i have been living with lazy eye AND strabismus my whole life.. some days i really can't go on and it bothers me so much that this has happened to me. i never have closure and sometimes i wish that i had an internal problem instead of something so easy to spot it really has broken me down so much... i think what u should do is vision therapy ive never tried it but ive heard it does wonders ive had surgeries none really helped.

I had two surgeries for strabismus when I was four and five. I also went through vision therapy and patching as a child. In my opinion the surgeries did not help at all, but the vision therapy did. I can say that exercises do help. You just have to have the dedication to do them on a regular basis (I practice almost daily). You may want to consider locating a behavioral optometrist in your area that would be able to provide you with exercises that would work best for your situation.

I still can't comprehend/appreciate how lucky I am. I have had Strabismus all my life until 5 months ago, I have cured it.

I too am 23, Intermittent Strabismus in the left eye since the age of 4 (not born with it). Eye turned in for various reasons, strain, bright light, tiredness etc.

Went to doctors as a kid, given glasses but being a little naughty bollocks, I never wore em.

As a child people noticed it, I got plenty of stick about it, as I got older i could tell when the eye turned, and when it did I would just go home and sleep, If I nodded off properly they would reset. No matter where I was, or when, if they turned I was off. Had uni, jobs, and everything else dramatically effected by this.

The 'leg it' tactic meant that as I went to uni etc, nobody actually knew I had Strabismus, I hid it so well.

Finished Uni and had to find a job. I went slightly mental here, something had to give.
went back to the doc/ optician to see what they could do. I couldn't continue the way I was, I was so messed up.

Anyway, sat through all the usual doc BS, but had done my research, I wanted Vision therapy or something similar. I was fobbed off........... again.

The difference this time was that when I asked for Contacts instead off the Glasses they suggested, they said it could be done but would be complicated. They had to do loads more tests to factor in the strabismus.

The thing that got me was that my eyes were fine at all those appointments, they did there tests but my eyes weren't crossed then..............

So i said feck them, they dont care enough about it, it's a cosmetic issue to them.

I went independantly to a high st optician and asked for contact lenses, just a normal guy, no crossed eye.

I thought maybe they'd pick up on it with their tests and it would feck things up but i was wrong.

Things went as normal as possible and I got the lenses perscribed.

My eyes no longer cross!
There have been a handful of ocasions when they have cossed whilst wearing the lenses, once in a blue moon, under very harsh circumstanses.

Where as before it was a 60/40 split between normal and crossed eyes, it's now probably 98% normal.

I'm saying this to you because it sounded like you have intermittent strabismus (not always crossed). If they are constantly crossed then I apologize, I don't know if this information will help you.

I wasn't born with this condition, and I for the most part could live a normal life. I never gave up hope that I could get rid of this condition.

I hope this can help.

I can't fully process the apparent ease at which a problem I have battled with all my life has been solved, it staggers me.

Hi I am 16 and over the summer time I accidentally bumped the bottom of my eyelid pretty hard and ever since then my left eye has been a little misaligned than my right eye. I quickly went to the bathroom to examine any damage and certain enough when I tried to focus on something up close I would get terrible eye aches, my eyes didn't seem to focus together as a team and I went through a terrible state of severe depression, I almost threw up in the bathroom because I didn't know how I was going to get myself out of this one. I talked to my parent's about this and they didn't seem to notice any misalignment in my eyes but I know how it happened and I know my body and I know that there is something wrong here with my eyes. The misalignment is only mild but it is constant and it is unbearable because school just started and I am having trouble focusing on certain things, and its hurts a lot when I try to focus. i'll get these pains inside of my eye and I'll get bad headaches. I have seen only ONE opthalmologist about my issue and he didn't see anything wrong and I had an mri done and there was no abnormalities in the brain and he did not see any signs of Glaucoma. Here I'll give you a full list of my symptoms.

1. Frequent Headaches
2. I can't read all that well, like if i read a book the words move everywhere and I have to sort of tilt my head to make the words stop moving)
3. Double Vision (Like if I look at a glare off a wall, Ill see two glares instead of only one)
4. I have seemed to have lost some depth perception because i think that my brain has learned to suppress one of my eyes
5. If I tilt my head all the way my Double Vision goes away

So my question here for anybody to answer is, Can I go into Vision Therapy to train my eyes to work better again and to have my eyes back to normal! Or have ANY treatment or exercise that would help me. Or am I completely done for and there is nothing I can do? Please send me some kind of good news I think my parents think that Im full of it and their not really paying anymore attention to the issue at hand. This is an extremely depressing time for me any kind of good news or treatment out there would really keep me on my toes!

Try this exercise to control/synchronize your eye muscles: Look at the tip of your nose, cross your eyes! Hold for 3 seconds and relax. Then look up at the ceiling without moving your head, hold for 3 seconds and relax your eyes. Repeat 5 times.

Thank you very much, now assuming you have read my whole story, will this help straighten my left eye out again with my other?

Im 32 yrs old and having similar problem.Please let me know the some more exercise which will cure this.

Hi, I'm 44 years old and am finally correcting my strabismus. I had two operations (one at 4, another at 7) and while it fixed my eyes cosmetically (until several years ago when my right eye started to roam again) it didn't fix the fact that I was only using one eye when I focused on anything (my brain had learned to shut down my right eye as a child so that I wouldn't see double.) Basically when your eyes aren't pointed in the same direction your eyes aren't seeing the same image and so your brain learns how to just use one eye which of course encourages the other eye to get lazier. I started Vision Therapy with a doctor in Charlotte last October (driving two hours each way) and now not only have I learned how to switch both eyes on at the same time but bring the two separate images together so that they become one (I can do this pretty easily now close up and do it automatically; still working on depth/3D perception.) The most exciting thing is not that my eye looks so much better cosmetically but that my brain at the age off 44 has learned how to use my eyes correctly again! Yes, it's been a big commitment financially and time-wise but well worth it! And it's not just about the eyes; my doctor who mostly works with children believes there is usually an emotional component as well and that being able to use both eyes helps with all kinds of things like decision making and trusting the world (after all if you can't trust what you see!) I encourage everyone with strabismus to embark on this amazing journey.

I'm 27 and have minor crossed-eyes. What are some exercises to strengthen the outside muscles? Essentially, I'd like them to "pull apart". The exercises mentioned above seem to be for lazy-eyes, not crossed-eyes. Intentionally looking down at my nose to cross them, would strengthen the wrong muscles and hence be counter-productive for me. What's the exercises for crossed-eyes (not lazy eyes)? Thanks!

Well, i ve lived with crossed eyes for almost all my life. I think when it comes to some state of crossed eyes nothing works anymore, the exercises just makes one worst and don't make the other eye any better. So now i do not know what i could do anyway to imporve this.

hi my name is karen im 22 years old i have lived with strabismus since i was born i have had 3 surgerys one when i was 13 months old and one when i was 12 and another at 17. my eyes are now straight however i have trouble seeing far away it has gotten worse in the last 2 years i cannt pass the drivers exam to get a licence because i cant see the line correctly they tell me to read out loud.i am a college studens so i have trouble taking nots in class for a long time i had glasses i want allowed to wear them more than an hr a day and my classes are each longer than an hr. this has had a terrble effect on my self esteem to most people i seem to be the happy loveing girl but instide i feel hopeless. i havent seen my eye doctor in about a year he isnt coverd under my insrance anymore and right now my parents cant afford to take me to another doctor but im afraid if i dont get help soon i wont be able to see anything. i dont know what to do anymore i am a college students so i struggle not being able to see the board. does anyone know any eye exersies i can do. ??? thank you for your advice in advnce