Can i get a welcome

[Abu]

Hi folks.


I have just become a member of KC clan recently even though I was diagnosed with KC about 7 years ago.

This place is really amazing because there is so much information available about the condition which I didn't know.

I hope to see most of you guys in the conference..

Regards

[GarethB]

Abu,

Welcome to the forum. Please make yourself known at the confrence.

[Andrew MacLean]

Abu

Welcome to the forum! I am afraid I'll not be at the conference, but I hope to get to know you here.

We are an odd parcel of people whose different interests make the forum a good place to visit. One thing that unites us is Keratoconus, although our different experiences of the condition are probably as many as the members here.

All the best. Enjoy the conference.

Andrew

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi Abu and welcome to the forum! Have you sent me a booking form for the conference? I haven't got one from you (though of course Abu may be an alias and it's come in under another name). But if I haven't already sent you confirmation that you have a place booked, then please e-mail me on anne@keratoconus-group.org.uk or send me a PM to make sure of a place.
Hope to see you on 30th.
Anne

[mike scott]

Hi Abu

Welcome to the forum and the keratoconus family, you are right, this is a great place and we hope to hear much more of you.

mike

[Abu]

Hi All

Anne- I've PM'ed you

Thanks for the kind words - Ann, Mike, Andrew and Gareth.
I must admit, this place is a really nice place to hang out and find useful information about KC and meet some really nice people.

I think I should introduce myself and tell everyone a bit about myself.

I'm 27 and I'm from London, I was diagnosed with KC in 2000 during my days at university. It was weird, suddenly my vision was becoming bleary and I couldn't see what was on the lecture board, so I went to my local optician (spec savers) and they told me that I had mild KC and they gave a prescription class, which didn’t improve my vision at all. So I decided to go to another optician for a second opinion, thank God they spotted the problem straight away and they immediately referred me to my GP who then referred me to Moorfield’s. At the time I had mild KC on my left eye and advance KC on my right eye so they said they will only give me on lens for my right eye. Being so young and naïve I turned down the opportunity of wearing the contact lens at the time and I carried on with the poor vision for 5 years.

At the end of 2005, the KC progress on both eyes and normal life was becoming rather difficult, so I decided to go back to Moorfield’s, this time I was told that I would need to wear the lenses on both eyes to restore normal vision. I have been wearing them for about 18 months now and I love them, although they can cause some discomfort at times, Sadly I have had to give up on my beloved football because I’m scared that the sweat might go in my eyes and then I might feel a lot of discomfort on the pitch.


The lenses give me a perfect vision but I was told by my consultant that because I was diagnosed with the KC at a young age it will properly progress and stabilise as I get older, which is bit scary.

That’s a bit about me, now I have a couple of Q..

1) Will grafting get you out of contact lenses? Or will you need a lighter version once you have the operation?

2) Does the Intact treatment work for advance KC suffers?

3) For those who wear the hard contact lenses, have you had any problems with air conditioning? I’ve heard that air conditioning makes your eyes dry and in returns causes some discomfort.

Thanks guys hope to hear from you

Abu.

[Andrew MacLean]

Abu

thank you for the backgorund information. Here is my take on your questions

1) Will grafting get you out of contact lenses? Or will you need a lighter version once you have the operation?

sometimes people who have had grafts need to wear contact lenses. These are not necessarily "lighter" than the ones they would have worn pre-graft.

2) Does the Intact treatment work for advance KC suffers?

So far as I know, the Intacs procedure is not offered to people with advanced or severe KC.

3) For those who wear the hard contact lenses, have you had any problems with air conditioning? I’ve heard that air conditioning makes your eyes dry and in returns causes some discomfort.

I used to get round the problem of my eyes drying out in air conditioned buildings by having a humidifier on my desk. when I wore RGP lenses I had an office in an air conditioned building, and my desk top humidifier enabled me to work comfortably in that environment.

All the best

Andrew

[GarethB]

Hi Abu,

1) Will grafting get you out of contact lenses? Or will you need a lighter version once you have the operation?

The aim of the graft is to make a corneal surface that is easier to correct vision wise. Therefore you will either still need glasses or contact lenses, I think it is split about 50:50 in this respect. If you are lucky you can have vision good enough that does not need correction, but this is not the norm.


2) Does the Intact treatment work for advance KC suffers?

Have a look at the FAQ section on intacs. There are strict acceptance criteria for KC at any stage of KC because intacs need to palced in a certain position in relation to the KC to flatten the cornea. Corneal thickness needs to be considerd too. So is intacs suitable for advanced KC, well it is a case by case thing.


3) For those who wear the hard contact lenses, have you had any problems with air conditioning? I’ve heard that air conditioning makes your eyes dry and in returns causes some discomfort.

Yes, but if you are at work, employers are legally obliged to make reasonable adjsutments. For me it is sitting as far from the aircon as possible and I now have a small desk top humidifier from Argos they paid for.

You take simple emasures yourself by avoiding cafein containing drinks, fizzy drinks and even fruit juices (have the whole fruit instead) and replacing these with water drinks. This excludies squash drinks too. Drinking the recomended at least 2 litres water per day helps me a lot. I also used lubricating eye drops and for me Systane is the best and I just use it first thing in the morning before putting lenses in and at the end of the day when taking lenses out.

Combination of drops and water meant I went from a 2 hour lens wear time in 2005 to and easy 12 hours since Jan 2006 and rarely do I get lens discomfort now.


On the football front, google sports googles. I used to have some for when I played sqash. They not only stop the ball doing your eye damage when you get hit with it, but will keep the sweat out too, plus catch a lens if it were to pop out.

[Matthew_]

Abu,
I would like to add my welcome.
I cannot answer all of your questions, but I am sure you will get a response from those far more knowledgeable than I.

I do not know much about intacs at all, so I will say nothing. As far as I have read so far, a graft is a means to make your condition treatable again, it will not make KC go away. I think many of the people here who have had grafts also wear lenses, but I will let them fill you in on that; I have not had a graft.
I too find that AC dries out your eyes and make lens use difficult. I try to avoid AC where I can. I try not to use it in the car. I gather newer cars have an option of selecting 50% AC which is a lot better. At work we have AC in some places to keep computer equipment cool. I find it is OK because I am not alway there. If you speak to your employer some adjustments could be made. For example, if work in a direct draft from the machine this could be easily remedied.
The other mitigation I employ, is to use plenty of Systane to lubricate my eyes whenever I can. I am not sure about other products but after a while of using the Systane, you can reduce to a couple of times per day. Also take plenty of fluids on board. I find that if I am generally looking after my health, getting plenty of sleep, exercising, drinking fluids etc it is easier.

[Matthew_]

Sorry, Gareth you posted as I was drafting...
Wearing goggles is a good idea, I use them for cycling, it stops the dust and flying particles getting under your lenses. You can also retrieve the lens if comes out. You feel a bit silly wearing them at first but after a while you get used to it. A very good idea for squash, the distance between the eyebrow and the cheekbone is specifically designed to accomodate a squash ball! Or the squash ball is anatomically designed to fit your eye-socket, I cannot remember which.