Excellent news!

I'm really happy for you, Funky. I hope things continue to improve. I have a hard time adjusting to even a new prescription, so I can't imagine the adjustment you are making.

How fabulous!

Wonderful! Do you notice you have to look right at your target so the prisms work? For example, if I'm going down steps and glance down with my eyes without moving my head (i.e., the sweet spot of the prisms is not aligned with the target), things can get wonky and put me off balance. Still so much better than without!

That's great news!!

I'm delighted for you! Be easy on yourself as you continue adapting to them -- they do sound life-changing!.

Thank you all!

Delilah, I will need to get back to you on that. I picked them up this evening. I drove with them and did a few things around the house. The best test will be walking into work tomorrow.

I expect that I need to give it a few weeks or a few months (based on what the dr said) to get the full benefit. My eye is not straight all of the time and the stereo vision will come with time (though I have spurts where I can sense stereo vision a bit already)

I'm so happy to hear it is going well. You may not think there were fireworks, but I I think the world suddenly going HD is a quieter version of that. The fact that your eye is responing so quickly is very encouraging. If you need it, you need it, but not a fan of surgery if it can be avoided. Hope it all continues as well.

That's wonerful, Funky. Deep inside happy is soooo good. As is hd.

What great news and even better news that you'll continue to improve! I'm really happy for you.

How wonderful for you Funky! So happy these are already working for you and you are seeing improvement. Hope the other 2 pair will complete the circle.

That is great news! Be careful on those stairs. After I got bifocals, stairs were a challenge at first. Take your time.

Ive been told the results are remarkable.. I can't always tell (much as I'd like to walk around looking in mirrors, it isn't really encouraged at work lol). It's still a little weird for me. Sometimes I feel like I looking through a water film.. or high.. but it only lasts a moment or so and then snaps back. I don't know if that is normal.. but it feels like it's just the transition.

I had discussed the process with one of my bosses. He's been very curious and very supportive. He told me he could tell I was holding back my excitement trying to be cautious.. but really, I have to agree with him that the results are remarkable.

The worst now is switching to reading mode.. because I don't have the good and proper correction or assistance when reading.

Again thank you all! Your support and encouragement has meant so much to me!!

I'm so happy you're happy. I love that you're optimistic and joyful. It's so good to hear good news.

Glad to hear your good news-hope it just keeps getting better!

So I thought I would come back and share an update on my experiences. I know there were a few people who either had amblyopia themselves or a dear loved one with a similar problem.

The good news-- I am still getting a lot of enthusiastic feedback about how much better my eye is. My boss has been the biggest champion. He's fascinated by it all and again today he said he's sorry to stare but it's just incredible how much improved it is. The depth perception hasn't improved yet-- but I am pretty confident that will return as my brain gets used to binocular vision again.

The adjustment issues-- I have had a difficult time adjusting to the distance glasses. I am ok at home, when in a meeting, watching tv etc...but when I am in a busy environment (like walking downtown each morning), driving or in a store, I feel like I am under a film of water-- the busiest environments make me feel like I am spinning under water and it is making me nauseous. It turns out the base curve is much different from my previous glasses and that on top of my prescription is giving me this effect. It doesn't affect all people-- but I am one of the ones who is very sensitive to it.

No worries. There's a fix. I have two options-- I can keep the same frames but have them remake the lenses at a higher base curve (base curve is the inherent curve of the lens-- independent of the prescription) or I can get smaller glasses. (I went from very small frames to a pretty large one), They did a test with me in the office-- they covered up the lower portion of my new glasses (with fedex tape lol) and the difference was immediate and dramatic... so I've made the decision to go with smaller frames. New lenses may have gotten me to the same place but I have decided to go with the sure fix.

It's a shame. I LOVE my new glasses-- and all my favorites are in the same size range. Bigger is definitely on trend. At least it made the selection process a lot easier this time. I was quickly narrowed down to two and then one.

Again, I hope this helps someone else going through some of the same struggles I've been through. Even with this slight hiccup, I've been wearing the glasses and my eye is well on the path to normal. I am thrilled.. but impatient.

Great! Thanks for sharing the follow up.

I'm so happy for you Funky. Your account of what it was like for you to deal with this issue was so open and touching.

"On the path to normal" - makes it all worthwhile!

Thank you, Mini, Mtn and Eld.

