Lenses

[danieljdavies]

Hi all,

Im new to this forum. Im 28 and was officially diagnosed with the disease in both eyes last year (even though i have suspected it for about 7/8 years). (just the people at vision express and specsavers didnt notice it until last year.

I have seen many specialists at the NHS and am now dealing with an optician recommended by the NHS. He has trialed about 3 different types of lenses with me but for some reason they either dont fit properly or the if they they do fit, the vision is poor.

I have recently had GPL's of which one eye is ok with them however the right eye isnt. Basically the GPL corrects the Kerocotonus , however is doesnt correct my poor vision. Since then i have been given another soft lens to try , which is rubbish! I am possibly going to mention piggy backing to him, as am guessing this will correct not only the KT but also my normal vision too? correct me if im wrong as im pretty new to all this,

This is affecting my life as I work on computers and constantly get headaches. I can not also drive after dark as the lights blast my head lol.

any feedback would be great,

cheers
Dan

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi Dan and welcome to the forum,
It's not unusual for people to have to try a range of lenses before they get the best fit for both comfort and vision - KC eyes can be quite difficult to fit. The idea of piggy backing is to improve comfort by having a soft lens underneath the hard one. Wearing the two lenses doesn't make a difference to correcting the vision - the hard lens should be doing that. But there are a number of different lenses that can be used for KC these days - if you e-mail your postal address to anne@keratoconus-group.org.uk I can send you more information about what's available.
If your KC is affecting your work, do download the leaflets you'll find on the home page of this site www.keratoconus-group.org.uk/sitev3/publications.html
I hope you'll find lenses that correct the vision for you. Meantime, you've come to the right place - there's lots of people on the forum who'll understand!
Anne

[Accuvision Optom]

Dear Daniel,

I'm Anthony, an Optometrist with specialist knowledge and experience of contact lens fitting for keratoconics. I have been fitting contact lenses for patients like yourself for 10 years. Although I am no longer involved in the NHS, I continue to see on average 10 keratoconic patients a month and I understand the journey you are on at present.
It sounds like you have explored some of the many options for managing your keratoconus with contact lenses. Today there are other options available to you that can stablise the condition and in many cases improve your quality of vision. Many of my patients migrate to Corneal Collegen Cross-linking to stabilise the cornea and make contact lens fitting more comfortable. Other patients can have their corneas re-profiled, making contact lens fitting more comfortable and also improving acuity of vision in many cases.

My advice is to look at all options available to you for the management and stabilisation of your condition while it is possible to do so.

(Moderator's Edit;

This post was brought to my attention with the comment that it looks like advertising. Apart from this note I have left the note unaltered. Readers are aware of the poster's association with accuvision and know that the forum does not endorse any comments posted here.)

[Graham222]

I have grafts in boths eyes which were done over 20 years ago. Until recently got by with spectacles. Left graft very clear, right not so good. Have astigmatism in both eyes. For various reasons consultant recently recommended I try hybrid contact lenses. The lenses consist of a GP centre with outer soft edge. I have been wearing them now for approx ten days, slowly building up tolerance to present of 8 hours approx. My eye sight has improved greatly in my left eye and overall I am now very happy with the level of sight I have. It is difficult to say if they are going to be a success re comfort as I am still building up a tolerance to the lenses, but at this stage things look optimistic. Anyway these lenses may be worth enquring about for your condition. Would recommend the following synergeyes address where there is a short video explaining hybrid lenses etc. There is also another company who make these lenses but their name escapes me.

http://contactlensesguide.org/synergeye ... stigmatism

[Lynn White]

Hi Daniel and all.....

I would like to comment first on the CXL references.

The main thing that CXL does is stabilise the cornea. There is then a gradual improvement in shape and reduction of overall prescription over the next few years.

This can, actually help CL fitting in that if the cornea is really unstable, by the time you receive an ordered lens, the patient's cornea may well have changed. In my experience, this happens around 5 - 10 % of the time. CXL in these situations can stabilise a previously volatile situation.

If one is looking at Intra ocular implants, the CXL is almost mandatory as, otherwise, any money spent on the procedure will be wasted if the cornea subsequently changes shape.

Now, on the other hand,.. if you have had KC for around 10 years and your cornea is stable, then its unlikely CXL will be of benefit in terms of stabilisation. There is some evidence that CXL even then will improve corneal shape but we are all still gathering info on this.

As for corneal re-profiling - my experience as a practitioner on this is mixed. I have seen some really good results and also some problematic ones.

Re the rest of Daniel's post.

Basically the GPL corrects the Kerocotonus , however is doesnt correct my poor vision.

I am a bit of a loss about this? An RGP lens does not correct keratoconus in any way. If your vision is poor then the fit is not correct. However, it can be a challenge to correct ANY corneal irregularity with ANY CL system! No one system (including piggy backing) is fool proof in correcting KC - it can often take a while to find the best method.

Lynn