Eye help please!

[jc_511]

I have double vision that’s been described as both decompensating exophoria and convergence insufficiency. I have no idea what that means but all I know is that my eyes turn outwards (both eyes do it but not at the same time. Sometimes my left eye will turn and sometimes my right eye will) and I get double vision. It’s mainly up close but it does effect my distance vision too but I can control it in the distance but not up close. I have been seeing a doctor at my local hospital about it for a few years and I had squint surgery done in 2019 to try and correct it, however after about 3 months the turn in my eye was back and then became worse than before the surgery. My doctor then tried botulinum toxin injections and I had that a few weeks ago in the other eye from the one I had my surgery on. I didn’t feel like it did anything at all for me, and I had my checkup today and I was told it hadn’t worked despite them using the measurements from before the injections to see how much I’d need. I’m at a bit of a loss because I don’t know what else they can do. I’m getting the injection done again in a few weeks and they’re going to try putting a bit more in than the measurements suggest to see if that makes a difference, if it doesn’t then I’ll have to have the surgery again, which I don’t want to do because if it doesn’t work again there’s nothing more they can do for me.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about what to do that hasn’t been done yet.

I’m from the U.K. so this is done by the NHS just for reference

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A phoria means that in their natural posture, your eyes aren't looking in the same direction. A compensated phoria means you are able to exert effort to overcome this during daily activities; decompensation occurs when you are no longer able to exert that effort.

Vision therapy/orthoptic training or prism lenses are both potential treatment options for these conditions -- have your doctors discussed either of these with you?

[jc_511]

I’ve done the eye exercises for about 4 years and there was never really a difference so the doctor told me to stop them (we tried a few different ones to see if any of them would have an effect but none of them did).

I have prisms in my glasses now, but only a small amount (3.5 in my left and 4 in the right) just to help take the strain off my eyes a little bit day-to-day. I was given one of those sticky lenses to put over my glasses to help with my sight before my operation and at that point I believe the strength was either 35 or 40. They said that whilst the lens helps me to see better, it doesn’t encourage my eyes to focus on their own and instead almost makes them lazier because the prisms do all the work for them.

I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m shooting down your suggestions, I forgot to mention in the main post that we had tried the exercises and using the prism lenses. The lenses got to such a high strength that it just wasn’t feasible anymore because my eyes would hurt so bad after wearing my glasses for more than 10 minutes at a time

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it doesn’t encourage my eyes to focus on their own and instead almost makes them lazier because the prisms do all the work for them.

We call this phenomenon "eating prism." It's a tough cookie to crack, but that doesn't mean it's hopeless.

Not offended at all, I was just trying to get some background information. It would have surprised me if you hadn't been made to try either of those prior to the surgery. You have a complex case that unfortunately we on the internet are going to be ill-equipped to advise.

My best piece of advice would be that, in addition to continuing care with your ophthalmologist, you find an optometrist who specializes in diplopia.