Laser treatment available for Ambyopia?

Hi All,

I´ve suffered from a "Lazy Eye" since i was 6 years old. My parents
didnt insist with me enough and I never used to wear my patch and
pretty much im no better or worse now that im 25. I´ve never really
worn glasses and various eye tests ive had along the years havent show
any improvement nor have they shown either eye getting worse, my good
eye has simply gotten used to being the "boss" and ive been told that
wearing glasses isnt really worth it, especially since even the
highest magnification doesnt improve my vision and ive always been
told that "its too late" do do anything about it. Regarding laser
surgery i was told by one doctor that it simply wasnt fixable.

Up till now i havent really bothered with my eye(s) because i havent
had any problems. Only a few days ago I took an eye test to apply for
my drivers license and the outcome has been that im going to be
imposed certain restrictions (speed, etc) and i must say it bummed me
about. Since then ive been thinking about my condition and reading a
bit about it on the internet, which i never bothered doing before. I
was just wondering if it really is too late and if its worth me
getting up of my arse and doing something about it.

Any suggestions, advice or comments are welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Regards
Rob.

"Rob Collier" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> Hi All,
>
> I´ve suffered from a "Lazy Eye" since i was 6 years old. My parents
> didnt insist with me enough and I never used to wear my patch and
> pretty much im no better or worse now that im 25. I´ve never really
> worn glasses and various eye tests ive had along the years havent show
> any improvement nor have they shown either eye getting worse, my good
> eye has simply gotten used to being the "boss" and ive been told that
> wearing glasses isnt really worth it, especially since even the
> highest magnification doesnt improve my vision and ive always been
> told that "its too late" do do anything about it. Regarding laser
> surgery i was told by one doctor that it simply wasnt fixable.
>
> Up till now i havent really bothered with my eye(s) because i havent
> had any problems. Only a few days ago I took an eye test to apply for
> my drivers license and the outcome has been that im going to be
> imposed certain restrictions (speed, etc) and i must say it bummed me
> about. Since then ive been thinking about my condition and reading a
> bit about it on the internet, which i never bothered doing before. I
> was just wondering if it really is too late and if its worth me
> getting up of my arse and doing something about it.
>
> Any suggestions, advice or comments are welcome.
> Thank you for your time.
> Regards
> Rob.

Yes, it is too late, from everything I have been told. There is nothing
wrong with the eye itself (if your good eye went blind, the lazy eye would
develop its full power). That is why children are asked to wear patches over
their good eye--to develop the eye/brain coordination of the lazy eye. The
problem is a muscle imbalance or other similar problem that causes the brain
to ignore the lazy eye. So your lazy eye is similar the way it is at birth
(the connection to the brain is not fully developed).

Don't be too hard on yourself about the patch. It doesn't always work even
if you wear it. Sometimes the lazy eye reverts back after the patch is
removed. There are also other exercises that a doctor can administer that
can help a young child with amblyopia.

I am surprised that you have driving restrictions. In the states where I
have had drivers licenses, I have never had restrictions because of my lazy
eye (which is about 20/200), except that I must wear my glasses. I am
farsighted. What state are you in?

I am not a doctor, just a person with amblyopia.

"Jkumar167" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> >m surprised that you have driving restrictions. In the states where I
> >have had drivers licenses, I have never had restrictions because of my
lazy
> >eye (which is about 20/200), except that I must wear my glasses. I a
>
> Many states (mine included) require folks who are not correctable to at
least
> 20/40 in each eye to have double mirrors on their car (mirrors on both
sides).
> I guess this could be considered a "restriction" especially to someone
whose
> car happens not to have this setup.

I have never seen a late model car without a right side mirror. Do you know
of any?

In article <6eZvc.4$(E-Mail Removed)>, "Mark A"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "Rob Collier" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message

> farsighted. What state are you in?


Google says his address originates from the country of Niue, which I've
never even heard of!


Mapquest shows Niue to be east of Australia. When I zoom in, the map says
American Samoa.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
(E-Mail Removed)

In article <(E-Mail Removed) >,
(E-Mail Removed) (Rob Collier) wrote:


> Up till now i havent really bothered with my eye(s) because i havent
> had any problems. Only a few days ago I took an eye test to apply for
> my drivers license and the outcome has been that im going to be
> imposed certain restrictions (speed, etc) and i must say it bummed me


My wife is 54 and has amblyopia. She also was told that nothing could be
done about it. For the first time, she had some problems with renewing
her driver's license. In California, her only restriction is that she has
to wear her glasses when driving, due to being farsighted in the good
eye. They made her take a driving test to prove that she could drive with
only one good eye.

--
Dan Abel
Sonoma State University
AIS
(E-Mail Removed)

"Rob Collier" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> Hi All,
>
> I´ve suffered from a "Lazy Eye" since i was 6 years old. My parents
> didnt insist with me enough and I never used to wear my patch and
> pretty much im no better or worse now that im 25. I´ve never really
> worn glasses and various eye tests ive had along the years havent show
> any improvement nor have they shown either eye getting worse, my good
> eye has simply gotten used to being the "boss" and ive been told that
> wearing glasses isnt really worth it, especially since even the
> highest magnification doesnt improve my vision and ive always been
> told that "its too late" do do anything about it. Regarding laser
> surgery i was told by one doctor that it simply wasnt fixable.
>
> Up till now i havent really bothered with my eye(s) because i havent
> had any problems. Only a few days ago I took an eye test to apply for
> my drivers license and the outcome has been that im going to be
> imposed certain restrictions (speed, etc) and i must say it bummed me
> about. Since then ive been thinking about my condition and reading a
> bit about it on the internet, which i never bothered doing before. I
> was just wondering if it really is too late and if its worth me
> getting up of my arse and doing something about it.
>
> Any suggestions, advice or comments are welcome.
> Thank you for your time.
> Regards
> Rob.

