not) make you more dependednt on them, but they will not "correct" your binocular issue.  at age 20 there may not be a way to truly and therapeutically correct it.  some advocate vision therapy (eye excercises) , and surgical procedures are sometimes recommended.  but IMO no glasses rx of any kind, prism or not will ever really be therapeutic in your case in the sense that it will ever "fix" your problem....

[Elle*]

Oh right, I fully understand what you're saying, but for me personally, I feel that the glasses have had at least some affect. I mean, I can now see and feel my left eye working more as a team with my right eye even when I don't wear the glasses. Before they were prescribed, I was really using my right eye as the dominant one. My main concern really is the long term affect that the phoria that I had (in the left eye) has had on my dominant one. As I mentioned before, it being larger in size and slightly tilted. I don't think surgery would be an option though as I don't think that the condition would be classed as severe enough. Unfortunately, I guess it's just something that I will have to learn to live with! Thanks for your help and time.

[JodieJ]

I experienced difficulties similar to yours last year.  I developed eye turns (mine turned inward) and double vision as an adult from wearing monovision contact lenses.  After several consultations with eye care professionals (ophthalmologists and optometrists) who didn't how to treat my problem, I got prism glasses from a vision therapist.  The prisms corrected most of my double vision, but I still wasn't happy.  (I agree with the moderator that prisms don't actually "cure" anything.) I'd already been told that my condition wasn't severe enough for surgery, but I decided to consult a strabismus surgeon anyway (the best I could find who didn't require a referral from another ophthalmologist).  The surgery was completely painless (during and afterward), and it was covered by my insurance.  I actually went shopping at the mall that afternoon (wearing sunglasses to cover redness.)  My eyes are still correctly aligned a year post-surgery, and I've never had another instance of double vision.

Please don't believe that you have to live with a condition before you check it out.  You may well have a lot to gain from a very simple procedure.  You may want to consult more than one strabismus surgeon about your options; try to find the best ones in your area.  (Other eye care professionals can usually help you with referrals, or you can call the ophthalmology department at a teaching hospital.)