Quicktopic posts: Oct 2002

[Louise Pembroke]

Hi, I too have sensitivity to light and poor night vision, it's reasuring to know I'm not alone. I put Hypromellose [artificial tear drops] in my fridge as well as in my bag. Cold Hypromellose is also helpful if suffering from hayfever as it cools irritated eyes and is good for flushing out when the pollen count is high. Will there be another conference do you think? I hope so, really good idea and papers from the first were good. Would also be good if the experts by profession also heard from the experts by experience.

[Louise Pembroke]

Hi Sue, just read your paper from the first conference it's really good, well done! I've offered my details for the contact list

[sarah marsh]

hello all,
i had check up wiv surgeon on last fri and he was pleased wiv my progress after corneal transplant, but said that one of the stitches was coming lose and that he would whip it out . can someone tell me (without scaring me,) how they do that!
i am very nervous and jumpy and he said if they needed to be taken out he would knock me out ! but ifs its only one then he wouldnt !
any help would be gratefully recieved.
feel free to email me on starlight7723366@aol.com
thank you
love sarah

[Louise Pembroke]

Hi Sarah, if he needs to remove one stitch try not to worry, you'll be fine, the anticipation is always worse than the reality. He would put a drop of local anaesthetic into your eye [just like eye drops], wait a few seconds for that to work then with your chin in the usual position on the slit lamp he would use a fine needle or forceps to gently pull it out. He could also ask you to look in the opposite direction of where he wants to take it out, ie you look to your left whilst he removes the stitch from the right hand side of your eye. It's done very quickly, and there's no pain. It's ok if you feel anxious, especially the first time, even you if you instinctively flinch, he will understand and get it out and you'll be thinking, 'is that it!'. Let us know how you get on.

[Robert Smith]

Hi Sarah
I had to have my stitches adjusted and was dreading it. They actually give you aneasthetic drops, lay you down and drape the side of your head so that just the eye is exposed. Then the surgeon adjusts the stiches (or removes) one without you really noticing. I found it relatively OK and would say that the worry beforehand is far worse than the actual treatment. It was slightly painful afterwards, though very much less painful than after the operation, but that soon wore off.
Hope all goes well
Best wishes
Robert

[Sue Ingram]

Hi James (1045), Welcome to the site and the club! I have had KC for 25 years' now and have also experienced dreadful problems in the past with getting rgp corneals to fit properly and they definitely seem to make the light sensitivity alot alot worse. I know I keep banging on about them, but I definitely think scleral lenses have their place when people are having problems with getting a comfortable fit with rgp corneals. Also, with my corneal lenses, most of the time I could not go out of the house without my sunglasses but with the sclerals I do not even think about sunglasses. It might be worth asking your practitioner about scleral lenses - if you get no luck there, try and get referred to your local hospital or Moorfields in London if you are near, and see if they can help you. Definitely worth a try than having to struggle for every minute of the day with corneals until you are so desperate to take them out. If you do not have any success with your investigations, please email me on sue.ingram@virgin.net for more info. Good luck and keep us posted. Keep smiling :-) SUE

[Sue Ingram]

Hi Louise (1046), The First KC Conference was excellent, and as you say, the published material was very impressive. The professional experts who attended that day definitely listened to those of us who are 'experts' from experience! We are hoping there will be another one, possibly next year. The people to ask about this are Anne and Mike .....? SUE

[Chris Searle]

Hi all,

I have had Keratoconus for about 10 years now and have done all right with RGPs, however my specialist is telling me that it is getting to the stage where I may have to have a graft to my right eye due to errosion problems for the lens. Obviously this has totally shocked me and I am dreading any part of this!

I was wondering what are the sucess rates of this type of operation, what is vision likely to be like afterwards, does it hurt as bad as I imagine?

Cheers!

Chris Searle.

[Patricia]

Hi, I am 34 and I've been diagnosed with KC for over 20 years and have been wearing the rgp lenses for about the same time (can't take them anymore). I am up to the point where I can't get any fixed lenses and am now on the list for a cornea transplant. I've read many expierences (good and bad)and my question is to those who have already had a transplant. Can you tell me what it's like and if you have had any problems? I'm terrified of how it will be after the operation, will I continue to have problems? Is it worth it?

[sarah marsh]

to chris searle and patricia
hello and welcome to the group .
i have just recently had a corneal transplant (in aug) so its still all fresh in my mind!
everyone has different experences of the operation and recovery times ,thats the first thing to remember , and secondly it isnt as bad as u think, i know u will think everyone says that but its true! the operation itself is the easy part the after care is hardest.( well i found it the worse bit ). it took nearly 7 weeks for my eye to open and vision is good so far in it , although not perfect but 100% improvement !
im not an expert and i can only explain how it was for me , so if you want to ask any questions please feel free!
my email address starlight7723366@aol.com
look forward to hearing from you !
p.s this site is a god send ask any questions to anyone ! it was my life line during recovery time so make good use of it ! love sarah