UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

hi all, today is my first lens fitting and i thought i'd come here and get a bit of support!! i was just wondering about the drops people have recommended, shoud i ask for it @ my fitting or will the doc give me some anyway? i am a bit nervous and i dont want to come across as pushy to him as i am still learning about KC. thanks.


mm.xx

Hi Madmish...I think you should ask all the questions you want to (I mean where else are you mean't to do it?...and write all the questions down, so that you can pull it out at the right time so that you don't forget anything you wanted to ask!!)...I mean how else can you find out the information you want to know...your specialist should encourage questions and if you don't feel happy that they are being not being approachable enough then you should tell them...after-all its only with this kind of feed-back that any improvements can be made...

I know the feeling well which you talk off...and if your not happy with the care you get...then don't take it...and seek out someone better...

Take Care

sajeev wrote:I think you should ask all the questions you want to (I mean where else are you mean't to do it?)

Err... here?

Seriously, you could do a lot worse than by following Sajeev's advice. It's certainly true that the more we know, the less worried we are about the whole thing.

Hello

Glad to see someone else new as well! I really hope that the fitting goes well, im sure we all remember what it was like to get our first lenses, though mine is coming up to 13 years now!

As for asking questions i agree with what others have put here, you need to ask! As you are new to lenses, it won't seem stupid or anything. If you don't ask now you might feel more awkward later when you will be thinking that you are supposed to know!! (if that made sense!!)

I have been to about 7 different doctors now as i move house a lot and throughout school and uni so i can say that from my experience everyone is different and they all recommend different things!! I think that you just need to ask, and as you will find out, you will learn loads through trial and error and of course experience!

On eyedrops, i think there aren't many that i haven't tried. I have gone back to Systane now as my eyes are very dry and sore, it has been a while since i last tried them, and people here say it is really good. You can buy so many over the counter that i think you need to experiment with what you like. Eyedrops can be expensive, but im sure that you will learn that it is really important!! I am lucky that if i am really stuck, being a nurse i have access to saline, though this is very drying it is useful in an emergency. I am sure though that as with most here, i NEVER leave the house without a spare lens, contact case and eyedrops. I wonder sometimes how i ever get anything in my nurses uniform with the amount of things i have to carry!!!

I am sure that you will get there though, wishing you the best of luck!! Take care

Claire X

thanks for the advice!!
the fitting went really well. i was really suprised how much easier it was to put them in myself, rather than the doctor poking my eyes out!! i wore them for an hour and a half today too!!! they are made by bauch and lome..are they popular?
i forgot to ask most of the questions i wanted to ask, as i was so distracted by the fact that i can get my lenses in and out with ease!!

also does anyone know if you can get the systane and the cleaning / conditioning fluids on perscription? i am entitled to free perscriptions so might as well get 'em if i can!!

Hehe that made me smile, as i can remember putting them in myself as well and thinking dam it this is so much easier than when someone else does it!!!! LOL!!!

Im not sure about getting solutions on prescription, i have always paid for mine. It is worth finding out though as it does get rather expensive.

Great to manage a whole hour and a half though! That is impressive for the first time! I am sure that it will get easier as you go along. After a few months i gave up with a mirror, i think you will find that you know where your eye is!!! It does make me laugh though how many doctors and nurses in hospital hate taking them out for a patient if they can't do it themselves. There isn't much to it really and i'm sure that it will become second nature soon!!

Good luck with it!!

Claire X

Glad to have another satisfied customer!

We'd all love to be able to get our various solutions on prescription, and it is possible, if becoming more difficult all the time.

Certainly, if you get your lenses from Moorfields, you can get a prescription for solutions at the same time as a practitioner visit (but not at any other time any more).

I've also heard of people managing to get their GP to prescribe Steripod (for filling sclerals prior to insertion). Can anyone shed any light on the subject?

what or where is moorfields?

Moorfields if i'm right...is the oldest eye hospital in the world and probably the most famous!

Its in city road, London EC1 2PD

Nearest Tube - Old St Tube station