Help! Where to get initial advice?

[meekatharra]

I was diagnosed with Keratoconus in my left eye in around 2005 but I have always just lived with the condition with no aids. They did try to give me glasses but I never really found them that helpful. I'm not sure if it has got worse or not but I have never really found living with it a problem.

It has been a long time since then and I'd really like to get reassessed and new advice, particularly as I'd possibly like a career change which may have a medical. I also know that there may be new treatment options.

I just have no idea where to start. Do I just go to my GP, or an optician or one of the many kinds of eye specialists? Who is the right person to go to in the first instance?

Thanks so much in advance!

[Lia Williams]

Hi Meekatharra,

Welcome to the forum.

As your keratoconus was diagnosed back in 2005 and you are coping with no aids it is quite likely that your eyesight hasn’t changed that much.

I think therefore that the best place to start would probably to get an eye test at an opticians’ and take it from there. The optician will test your eyes and you will find out what level of vision you have.

Mild keratoconus can be corrected with glasses or non specialist contact lenses and the optician may be able to prove your vision with these.

If the optician thinks there is a problem with your eyesight that needs to be seen by a specialist they, or you, could ask your GP to refer you to a hospital.

For people who are newly diagnosed with keratoconus hospital referrals are a good idea as the condition can be monitored and cross linking performed if it is deemed beneficial.

Hospitals can also prescribe specialist contact lenses for keratoconus. There are lots of different types of lenses for keratoconus and these can cater for people whose eyesight cannot be improved with standard lenses

Lia