Quicktopic posts: Aug 2002

[Keith]

Thanks Ally

I'll go and see my GP and see if i can get a referral.
Hope it works out for you... I'll let you know what happens.

Keith

[Kasie]

I live in West Sussex, and a small independant optician has been a godsend in sorting me out with rigid lenses. Like Keith I find that although my prescriptions are 7.2 in KC eye and 5.25 in other eye, if I accidently swop the lenses over, my vision is near perfect in KC eye although the fit is poor. Apparently it is to do with the science behind cone and prescription - beyond my understanding.

My husband has glaucoma (3rd generation) and I have KC (only one in my family that we know of). I am just taking my 8 year old for a glaucoma test (suggested by above wonder opticians), but does anyone have similar background who can tell me if he is more likely to get Glaucoma, KC or both?? Thaks, Kasie

[Sue Ingram]

Dear Keith - if you live in the London area, you should hopefully get referred to Moorfields Eye Hospital; they have the most expertise of KC in the UK so it is the place to be! They will be able to try different lenses and decide which are the best ones for you - this can be a bit of trial and error, though. You should hopefully be able to get your lenses on the NHS if you attend Moorfields. I have been going there for the past 25 years and cannot fault them. Good luck and let us know how you get on. Take care. SUE

[Sue Ingram]

Hi Ally (840) - Good luck with getting your contact lenses and glasses. With regard to deterioration of vision with KC, this does seem to vary from individual to individual, but I believe the 'norm' is that it can start at puberty and continue to deteriorate until about age 30. With a bit of luck it will then stabilise and not get any worse.

I have had KC for at least 25 years (probably longer). I have been extremely lucky in that my vision has deteriorated very slowly. I am now 41 and do not think my vision has actually got much worse in the last ten years. My problem has been that my eyes did not want to put up with the rgp corneals after 20 odd years of constant wear; this has been managed by swapping between scleral lenses and rgp corneals.

KC seems to be very individual so keep us up to date on your progress and let us know if you have any more questions whilst learning to wear your lenses etc, etc.

Take care. SUE

[ali cooper]

Hi Sue,

Thanks for the information. I am hoping it won't be too long before I can get my contacts, but I will let you know how I get on with them. I must admit I am a little nervous about them as I have never worn contacts before or glasses for that matter. I am sure it will take a bit of getting used to, at least there are folks here I can turn to who have been through it or are going through it. Thanks all.

Ally

>From: QT - Sue Ingram <qtopic+6-A46Jzt4sJAXLTWnJNHsx@quicktopic.com>
>Reply-To: QT topic <qtopic+6-A46Jzt4sJAXLTWnJNHsx@quicktopic.com>
>To: alicooperuk@hotmail.com
>Subject: Keratoconus
>Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 09:02:23 -0500 (CDT)
>




_________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com < replied-to message removed by QT >

[stuart aspland]

hi im new to this web site haveing had keratoconus for about 4 years i thought i would look up some information on it i kno its a bit late i would like to hear your veiws on the operation i think i have to have it done thanx

[John Smith]

Hi all,

I really didn't want to post this at first, as I don't want to put people off, but...

I had a corneal graft back in January, and all has been well up to now. The other eye has KC too, and has suddenly progressed in the last month or so, my vision through that eye is now even worse than I had through the "old" cornea in the operated eye.

So it's 7 months since the op, and I was seeing the consultant with the expectation of finally coming off the (1 a day FML) steroid dropsm abd being stable enough for me to go and get some glasses, but the consultant wasn't happy.

She thought that I was probably suffering from an infection by the Herpes Simplex (cold sore) virus, though it could have been a surface rejection. She prescribed cream for the infection, and gave me strict instructions to see her on Monday, (this was on Thursday last week). She also told me to keep an eye (sorry) on the redness; if it gets any worse, or I suffer any other symptoms to present myself at casualty immediately.

On Sunday, I did just that. The eye registrar told me that it was indeed a rejection, and doubled the FML drops to 2 a day. He didn't take any other action as I was seeing my consultant the following day.

Monday, and my consultant confirmed the rejection, pleased that she'd had a second opinion from the registrar at the hospital. I'm now back on HOURLY unpreserved Dexamethasone drops (a stronger steroid which previously caused me to have high eye pressure). I'm also on Timoptol drops twice a day to relieve any excess eye pressure. I'm seeing the consultant again tomorrow, and if the rejection is not under control, she will admit me so that I can have drops put in by nurses - even during the night.

Does anyone else have any experience with "Surface rejection", or any advice for me?

Thanks,

John
(who still thinks that the transplant was the best thing to happen to me!)

[Ian Pearson]

John I had similar rejection after a stitch broke. I ended up in Moorfields having steroids injected under my cornea then hourly drops for 3 days. That was 10 years ago all recovered I had some corrective surgery for astigmatism and with a contact lens can read the bottom line. I am sure your doctor will try hard to sort your rejection. I know how you must feel unfortunately thats the way it is.

[Robert Smith]

John
Sorry to hear about the problems but heartened by Ian's comments - sounds like you have caught it in time! Hope all goes well. Please do let us know what happens. It is important to know when things are going worng - both for you and for us so we can be aware of the problems that can arise

I am due to go to the clinic again in 2 weeks but at the moment everything seems OK.

Best wishes

Robert

[Anneklepacz@aol.com]

John
Just to add to the reassurances - I had several rejection episodes, all successfully reversed, and still have my original grafts (left eye 1986 and right eye 1988 so that's not bad going!) The first rejection was the worst because I ignored the symptoms for several days, so when I finally went to Moorfields it was the injection into the eye and an overnight stay with hourly drops through the night, but it did the trick. Good luck. Anne