Strabismus and headaches
Written on July 13, 2006 – | by Lois (admin) |
[From Erin by way of Lois (Admin)]
I’m a 22 year old who has had strabismus since birth. At age one I had surgery to correct it. My right eye has always been a little “lazy”. But lately I’ve been getting bad headaches, and looked in the mirror today and noticed a slight disalignment of my eyes (slight esotropia). I’m not sure this is related, but was wondering if anyone else experienced headaches as their strabismus worsened? I’m trying to figure out if I should go get it checked out.
– Erin
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5 Responses to “Strabismus and headaches”
By Lois (admin) on Jul 13, 2006 | Reply
I’ve heard lots of people say strabismus caused their headaches to be worse. There is a lot of tension in the eyes with strabismus.
I have had headaches most of my life, but nothing that couldn’t be controlled by over-the-counter meds like Tylenol or Ibuprofen until my strabismus got really bad in 2004. It was then that I was diagnosed with migraine headaches, not severe, but bad enough it required prescription migraine medicine to relieve. Since I had my strabismus surgery in May of 2005, the headaches are much less frequent, though occasionally I will have them still.
I definitely think you should have it checked out though, especially if the headaches just started (or worsened) recently. You need to be sure the headaches are not related to something serious. You should also see an eye doctor regarding the worsening of your strabismus. I’d recommend you see a Vision Therapy Optometrist, and possibly a Strabismus Surgeon also. See the left sidebar for links to find these specialists in your area.
By Anna on May 17, 2007 | Reply
I’m 20 and had a surgery in 2003. The results were “ok”, after a year it was hardly
noticeable. Now I’m not sure but I think it’s getting worse. And I do have bad headaches
Last eye doctor i saw said the headaches are not usually related to eyes, but I can’t believe him,
as when I relax my eyes, the headache is gone. For me I think it’s related to stress to,
when stressed my eyes get worse and plus i have unbearable headache.
Wish you all the best, personally I’m not gonna give up untill I have 100% normal not crossed
eyes, with no headaches.
Cheers.
By Michael Conroy on Apr 17, 2008 | Reply
I have had strabismus since birth also when I was a kid I never got headaches but as I have got older I have had more and more real bad headaches got to the point I can get them daily some weeks
something I have noted at times is a blurred spot in my bad eye that seems to float around my eye then I get a massive migraine
my optician said it was stress but I don’t believe that
also has anyone else this condition I have long sightedness also but have been told that my vision will be gone without glasses when I am older I am seeing signs of this already with my vision without glass getting worse as the years go on
By Sarah on Feb 27, 2009 | Reply
I’ve had strabismus (extropia) since birth & experience headaches & migranes as well due to this condition. Over the counter medications do not work to relieve the headaches. The medical establishment has very little understanding of this condition as their focus is on life threatening diseases. Your best bet is to make sure you rest your eyes as often as you can in a dark room. You have to relax the offensive eye muscle to relieve the pain.
By Liz on Apr 10, 2010 | Reply
I’m 20 years old and I’ve had strabismus problems since birth, which caused me to have a pretty severe lazy eye as a child. I had surgery in 2000, which corrected the problem, to the best of my knowledge, but recently I have noticed my eye muscles getting a little weaker, and my eye has started to drift ever so slightly again. I’ve also started getting killer migraines, to the point that I can’t really eat move or function for a week straight, and they area always centered around that eye. Over the counter pain relievers don’t work for me, and over the counter migraine medication only works slightly. =(