Eye doctor recs in Seattle for amblyopia

September 18, 2019 2:49 PM

Could you recommend an eye doctor in Seattle who is experienced in treating age-deterioration in patients whose eyes don’t work together? As a child I had strabismus which was treated with surgery and subsequently wore an eye patch. I think it messed up how my eyes coordinate, to the point that I read with my left eye and look at distance with my right. I was fine with the divided vision most of my life, except I couldn't play tennis and I also really struggle to see those magic 3D images/3D movies.

But now I'm in my late 40s both eyes are going and my last eye doctor couldn’t come up with a prescription that worked for me. We experimented over several months with different configurations of progressive contacts, contacts in alternating eyes, reading glasses, driving glasses, work glasses, progressive glasses, each for two weeks at a time. I ended up getting progressive glasses but was still more comfortable with no correction, to the point that I gave up on the glasses. I tried them again yesterday after a year of not using them, and my left eye sees clearly only in the very center of the lens. It's maddening.

The eye doctor I worked with told me I was the first such case in her entire career (she's in her 50s).

If this is so rare, my question must be a super long shot, but any leads would be awesome.

posted by Dragonness to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

Best answer: Dr. Kathleen Kinney downtown. I have been going to her for my glasses/contacts for about 15 years. She is very familiar with strabismus/amblyopia, and there is also a vision therapist in her office who works with strabismus/amblyopia patients to help them train their eyes to coordinate together. (I personally am not a candidate for the therapy because my brain basically shut down responding to signals from my amblyopic left eye during my childhood and I can't get them back.)
posted by matildaben at 4:51 PM on September 18, 2019

My opthamologist is Dr. Bensinger, works out of Swedish downtown. He's been practicing for over 40 years, and I'm pretty sure he's seen it all. This is from someone who as a child/teen often had doctors "pop in" to check me out, because my case was so unique, I began to feel like a travelling side circus show. I've been going to Dr. Bensinger for almost 20 years and I really have had no complaints.
posted by alathia at 11:20 AM on September 19, 2019 [1 favorite]