Ok I got my first pair of contacts and have had no previous experience wearing them. Yesterday I was shown at the opticians how to put them in, take them out and looking after them. They are the gas permeable ones. I understood all this and took them home. I put them in after a little fidgeting and trying NOT to blink when putting them in my eyes.
The experience I've had with them so far has been quite uncomfatable to say the least. I was wondering if its all normal.
As I type now I have them in and the main things i'm finding is my vision is not clear when wearing them because of how wet they get?
Its like its been raining on my eyes and theres no wiper to wash it off if you know what I mean seems misty in front of my eyes! its distorted The vision keeps changing depending on the angle aof my eyes and head and when I blink. After blinking the tears in my eyes usually get more making the lens more wet and my vision unclear and blurry/misty? sometimes its worse sometimes a little better im trying to clear the vision when I blink but just cant do it! is this normal too? I actually blink less now while having them on because it stings my eyes a little every time I do it. When I move my eyeballs around too it stings and irritates around the edges of my eyelids.
Im worried I'll never get used to them. Do most people who have KC and wear contacts have to go through many pairs to find the right ones for them? Or do the first usually become ok? Is that why they are proving so uncomfatable for me? Everytime I blink my eyes just get watery from the irritation they are causing me and make my vision blurry from the tears this causes. Are they just not compatible with me or something? She measured my eyes and sizes for them etc before ordering them.
just got my contacts...second day now
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Joe Bloggs
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Lynn White
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Joe
Everything you report here is normal. Gas permeable lenses are always uncomfortable at first - and your brain decides they are foreign bodies and wants to wash them out! So - you produce loads of tears which makes the lenses move around a lot which makes your vision blurred. As you so rightly point out - you also stop blinking properly because it is uncomfortable when you do. Although KC eyes ARE extra sensitive - non KC people have the same problem - I did too when I wore RGP's myself!
Everyone also thinks the same thing - "I'll never get used to them!" But you do .... the brain eventually gives up trying to wash them away with tears, the nerves in your lids give up sending signals of discomfort and it all settles down. At that point your fittter can more easily see if the lenses can be tweaked to give better vision if necessary - they can't do that much whiel you are gettign used to them. But once you ARE used to them - its a bit like riding a bike.. your brain remembers how to handle the situation.
All the best for the next few days
Lynn
Everything you report here is normal. Gas permeable lenses are always uncomfortable at first - and your brain decides they are foreign bodies and wants to wash them out! So - you produce loads of tears which makes the lenses move around a lot which makes your vision blurred. As you so rightly point out - you also stop blinking properly because it is uncomfortable when you do. Although KC eyes ARE extra sensitive - non KC people have the same problem - I did too when I wore RGP's myself!
Everyone also thinks the same thing - "I'll never get used to them!" But you do .... the brain eventually gives up trying to wash them away with tears, the nerves in your lids give up sending signals of discomfort and it all settles down. At that point your fittter can more easily see if the lenses can be tweaked to give better vision if necessary - they can't do that much whiel you are gettign used to them. But once you ARE used to them - its a bit like riding a bike.. your brain remembers how to handle the situation.
All the best for the next few days
Lynn
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GarethB
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Joe,
Your reaction is exactly as mine was when I got my lenses in 2004. After a week, my eyes would settle within 10 minutes. Putting them in and out with confidence took me nearly a month.
If you have a very good fitter, the first lens set will be fine, but even with a good fitter you may have to go through the process Lynn mentions, it is quite common to have three lens fittings.
Your reaction is exactly as mine was when I got my lenses in 2004. After a week, my eyes would settle within 10 minutes. Putting them in and out with confidence took me nearly a month.
If you have a very good fitter, the first lens set will be fine, but even with a good fitter you may have to go through the process Lynn mentions, it is quite common to have three lens fittings.
Gareth
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Andrew MacLean
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Hi Joe
I found that I had to make myself blink properly. My "automatic" blink would not close properly, so that there was a bit of a build up of stuff in the middle of the lenses, just the bit I needed to look through. If I made a deliberate effort to close my eyes on the blink, then the lenses remained much clearer.
