Multifocal contacts for KC

[JohnnyB]

From my earlier post, advice from practitioners, it appears that multi focal lenses are available for us older KC sufferers with reading glasses

The solution appears in a number of forms, multi focal RGP's, hybrids (Duette multi focal) and piggy back with soft multifocal and RGP.

I'd appreciate any comments from anyone who has experience with these or other solutions, appreciate we are all different but good to learn any possible advantages/disadvantages.

Have to say the responses on this forum to date are informative and reassuring, good to know you are not alone and have a community to fall back on- keep it up!!!

I am finding it a little frustrating though to find anyone who is up to speed with all this stuff in Australia though, so if anyone reading this is in the Wollongong/Sydney area and could recommend anyone who has done this type of fitting please yell- I'm all ears!!!

[JohnnyB]

I guess from the lack of response that there is very little experience with KC and multifocals, I am starting to get that impression from my queries outside the forum also.

Seems like its back to plain old RGP's and reading glasses!!!


Unless?????

[GarethB]

The lack of responses may be due to the way health care is provided in the UK. The National Health Service is government funded and certainly from my expereince the hospitals are constrained by budgets so where KC is concerned will concentrate on the KC side of things and if reading glasses are needed, then you get pushed out to a highstreet optician.

The highstreet opticians have no expereince of KC for a variety of reasons and so won't look at anything relating to the KC so will only do a specticle prescription to be worn over the contacts.

[JohnnyB]

Hi
Keratoconus does not mean you cannot have bifocal or varifocal contact lenses. I run a contact lens specialist in Nottingham and has many satisfied keratoconus patients who wear either gas perm bifocals or synereyes duette multifocals. I even have a few wearers who wear monthly varifocal contact lenses with gas perm lenses piggy-backed on top. This gives excellent comfort and good vision.

Thanks Gareth, but this post from one of my other posts would suggest that it is at least being done in the UK?

Hence the quest to find peoples experiences, reading around other world (US) forums I'm getting the impression there seems to be a compromise between distant and reading vision though?

From your previous posts you would suggest you are getting of an age for spectacles, believe you me its a pain, what has your research turned up?

The Duettes here in Oz are only available at one outlet in NSW and they are charging 1,100GBP including fitting, so quite restrictive.

[GarethB]

My research has so far resulted in the hospital saying they would only provide lenses that would manage the KC and that I would need to see my high street optom for reading glasses.

As on only looks at the cornea and the other willl have nothing to do with it, I either go private for my full eye care or get glasses just for reading. With some of the offers on the highstreet I could get 2 pairs of designer glasses for less than £100.

Bifocal lenses for KC might be being provided in the UK, but I have no evidence of this, so where this has been provided may be where poeple have gone private.

[Lia Williams]

and if reading glasses are needed, then you get pushed out to a highstreet optician.

And in my case the High Street optician then told me he could not prescribe reading glasses to go over the contact lenses prescribed by someone else unless he had their permission. However he could sell me some ready readers!

Since then I've been back to the hospital and their refraction department has given me a prescription for varifocal glasses to wear over my new lenses. However my new lenses aren't quite right so I'm yet to get a pair of varifocals. Meanwhile I have a collection of reading glasses in varying strengths.

Lia