Improving lazy eye squint for wedding

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I'm getting married in less than 6 months.

I had a bad episode of hyperthyroidism which left me with a damaged eye nerve resulting in a squint and double vision in one eye.

My optician referred me to a specialist and the NHS have given me an initial appointment just a few weeks before the wedding and say treatment (depending on what they decide to treat it with) will be approximately 16 weeks later.

I'm so disheartened that on my wedding day I will have a droopy eye and itl be in all the photos of me.

I've suggested to dp to postpone the wedding but he thinks I'm being silly.

What would you do?

Congratulations on your wedding ! I had an operation at Moorfields to rectify a squint and this worked brilliantly. However, I was also told that Botox can be used to rectify squints. The effect is only temporary so decided not to go down this route. Perhaps you could ask about this option at your appointment as they may be able to treat you before the wedding?

@castor
Thank you so much for your reply.

It's really cheered me up on a down day that there is hope.

What was the procedure you had and how was the recovery?

I will look into the Botox in case I can't dry treatment soon enough

Botox for squint was pioneered at Moorfields. By my friends brother!

Alternatively, a good photographer would be able to photoshop your photos to straighten your eye.

Sorry that you are feeling down about this, but my experience is that there is absolutely no need to be. I am afraid that I cannot remember the name of the exact procedure that I had. I had surgery to re-align my eye muscles under a general anaesthetic and the re-aligned muscles were held in place by dissolvable stitches (really not as bad as it sounds !). The operation was done as day surgery. I had to wear a pirate style eye patch and use anti-biotic eye drops for a few weeks. My eye was initially very red but this went after two to three weeks. Several years later both my eyes are still perfectly straight. Botox is obviously less intrusive but is not a long term solution so I am glad that I went down the surgery route. I hope that all goes well for you and that you have a lovely wedding day.

Contact the secretary of the surgeon you’ve been referred to and explain the situation. They might be able to bring your initial appointment forward.
Another thing to try, depending on your circumstances, is to get your initial appt privately, much quicker, then treatment on the nhs.

@Mindgone

I actually have people care heath cover which I tried to use but as I've never used it before they need my NHS records.
When I put the forms into my surgery to request the information (over a month ago) they said that they are so busy it could be months before they pass the information over.
And they charge for doing it (even though by me going private it takes pressure off the NHS).

I'm still waiting but haven't got much hope that they will send my history over any time soon

That's tough, hope you can get sorted soon.

Sounds really silly but have you looked into getting an eyepatch and wearing it around the house over your good eye? I have a lazy eye that wonders and was advised this by an optician. Not quite the same problem, but you can get them cheap and it might be worth just trying for a few weeks whilst you wait for your appointment.

Cant you now get your hospital notes for free due to the freedom of information act?

It can take up to 30 days though.

Maybe you could try and appeal to someones better nature and ask for them quickly due to thw circumstances and then bring your own notes yourself to the private surgeon who may be able to provide even a shorter term fix such as botox if you are willing to pay?

That doesn’t sound right about your GP. A referral is a referral, whether they do it to a private surgeon or the NHS. The format might be different, but it shouldn’t take months. Another option to consider is to check whether your private health insurance will accept a referral made by another health professional ie, your optican - I know mine does. But I’ve also never known a private hospital to require all your nhs records - they usually only want a referral letter.