Pretty sure I got it too ....

[bloater]

Hi, Seems I may have Kerry Catona

I have worn glasses for mild short sightedness since I was 14 or 15, and about 3 or 4 years ago I was told I had an astigmatism in the left eye. My corrected eyesight in the left eye has always been weaker than the right, even to the point that during my last eye test a year ago, the optician basically said they couldn't get a good prescription in that eye and I'd have to live with it being weaker!

Fast forward to last month and I went for another eye test at a different optician as I felt the left eye was getting worse. After about 1.5 hours of tests and having to wait outside his room until he had seen the last appointment, the optician said he thought I had KC and he wouldn't be able to give me a new prescription until I had been referred to the hospital.

My hospital appointment is on the 25th October and I don't really know what to expect....

I have never seen a hospital specialist - is it going to be like an optician eye test on steroids?
Will they be able to give me a suitable prescription there and then - assuming it can be corrected by contacts?
What happens to my right eye? At the moment it is doing all the work, if I close my duff eye whilst wearing my current glasses the right gives near 20/20 vision, if I use both eyes with my current glasses again the sight is near on 20/20.
It is only with my right eye shut that I have the issues in my left eye at all distances - blurred, fuzzy, ghosted vision and streaks from light sources.
If I do need a contact to correct the left eye, can I then have a new pair of glasses with the left glasses lens just clear? Or can I have a hard contact in the left and a soft in the right?

Sorry for all the questions but until the 25th I only have the interweb for support!

[Andrew MacLean]

Welcome to the forum.

You may well have keratoconus, and your examination at the clinic will certainly confirm this if the condition is present.

Don't worry; they will examine your eyes and if you ask questions about the indicators for which they are looking, they will certainly be happy to tell you.

Every good wish. Let us know how you get on!

Andrew

[bloater]

Thanks for the reply and warm welcome Andrew.

I am trying not to worry, but as you can appreciate the mind starts to 'invent' all kinds of stuff

The optician was very thorough and spent a long time trying to diagnose accurately, 2 things he said made him sure were that the light was being defracted in diffent directions when he looked in my eye with a device, and the other was when he used a pinhole cover on the eye test glasses the suggested prescription was perfect, without the pinhole cover it was blurred and ghosted at all distances and with all prescriptions.

And whilst I don't believe everything I read on the web, the research I have been doing about KC seems to tally.

So, I realise just need to wait but in the meantime would appreciate if someone could attempt to answer my questions...

Thanks in advance.

[Richrapid]

Hello bloater,

I was exactly the same as you and recently diagnosed. My left was always weaker and put up with it, and then woke up one morning and it had got far worse!

I went to the high street optician who couldn't really explain it, so was referred to the hospital. I had a scan at the hosptial which revelaed KC. and was then given an appt to see the CL specialist. At this appt. I was given RGP's and did various sight tests until they found the presecription that worked. They then ordered my lenses and I went back for the fitting and I'm now wearing my lenses. They are uncomfortbale and I've asked for an earlier appt. as I'm spending a fortune on tear solutions! Seems I'm lucky that the RGP's are working at the moment..but that may not always be the case and not sure what they would have done if the lesnes didn't make any difference.

In my area it's a 10-12 week wait between appts, although they did get me in after about 6 weeks to pick up my lenses

Since wearing the lesnes, my glasses are no longer effective so pretty much have to wear my CL's all the time.

One of the most annoying things to get used too is people saying 'Kerry Catona' when you say what you've got...

[bloater]

Thanks very much Rich, very useful information.

[Lia Williams]

Bloater,

I’ve had KC for more than 20 years and I’ll try to answer some of your questions for you.

On your first visit it is quite likely you will first be seen by an ophthalmologist who will probably look at your eyes through a slit lamp and you may be given a topograph scan to confirm the suspicions of your optician that you indeed do have keratoconus. You will probably be asked about your eyesight and whether or not you have any allergies. You will then be referred to an optometrist, which could be a high street optician or at a clinic in the hospital.

At your appointment with the optometrist your eyes will be examined with a slit lamp and another machine will be used to measure the curvature of your corneas to determine which lenses are the most suitable for you. There are lots of different lenses for the optometrist to choose from but fitting them is as much as an art as a science and finding the perfect lens will probably take some time.

As the lenses are made to order you will have to wait a week or so for the lenses to be made and probably a few weeks for the next hospital appointment to check the fit and show you how to use them.

It is unlikely that you would have a contact lens for the left eye with glasses with a prescription right and clear left lens as brain would have images of different sizes from the two eyes.

Yes you could have a soft lens in one eye and a hard in the other. Many people have different types of lenses for each eye; the main disadvantage is different cleaning systems.

It will take time to get used to wearing contact lenses and with hard lenses (RGP) you do need to build up the wear time gradually. Don’t over do it, and do follow the optometrist’s advice. Also lenses should not be uncomfortable it may be because the fit isn’t optimised or you’ve over worn them. I wear my lenses for up to 15 hours a day, but if I push it to 16+ hours the wear time drops dramatically for the following few days.

If you’ve any more questions do ask! And let us know how you get on.

Good Luck,

Lia

[bloater]

Thanks so much Lia

[bloater]

Update:

Went to the hospital appointment today and had the diagnosis confirmed as mild KC in my left eye and no sign of it in my right.

Specialist said that due to my age it is unlikely to get any worse, although he said there was a possibility it would (probably just covering himself!)

His suggested options were to be referred to a specialist optician and be fitted with a RGP lens for my left eye, or have another eye test and find the best glasses prescription possible - basically accepting that with glasses my left eye will always be weaker than the right.

He explained how uncomfortable RPG lenses were and suggested I would have to be committed to persevering with them. I said I had tried lenses in the past and didn't really get on with the cleaning etc.

So, it seems that my best option is to go with glasses and monitor the situation incase it does deteriorate further.

My question is now that I have been diagnosed do I have to inform the DVLA? - even though with glasses, my vision is well within legal limits but obviously that is relying on my right doing all the work.

Thanks

[bloater]

Nobody?

[Andrew MacLean]

bloater

Sorry, didn't see you there; I was away when your post arrived.

Yes, you are better notifying DVLA, and I'd give lenses a go.

All the best

Andrew