Life with Astigmatism in One Eye

Doggiie on 26/08/2015 - 19:38

I've had astigmatism in one eye since birth, and it has affected me greatly in terms of getting bullied by people due to my poor throwing and catching skills. That was unavoidable because my eyes were too different, one with perfect vision and one with no focus, making depth perception only a dream. Sadly glasses doesn't fix the problem and my optometrist even says glasses won't fix it.

Now years on, and I'm more or less an adult, I still get bullied. This is now due to my poor ability to park my car (yes I'm Asian, but that is a different story you racists :P) This includes my dad, who is unbelievably so unsupportive of my lifelong plight, thinking it's just because I'm lazy and nothing more.

Things I cannot do competently:
1. Throwing and catching (and so my entire childhood was being spent being embarrassed that I was just bad rather than having a condition)
2. Watch 3D movies (they are pretty much flat or annoyingly blurry)
3. Reverse parking (nothing is worse when it's a tight spot, is 1m or 50cm away? HOW DO I KNOW?)

I'm wondering if anyone else has this as well, I'm sure I'm not the only person who was shunned by being not good at throw and catch back in primary school.

Health & Beauty

Comments

  • KaTst3R on 26/08/2015 - 19:49
    +1

    How bad is the astig? Have you thought about doing laser? It is just a day surgery

    • Doggiie on 26/08/2015 - 20:04

      It's bad enough that with glasses, I still cannot read, but it does make it more bearable and puts less strain on my right eye when reading for prolonged periods of time.

      I have considered laser, but the cost is one thing, and the other thing is the risk involved which I have not properly weight up yet. I do intend to do proper research once I have enough money to consider getting laser consulting to see if my eye is suitable for the procedure.

      • KaTst3R on 26/08/2015 - 20:11
        +1

        The technology for eye laser surgery has improved heaps in recent years. I believe the success rate is about 90%. Do some research on this. For cost, I wouldnt go for the cheapest one for obvious reasons. Find a consultant who is reputable, maybe costing about mid of the range.

        • eatwell365 on 26/08/2015 - 21:58
          +3

          Cannot make a diagnosis unless someone sees you.
          Eye normally develops till age of 10. If one eye is always stronger, it is common that stronger eye will take over. The other eye may become lazy "amblyopic" and no glasses/or refractive correction (including laser/LASIK) can help unfortunately. Some kid may develop a squint or turned eye.
          If you have Medicare, suggest to have a bulk bill consult with your optometrist for an exam and to explain things. Still not clear, ask for a referral letter to see an ophthalmologist.

        • StewBalls on 26/08/2015 - 22:08
          +2

          @eatwell365:

          Still not clear, ask for a referral letter to see an ophthalmologist.

          ^This!!!

        • eatwell365 on 26/08/2015 - 22:10

          Cost of laser eye surgery in Australia is roughly between $1400 to $3500 per eye. Price does not correlate to surgeons' skills. Few offer free consultation/screening so can call around. It only corrects vision to the level glasses correct, so if glasses cannot improve the vision, laser will not fix.

        • eatwell365 on 26/08/2015 - 22:13

          @StewBalls: : ) excuse my lazy English. end of day and do not want to write a thesis and do spell/grammar check.

        • StewBalls on 29/08/2015 - 11:31

          @eatwell365: No problem, I completely understand. The take home message is that when it comes to health matters, no matter how competent the allied/complimentary health practitioner (or even a GP for that matter), there is no substitute for specialist medical advice.

      • wyrmy on 31/08/2015 - 11:28

        The risk of side effects is a very real thing to consider. Its scary how many surgery try to downplay the risk and push the benefits. This has been brought here in the past and there are some surgeons who honestly have the patients interests at heart but others mentioned here do push the marketing quite effectively.

