UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi All.

I've been suffering from KC for around 25 years, treated with gas permeable lens. For around 12 months now I've been suffering from severe dry eyes. I've tried celluvisc, sustaine ultra, hydro forte & punctul plugs. I put my drops in every 2 hours. Nothing has helped. It's severely affecting my job (Senior Chief Cardiac Physiologist, managing a very busy pacemaker & implantable defibrillator service) In all the years that I have had KC I have never felt so low & miserable. Some days I can barely keep my lens in for an hour. When I do take my lens out my eyes burn for hours after & still sting in the morning when I try & put my lens back in.
My eye surgeon has suggested piggy back len's however my contact len's specialist is worried that piggybacks will dry my eyes out even more.
I would be very grateful of any help, advice or suggestions. I am getting really dispondent & down. So far nobody seems to want to take dry eyes & len's intolerance seriously.
Thankyou in advance.

Is definitely worth trying piggy backing. Have you also considered scleral or hybrid lenses?

Thank you for the reply.
Sclera lenses have not been mentioned yet & I've not heard of hybrid lenses. To be honest I'm in that much pain I'll give anything a go!

It does sound as though you've been through most of the drops that could help with dry eyes. The ones that have worked for me are Hylo Tears - have you tried those? (only available on prescription). Some types of lenses are not as good at letting enough oxygen to the eye - which may be an issue with piggy backing and with hybrid lenses (hard middle, soft edges). Sclerals (the ones that cover the whole of the eye) might help although not all hospitals have them. Or asking for a second opinion or a referral to a specialist dealing specifically with dry eye problems.

Hello.

Thank you for your reply. I have not tried Hylo tears. I'll have a chat with my lens specialist when I next see her. Hopefully that appointment will come through soon. Thankyou for the suggestions, it looks like I still have a few options yet. I've noticed my eyes are definatly worse when I'm at work, especially when I have admin sessions, so staring at my PC. I think I'm going to treat myself to a humidifier for my office.
Thanks again for the reply. Best wishes.

Also try and make sure you're getting as much natural light and air compared with artificial light and air-con... these can dry your eyes out to no end!

I had this last year, it was recommended I reduce my intake of caffiene, I cut it out completly and problem solved. The problem was the quality of my tears.

I sometimes use Boston Rewetting drops. They help provide some comfort if the lens is irritating. Also I've been through quite a few eye drops and now been using Clinitas p/f vials and they have worked really well.

Hi Lbradley
Sorry to hear you are suffering so badly with dry eyes. I am having a few issues myself at the moment and I'm trying to get on top of things and trying to get my eyes to calm down.
You have probably tried everything, but have you tried using lacri-lube at night time? I started using it again recently and I am finding it really nice to use. It's greasy so should only be used before you sleep. But I am finding its helping my dry eyes and in the morning my eyes are no longer red and burning.
I am also looking into taking an Omega 3 food supplement. I came across this one (http://www.scopeomegahealth.ie/omega-eye,ec/) over the weekend and I started a thread in the General discussion forum to see if anyone else has used or is using it and what they think of it. Its quite expensive but the the reviews online sound great.

I'm also starting to drink more water and use Hylo Forte every few hours.
Scope ophthalmics are also the company behind this product and they have other dry eye products which I will also try out in the future.
I also use celluvisc and I just bought an eyewash by Optrex and I plan on using that one or more times a week. I know it sounds like a lot but I just want to get this under control:) Let me know how you are getting on.

https://www.restasis.com/

try this?