Laser treatment can only improve vision to the same level that glasses would
provide.

Lazy eye can be due to a turned eye or due to large refractive error in the
eye. If large refractive error is the cause of your lazy eye, and you used
a patch at least some of the time when wyou were a child, then there is a
very small chance that using glasses or contact lenses now and patching
again may improve the vision. It is unlikely to improve it to be similar to
the good eye. Your eye doctor is the person to ask, as the potential for
success depends entirely upon the individual details of your particular
case.

Dr Judy

"Dr Judy" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:Erawc.22320>
> Laser treatment can only improve vision to the same level that glasses
would
> provide.
>
> Lazy eye can be due to a turned eye or due to large refractive error in
the
> eye. If large refractive error is the cause of your lazy eye, and you
used
> a patch at least some of the time when wyou were a child, then there is a
> very small chance that using glasses or contact lenses now and patching
> again may improve the vision. It is unlikely to improve it to be similar
to
> the good eye. Your eye doctor is the person to ask, as the potential for
> success depends entirely upon the individual details of your particular
> case.
>
> Dr Judy
>
Also be advised that patching at 25 years of age may cause even worse
problems, so many Dr's may be reluctant to even try it.

"Jkumar167" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> >
> >I have never seen a late model car without a right side mirror. Do you
know
> >of any?
> >
>
> No, not off hand. But there are still some people who don't have new cars
> every year and may well indeed have an older model without double mirrors.

Every year? You don't have to buy a new car every year to get a late model
car. I mean a car made within the last 7-10 years. Even if such cars exist
without right hand mirror's, would you really want one? There are plenty of
older cars that have them.

"Mark A" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:6eZvc.4$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Rob Collier" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I´ve suffered from a "Lazy Eye" since i was 6 years old. My parents
> > didnt insist with me enough and I never used to wear my patch and
> > pretty much im no better or worse now that im 25. I´ve never really
> > worn glasses and various eye tests ive had along the years havent show
> > any improvement nor have they shown either eye getting worse, my good
> > eye has simply gotten used to being the "boss" and ive been told that
> > wearing glasses isnt really worth it, especially since even the
> > highest magnification doesnt improve my vision and ive always been
> > told that "its too late" do do anything about it. Regarding laser
> > surgery i was told by one doctor that it simply wasnt fixable.
> >
> > Up till now i havent really bothered with my eye(s) because i havent
> > had any problems. Only a few days ago I took an eye test to apply for
> > my drivers license and the outcome has been that im going to be
> > imposed certain restrictions (speed, etc) and i must say it bummed me
> > about. Since then ive been thinking about my condition and reading a
> > bit about it on the internet, which i never bothered doing before. I
> > was just wondering if it really is too late and if its worth me
> > getting up of my arse and doing something about it.
> >
> > Any suggestions, advice or comments are welcome.
> > Thank you for your time.
> > Regards
> > Rob.
>
> Yes, it is too late, from everything I have been told. There is nothing
> wrong with the eye itself (if your good eye went blind, the lazy eye would
> develop its full power). That is why children are asked to wear patches
over
> their good eye--to develop the eye/brain coordination of the lazy eye. The
> problem is a muscle imbalance or other similar problem that causes the
brain
> to ignore the lazy eye. So your lazy eye is similar the way it is at birth
> (the connection to the brain is not fully developed).
>
> Don't be too hard on yourself about the patch. It doesn't always work even
> if you wear it. Sometimes the lazy eye reverts back after the patch is
> removed. There are also other exercises that a doctor can administer that
> can help a young child with amblyopia.
>
> I am surprised that you have driving restrictions. In the states where I
> have had drivers licenses, I have never had restrictions because of my
lazy
> eye (which is about 20/200), except that I must wear my glasses. I am
> farsighted. What state are you in?

I live in Spain.
The restriction is going to be having to use both external mirrors (which of
course are standard anyway) and an interior "panoramic" mirror. This, as you
probably know, is simply an attachment on to your exisiting interior
rearview mirror.
I am also going to have a speed restriction which I´ve been told will be
imposed when I pass my test. Probably 80 or 100km/h
Also I have to renew my license every 2 years.

The thing is I went to the optician about a month ago to get some glasses
for driving, but the optician said look, even with the highest magnification
you still cant see any better and your good eye is perfectly accostumed so
it would be a waste of money/time.

If only using glasses I would be able to see the chart well enough for them
to let me drive without restrictions, I would be happy.

Regards
Rob




>
> I am not a doctor, just a person with amblyopia.
>
>

"Dan Abel" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:dabel-(E-Mail Removed)...
> In article <6eZvc.4$(E-Mail Removed)>, "Mark A"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > "Rob Collier" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>
> > farsighted. What state are you in?
>
>
> Google says his address originates from the country of Niue, which I've
> never even heard of!
>
>
> Mapquest shows Niue to be east of Australia. When I zoom in, the map says
> American Samoa.

..nu is my domain.
Im actually in Spain (usually .es)
Rob


>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Sonoma State University
> AIS
> (E-Mail Removed)