        Sadly as I found out personally, reputability and higher cost doesn't necessarily give you a better surgeon

    • Pricebeat on 25/01/2016 - 10:34

      Before you recommend or have laser surgery join this fb group and find out the experience of others who had it done https://www.facebook.com/groups/LasikComplicationsFaceBookGr…

      • KaTst3R on 25/01/2016 - 14:28

        I dont trust closed facebook groups. There is no transparency and information inside will be highly skewed towards people with issues. I have no major eye sight issues so I have never considered Lasik. But the people around me who have done lasik (most recently a couple of my colleagues did the procedure at one particular doctor) have highly recommended it. Lasik has been a lifestyle changer for them. Most importantly, find a reputable specialist and they will advise the risk/benefits that is specific for the patient.

        By the way, you are responding to a post that is almost half year old.

        • Pricebeat on 25/01/2016 - 15:21

          Even if there is a 1% chance of side effects or complications, it is still not worth it. Nobody deserves to live a miserable life and dry eye which is a common side effect of laser eye surgery is the worst.
          I did reply to an old post but that is to make people aware of complications before they consider something like this. It surely is lifechanging but that doesn't mean in just a positive way.

        • KaTst3R on 25/01/2016 - 16:29
          +1

          @Jimmy007:

          There are risk in everything you do, even crossing the road, driving the car or taking the airplane. In which, if an accident happens, will also cause you to have a miserable life. So are you gonna stop doing all these activity?

          For some people, it is really the difference between 1,000 degrees or 6/6 vision. Key thing is understanding and managing risk. That is why I said, find a reputable doctor, someone who has heaps of experience in this field. People like these have the ability to manage complications and give the patient the best chance possible. There will always be failures, even 1 out of 100 is still a risk, but it is up the the doctor to assess and patient to decide if it is worth a shot.

        • wyrmy on 30/01/2016 - 00:48

          My surgeons response to chronic dry eyes which need eye drops every couple hours and to-date incurable corneal erosions at night was "The important thing is you have 20/20 vision and that is what this surgery was all about."
          At one point he also said "I'll believe it when I see it." in relation to the RCEs. It takes a special kind of moron to think he can see effects on one of the fastest healing cells in the body hours after the event.
          You have a lot of misplaced faith in reputable doctors. Some might be good but you won't know the difference until your life is permanently effected for the worse after surgery.

        • Pricebeat on 31/01/2016 - 00:50

          @KaTst3R: Crossing a road and gambling on your eyes are two different things. You can live with broken bones but it will be extremely hard to survive without eyes. Corneas after Lasik never heal and they are just hanging there for more troubles to come. I am quoting a list of questions from that group to ask your surgeon before you have surgery.

          Questions to ask a LASIK surgeon before LASIK:

          1. How likely am I to still be experiencing dry eye symptoms six months after LASIK?

          2. How likely is it that I will experience persistent corneal neuropathic pain after LASIK?

          3. Is my dark-adapted pupil diameter larger than the optical zone (not counting the blend zone) of the LASIK treatment that you would be performing?

          4. Will higher order aberrations be reduced after LASIK or increased?

          5. How likely is it that I will experience persistent halos, starbursts, and/or ghost images after LASIK?

          6. I've heard that the LASIK flap never fully heals and may be accidentally dislodged for the rest of my life. Is this true?

          7. I've also heard that the biomechanical strength of the cornea is permanently reduced after LASIK, which may lead to corneal structural failure, known as corneal ectasia, months or years after surgery. How likely is it? Have you ever had a patient develop corneal ectasia? Do I have an irregular corneal topography? How many microns of corneal tissue will remain under the
            flaps after my treatment?

          8. Does LASIK cause falsely low intraocular pressure measurements for the rest of my life? How can I be assured that I'm not in danger of losing vision from undiagnosed glaucoma after LASIK?

          9. Does LASIK lead to problems with future cataract surgery, and how can I be protected? Will you provide me with a copy of my pre-LASIK eye measurements?

          10. If I decline to have (myopic) LASIK, will I be able to avoid the need for reading glasses after my mid-forties?

          11. Do you offer LASIK on one eye at a time so that I can decide if I am happy with the first eye before undergoing surgery on the 2nd eye?

          12. If LASIK doesn't give me 20/20 vision, will I be able to return to my current form of vision correction and see as well as I do now?

          That group might be closed, but their website is open for everyone.

