Do you fit this description?

[Michael P]

John, you may recollect that not that long after I stated posting, about a year or so ago, I said that judging from this forum KC sufferers (me excluded) appeared to be a bright lot.

Having made that observation, perhaps I am more with it than I think!

[jayuk]

I think the negatives; if you want to call them that, come when it gets to the stage where we really cant see.....and I think thats where the phychological aspects of the condition really affect people......and in my opinion, this is where things can spiral...

[Ali Akay]

I said "highly intelligent " not "intellectual" Andrew. I do a clinic in a prominent university teaching hospital and we do see a lot of students and academics as patients. As KC is on the increase I think the idea of a "typical cone" is no longer relevant as it affects people of all abilities and personality types.

[Val G]

Wow, this has sparked some posts.

I wasn't suggesting that all people with keratoconus have these traits, I don't like to generalise, I just thought it would be of interest. I feel I have these traits but agree with Sweet that they may be caused by the struggle with the condition.

P.S. I would like to think I am highly intelligent too but my paranoia won't let me!

At the end of the day I can't change my 'nature' and wouldn't want to, it is who I am.

[jayuk]

Ali

In your opinion, whats the cause of this suddent rise in KC being seen?

The reason why I ask this, was that I was reading last week that one possible reason for high cases of KC being seen is due to people going in to have Laser treatment and then developing KC.....the thought was that the Epithelium was actually masking KC and the cone development until a change was introduced which kicked off the KC.....

Is this something you subscribe to ? Or are aware of?

J

[GarethB]

Ali,

Your observations reflect the very subject we ended up discussing at my appointment yesterday. They said this site is beneficial because it allows us to answer the questions they would like to answer but are unable due to time.

The other problem they have is they give advice to a patient, they ignore it and things are no better at their next visit. They then contact the support group and get the same advice from a patient and they take it and the next visit goes great.

They have when I next go, if I can takes loads of support group info to put on the notice boards and also to have a copy of in their consulting room. I left details of this site with them and a couple of the nurses who are interested too.

My optoms said they like me going into detail about what I can see and how a lens feels because that way they can get a better mental picture of what is going on in my eye and it helps with moving the treatment forward. It may take several visits but we get excellent results with patience and perserverance and very little pain.

[james mckinlay]

I WAS KIND OF SHELL SHOCKED WHEN I SAW THIS POST.

I HAVE SEVERE ANXIETY AND PANICK ATTACKS ALONG WITH OTHER ISSUES BUT I THOUGHT THAT IT COULD HAVE NOTHING TO WITH MY KC .

ITS WEIRD BECAUSE THE POINTS RAISED IN THIS POST MATCH ME EXACTLY.

HOWEVER I WONT BELIEVE THAT THATS THE REASON FOR MY PROBLEMS IT IS JUST A FACTOR OF THEM.

BUT THIS IS A VERRY INTERESTING POST AND ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS I HAVE SEEN ON THE FORUM.

THANKS A LOT FOR THE POSTS

ALL THE BEST

JAMES

[samba_elite]

Hi
Its funny that you should post on this subject as I was talking to an Optician friend yesterday on this very subject. He told me that when he was at University and learning about KC, one of the things that came up in lectures was the so called "KC Personality." He mentioned that KC personalities tend to be paranoid, anxious and very particular about things...(he wasn't talking about me!....I hope

I don't think I'm more anxious or particular than the next person and I know plenty of paranoid people and they don't have KC!

I'm a bit like that,but then so is just about everyone i know at some point and to some degree,and none of them have KC,in fact i dont know one single person with KC....

[Ali Akay]

Jay
I personally wouldnt have said there has been a suddenincrease in KC.When I was at college in early 80s we were told incidence was 1:10,000, nowadays most people think it's more like 1:2000. There's obviously better detection as well, but it's definitely been increasing over the years. I've only seen one patient who developed KC following Lasik she had in South America, and most probably she already had KC prior to Lasik which wasnt detected or was ignored.Hence I dont feel increase in KC is due to Lasik as we are not seeing many post Lasik patients presenting with KC yet! Who knows what will happen in years to come? I have my views on the causes of KC increasing but dont really want to divert this thread to a different direction, and will happily discuss it in another thread.

[james mckinlay]

the listed symptomns we seem to have as a KC personnality strikes me.

i am extremely paranoid anxious and panicky

i have been diagnosed as having physchosis but i wonder if its acutually the KC thing thats the issue.

but i think i will be guided by the proffessionals as i dont want to confuse the two.

but it is verry interesting and has attracted a lot of interest and really good responses.

well done for starting this thread

take care