Struggling on.

[Val G]

Posting for a bit moral support, as usual.

Nearly a year post graft. Up until a few weeks ago vision had continued to improve very, very slowly, but was still not at all good.Last couple of check ups have shown my cornea to be very flat and the plan is to remove the stitch next year, which will hopefully improve things. In recent weeks vision has deteriorated and my other eye, with lens, feels pretty c**p too. This is resulting in me struggling through each day at work in a hospital lab. My vision is pretty good in my corrected eye, so I can see well enough to do my job, I just feel that my eyes are 'hanging out'.
I have not had any time off work and would rather not, I have a lot of responsibility at the moment and what with the job cuts, I want to keep my record as good as possible, but feel I cannot carry on like this.

[piper]

Val......you have my support. I'll go drink a Guinness after work if it will make you feel better!! Heck I know it would....consider it done.

Since my graft, my brain seems to be trying to "average" out my vision so, since my graft won't focus yet, it seems to be pulling down the visual quality of what I see in the left eye. Is that possible? Only us KC'ers know for sure!!

I'll tell you what everyone tells me.....have patience.

You talk about waiting till next year, and your graft is a year old, for stitch removal. My graft is less than a month and the doctor wants to cut every other stitch 33-days post graft......sound like your doctor and mine should talk.

Hang in there. We are all in this together. Piper

[GarethB]

Reading Pipers posts and those who have had grafts in the UK in the past 12 months it would appear there are major differences in the way grafts are being done.

I would love to know more details of exactly how Pipers graft was done.

Val; my first graft was very flat and all my stitches were out by the 12 month stage. The cornea stayed flat but I did have excellent vision with glasses and a few years later I could hit 6/6 (20/20 fo Piper ) on a good day and had this for many years. Once coputers were more common in the lab that is when I had to go back to glasses and i put that down to eye strain and not taking breaks when I should have done.

Val; Did you have individul stitches or a single one?

I am fed up checking inhilation data, do you fancy a job swap, I need more experience in a responsible role. I've been working in labs for over 13 years and the last six in the medical industry.

Regards

Gareth

[Val G]

Piper
Amazing that you may have the stitches out so soon, hope it goes well, keep taking the Guinness, it can only help!

Gareth
Mine is a continuous stitch. I know I'm being impatient but I wish it was time for it to come out, I don't feel I'll have any improvement until it does. Anyway, I'm relatively pleased to have a flat cornea, surely that's better than 'baggy' and my consultant leaves the stitch in place FOREVER if it is not causing any problems. I am hoping that is not the case for me!
Regarding the job swap, sounds like a bad idea to me. I'm sure your job is much more 'responsible' than mine which would cause me untold anxiety ( I just stress too much!) What's inhilation data?

[Alison Fisher]

Keep your chin up Val.

Can you get the lens in your non grafted eye checked and maybe adjusted?

Did the problems with both eyes start around the same time? Have there been any changes in your environment that could be the cause?

[Val G]

My lens has been recently checked and is OK, but I always feel if one eye is playing up they both do! I just feel a bit 'bleary', I maybe getting a bit of a cold or have a slight infection, it does not take much to upset the balance. I'll just have to continue the survival tactics of early nights etc.

[Anne Klepacz]

Val - reading your post brought back memories of my first graft 20 yrs ago and that interminable wait for the stitches to come out so that I could go back to wearing a lens. With the second eye, which was done a couple of years later, the improvement in vision came within a couple of months, but that first one seemed to take forever. But when I could finally be fitted with a contact lens for that first eye, wow, what a difference. So hang on in there - you will get there!
Anne

[Gareth2]

Val, I can really feel for you as it would seem we are in same boat. I am awaiting a date for my stitches to be removed next year and also have a flat grafted cornea which my lens specialist said last week it is looking good for cornea fit once the operation consultent does the stitch removel and I am seeing him so to speek next week. the RGP lens in my ungrafted eye is also playing up and is down just a couple of hours aday still off work and doing my head. so all we can do is just hang in there with the support from this forum we can climb any mountain I am sure.

[piper]

GarethB, being on the inside of this graft I don't know as much about it as the Doc's......but this much they told me: I have a Deep Lamellar (sp?)....and they left a layer of my endothelial cells (the furthest inside dividing layer, right?).....the graft was living tissue and freshly collected as we have an eye bank right in New Orleans.....and was 6.5 mm in diameter. The Doc knew I had been nearsighted before the KC took over, so he "cranked in" the stitches to help correct my basic vision when the graft is all healed and balanced. I don't know how long I'll have all the stitches, but they want to remove half of them, 8 out of 16 on the 29th of november. I saw my regular eye doc, an accomplished Optometrist at a concert on Sunday and asked him when I could get a new lens. He said it was up to my Optham, but that Doctor K. is "very aggresive when it comes to fitting lenses" and that it could be only three months post graft.

Based on what I have been reading here it sounds as though I am, indeed, on the fast track. I don't know if this is the standard schedule, or if I am healing fast, or if I am an experimental case.....hmmm.

If I can gather any further info on subsequent visits I'll happily share.

Cheers, Piper

[GarethB]

Piper,

Based on what I have been reading here it sounds as though I am, indeed, on the fast track. I don't know if this is the standard schedule, or if I am healing fast, or if I am an experimental case.....hmmm.

It could well be all three and sounds like you had a good surgeon doing the work.

Personally it would be good if you keep posting any extra information as I for one like to know how KC is treated in other countries.