Looking for info on Myopia progression control - please help

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amother

Tue, May 10 2022, 6:34 pm

My 8 year old son has rapidly progressing myopia (near-sightedness) and his optometrist wants to start him on nightly atropine drops to slow the progression. The other alternative is contacts which I’m not comfortable with at this age, and a third option I’ve heard about are myopia control glasses, but they are only sold in Canada and Europe. I’m trying to research these options and wondering:
1) Does anyone have experience using the drops and can share if that was a good option?
2) Does anyone from the US have experience obtaining the glasses and can share where and how they got them?

amother

Steelblue

Tue, May 10 2022, 7:00 pm

My dr recommends the drops. There aren’t many studies done bec it’s not fda approved for this. But the dose given is so low there is no risk.

I was told that it must be taken every single day or won’t work. Do you need to know if your child is the type to use so consistently.

amother

Clematis

Tue, May 10 2022, 7:40 pm

Yes my daughter has one year left on it. It really works. Her prescription kept jumping and since starting it a yr ago it has stopped. She has no side effects bh.

amother

Junglegreen

Tue, May 10 2022, 7:42 pm

Check out endomyopia.org. You can email Jake and he will likely give you some guidance

amother

Clematis

Tue, May 10 2022, 7:44 pm

amother [ Clematis ] wrote:

Yes my daughter has one year left on it. It really works. Her prescription kept jumping and since starting it a yr ago it has stopped. She has no side effects bh.

This is for the drops

amother

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 1:32 pm

Just want to share in case anyone is researching and finds this thread, that I ended up finding a place in Canada to work with. We were able to get him the MiyoSmart glasses and BH his most recent checkup showed that they are working!

Roots

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 1:44 pm

thank you
my dd might need these glasses
this was helpful

amother

Nemesia

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 2:09 pm

How is this diagnosed? What are the symptoms? I have a child whose eyes have been going up a number every six months. What age is this diagnosed at generally? Any information would be so appreciate.

amother

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 2:17 pm

amother Nemesia wrote:

How is this diagnosed? What are the symptoms? I have a child whose eyes have been going up a number every six months. What age is this diagnosed at generally? Any information would be so appreciate.

That's definitely concerning. My son's optometrist said she would begin intervention when his eyesight started increasing by more than 1/4 diopter every 6 months.
It is most effective when started under age 12, the earlier the better, usually between ages 6-8 but sometimes younger.
You should find an ophthalmologist or optometrist who specializes in myopia control. It's a relatively new field and many people including some vision professionals don't understand the importance (back in our day everyone had high/increasing prescriptions; they didn't know you could do anything about it) so it's important to find someone who's knowledgeable. I wasn't confident in the level of knowledge in this area by my family optometrist (though I trust him for everything else) so I ended up finding someone else who works at the Children's hospital and specializes in myopia control.
Hatzlacha!

amother

Tiffanyblue

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 2:26 pm

I recently read about people who were able to stop the progression of and even reverse their myopia using the feldenkrais method

esther11

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 2:30 pm

amother OP wrote:

Can you share the info for the place in Canada? This is something on the radar for one of my children.

amother

Nemesia

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 2:50 pm

amother OP wrote:

My child is over 12. Is it worth it to look into it?

amother

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 7:47 pm

amother Nemesia wrote:

My child is over 12. Is it worth it to look into it?

I'm not a vision professional, but I would definitely ask one who specializes in myopia control. I imagine that there would likely be benefit even after 12 as long if the vision is continuing to progress.

amother

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 7:59 pm

esther11 wrote:

Can you share the info for the place in Canada? This is something on the radar for one of my children.

I got them through Ashcroft Vision Care, +1 204-638-3223
Kim was the optician who helped me. There were several other optical places that sounded like good options too (and possibly slightly cheaper) if you want to do more research, but for several reasons I was most comfortable with this one.

I have to warn you that they are not cheap (well-worth it though in my opinion) and the process is a pain. Since this is done long-distance, you'll need to get the PD and other optical measurements done for your child's glasses on your own (I found this to be the most difficult part because I went to 3 different places and they all took different measurements) and then mail the glasses in. Make sure when they mail the glasses back to you, they don't write anything about "miyosmart" on the customs label. Also, you'll need to have a follow-up with your local optometrist to make sure the lenses were made properly to position correctly over your child's eyes.

I couldn't have done it without the support and collaboration of my optometrist who specializes in myopia control and was excited to help me through this. She verified the PD and other measurements and was in touch with Ashcroft Vision Care to find out how to do the follow-up and make sure the final product was made properly for him. Hatzlacha!

esther11

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 9:32 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thank you!

amother

Green

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 9:43 pm

amother OP wrote:

Can you please share who your optometrist is? I'm thinking of looking for a second opinion on something similar. Mine is a man so we're not using the same one.

amother

Mon, Jan 30 2023, 10:46 pm

amother Green wrote:

Can you please share who your optometrist is? I'm thinking of looking for a second opinion on something similar. Mine is a man so we're not using the same one.

I live way out of town Smile

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