Begging for Help~

[KGunnels17]

Hello all,
I have found this site to be very helpful as well. However, I still need some help! I was diagnosed with Keratoconus about a year ago. I've probablly had it for awhile but it got much worse when I started working full time and sat behind a computer all day. I dont like to drive at night and find myself squinting all day. And Im only 27 yrs old! Anyway I have tried several (probablly five or six) different types of hard lenses and I get the same result with all of them. I have no problem putting them in, and the physical comfort level is NOT the problem. I can deal with the feeling of something in my eye. Its the vision that makes me feel like Im going NUTS! I always describe it as if I was looking through tears. Just blurry and miserable!The only catch is that I do actually test better with them in. SO technically I can see better, but it doesnt feel that way at all. The doctor probablly thinks im nuts. Im trying not to be a baby about it and I think Im pretty tolerable of the darn things but I cant even wear them for more than an hour!
Do I need to toughen up?? They make me wanna pull my eyes out! How long before this will go away?

Thanks so much!

[comedyjester]

Hi there,

I am glad you have found this place. I am much more comfortable now that I am here.

I am 28 and so am another young person with KC so do not worry you are not the only one.

With regards the lenses I would suggest that you take it slowly. Try and increase the length of time you wear it each day and hopefully your brain and eyes will adjust.

I am sure others will have other comments and useful advice.

Rick

[Andrew MacLean]

KGunnels17

Welcome to the forum. As comedyjester says, it takes time to adjust to lenses, so built up your wear time gradually. I wonder whether your lenses are becoming 'smeary' with tears. What cleaning materials do you use, protein remover etc?

If you really have big problems with hard lenses, there are others that you can try. Sclerals are also hard, but very large and fit over rather than on the cornea. Then there are loads of different sorts of soft lens, hybrid lenses and piggy back lenses.

At work, do not forget to take a break from your computer screen every half an hour or so. (being a hypocrite here because I usually forget but good advice was always easier to give than it is to take).

All the best

Andrew

[KGunnels17]

Thanks for the comments! I have been using the Bausch & Lomb Boston cleanser and conditioning solution. They were in the free packs the doctor gave me. Nothing special... Do other people experience this to the same extreme?? I can imagine that this is what people refer to as "getting used to contacts.." Thanks!

[rosemary johnson]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.
This isn't meant to sound like a silly question...... but have you ever tried putting in one contact at a time?
I'm wondering whether part ofyur problem may be that you are getting very different vision from each eye, and your brain is struggling to put the two different pictures together to one single view of the world.
Rosemary

[KGunnels17]

Yes I have tried one contact at a time and it makes me feel a little less like pulling my eyes out, but not much. What's going on here?!?! I really didnt think I was a difficult patient! Surely out of all these people with the same disease, someone knows whats going on. Maybe im just not tolerant enough.. but I dont think so....

[Andrew MacLean]

Next time you have a consultation with your optometrist, explain the difficulty you are having and ask abiout cleaning, soaking and wetting solutions. It may be that your eye is just not agreeing with your present cleaning arrangements. It took me a long time to find the right combination of solutions and saline, mostly because I turned out to have an allergy to the preservative that was used in the solution with which I began.

Andrew

[Anne B]

Hi there, I'm not sure if i had the same problem as you. But i found when i tried a few lenses before i had my Grafts that the gohsting and double images where alot clearer.
So even though my sight was improved so where all the vision problems that i had (if that makes any sense) This was really annoying and i could only wear the lenses for a few minutes without feeling ill and tottaly worn out. I never really found a lens that suited me because i had comfort problems and allergic eye disease, but the best one were the Scleral lens. Make sure you tell them at your next visit of your problems. Don't give up even the smallest adjustment to the lens can make a huge difference.

Hope you get something sorted soon
Anne

[nicola jayne]

Hiya,
and welcome to the forum, I am 27 also and have had KC for years now I do not wear lenses so cant help on that front but i hope you find your answer soon. Everyone here is great and really good at problem solving.
take care
kind regards
nicola