Lynne is of course right. It is early days!
Well done, so far.
Andrew
I found that I had to make myself blink properly. My "automatic" blink would not close properly, so that there was a bit of a build up of stuff in the middle of the lenses, just the bit I needed to look through. If I made a deliberate effort to close my eyes on the blink, then the lenses remained much clearer.
Lynne is of course right. It is early days!
Well done, so far.
Andrew
Andrew MacLean
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Joe Bloggs
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Ok this is weird, third day wearing contacts now and its been better today less irritating. However having just taken them out for the day my vision is definately different than what it is normally . Its changed! I can see better slightly without contacts and glasses than before???!! is this normal? will my vision go back to how bad it was after a nights rest or something? I guess this is normal too but its really odd because I always put my glasses on after taking out my contacts to get decent vision but having just tried them on it actually isnt making the vision better! maybe even a tad worse than not wearing them at all?
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Lynn White
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Joe....
Rigid lenses actually mould the cornea and reshape it to a more normal shape. This will give the effeects that you describe. Your glasses won't work as well because your spectacle prescription is now different. To a certain extent yes, if you left your lenses out, the vision would revert back as the cornea "springs back".
The more you wear your lenses the more you will notice this effect!
Rigid lenses actually mould the cornea and reshape it to a more normal shape. This will give the effeects that you describe. Your glasses won't work as well because your spectacle prescription is now different. To a certain extent yes, if you left your lenses out, the vision would revert back as the cornea "springs back".
The more you wear your lenses the more you will notice this effect!
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Joe Bloggs
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Lynn White
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Yes and no...
"corrects" is not quite the right woed.... but it does help the vision as long as you keep putting the lenses in. This is why for many years it was thought RGP's "prevented" KC from going any worse.
There is a practice called "OrthoK" which many people still do - this is for people with "normal" shortsightedness. They are fitted with RGP's that are flatter in curve than would be fitted normally. This "squashes" down the cornea and then another lens is given which is flatter still until the cornea has been reshaped. These are often given to be used only at night and then the person can remove them during the day and see "normally". Eventually the person may only need to wear the lens a couple of nights a week. However, if the lens is left off completely, the cornea will return to its normal shape.
With a KC 'er, the cornea tends to be even more easily reshaped as it is thinner than normal - so yes, at this stage at least Joe, the lens is obviously helping to reshape the cone back into a "normal" shape. Once you have stabilised your vision with it, you might be able to get a pair of glasses that work when you take the lens out. The effect of improving your vision may even last a day or two before you have to wear the lens again. I have known this happen before!
In a way this is what intacs do but from the inside. They help reshape the cone into a more regular shape so that you don't get the ghosting and doubling that you do from the normally distorted cone. Its a purely optical solution.
Anyway I am delighted you are getting this good result Joe
"corrects" is not quite the right woed.... but it does help the vision as long as you keep putting the lenses in. This is why for many years it was thought RGP's "prevented" KC from going any worse.
There is a practice called "OrthoK" which many people still do - this is for people with "normal" shortsightedness. They are fitted with RGP's that are flatter in curve than would be fitted normally. This "squashes" down the cornea and then another lens is given which is flatter still until the cornea has been reshaped. These are often given to be used only at night and then the person can remove them during the day and see "normally". Eventually the person may only need to wear the lens a couple of nights a week. However, if the lens is left off completely, the cornea will return to its normal shape.
With a KC 'er, the cornea tends to be even more easily reshaped as it is thinner than normal - so yes, at this stage at least Joe, the lens is obviously helping to reshape the cone back into a "normal" shape. Once you have stabilised your vision with it, you might be able to get a pair of glasses that work when you take the lens out. The effect of improving your vision may even last a day or two before you have to wear the lens again. I have known this happen before!
In a way this is what intacs do but from the inside. They help reshape the cone into a more regular shape so that you don't get the ghosting and doubling that you do from the normally distorted cone. Its a purely optical solution.
Anyway I am delighted you are getting this good result Joe
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Andrew MacLean
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