Vision Therapy ~ Ophthalmology Update

I mentioned awhile ago that Aidan was going to start with vision therapy.  We went into it feeling good but were soon disappointed on several fronts.  First, it is not covered by our insurance and costs a whopping $79 for a 30 min session.  Then, about 3 mins into Aidan's first session I realized that we were basically going to do OT with an eye patch on.  There is nothing wrong with that except the price.  We have had an amazing OT since Aidan was a baby and I would love to pay her $79 for 30 mins.  I have also learned a lot about OT in the last 6 years and I could probably pay myself the cash and do the OT at home.  With a 75 cent eye patch.  With a little consulting from our adored OT, Miss Betsy.  Then, we had a few problems with the place Aidan was getting the therapy, such as appointment changes without notice and other irritating things that are not the end of the world but are annoying enough to make you want to avoid them.  Also, we have such a crazy schedule at the moment that it has been hard for us to follow through with the vision therapy every day at home.  We have quite a bit of homework every night and I feel guilty patching his eye and making him work on things that are hard for him.  I also feel guilty patching his eye during his few moments of free time since his schedule is so packed.  Follow through has just been difficult and no changes are going to happen from only 30 mins per week.


So, long story short, it was Aidan's optometrist who recommended the vision therapy.  She also refers us to an ophthalmologist once a year and given our unhappiness with the situation we wanted a second opinion on the situation from the doc. (For those who have no need to worry about vision, an ophthalmologist is a medical doctor completing the typical med school and residency while an optometrist is a Doctor of Optometry - I like to think of them as kinda like a Ph.D.  Our optometrist is good, but she ain't no medical doctor. :) )

Aidan had his ophthalmology appointment last week and we had several things to discuss with her.  First up was vision therapy.   If Aidan needs vision therapy then I will not complain and I will just pay the money and find the time to squeeze it in every day.  But since it has been making us miserable on several fronts, if he doesn't need it then I am ready to throw in the towel.  So, the doc had good and bad news about this.  She thinks vision therapy is a waste of money.  That was the good news.  The bad news is that she thinks he needs his eye patched for 6 hours per day for the next 3 months.  (He has amblyopia caused by anisometropia.)  We are going to try to do all the patching at home and not have to worry about it at school.  I am trying to think long-term and not feel guilty for torturing him during homework or fun during the short-term.

We also talked to the doc about Aidan's frequent occurrences of pink eye.  He had it 8 times last winter and has had it twice so far since school started.  She thinks this is a result of his narrow tear ducts.  When he gets inflammation in his nasal passages then his tear ducts do not drain properly and there is a back flow into the eyes.  Probably the best thing that came from this appointment is that I now have eye drops on hand and do not have to run to the pediatrician every time he gets an eye infection.

So, the patches should be arriving in the mail shortly and the fun will begin.  We have discontinued vision therapy.  We will be seeing the doc again in February.  Every ophthalmology appointment we have ever been to for Aidan has lasted for 3-4 hours, so I will admit that I am not looking forward to going 4 times per year.  Our last appointment was pretty miserable at times (a few days after the time change, during nap time with a crazy 2 year old).

We have also decided that with all of Aidan's vision complications we are switching to the ophthalmologist for all appointments.  We switched to the optometrist back in the day when we were frustrated with these never-ending ophthalmology appointments.  They seriously go on for hours.  But, there is no point in doing both.  We are happy to be back with Dr. Cassady, who was Aidan's original eye doc from back when he was 6 months old.

Wish us luck!!  A new adventure is about to begin!