UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi All,

I want some advice/experience stories of hard lenses.

I currently am blessed with kerasofts, but they are no longer giving m,e the adequete sight I need for driving etc...so they want to go to step 2 and try hard contact lenses and I want to know what they are like, I guess on.

1. How the heck do youi put them in
2. How do you take them out
3. once you atre used to them, do you even notice them...I dont notice my kerasofts now, but did at first, I expect it to feel a bit weird at first, but if you always notice them I may not get on so well with them
4. how big are they....my kerasofts cover pupil and iris.
5. Are things like vasculisation, putting them on inside out and dry eye as much as a problem
6. Do they reduce the halos and ghosting more than kerasofts (not that I can complain about it too much as the ghosting is only mild to the five o clock positrion in each eye.

Many thanks for any help
John

Hi John,

I am new to this site so I won't pretend to be a guru, and i'll have to leave the technical stuff to others, but i can share my experience of hard [RGP] lenses with you....the long and the short of it is I found them to be a nightmare to wear.......... horrible and very uncomfortable, and they made my eyes itch all the time!!!

Having said all that I have just been back to Moorfields after almost 5 years of coping without any aids and have agreed to try them again because they will provide me with an immeasurable improvement in my sight and vision......so the moral of my story is.............Comfort is only half of the equation, and its the negative half at that....yes i accept that they are damned uncomfortable and if I really had a choice I wouldn't wear them but I'm going to give them a real go again and use the power of my mind to help me accept them.

If that fails i'll be the first in line for some intacs............LOL.

I hope this has helped, if not then see it as just another point of view.

All the best

K

1. How the heck do youi put them in....I have the lens balanced on the tip of my ring finger, I hold my upper lid up with the other hand and use my index finger to on the hand holding the lens to hold the lower lid down then put the lens in, I was not allowed to take the lenses home without a lesson in inserting and removing them, dont worry! Souns more complicated than it is!

2. How do you take them out.....I either pull the outer corner of my eye towards my hairline then blink hard or use the tiny plunger I was given

3. once you atre used to them, do you even notice them...I dont notice my kerasofts now, but did at first, I expect it to feel a bit weird at first, but if you always notice them I may not get on so well with them........ Afer a few hours I stopped noticing them, except for when my eyes are sore or tired or I am ill ie with a cold
4. how big are they....my kerasofts cover pupil and iris.......Smaller than the coloured part of my eye
5. Are things like vasculisation, putting them on inside out and dry eye as much as a problem....You cant put them on inside out. Dry eyes...use something like systane
6. Do they reduce the halos and ghosting more than kerasofts ..Cant compare but the only ghosting I get when wearing them is a tiny amount round street lights and headlights at night. I dont get any double vision when wearing them

Hi John.

I am on my way out so must be brief.

I have worn hard lenses for 35 years with relatively few problems.

The first week or so can be daunting and you will have to increase your lensewear slowly, increasing the number of hours daily; a little patience is needed.

Obviously not everyone gets on with hard lenses and you are more likely to hear from those who have had problems than haven't, so don't worry to much about it at this stage.

There are also a few soft lenses which have been designed for KC'ers and it may be worth asking your lens fitter about these.

Let us know how you get on.

Good luck.

Hi there,

I have used RGP and hard lenses over the past 6 years since I was diagnosed, since they are the only options for the particularities of my condition.
Since being unable to tolerate the RGP Aquasil lens any longer (which was easier on the eye initially), I have had a PMMA hard lens.
It's small: doesn't cover the iris.
The eye clinic should spend half an hour to an hour with you showing you how to insert it and remove it.
You may find that if you are in a humid environment, the lens will steam up because it is not gas permeable (usually not a problem in the UK, but more of an issue if you are abroad).
I am instructed to use drops such as liquifilm/ Systane continuously, as I have problems with dry eye and allergies, to avoid any major issues with that.
I am allowed to wear the lens for a maximum of 6 hours. Sometimes the most I can get per day is 4 hours. When I started using the lens, the optometrist have me a wearing schedule with the amount of time per day to wear it, so that you build up gradually to the recommended maximum time. It goes up by half an hour to an hour per day. If I ever have any allergies or infection which prevent me from wearing the lens for a couple of weeks, I have to start from scratch and build up the wearing time gradually.

It takes time to get used to it (months!) but it's worth it for the improved vision.
For me it's either the hard lens or a graft, or nothing. I'm not an ideal candidate for a graft as I'm so allergic and may reject a donor cornea, so am persevering with this lens.

All the best.

Hi again,

I meant to add in response to your question about problems with vascularisation...As far as I know, this is more likely to happen if you overwear the lens. It's best to follow the guidelines you're given and build up lens wearing time very gradually and never wear it for more than six hours per day.

Hi,
I won't go into how to put them in / out shake them all about as you had the answers
You will get very varied reports on the comfort issue. I think comfort is a serious point and I would disagree that you just have to put with it if they are sore. If the lenses are sore, you need to try changing solutions or other things, maybe even the lens ultimately. Keeping trying with hard lenses means trying out different solutions, artificial tears, building up lens time, taking time out...It doesn't mean 'I am going to wear these all day, even though I cannot look up!' If you are in that category, you need to go back to the clinic because it will only get worse.
However, most people get on with the lenses fine after a period of adjustment, just like you did with Kerasoft so there is no reason to suppose this will be any different.
I have gone the other way and I am now on Kerasoft having struggled with rgps for about a year. At first the kerasoft were great but my lens time is starting to come down, just like the rgps did. So I think its a lens reaction rather than the difference between soft and hard lenses.
Good luck

John,

You will probably be shown how to look after RGP lenses, but if your optom was at the same confrence I have been to this weekend they may rethink the soft option!

Keraosft never worked for me, less than 2 hours and my eyes cried enough.

The soft lenses I am in now give me a similar level of vision as my RGP's and far outperforms the Kerasofts I had. Wore the soft lenses for 9 hours yesterday and I will soon be at a weartime to match the RGP's with unbelievably more comfort.

The company I have been involved with are having a meeeting Tuesday to let me know what I can put on this forum but I am bursting to share the information I have