My dd's appt for eye clinic came today, for yesterday!!

[Kaylasmum49]

Hi posted before about my dd having episodes of double vision. Took her to optician who found no issue and said she has 20/20 vision. Took her to gp who said he would refer her to the eye clinic. That was about 2 weeks ago, been waiting anxiously for her appointment to come through and it did this morning but the appointment was for yesterday! Don't know how that's happened but gave them a call and they have now given us an appointment for 14th of June.

On the letter I received today it's says she has to see the orhoptist first and then she has to see the opthalmologist. I don't understand why this is and while I'm happy that she has an appointment I'm very nervous and worried.

I have health anxiety and I'm in a really bad place right now, been signed off from work and finding it hard to eat so been losing a lot of weight. I know this is pathetic but because of the anxiety I always imagine the worst case scenario and torture myself with horrific thoughts. I have had cbt in the past and am using what I'be learned but this is tough!

Anyway, could anyone with any knowledge about eye clinics tell me why she has to see the opthalmologist after seeing the orthoptist? Is this normal practise? Got to keep it together for my dcs.

Tia for any replies.

Eye clinics are pretty thorough and very busy, so everybody will have all the standard tests that might be relevant to them. You wouldn't want to wait a whole lot more months for another test if it was needed, so be happy they're allowing for a full consultation.
As for appointment letters arriving after the appointment , that happens quite a lot IME. It does mean they will give you priority when they rebook you though.

Hi thanks for the reply.

When I called about the appointment they were going to give an orthoptist appt on Friday then the ophthalmologist appt on the 14th June but I said I would much prefer to have the appointments together, it means less time off school for dd.

Do you know if it's standard practice to see both the orthorptist and the ophthalmologist at an eye appointment.

Yes, it's standard practice so don't worry. One does the checks and the other does the diagnosis (I think!). My DS1 has to go to the eye hospital for his condition and I always try to arrange morning appointments as we can often be there until gone lunch time.

Our clinics are absolutely great, but they are hugely busy. We always try to take the big iPad to give him something to do (and see which is quite difficult once he's had drops, so books are a no no), but be prepared that your DD might have to have eye drops and they do sting. DS1 hates having them, but is usually bribed with a doughnut from the League of Fiends afterwards.

Hope you get it sorted soon.

It's certainly been standard at my DD's eye appointments. As PPs have said the orthoptist does basic tests, similar to optician tests, then the opthamologist reviews and decides if treatment necessary. Last couple of appointments we've only seen orthoptist as DD passed tests and we no longer have any concerns. Our clinic is held in children's outpatients and it's set up with lots of toys, TV, cafe and when it's really busy a play worker. HTH.

I had this as a kid. One is to check eye health no infections, scratches etc. One is to check the vision.

My double vision was due to muscle weakness so my eyes turned slightly. Not enough to notice but enough for both eyea to try over compensate and give double vision.

But I had course of vision therapy (exercise to strengthen eyes) and all gone.

It could be something simple thats so easy to fix so try not to worry.

Just to warn you though eye clinics get busy as usually most hospitals anyone going through a&e anything eye related or eye wash sees same dr and quite rightly so gets bumped up the que.

So take a few mags and toys with you.

Good luck.

Thanks,

That has really helped me calm down. My dd is 12 and is actually looking forward to going to the eye clinic, think she's happy about the time off school will they definitely put drops in her eyes and if so how long until she's able to see properly again?

Absolutely standard.

Both my kids have had ongoing eye stuff, and I think saw the ophthalmologist and orthoptist for first appointments, and then follow-up with orthoptist only unless she wanted to bounce them back to the ophthalmologist for any reason.

I think the eye drops can vary a lot in terms of how long they take to wear off. Certainly a few hours, but people are different in how easy they find it to cope with that. If it's a bright day, bring a pair of sunglasses or a hat to keep the sun out of her eyes afterwards, as her eyes won't be able to react to the light after the drops.

Also bear in mind the drops take 20 minutes or so to work, so you'll go in, have drops, come out and wait around a bit, then go back for the examination.

They probably would put drops in I would think, they'll want to have a look at the back of her eye, especially if the optician didn't do this at the first appointment you mentioned.

Hi littlelondoner,

Do you know if you had binocular double vision or if it was monocular. I'm pretty sure from my extensive googling that my dd has monocular double vision as when she covers either eye the vision is still doubled. I also think that it's more ghosting than double as she only sees a slight edge of what she's looking at. She also mainly seems to see it on objects that have light shining on them and with white on a black background. Sorry for all the questions.

Hi Freezerbird,

The optician didn't put drops in her eyes, did a lot of other tests including the slit lamp test so yeah I expect she will have to have the drops.

It's just such a nuisance that they were late in sending out the initial appt. Now going to have to wait another three weeks.

I don't think they will use drops - afaik that's only for small children who aren't able to reliably get through an ordinary eye test, it allows the ophthalmologist to estimate their glasses prescription without input from the child concerned. Certainly our experience with DS was that they used drops first time we went, when he was only just 4, but now they make a big deal (to him!) of the fact that he has enough concentration at nearly 6 to make it through a 'proper' eye test, which is more reliable anyway apparently, so doesn't need the drops any more.

On the other thing, absolutely standard to have double appt - one is estimating glasses prescription, one is more about other issues (ambylopia double vision etc)

Thinking about it - if they're expecting to put drops in they would usually mention it in the appointment letter - maybe worth a look?

Whether they use them or not depends on exactly what they want to look at - they're not just for estimating a prescription, and they use them with adults as well as children. But if your optician managed a really good look with the slit lamp they might not need to.

Either way - the key thing is that seeing the orthoptist and ophthalmologist is not an indication of bad things - nor is the use or non-use of eyedrops.

Kaylasmum49 it was binocular that I had both eyes together each was individually ok. But it was such a long time ago now. I was about your daughters age. She will get sorted. I honnestly thought they would brush me off but they are really good. I remember making friends with an old lady with a patch who always had her appointments simular times. So I would love going as shed share her sweets & day off school.

Hi,

I just want it all to be over and done with. My dd is'nt particularly bothered by it.

I'm a grownup ( very ) and always have The Drops , so they can examine the interior of the eyes properly. They do sting for a couple of minutes, then usually take 2-3 hours to wear off.

I'm an orthoptist. The check with the orthoptist will be looking at the alignment of her eyes and checking her eye movements and binocular vision. If your daughter still has double vision if she covers either eye this is monocular diplopia( double vision) there are a number of different reasons for this it can be due to refractive problems often astigmatism or sometimes problems with the cornea or the lens in the eye. The ophthalmologist will be looking at all the different structures in the eye and having a look at the optic nerve at the back of the eye. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they put dilating eye drops in this is not just for small children. A dilated pupil makes it much easier to see inside the eye and the drops stop the lens from focussing for a while so they can take an accurate measurement of any refractive error (longsight/shortsight/astigmatism) The way you are describing things with ghosting of the images it could very well be some astigmatism as corneal and lens problems are relatively uncommon in young people

Cornelius, thanks for your post.

I'm pretty much sure that it is monocular diplopia as when she covers her eye she can still see the ghosting. It definitely seems to be mainly on objects with natural or artificial light shining on them or with white text on a dark background such as on tv, phone and tablet. The optician said it could be down to tiredness or because she had been unwell with a viral type illness a month or so previously.

Would the optician not have picked up on an astigmatism during my dd's eye exam?

Hi it's possible that some mild astigmatism might not have been picked up without carrying out a dilated refraction. If the double vision is due to this it should disappear if she looks through a pinhole. Hope it gets sorted soon