It wasn't easy to share my story, Mtn.. but it was a very easy post to write. The embarrassment and fears were just under the surface. It was incredibly freeing to share. Even now, I've only opened up completely to a few close to me-- but those around me every day are very aware of what is going on. A number of coworkers have mentioned the improvement to me.. three months ago, I would have died had someone mentioned it. It's still not completely comfortable but I can talk about it now.

I had an interview within my own company last week--I expected three interviewers but it ended up being seven. Ugh-- the kind of meeting that makes it especially difficult to make eye contact with each person speaking to me.. even now with the improvements. I just sucked it up and started the discussion by letting them know that I am adjusting to new glasses and to please pardon any blinks, squints or strange eye movements. It probably wasn't necessary but it allowed me to relax and let me focus on the interview!

So glad to hear you are taking care of you. Adjusting to eyeglasses can be really difficult and it is seldom discussed.

Heavens funky - after what you've experienced with the amblyopia and adjusting to new glasses too it's just not fair to have to face 7 interviewers. I'm sure you aced it but I'd find it rather intimidating.

Maire

'Thrilled but impatient'. Well, that would be me as well were I in your shoes. Funky, thank you for sharing your journey. This cannot be easy, and absolutely must be expensive to keep trying and buying different glasses and lenses. Says she who would rather buy shoes than new glasses any day.

Seven interviews!? Wow, I wish you the best, and if you can even tackle that, you've got my vote! I hope the new glasses do the trick.

There's no question that this venture has been expensive-- but my (awesome) eyeglass shop is making it very financially easy for me to get into a pair of distance frames/lenses that will work for me. They don't offer the kind of deals a visionworks kind of place offers but they aren't making me pay for glasses that don't work for me. For this, they have earned a customer for life!

Outside.. I'd so much prefer to buy shoes also!

As for 7 interviewers-- well, it was within my own company but I'd never met any of them and they asked questions that I was expected to answer (correctly)-- so I am going to call it an interview! It was fairly informal as these things go though so it wasn't excruciating-- but it wasn't fun either! :) I am told there will be another round with a new but smaller group.

I am waiting for the frames to arrive in another color.. looks like it's between these two.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Thanks for the update, Funky. I like the new frame choices!

I am glad things are continuing to improve for you! My two cents, don't get anything even remotely asymmetrical. slight differences can throw off my vision. I don't know if it is the lazy eye, the astigmatism or what, but I wouldn't chance it!

uhoh.. I placed the order this afternoon. I ended up going with the first pair with the marbled stems (the stones on the other pair were too much-- even though they are on the top vs front facing). The only part that is asymmetrical on the pair I selected is the top edge-- it's slight and out of my field of vision. Hopefully they will work.

You're right though. If anything is just a bit out of whack, it throws my vision off-- and/or makes me ill.

I also decided on two pairs for near/computer. Since I will be switching out glasses to walk around or read, I can easily imagine getting stuck without the near glasses. A second pair will ensure I always have a pair for reading.. and it lets me have a normal pair and a funky pair!

Funky, I was thinking about your journey and wondered if you considered taking what you've written here and having it published somewhere? If nothing else it is a great testimonial for the clinic that has been working with. Maybe your eye doc knows of an ophthalmology publication or blog where your results might be of interest to others.

I haven't thought about having publishing my experience. I am not really all that interesting of a writer.. I am a decent technical writer but not what I'd call engaging lol.

That said, I would like more people to know there's hope-- so maybe I'll think about it.

Hey, how are the new glasse?

I was reminded on the other thread but didn't want to get in trouble for being OT

Thanks for checking in, Mtn.. the distance glasses are working out great. The near glasses are still a struggle. I think the physics of near vision are a challenge and I may need a stronger prism (or to put it all on one eye instead of splitting it across eyes).

The biggest issue is really the reality of "near" and far glasses. The near glasses have a very small range. They barely work for my office computer and really only for one of my two monitors. I have moved them all over my desk and still can't get it to work with both without moving my chair when I want to use the second screen. Also, there's a pretty large range that isn't corrected between the two glasses-- from about 2 ft to 20 ft. I can see, but I can't really read in that range. It makes things like grocery shopping difficult... or looking at someone else's computer over their shoulder. These are small things you'd take for granted.. or, well, I did.

I *am* seeing slow but steady improvement in my depth perception. This is huge. It's another thing we/I take for granted so when I lost it, it was shocking.. but now as it's returning, I am again taking it for granted (which I think is a good sign). I will do a something and then do a double-take and say to myself, "I'd have had problems with this 6 months ago".

