Kaitlyn had her eye appointment today. Surprisingly, she was diagnosed as far sighted. It strikes me as a bit odd because the only time I ever notice her having a problem seeing is when she is squinting to watch tv (the distance from the tv to the couch is roughly 10 feet). She doesn't strain when reading or coloring or anything else that is closer to her. I came home and have been reading online and everything I read says they can see fine at far distances, just not up close. She doesn't complain of headaches or rub her eyes. I'm so confused. We have no history of eye problems so this is a foreign subject to me.

By Kay on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 06:12 pm:

That does sound strange. I'm nearsighted (have been all my life), and I do what Kaitlyn does - squint at things 10 feet away but fine with reading.

What type of professional diagnosed her? Did they specifically say she had myopia or hyperopia?

By Ginny~moderator on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 07:01 pm:

I wonder too about the specialist. I would want a pediatric opthalmologist to give a second opinion if this person isn't an opthalmologist.

By Boxzgrl on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 07:41 pm:

She had a pediatric opthalmologist she saw at 2 years old for an unrelated issue but I was trying to save the 40 mile drive and took her to an optometrist at the recommendation of a friend. Obviously i'm not satisfied. Now I just have to figure out if our insurance covers second opinions and if not I have to pay out of pocket. I just don't want her to 1) Wear glasses if she doesn't need them and 2) Wear the wrong prescription!

Also, i've been reading online and the research i've been doing says a lot of children have a form of far sightedness and grow out of it by 9 years old, mainly due to their eyes and surrounding area still growing. The optometrist never told me this. A second opinion with her opthalmologist is really my only choice at this point. Ugh....

By Debbie on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 07:44 pm:

My 8 yr old ds was diagnosed a few months ago with being near sighted. I will say that I never noticed a thing! He never squinted, nothing. The only way I knew was because he didn't pass the eye screening at school. I was really shocked with how bad his eyes actually were.

If you aren't happy with the diagnoses, why don't you take her for a 2nd opinion? It can't hurt, and may ease your mind.

By Tarable on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 08:38 pm:

Definately take her in for a second opinion. My oldest was dxed with farsightedness and given "reading" glasses when she was in 3rd grade. I should have known that something was wrong when she first came home with them, but I thought it was okay. Well a couple of weeks went by and she started complaining about headaches and I took her to a different opthmologist and he told me that he could not see why anyone would put those glasses on her.. he is farsighted and has a pretty bad astigmatism which is why she had trouble focusing up close.

Do yourself a favor and get the second opinion, especially if you are already questioning the dx. I ended up paying for 2 pair of glasses and everything becasue the first optometrist was wrong.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 11:09 pm:

Call your insurance, explain your concerns and see if you can get approval for a second opinion. This so doesn't sound right...

I have a DH and two children that are so nearsighted it isn't even funny.. They have degenerative myopia. I started taking them to the eye doctor when they were five years old, DH had started wearing glasses at 6, and the kids progressed rapidly until they reached the age of 8 the progression slowed between 8 and 9, in both DH and Dillan's case they had an increase of progression around puberty.

Here is the thing, IF I hadn't suspected their might be an issue, Dillan and Katie have DH's eyes, and Myopia is often hereditary. If I hadn't had doctor's telling me that the myopia was progressing and the vision was getting worse. I would have never known, there were no signs, no complaints, no squinting. Only one teacher mentioned Dillan having an issue and she wrote on the eraser board in light marker, the lighting threw a glare on the board, add all that up with the vision issues and no kidding he had an issue. She switched to darker markers, and moved him to the second row from the board, problem fixed. They didn't know they couldn't see. Dillan couldn't believe the way things changed when he got his first set of glasses. He honestly thought that everyone else saw things the way he did.

More information than you needed I am sure. But I would look into having DD rechecked.. It just doesn't sound right..

By Karen~admin on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 10:10 am:

Melissa, go to the pediatric opthalmologist. Strabismus and other vision problems run in both sides of my family - my dad and both of my sisters had a number of eye surgeries for strabismus, and Jeff ended up having FIVE. My nephew had one as well.

Jeff's first eye surgery was @ 10 months of age; the 2nd one @ 14 months - and he was in bifocal glasses @ 15 months. He wore glasses until around age 11 or 12, and no longer needs them for vision correction, though he has virtually no depth perception and will always have a lazy eye.

My point with all of this is, with a young child, a pediatric opthalmologist is always your best best - they are trained to deal with CHILDREN'S eyes and vision issues, where one who normally treats adults might miss something or misdiagnose something. And an Optometrist is definitely not the way to go. We knew within weeks of Jeff's birth that he had the inherited eye problems, and immediately sought out a pediatric opthalmologist, and then, thanks to the Lions Club, we were covered for him to be treated @ LSU Eye Clinic. Several years later, I tried another opthalmologist, and he just really didn't have the knowledge that the ones specializing in pediatrics did.

So, *MY* advice would be that even if you have to pay out of pocket for a 2nd opinion with the pediatric opthalmologist, it's worth it - it's your child's vision, and a price cannot be put on that.