  • OverburdenedWarrior on 26/08/2015 - 19:50
    +1

    You're not alone, I have pretty good vision in one eye, but extremely poor vision in the other. (I can barely see anything, until I close the good eye.) Lately it's been feeling like it's getting harder to see out of the bad eye. :(

    I don't drive, but I have similar issues with 3D Movies.
    Catching/Throwing isn't too bad.

    Edit: The bad eye doesn't react well with light, meaning I'm often having to wear sunglasses, or tinted glasses, otherwise I'll get massive headaches/other side effects.

    • AssamLaksa on 26/08/2015 - 22:32

      You're not alone, I have pretty good vision in one eye, but extremely poor vision in the other. (I can barely see anything, until I close the good eye.)
      How does that work? Shouldn't you NOT be able to see if the good eye is close?

      I'm 3.00 on my left eye and 0.25 on my right. And astig on both eyes. Yet I still refuse to wear glasses. But if i close my good eye I can't see anything, if both my eyes are open, it's still really clear that's why i don't bother wearing glasses.

      • OverburdenedWarrior on 26/08/2015 - 22:51

        Nah, together, I can catch the corner of the vision of the bad eye, otherwise the good eye takes over the middle field of both eyes. Closing the good eye reveals the crossover, but it's not focally powerful enough to rely on. (I wouldn't for instance, be able to read this post with the bad eye, while I could see there's a screen, and keyboard, I can't make out any of the text, or much at all outside of icons, colours, shapes ect.)

        I had glasses since I was young (baby rubber glasses) and am now twenty one. I don't require them for the good eye and they've said there isn't much more that glasses will do for the bad eye. I however have prescription lenses in my sunnies and tinted glasses.

        Aside from all that, I can see perfectly well with the good eye, whereas the bad one is barely anything. (I keep joking every time I go back into the optometrist that they should just remove the bad one so that I can use it for coin storage or something.)

  • scrimshaw on 26/08/2015 - 19:54
    +6

    Well I suck at throwing and catching as well, and I'm only moderately shorted sighted. Glasses are a part of my identity and I feel naked without 'em.

    In regards to car parking you can upgrade your car with reversing cameras and there's also parking sensors you can buy.
    As for your eyes, does LASIK surgery correct it? Or is that only a temporary fix?

    But… yeah… what can you do? You were born with a disability and got bullied. Adults who still bully others are a-holes and are proof that they are insecure d-bags who need to trample on less fortunate people to feel good about themselves. I deal with bullies in the workplace and I give them a piece of my mind — I've got zero tolerance for it.

    Find some good friends and a good partner to keep you company. As they say YOLO (you only live once) so you have to look/focus on the bright sides of life (no pun intendeD)

    • KaTst3R on 26/08/2015 - 20:05

      LASIK is permanent, but in a small number of cases, the patient may experience deterioration after a number of years. That will vary from case to case.

    • Doggiie on 26/08/2015 - 20:07

      I do wish to do LASIK surgery someday. Brief research says it 'can' be a permanent fix, or it may not, depending on the eye. Only one way to find out is for them to check out my eye, which I may do in a few years time. Reverse camera does wonders though, I have it on 1 of my cars and is my holy grail for sure!

      • ozhunter on 26/08/2015 - 20:27

        Parking sensors also help.

        • Sweetnsour on 27/08/2015 - 13:31

          Get the auto park cars

  • toristo on 26/08/2015 - 21:45
    +1

    A friend used to carry a black eye patch for when he needed to park his car. He was actually better with his one good eye than trying to use both when reversing into a tight spot. Yes, he looked like a pirate while he did it, but nobody messes with pirates.

  • eatwell365 on 26/08/2015 - 22:37

    In life, some people are talent and good with certain things but not everything.
    Dog has good sense of smell, but can only see black and white.

    Courage is built from within. Do not let any one to undermind what you can achieve.

    Amblyopic is nlt uncommon. Less in Australia as vision screening to kids at age of 4 nowadays.
    Most people will adapt to environment. Important note is to look after the stronger eye.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/08/2015 - 06:46
    +1

    I also have had astigmatism in one eye - and also since birth
    Stop focussing on the things you do poorly and tell us (and yourself) about the things you do well
    I'm sure there's several things.

