Lazy eye didn't improve at last visit - where do we go from here?

[BirdyBedtime]

I've posted a couple of times since Feb on DD's lazy eye. We've been patching since June for 4 hours a day and at her first follow-up visit (Aug) she'd improved another line (to the 4th line on the chart) but at her most recent visit on Monday she hadn't improved at all. They've increased her patching to 6 hours a day but say that if there is no improvement again at her next appointment in December they'll probably call it quits. I'm now starting to think beyond this whole process. I had been focussing so much on the patching and getting improvements that it's only now that I'm starting to think longer term.

So assuming things stay the same she'll be able to see the 4th line on the chart with her corrective lens of +5ish (can't remember the exact prescription). As I know eyes change shape and + prescriptions tend to lessen over the years in children, will she always need this strong a lens to see the 4th line or will the prescription get weaker (although still only seeing the same line), and in future how will an optician test her bad eye given that the best she can achieve is that line? I also wonder whether she'll even need to carry on wearing glasses given that she has something like 3 lines of difference between the 2 eyes - will the brain be using the 2 images or still ignore the poorer one, and if so is there a risk of deterioration again.

If anyone has any answers they would be really helpful - DK Bennett has previously been a great help on earlier threads!!

How old is your DD?

She's 6.4 so we've been told she's at the age we might only see limited improvement, but I had hoped for more :(

Oh birdy (just realised that we are both "birds"). Unfortunately I don't know much about what can be done at that age. It has to be worth going hell for leather on the patching for the next 6-8 months, until she is 7 anyway, you never know there could be good progress in that time. Nothing to lose I shouldn't think?

My DS is just coming off patching now (has just turned 7) and even though the patching has gone very well, he will always wear glasses, his actual vision is still just as long sighted so his prescription hasn't actually changed THAT much, just that the lazy eye is now working better albeit very very long sighted still.

Sorry, I don't know much about the technical side of things and the prescriptions, but did just want to offer support - it's tough going I know, we've been going to the hospital for 4 years now with DS.

Good luck.