Eye doc vent.....$$$$ Please advise...

[paysensmom]

My 8 year old daughter got glasses last March. I had read about Zennioptical on here so I planned to buy her glasses from there. The doctor had a different plan ($$$). He said one of her eyes was extremely weak and she was getting a lazy eye. He told me that her eyes were dialated and that he REALLY wanted to get her into her glasses before they went back down. He went into the lab where they make the glasses and had them rush it through. I asked for a copy of her script so I could buy her extras online. They gave it to me and we left. FAST FORWARD to now.....
Zennioptical was having a buy one get one 50% sale last week and I wanted to get her a few fun pair of glasses for her stocking. When I went to order, something seemed off about her script. There were only two numbers one for each eye and they were both +.75. That seemed way off because of how concerned he was about one eye being really bad. I asked them to email me the script twice this week and they never did. So, I was in town today and stopped in to get a copy to verify before I ordered her an extra pair of glasses online.
They told me that was correct (the +.75 for both). I told her I didn't think that made any sense because of what the doc told me at her appointment in MARCH!!! So, they get a nurse to come look at her chart. So after 45 minutes they figured out that the doctor had given her TWO different scripts. Yep, Two different ones that I was never made aware of.
They said one script was for reading and the other was for all of the time. I had them check her glasses right there since I had her with me. This is when I about FLIPPED out. She has been wearing over $200 READING glasses for the past 9 months and doing absolutely NOTHING to correct her now visible lazy eye!
They offered me a free exam next week for her to make sure the scripts are correct. I took the appointment and left. I was on fire, I am really shocked that I was not smoking
Anyway, I didn't let them know how mad I was and I am actually getting hotter by the minute.
There could be a few possible scenerios here. One, the doc put two scripts in and didn't tell the lab techs and they just made the first one they saw. Two, okay, I am sure there are other scenarios and I thought of them earlier but I can't think of them at the moment. The problem I have besides the fact that her eye is visibly worse and we are 9 months behind on correcting it is this... Assuming they knew about the TWO different scripts, they chose to rush READING glasses and put them on her and told her to wear them every day all of the time.
I don't know what exactly I should do or say to them. I will be going in next week for the exam. This is what I think should happen, please tell me what you think.....

I believe that they should take her lenses out of her glasses that I purchased from them and put in the everyday lenses that she needs to correct her lazy eye free of charge. Just wondering how to tell them and what to do if they refuse?

 

[prncess674]

Are you seeing a certified Pediatric Ophthalmologist or some mall "eye doctor" for your child's care? There is a huge difference in care and I suggest you seek out a Pediatric Ophthalmologist to accurately diagnose your child. It sounds like you are seeing some Optometrist who is only out to make a quick buck by preying on parents by fear mongering on the health of their kids.

There are plenty of "eye doctors" so remember there is a difference between
Pediatric Ophthalmologist
Ophthalmologist
Optometrist
Optician

 

[paysensmom]

An eye doctor that my insurance (Tricare) sent me to. This is a big popular eye doctor in the area. They are called Shenandoah eye care. Not some little quack type place.

 

[prncess674]

An eye doctor that my insurance (Tricare) sent me to. This is a big popular eye doctor in the area. They are called Shenandoah eye care. Not some little quack type place.

Well this isn't exactly a "quack" factory, but these are definitly optomestrist and certainly none of the named doctors on the website are a Pediatric Ophthalmologist nor do any of them have a specialty of the needs of pediatric patients. There isn't even a named Ophthalmologist on staff. You need to be specific and FIRM that your child has a condition that needs a SPECIALIST!

http://shenandoaheyecare.com/OfficeInfo/AbouttheDoctors.aspx

 

[paysensmom]

I didn't realize that she needed a specialist

 

[prncess674]

I didn't realize that she needed a specialist

I am not trying to be a know it all, but frankly I would seek out the best services possible for my kids. Just like you bring your child to a 'specialist' a.k.a "pediatrician" why would you assume any old eye doctor would be able to treat your child's eye health.

This is not a dig against Optometrist, I see one yearly to renew my contact lense script but also see a certified Ophthalmologist every other year for general eye health and checks for things that an Optomestrist is just not trained to do, especially not things that an Optomestrist is not trained to do on children .

 

[dsneprincess]

I have to agree with the pp. My DS12 sees a pediatric opthamalogist for his monovision. He has taken a much different approach than an optometrist would with his vision issues. He is advising against glasses & allowing his eyes to work together on their own. My cousin had a lazy eye that required surgery to correct outpatient with pediatric opthamalogist. I think you need you need a new doctor specializing in children ASAP.

 

[bumbershoot]

I feel really bad for you because of the money!

And I feel really bad for your daughter, because I assume she hasn't been able to see well this whole time.

