Lens handling struggles

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Green
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Posts: 279
Joined: Wed 18 Apr 2018 1:29 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Contact lenses

Lens handling struggles

Postby Green » Thu 18 Jun 2020 12:59 pm

Not a question here but a comment, just putting it out there, it might be useful for others struggling to see, to feel less alone as lens struggles are a very private battle every day in our homes.

I've been reliant on an RGP all my life, one eye. Any RGP wearer accepts the down side of gurning streaming pain with grit, mucus or a lash under it, inadvertantly walking into people or traffic, wind being the hardest weather, the desire to wear swimming goggles outside (occasionally I have!). I accept all that.

What has changed for me for mostly reasons I can identify is handling insertion since a refit over 2 years ago. The fit is fine, nothing wrong with the lens, but my ability to handle it and the eyes ability to withstand multiple attempts getting very irritated impacting on comfort & wear time has never recovered. The lens is larger than the previous, the largest I've had. The previous was probably the smallest available and insertion was like a tap, hitting a target, flood the eye with fluid to help pull it on.
This one requires a different technique, pulling the lids right back, touching the cornea slowly, then placing the lids over. When it goes well it's like going from suffocation to breathing, I could have a party. Sadly most of the time despite my best efforts (& getting extra very helpful support), doesn't change the fact that for too much of the time its horrendous and that means quite literally screaming the walls down in sheer frustration, distressed, scared of getting phobic, no matter how mindfully calm I approach it.
I find it exhausting some days, I delay using it, I've reached the point of nearly vomiting with the stress of it, it dominates my life. It sounds extreme as I write this, but I don't believe I'm alone. But it's the only lens I can use so this is my reality, so I'm putting this out there for anyone whose life isnt swimmingly great with lenses. If you're ever like me curled up in a snotty ball, you're not alone.

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