Has anyone had eye muscle surgery for their double/blurred vision? This past year my vision has drastically changed. I started with double vision in 2006...prisms were added to my glasses measuring 2 in each eye. Then in 2009 they were increased to 3 in each eye. This past June they were increased to 4 in each. By the end of June (2 weeks later)I was needing 15 in each eye. I was referred and have now been seeing an opthamalogist for this. They increased the prescription to 6 in each hoping my eyes would adjust and settle. However i had to go back yet again with the original problem of seeing double and blurred. I am still measuring the need for 15 in each eye. Most eye glass labs will do a max of 10 in each. The doctor has suggested eye muscle surgery to correct my eyes. He is not sure what part is contributed to the chiari malformation and which part is just my eyes. We are going to increase to 7 in each however it was explained to me that the more you give the more your eyes want...it is like a crutch so they don't have to work as hard. Has anyone else had this problem? Would it be more beneficial to try the eye surgery first then the decompression? My neurologist seemed to think the decompression surgery then the eyes if needed. My only thought is the eye surgery is way less aggressive....day surgery only. Is anyone else having this issue? How does chirari malformation affect the eyes? Has decompression surgery remedied this issue for anyone?
My understanding of CHiari and vision is that Chiari does not affect how the eyes themselves see. Iit affects how your brain processes visual stimuli. The two are quite different. You are right in that prisms are viewed as a crutch for this situation as the eyes simply adjust to the prism and require a higher magnitude of prism to see the same. The prisms are not addressing the situation and cost a lot of money.
I would highly NOT recommend eye surgery. The length of your eye muscles is not the problem with your vision. Your central nervous system is the problem. Chiari affects the vision centers of the brain and compromises their performance. A vision therapist would be able to assess your visual processing centers to see where they are going wrong. Prior to surgery, the vision therapist was slightly helpful in improving my vision and reading abilities. They were more helpful in assisting in my understanding of a scary situation where it came to my double vision and other visual problems. No one else was able to explain it and often did not believe it.
For myself, I found that decompressive surgery greatly improved my vision though I still needed vision therapy follow-up and lots of time devoted to exercises to get my eyes in tip top shape. Two years post, my eyes still fatigue and wander into double vision when I am tired, my eyes are slightly wonky in pictures when they never used to be, and I have very mild nystagmus. My reading speed is good and I no longer complain that I need reading glasses
Vision therapists are not created equally. Find out their training levels in assessment and treatment. It takes time and effort on your part to succeed with vision therapy. No quick fix.
Good luck in your research and stay away from the knife close to your eyes