And if she has, then it just makes it all crazier.

Honestly I'd start over with someone new. I see an optometrist and would take DS to him, too. But I trust him and know him. And I know that if it were something complicated he would refer us out immediately (because he did just that with MIL). A lazy eye counts as complicated, IMO.

Take care of whatever this guy owes you, but don't let him DO anything for you. You want a refund, not some other services or things, etc.

 

[paysensmom]

I feel horrible about it too because she told me several times that the glasses didn't change her vision at all. I just figured it was because her vision wasn't very bad and she just didn't notice

Her eye doctor before we moved here told me that her one eye was worse than the other but that he didn't want to do glasses because when she used both of them together they were 20/20. Then we went to this new one in March and he was in utter shock that the first doc told me that.
I am going to call my insurance company and ask them to refer me to a specialist. Not sure if I have to get this guy to do it or not.
I still have NO clue how I am going to approach this....

 

[chris31997]

Because it is Tricare, be prepared for a fight. you may even want to take DD to her dr for a referral.

At the least this place needs, to replace the lens free of charge and give you new reading glasses.

I would also file a complaint with Tricare. If they know one of the providers is not provided good service, they might cancel the contract.

 

[Lizzybean]

I feel for you OP! We went through some MAJOR issues with dd9 almost 2 years ago. All of a sudden her eye went completely crossed inwards towards her nose. It was like something out of the exorcist! I immediately got her into a pediatric ophthalmologist and he was so good to us.

I purposely don't carry vision insurance. Stop reading now if you don't want to hear my 5 min passionate rant! I believe it's a racket seeing as how billion dollar corporation Luxotica owns almost all the chain optician retailers, brand name copyrights to glasses frames, and is now part owner in vision insurance companies. It's the most disgusting monopoly I've ever seen and I refuse to be a part of it. I've found it much more cost friendly to negotiate the price for our visits OOP and pay cash. Then I like 39 Dolllar Glasses for frames and Contact Lens King for DD's contact lenses. Now, the issue DD suffered from usually happens at a much younger age so there was a chance if contacts and glasses didn't fix it she would need surgery, but that would be covered under health insurance.

Her eye doctor is absolutely amazing and truly cares about his patients. I'm not here to rag on optician vs. optometrist etc but her ophthalmologist went to medical school and is a qualified medical doctor. He knew who I wanted scripts from and he doesn't work with a lab anyway (which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned) so he gave her free contacts (lots) and all the scripts I needed to take wherever I pleased.

I don't think most people know the differences in specialties so I hope I don't sound like a know-it-all. I just had to educate myself immediately based on our situation. Wishing you the best of luck!! My dd is MUCH better; her treatment worked amazingly and no surgery needed!

Just a side note note to that but we found putting her contacts forced her eye to work harder than glasses and I started her in them at 7 in first grade. It took her almost 2 weeks to get them in and out without any trouble or help (out was easier than in) but she learned quickly. She didn't have a lazy eye but she did have something similar with a lazy muscle that needed to be built up. I believe since our doctor was indeed a doctor he gave us unbiased advice about contacts and I'm so grateful for it. If you see a new doctor and they suggest it, don't panic! We went through it and it was easy peasy.

 

[Mom_Rides]

I would be firm with the office and insist they make right what they've done wrong. My next step would be to call your DDs pedi and get a referral to a pediatric ophthalmologist. My DD has severe strabismus and sees a pediatric ophthalmologist every 3 months. I wouldn't wait, you may still be able to correct her vision. Good luck!

 

[zoemurr]

I would ask for a refund and go somewhere else and start over. I wouldn't want them making her new glasses.

And yes, get to a pediatric ophthalmologist. Not to scare you, but with a lazy eye there is a chance that she will need surgery. (Not a huge deal, DD did it.) You want to be seeing the same dr. that will perform it all along, not be referred to him/her later.

Also (and I'm no eye dr., just a mom w/a kid that has eye issues) I don't think a script of .75 would help a lazy eye. That is a very minimal correction. When DD got glasses to help they were much stronger than she actually needed. It forces their eye to focus. (It didn't help though and she needed surgery anyway. I wish we hadn't done it 'cause her eyes then became dependant on that perscription.) It does work for many kids though. Did he say anything about patching? That's usually what they try first.

Good luck.. that is a terrible thing to do to a child.

 

[seashoreCM]

You yourself could try putting a patch over one of her eyeglass lenses at a time, say, left for an hour, then both uncovered, then right for an hour, then both uncovered, etc. This will also reveal problems with one eye weaker than the other.

I suggest not having eye covered times where there is fast movement such as walking the streets or in gym class.

