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xp any LOs whose strabismus went away w/ patching?

groovygrlgroovygrl member
in Special Needs

DD has exotropia in both eyes, one more than the other. I noticed it just before age 2 & had her evaluated by a pedi ophthalmologist and our first one just wanted to watch & see, then we moved & the new one noticed it in both eyes & recommended daily patching 6 days a week, alternating eyes. No vision problems as of yet so I'm glad I got it evaluated quickly/early. She thankfully took to the patching pretty well but we have been doing it since February and at our visit a couple weeks ago he recommended 6 more months b/c at the last 2 visits he has not seen a worsening and possibly even a slight improvement, though over the summer I admittedly forgot a lot more than I had been b/c of summer schedule, activities, etc. So I am going to try really hard to not forget and keep up w/ it since patching is obviously a much better option than surgery, which is ok if that is what needs to be done...

Anyway, figured I'd see if anyone had success w/ patching strengthening enough to eventually be able to stop patching & not need surgery? (and also how long did you patch for?) Thanks!

ETA hope this is an appropriate post for this board, as I know strabismus can be more commonly seen in some SN populations and I don't think(?)there are any boards with a health type focus... 

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Re: xp any LOs whose strabismus went away w/ patching?

  • Assembly_ReqdAssembly_Reqd member
    Yes. Nate had exotropia in one eye. We patched from 4 months to 11 months.
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  • amajaneamajane member

    We have been patching since Marley was 1 and she is now 4. We patch because she does have strabismus in her left eye but she also has a coloboma. With the coloboma in her left eye, she prefers her right eye which risks her left eye of becoming non functional. So we patch her right eye to increase the strength in her left eye vision and prevent her from relying too much on her right eye.

     When we patch consistently, the strabismus improves, but if we fall off the wagon (I blame my husband for not being diligent), the strabismus rears it's ugly head again. 

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  • zoeyandsummersmomzoeyandsummersmom member

    Over 30 years ago, I had 4 surgeries and was patched from when I was about 2 or 3 up until I was 5. From what my parents tell me, the surgeries were not too bad at all, but I was a nightmare to patch. I hated the patch with a passion. I think they make better patches these days, but back then they smelled horrible (keep in mind it is right by your nose so you are smelling it ALL day) and they itch. My parents tried everything with me to get me to wear them and I still recall hiding the box of patches from my parents.

    I now still have wall-eyes when I am tired and switch from using one eye to the other. Also, I could never do those stupid magic eye posters (never saw the sailboat). I am now slated to see a doctor, who trained under my original pediatric opthomologist and see if there is anything else they can do for me. He is also the doctor I send my daughter to as well.

    Just thought I would add my persepective.

     

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  • ABColeslawABColeslaw member
    I patched for a good chunk of my childhood and ended up getting surgery as a teenager. I wish I had it done as a small child.  The eyes heal better when they are young and you don't remember the God Awful pain. 
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  • haleybeth81haleybeth81
    DD#1 was patched from 3mo to 9 mo when she had to have surgery for her strabitmus.  She had to no improvement with the patching and had a pretty bad case (she her eyes were drifting most of the time) but we were told that if she had any improvement they would have held off surgery.  She is great now and doesn't have to patch at all.  She did have to patch for about a year after surgery to strengthen the muscles (she has hypotonia as well so they think that doesn't help things) and will probably have to patch again as she grows but so far we are 6 months free and clear.  Most eye doctors will make you patch if there is any improvement but will eventually do surgery if there isn't a big improvement.  The surgery itself is pretty quick and painless when they're little so I wouldn't stress too much about it.  My brother had it 33 years ago and they have had made huge advances since then.
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