My hope now is to try to move to a moderate range progressive in the new year. I have a recommendation for a new dr who specializes in these kinds of problems. My current dr was great because he got me over the initial challenge of addressing my eye but he's not so good with finer challenge of tailoring my lenses to the way I live and work.

All in all, it's still been a great experience-- I've seen huge improvements. I just didn't expect the challenges to get the right combination of prescriptions. It would have been a LOT easier had my eye gone bad before I reached the age where I needed reading glasses.

Thanks for asking!

Funky - glad to hear things are improving. Can you tell me how you find a doctor who specializes in these problems? I have a young family member with strabismus and depth perception issues. She's had several surgeries but no doctors have suggested prisms yet, and I'm wondering if might help.

Tnfarmhouse,

Sorry your family member has to deal with this. Thankfully. my issues didn't blow up until much later in life. I found the initial dr by accident-- I went into this not expecting to address my problems (as I'd said in my initial thread on the topic, I had been told by my previous ophthalmologist that there was no way to correct my amblyopia) so I chose a dr close to my house and office. The most recent recommendation came from one of the women in my local eyeglass shop. They have been so incredibly helpful-- in choosing styles, returning frames/lenses that didn't work and with a ton of support and encouragement. It's a small business-- not one of the chain eyeglass shops-- and I think that made a big difference in the level of assistance they provided. It just happened that one of the technicians' sons had strabismus also and through her connections, she found the dr who specialized in treating it.. and who had the patience and personality to work with her son to find the best solution.

Sorry that's not much help for you-- but I do wish you luck in happening upon someone who can direct you in your area. Hopefully my experience gives you some hope and some questions to ask your own dr.

Glad to hear it's going well. Hope your new Dr. can help you work out some of the kinks. : )

I wanted to come back with yet another update-- again, I hope my experiences help those of you with similar problems.

Since I got the near glasses (probably 6 weeks after the distance glasses), I have had some issues that have caused me to take a few steps backward. There are two primary issues-- first, there is a huge range from about 3ft to 20ft+ where my vision is not great. I definitely can't read in that range and the vision is otherwise not great. Second, the prisms in my near glasses do not keep my eye from wandering nearly as well as the distance glasses. I am not an expert at all but I believe the problem is one of physics. I believe the convergence required to view something closer requires an adjustment to the prism strength and/or position. Again, this is my uneducated guess.

It has been frustrating to see some of my initial improvements go backward but I do try to hold on to the overall progress. The good news is, I have promising results in the neural aspect of my problem. My brain is engaged and bringing together the images from both eyes when the correction is there.. and when it isn't, it still tries to bring them together. This can be very disorienting and it causes my eye to go in and out-- which may actually be more distracting to those around me than having it full out.

As noted above, I was referred to pediatric ophthalmologist in Hershey who specializes in treating amblyopia and strabismus -- and who also takes on a limited number of adults. I had to go through a survey/interview to determine if he would take on my case.. this morning I found out that he will! I won't see him until the end of March but I am feeling very confident that we will get closer to a full fix.

Thanks for the update, Funkyart. You must be thrilled to be seeing the new specialist. Really happy for you and I hope and pray for the best of outcomes.

Wonderful, Funkyart! I guess I didn't rate a referral. The pediatric ophthalmologist I saw just sorta shrugged her shoulders and dismissed me. I feel like my prisms negatively affect my acuity. The keep my eyes aligned, but until I get within 30-40 feet, I'm guessing at what I'm seeing, especially road signs. I couldn't read a license plate to save myself. I am very lucky not to have any neural effects.

This is definitely a good amount of trial and error with getting the right combo of glasses. Good luck with your new doctor, keep us posted on what happens next.

Delilah.. sounds like our experiences are similar. My referral didn't come from my ophthalmologist... when I went back to him he didn't exactly shrug but it was clear he didn't much interest in fine tuning. It was the opticians at my local eyeglass shop who worked with me to find that the size of my lenses were causing me issues (first correction-- which completely eliminated the dizziness in "busy" environments). They also referred me to the new dr. He'd helped one of the women's sons who had strabismus to get a prescription that enabled him to play sports. She said he was very experienced and patient with her son to get to the right prescription... which is exactly what I think I need. They also spoke to a rep at their lab who is eager to work with us as well. It's all tricky stuff.. but I am thrilled to have a team who wants to take on the challenge.

I hope you can find a dr who will understand your needs too-- my last dr was good and I am grateful that he got me on the right path. He just wasn't the right person/the right practice to bring it all home.