 

[mjkacmom]

I have to agree with the pp. My DS12 sees a pediatric opthamalogist for his monovision. He has taken a much different approach than an optometrist would with his vision issues. He is advising against glasses & allowing his eyes to work together on their own. My cousin had a lazy eye that required surgery to correct outpatient with pediatric opthamalogist. I think you need you need a new doctor specializing in children ASAP.

Dd11 has perfect vision, but her pediatrician caught her lazy eye, and referred us to the best pediatric optomologist in the area. After a year of patching, she had the surgery, and her eyes are perfect. She still goes in every now and again, because it can come back (although her surgery was over 8 years ago, so doubtful).

Honestly, I don't know any kids who see optomotrists.

 

[Marionnette]

You yourself could try putting a patch over one of her eyeglass lenses at a time, say, left for an hour, then both uncovered, then right for an hour, then both uncovered, etc. This will also reveal problems with one eye weaker than the other.

I suggest not having eye covered times where there is fast movement such as walking the streets or in gym class.

I would never recommend self-treating any eye problem. You could make the problem worse or you could be ignoring a bigger problem.

OP, "dialated" is not a diagnosis. Eye doctors will dilate a patient's pupils so that they can see inside the eye and do a more thorough exam. I don't think you completely understood what the OD's findings were and what the course of treatment for your daughter's condition is. I encourage you to have the doctor spend more time answering your questions when you go in for that follow up exam. You have a right to know why there are two different prescriptions and when each should be used. You should also be advised as to what you should expect regarding the changes in her vision over the course of time. Children's vision can change more rapidly than an adult's. A yearly exam would not be out of the question for her.

Please ask the doctor to explain what he meant by a "lazy eye" since this layman's term is often used to cover a number of disorders in which the eyes are not working in concert with each other. Ask about vision therapy to help strengthen her "lazy" eye. And ask about alternative approaches, including surgery if it seems indicated.

I will go against the anti-optometrist sentiment here. An optometrist spends 4 years post-graduate in the study of just the eye. They do refractions all day, every day. And pediatric rotations are a requirement during their education. Ophthalmologists deal in diseases and disorders of the eye that are more complex than just visual corrections. In all likelihood, the optometrist will be able to either treat or refer your daughter to the correct professional for her vision problem. It will cost you less than going out of network to an ophthalmologist.

I hope you get your questions answered when you go to the eye doctor next week. You have a right to get answers to your questions and to feel confident that the person treating your daughter's vision problems is competent. I'm hoping that this is simply an issue of poor communication by the OD and not poor practical skills.

 

[SylviaL]

I agree with Marionnette. I have a few optometrists in my family. They know their limitations. They are also familiar with other eye specialists that they can refer you to. However, the OP's optometrist sounds a bit questionable. If there are definite eye issues, ask your pediatrician to refer you to a pediatric ophthalmologist. When my DD was 2, her eyes crossed (strabismus). We tried to correct it with glasses for a year but it didn't work. She eventually had surgery and everything went fine. Good luck!

 

[DisneyRunnerGirl]

Do you have access to a major university with an eye clinic? We use the one here and love the way the different eye specialists can work together if needed in that setting. Most have a pediatric clinic where you would start with your child - they coordinate everything for the child from that spot.

They also take a variety of insurance plans, so just another option you can check into.

 

[mcgrawfan]

I agree with the previous posters about optometrists. I am an optician for 2 amazing optometrists in an office they own privately. You do NOT need to see an opthamologist. Optometrists are trained in eye health and checking RXs. In Iowa they can treat eye diseases too, I understand some states they can't, which is CRAZY! Opthamologists usually do surgerys and are more specialized in certain eye diseases. Many opthamologists and ped specialists only take appointments by referrals. You may not be able to just make an appointment at one yourself. I hate to hear stories like this about eye care it makes me so sad and angry. We take such good care of our patients here and I feel like everyone should get that service from their eye doc! I hope it gets straightened out and you get some answers.

 

[kidshop]

I feel horrible about it too because she told me several times that the glasses didn't change her vision at all. I just figured it was because her vision wasn't very bad and she just didn't notice

Her eye doctor before we moved here told me that her one eye was worse than the other but that he didn't want to do glasses because when she used both of them together they were 20/20. Then we went to this new one in March and he was in utter shock that the first doc told me that.
I am going to call my insurance company and ask them to refer me to a specialist. Not sure if I have to get this guy to do it or not.
I still have NO clue how I am going to approach this....

We have tricare and you are allowed a yearly eye visit, and I chose a pediatric ophthalmologist from the tricare list on the website. It may depend on what is available in your area, but there should not be a fight to see the doc you want. Find the list and see if there is an ophthalmologist on there.


Every dependent gets a free eye exam yearly in case you didn't know. I only found out a few years ago.