    For driving I did two advanced driving courses and joined a small car enthusiast group so by practice and experience I got better - I'll never be a brilliant driver but I do as well as anyone else.

    I've been a police officer and a nurse - two full careers and now I've chosen a third - life's a journey mate - get out there and start travelling.

    For those suggesting LASIK and similar surgeries - until the technology progresses further the risks are just too high - someone said 90% successful (it's actually about 80%) Would you get a vasectomy if there was a ten per cent chance of becoming impotent afterwards? the failure rate refers to patients (like myself) who would actually end up with poorer vision or even blind.

    Have you ever practised with an astigmatism mirror? google it - it's hard work but depending on your particular situation it can improve your eye control - it's like a workout for your eye and will only work well if you persist.

    Astigmatism only ever stopped me doing one thing in life - Joining the Defence Forces - their loss. I love my country either way and serve in my own way. Get out there mate - no one's holding you back

  • spurf on 27/08/2015 - 08:23
    +1

    It sounds like your bad eye has amblyopia. This means that even when the refractive error of your eye is corrected with glasses, contacts or laser it doesn't have the same visual acuity as your good eye. When the visual pathways in your brain where developing as a child your brain "switched" off your bad eye as the image it was sending was so different to your good eye it made forming a 3d image too difficult. If picked up early, in the first few years of life ideally although some benefit can be gotten up to adolescence, the brain can be tricked into using the bad eye and developing its pathways. This involved correcting the astigmatism with glasses and patching the good eye. Now that you are an adult there is a low chance of reversing your amblyopia. Saying that correcting your astigmatism may improve your vision somewhat and there are exercises that can do to improve your use of your bad eye. You need to be referred to an ohthalmologist to see what can be done to improve your situation.

    I also am amblyopic in one eye due to an astigmatism. Mine was caught when I was 7 so was improved with patching but not back to 20/20. I had laser surgery 8 years ago and it was great. I am also a doctor.

  • ramshead on 27/08/2015 - 09:27

    I had laser surgery 6 years ago and I agree with spurf, it's been fantastic. Laser can't fix all eye issues, but worth investigating.

  • akajin on 27/08/2015 - 11:31
    +2

    I have had a mild astigmatism in my left eye from birth which made my right eye more dominant and really didn't have issues playing sports but I sucked at parking. In my early 20s I managed to injure my good eye scaring the retina causing me to see very blurry vision in the middle and somewhat blurry around the sides. So I have limited depth perception.

    1. I still currently play table tennis and volleyball and although I don’t do very well at time but I think that’s because I’m not very good to begin with.

    2. When I watch 3D movies I don’t know if its normal but it looks like there are multiple 2d layers as opposed to 3d. Even than these layers don’t look like they stand out that much anyway. (E.g. I might see all the flowers as 2d at the front, people as 2d in the middle and back ground in 2d at the back, and these are only spread apart by couple of centimetres when watching on tv screen.) Does this happen to anyone else?

    3. With reverse parking I was bad until I actually started doing lots of reverse parking. I think it has more to do with experience than depth perception.

  • spersephone on 27/08/2015 - 15:58

    I have astigmatism too, although it's mild. I've often stated I have poor depth perception, but didn't link the two together. As for parking, yes, that is also my problem, I can't judge how much space I have, and it's terrifying. I can do it, but I sweat. My new car will have a reversing camera, and for that bit at the end of parking, when I can't tell how far I can go, it will be great.

  • spacemansam on 28/08/2015 - 05:06

    I have astigmatism in my right eye, but mine is definitely much milder compared to what you have described.

    I had LASIK surgery about 2 years ago at New Vision clinic in Melbourne which cost $5250 in total for both eyes. I've got to say I'm very pleased with the results so far. Whilst astigmatism can never really be fully corrected, I hardly notice a difference between my eyes these days. Definitely worth booking in with one of the clinics if you're interested, most centres who offer laser eye surgery will offer a free initial consultant to determine if its suitable for you.

  • ramshead on 28/08/2015 - 09:52

    My wife and my daughter have excellent vision, but both have significant problems with reverse parking.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join