Any optometrists / orthoptists about?

[SkinPaperThin]

I've been told I need prisms to correct some double vision I've been having in my left eye, mostly only noticeable when looking at text/finer details/lights. I have a shadow to the left and also above. Last time I saw the orthoptist she said that the prism may not fully correct my vision because of some other issues in the eye. Is it possible to have both horizontal and vertical prism incorporated in to my glasses lenses as I have shadows both upwards and to the left? I've tried the stick on prism and while it did seem to help a bit it went very opaque very quickly to the point where I couldn't really use it so I took it off. I'm seeing the orthoptist again in Aug and have seen a consultant today who was not much help in answering my questions about this unfortunately. The consultant seems to think the problem is a combination of muscle weakness, posterior vitreous detatchment, some mild cataract spots and having a small optic nerve. Basically my eyes are rubbish. I've had glasses since I was 3 and have astigmatism. I also had a retinal detatchment in my right eye about 11 years ago, which thankfully was very well repaired. I'm struggling a bit to come to terms with the idea that I may never be able to see properly out of my left eye again and the misaligned vision bothers a lot. I'm 36 but feel like my eyes are much older!

I'm neither, but have had prisms in my lenses for 30 odd years and have astigmatism/short sight/unstable squint. Those stick on prisms are rubbish - I had them for a couple of years between surgeries in my teens. But I have vertical and horizontal prisms in my lenses (now also varifocal) which help me hold single vision, but they are tricky to get right, especially if you are only seeing them in particular circumstances. At one point I needed reading and distance glasses just for the prisms to cause more convergence for near work as it was harder for me.

Thank you, that's useful to know. The opticians initially put prisms in my glasses but they weren't the right strength and my prescription keeps changing, hence trying the stick on ones. Hopefully next time I see the orthoptist it will be more stable and I'll be able to see (and drive!) again.

Yes, once you’re happy with the prism abs prescription you should be able to incorporate it into your glasses.
A thicker plastic frame would be best as it will hide some of the extra thickness. You can also put some of the prism into the other eye which can help to equalise the extra weight.

Thanks @underneaththeash my frame is thick anyway so that's useful. Hopefully the prisms will work.

The stick on Fresnel prisms do deteriorate after a while , in higher strengths they do cause some blurring of vision in the eye with the prism . If you have another stick on prism avoid using any lens cleaning sprays or coloured cleaning cloths , the plastic they are made of is porous and will absorb things. You can have both horizontal and vertical prism built in to your glasses lenses but there are limits to how much can be built in , built in prisms are usually split so you have prism in both lenses. The other option is to have some built in and a top up Fresnel prism ( I’m an orthoptist )

@Rodders92 thanks, I'm due to see the orthoptist again in a few weeks. It's difficult to say if it's better with or without the prism because of the blurring caused but if I have to have them to drive then I guess I'll have to put up with it. They only put it in one lens last time I had them incorporated in to my glasses so maybe they will do both eyes next time.