bifocal contact lenses

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GarethB
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Postby GarethB » Mon 27 Mar 2006 5:58 pm

Not sure yet, trying to get a trip to the eye unit in Dresden while I am in Germany over Easter.

Probably half term between Easter and the Summer holidays. My brother tells me the Suffolk half term is different week to the Warwickshire one.

See i am giving you fare warning to book your holidays :wink:
Gareth

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Ali Akay
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Postby Ali Akay » Mon 27 Mar 2006 7:16 pm

Hi Michele
As Lynn pointed out RGP bifocals for KC is a bit of a challenge,the main difficulty is getting the lenses centre well and move slightly upwards when you look down to read.If your KC is very mild it may not be a problem, otherwise you may find it too much "hit and miss". RGP lenses tend to sit low on keratoconic corneas as the cone is usually below the pupil centre and the fitter needs to make sure the fit of the lens and hence the health of the cornea is not compromised in an effort to give you near vision. I have some patients who are able to read very well with single vision contact lenses without needing reading glasses purely by chance-the way the lenses move gives them near vision but it is very difficult to design lenses to do this.

As the lenses would be rather costly I would advise you to get clear agreement on the charges you are likely to incur. Even if the lenses dont work it would be reasonable for your optician to expect you to pay for chair time and lab charges etc.Keep us informed how you get on.

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Lynn White
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Postby Lynn White » Mon 27 Mar 2006 7:50 pm

Thanks Ali for that,... nice to see you back here again!

Gareth...

Well let me know.. my holidays are already booked so I have no means of escape!

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Sweet
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Postby Sweet » Tue 28 Mar 2006 1:50 am

Hehe!

Ali great to have you back! Hoping you are ok, have missed you here! :D

Lynn i would be careful with Gareth as he is very naughty and flirts with everyone!! Just watch out as he might lose his trunks again!!! LOL!! :P

And on bifocal lenses i guess i'm not as old as i think then! :oops:

Sweet X x X
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GarethB
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Postby GarethB » Tue 28 Mar 2006 10:11 am

Sweet,

I learnt all I know about flirting from the women I have worked with and ever known :wink:
Gareth

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Andrew MacLean
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Postby Andrew MacLean » Tue 28 Mar 2006 10:20 am

Gareth

I agree with you. flirting is a woman's sport. Men may try to compete, but women have it down to a 't'.


Michelle

I'm sorry if all this seems a bit of a dampener on your hopes. :cry: But be of good cheer: you may end up able to wear reading galsses as well as your lenses and intimidate the life out of ophthalmologists as you peer over the top of your specs at them! :D

Andrew
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Michele McAllister
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bifocal contact lenses

Postby Michele McAllister » Mon 10 Apr 2006 2:12 pm

Well...thanks for all these responses.

I've now been wearing my new bifocal lenses for 2 weeks. Although long distance vision is absolutely fine and the lenses are generally very comfortable, I do feel that for near vision I don't get as good a result as my previous set-up (which was RGP lenses for distance vision and additional specs for reading etc).

I've had word with my optician and he says he might be able to 'beef up' the outer circle for reading, but is a bit hesitant about doing this as about 5 years down the line (when I'll be nearly (gulp) 6o... yes, it happens to us all, even though I still feel about 24, not 54..) there won't be any slack if I need more help with reading. I sort of understand this, but perhaps those optometrists who very kindly do postings on this site could enlighten me.

I think my KC must be pretty mild, as - so far, at least - I've only needed contact lenses for the last 20 years or so to 'contain' the condition.

Michele

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Andrew MacLean
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Postby Andrew MacLean » Mon 10 Apr 2006 3:14 pm

Michele

My post graft distance vision is fine with specs, but as with you, my optometrist ahs found it difficult to fit reading lgasses. I hve a little magnet that sits on any book I am readion and I track along the line to follow the text.

Porblem is, I habitually speed read, but this is impossible when the only text that you can see is described by a little round lens.

Swings and roundabouts!

Stay in touch, Michelle, and all the best

Andrew (56!)
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Lynn White
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Postby Lynn White » Mon 10 Apr 2006 3:34 pm

Michelle,

Getting the reading as good with bifocal contacts as it was with reading glasses ove the top is a wee bit difficult. With the reading glasses we can put in any power we want but with the contacts, you are more restricted due to manufacturing considerations.

It sounds like you have centre distance lenses, so the outside circle or annulus is the reading part. Reading ability does decrease with, dare I say it, age and I think that your optom is concerned if he maximises the reading now to the highest possible level from a manufacturing point of view, you won't be able to increase it further when you get older.

However, you may quite rightly say you would rather have the bird in the hand rather than the bush and cross bridges when you come to them! In which case you could say to your optom to increase the power now and you'll see what happens in a few years!

Thats as much as I can say without knowing more details! :)

Lynn

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Anne Klepacz
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Bifocal contact lenses

Postby Anne Klepacz » Tue 11 Apr 2006 10:10 am

For some years now (since I started to get OLD) I've had a contact lens in one eye which gives me reading vision and a lens in the other eye which gives me distance vision. This works a treat - my brain just switches between eyes depending on whether I'm reading or looking at the scenery. The only drawback is trying to read anything in the 'middle distance' which I can't do with either eye! So my computer screen has to be close. But it has avoided the need to have separate reading glasses. Of course I realise that when I get seriously old, this will no longer work!
Anne


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