Nystagmus? Know what it is? Well, I have it, and have since birth. Just wanted to know if laser surgery is a possibility with this, since I have astigmatism, and far sightedness too.

[This message was edited by soaringhorse on 07-19-03 at 12:26 PM.]

This is involuntary eye movement. Here is a site with more data... assessments and treatments of, etc discussed.

Well, I did check out the site, Sherasi, and it was good, but it didn't say anything about lazer surgery. I am wearing glasses now, and my vision is getting worse, due to getting older I guess. My eye doctor says I have several astigmatisms on top of the farsightedness, and that it would be difficult to fix. The problem is that my eyes are getting worse every six months, guess that goes with being over 40. This growing old thing really bites, lol.

But if I tried to get better vision with the lazer surgery, maybe I could wear contacts, instead of glasses. The doctor states that I have a very strong prescription due to the nystagmus, and that contacts may not be an option for me at this point.

I know that they are getting better with the lazer surgery, that if your eye moves at all the lazer stops, but my eyes move involuntarily, mostly when I'm nervous. They are alot better than they were as a child, because I have kept my glasses on at all times.

It's critical with laser eye surgery that you are able to hold your gaze very still for a certain amount of time while the laser is firing, and while the cornea is being cut. It would depend, I think, on the extent to which you can do that. Probably you'll need to call a laser eye center near you and ask them. They'll either say no, or suggest an evaluation to determine if you are able to hold still long enough when required.

Well, I guess I shouldn't mess with the laser then, because it is uncontrollable.

One more thing: I googled the terms "lasik nystagmus." There were a lot of hits. This is from one of them:
Q: I was born with a condition called nystagmus. My eyes involuntarily move back and forth. I rarely notice it, but sometimes it makes it difficult to read. Are there any treatments or suggestions that can help with this? Could I be a candidate for a LASIK type surgery for nearsightedness? — S.M., Texas

A: One of my best friends has nystagmus, which is typically a back and forth jerkiness of the eyes that hinders clarity of vision and one's ability to focus. Nystagmus is neurologically based, and to the best of my knowledge, there are no effective treatments for it.

Many people with nystagmus have a null position, which is usually achieved by turning your head and looking to the side, which sort of pins the eyes into the corners of their sockets and lessens their movement.

I have found that prescribing contact lenses for patients with nystagmus can help with their vision, because rather than panning back and forth over the optical centers of their prescription, they are always looking through the lens centers when the contacts move with their eyes.

I imagine there might be some eye surgeons willing to immobilize the eyes of a nystagmic patient to perform refractive surgery, but I don't recommend it. The surgery would not help the nystagmus at all, and the risks are too great, in my opinion. — Dr. Dubow

Thanks very much Doctor, I kind of figured it was too dangerous. Guess I'm lucky to have my vision at all, and count my blessings. In the Q and A you posted, its true about what they wrote about not noticing anything jumping around, but as you stated with glasses, I have a hard time adjusting when reading, especially with tri focals, they are constantly out of whack from falling asleep with them on, and that doesn't help matters any. I think I will check into the gas permeables (spelling?) to see if I can get those. I am just afraid that once I get them, I won't be able to get use to them. It seems kind of strange to have something directly on the eyeball like that, but I'm sure people who wear contacts get used to them.