I HAD INTACS, PRK & CORNEAL CROSSLINKING W/ RIBOFLAVIN
Posted: Sat 16 May 2009 11:53 pm
Hi All,
I hope this message finds you well. I'm writing in hopes that you may be helped by my experiences in treating my keratoconus. I was diagnosed with KC at the age of 18 (I'm now 28). Let me lead by saying the corneal crosslinking with collagen and riboflavin has stopped my keratoconus progression since I had it done over 2 years ago. It wasn't very expensive either, I just wish I had done it in the earlier stages of my disease. For further details, feel free to contact me by eMail or PM.
LASER EYE SURGERY
2 years after being diagnosed, my doctor recommended I get laser eye surgery done to get a more comfortable fit with my rigid gas permeable lenses (RGPs). This was an awful decision and ill advised by the doctors - it is completely contraindicted, and irrational, to thin an already thinning cornea. At first, the vision got better, but within a couple of weeks the vision started to degrade again.
INTACS
In 2003, I opened dialogue with Dr Mark Swanson at the Swanson Instituto since no one in Canada offered the treatment. A few months later I decided to go to their office and have the procedure done. It was quick and painless. It helped the vision a little bit, but nothing spectacular. From my ample research on INTACS, it became apparent that about half the patients who have this procedure see a vast improvement in visual acuity, while others see an insignificant one. I was on the insignifcant side, but for those of us that don't get better visual acuity, we do tend to get a better fit, and hence better vision, with contact lenses after INTACS because the shape of the cornea is more normal.
CORNEAL CROSSLINKING WITH COLLAGEN AND RIBOFLAVIN
Iin 2006, I had procedure in the United states. They scrape a bit of your ephithelium off (doesnt hurt) place some drops in your eye and then put some UV goggles on you. The UV rays are a super low amount so research and pros believe this should have zero impact on your long-term corneal health. After a half hour they take off the goggles and send you home. I flew into California and stayed on my own near Dr Boxer's office and made my way around ok, back and forth from the office to the hotel. So it isn't as though you are incapacitated and you aren't blind. The pain is quite bearable.
Since I had it done over 2 years ago, my vision has stayed the same and with contacts I can get 20/25 vision. According to Dr Boxer, 99% of his patients have seen their Keratoconus stop it's progression, with the other 1% needing retreatment.
BOSTON SCLERAL LENS
I've tried all sorts of contact lenses to achieve contact lens tolerance and comfort. Some of the best contacts I've tried are the new Synergeyes contact lenses, with a hard center and a soft outer skirt to try and give maximum comfort. They gave excellent vision, but because of all of my surgeries, I still couldn't wear them without serious discomfort. There was on 1 contact lens that did work and I still wear it to this day with 20/25 vision in both eyes. The Boston Scleral Lens done by the Boston Foundation for Sight in Boston, MA - a non profit organization. They are great people and they can help patients with financial issues cover the cost of the lenses ($7600 United States Dollars).
I must say, it's been a long and expensive road for me but I feel like I have control of my disease, and hence my life. The best procedure I've done was the corneal crosslinking with collagen and riboflavin because it's stopped the disease from getting worse. For me, the worst part of the disease was the unknown - not knowing when or for how long it would continue to progress. Now that's taken care of, I'm much much happier and able to focus on the other important things in life
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Derek
Edited by Site Moderator on Sunday, May 17 at 15.40. BST
Further edited to remove private eMail address at 22.11 BST.
I hope this message finds you well. I'm writing in hopes that you may be helped by my experiences in treating my keratoconus. I was diagnosed with KC at the age of 18 (I'm now 28). Let me lead by saying the corneal crosslinking with collagen and riboflavin has stopped my keratoconus progression since I had it done over 2 years ago. It wasn't very expensive either, I just wish I had done it in the earlier stages of my disease. For further details, feel free to contact me by eMail or PM.
LASER EYE SURGERY
2 years after being diagnosed, my doctor recommended I get laser eye surgery done to get a more comfortable fit with my rigid gas permeable lenses (RGPs). This was an awful decision and ill advised by the doctors - it is completely contraindicted, and irrational, to thin an already thinning cornea. At first, the vision got better, but within a couple of weeks the vision started to degrade again.
INTACS
In 2003, I opened dialogue with Dr Mark Swanson at the Swanson Instituto since no one in Canada offered the treatment. A few months later I decided to go to their office and have the procedure done. It was quick and painless. It helped the vision a little bit, but nothing spectacular. From my ample research on INTACS, it became apparent that about half the patients who have this procedure see a vast improvement in visual acuity, while others see an insignificant one. I was on the insignifcant side, but for those of us that don't get better visual acuity, we do tend to get a better fit, and hence better vision, with contact lenses after INTACS because the shape of the cornea is more normal.
CORNEAL CROSSLINKING WITH COLLAGEN AND RIBOFLAVIN
Iin 2006, I had procedure in the United states. They scrape a bit of your ephithelium off (doesnt hurt) place some drops in your eye and then put some UV goggles on you. The UV rays are a super low amount so research and pros believe this should have zero impact on your long-term corneal health. After a half hour they take off the goggles and send you home. I flew into California and stayed on my own near Dr Boxer's office and made my way around ok, back and forth from the office to the hotel. So it isn't as though you are incapacitated and you aren't blind. The pain is quite bearable.
Since I had it done over 2 years ago, my vision has stayed the same and with contacts I can get 20/25 vision. According to Dr Boxer, 99% of his patients have seen their Keratoconus stop it's progression, with the other 1% needing retreatment.
BOSTON SCLERAL LENS
I've tried all sorts of contact lenses to achieve contact lens tolerance and comfort. Some of the best contacts I've tried are the new Synergeyes contact lenses, with a hard center and a soft outer skirt to try and give maximum comfort. They gave excellent vision, but because of all of my surgeries, I still couldn't wear them without serious discomfort. There was on 1 contact lens that did work and I still wear it to this day with 20/25 vision in both eyes. The Boston Scleral Lens done by the Boston Foundation for Sight in Boston, MA - a non profit organization. They are great people and they can help patients with financial issues cover the cost of the lenses ($7600 United States Dollars).
I must say, it's been a long and expensive road for me but I feel like I have control of my disease, and hence my life. The best procedure I've done was the corneal crosslinking with collagen and riboflavin because it's stopped the disease from getting worse. For me, the worst part of the disease was the unknown - not knowing when or for how long it would continue to progress. Now that's taken care of, I'm much much happier and able to focus on the other important things in life
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Derek
Edited by Site Moderator on Sunday, May 17 at 15.40. BST
Further edited to remove private eMail address at 22.11 BST.