Can't Wear Contacts

[Andrew MacLean]

Simon

Is this the same optometrist that you see for your contact lens fitting, or do you attend a hospital clinic? If you see a hospital optometrist you might be better to book an early appointment there and tell the optometrist about the high street optician's letter to your GP.

The hospital optometrist would be able to get you to see an ophthalmologist with greater speed than a letter from your GP.

The decision about whether to reccomend a graft is for the ophthalmologist. The decision about whether to have a graft is yours!

Andrew

[Simon Hare]

I won't be seeing my usual doctor at hospital, when I asked the high street optician if it would be my old optom (Mrs Golding) he said no. it would be a specialist in the eye clinic. I thought Mrs Golding was the specialist, but seems not special enough lol.

I'm slowly coming round to the idea of a graft, and the bottom line is this:

No sight in my right eye would be better than present, i find i have to shut it to read, watch tv or use the computer (when wearing my glasses, not lenses of course) My mother jokingly offered my a pirate eye patch, and i have found it most useful on 'bad days'

Right, I'm gonna go read up on grafts so I know what to expect

ThanX

[GarethB]

Simon

There are many here find going over 8 hours with lenses hard so they go sighted with one eye ata time. In most cases I've heard including mine, it only takes the brain a couple weeks to adapt to this. Then you get a total 16 hours vision.

You may have broken the glasses, but if you are managing with lenses perhaps consider the above.

Are you using eye drops to aid lens comfort or consodered seeing what other contact lens options are available to you?

[Matthew_]

Simon,
Your situation sounds similar to mine in some respects. Like you, I have struggled with rgps. I have been trying to make it work now for around 12 months; the results have been erratic. I have tried changing life style: coffee, water etc etc I have also tried systane, celluvisc and other drops, I've tried preservative free solutions and steroids but no joy! If I get a full day out of my lenses, I know I will get very little wear out of them the next. To get a full day is to ignore the pain, red eyes, watering etc. Basically, I cannot rely on rgps at all, my eyes just don't like 'em. Not just the eye itself either. I have had near enough continuous cists and infections of the eye lids associated with lens use. It also affects my sinuses and nose which block up on the side I am wearing the lens or both sides for both eyes. And the photophobia is off the scale.
That said, the vision I get is brilliant, so I have been keen to make it work. Like you however, I need a consistent 12 hours plus of good vision for work and that is not happening. I am now about to try Kerasoft lenses. I trialled them at the hospital and they seem much better. Nowhere near as painful, particularly on the eye-lids. However, even after hour,my eye was throwing protein at the lenses like it was going out of fashion so the optom thinks it may be a palliative rather than a long term solution. Like you, one of my eyes is very poor uncorrected, such that its operation makes no difference to my overall acuity except for adding some peripheral vision. If I need to see something, I use my right eye and mentally 'switch off' the left.
I am having a graft on the left eye in November. For me, this is on the basis that I have nothing to loose on that eye. Also, professionally I will probably loose my job if nothing else is done. Add to that, my employer (despite the former statement) will stand by me through the op, time off, follow up ops etc with no loss of pay for sickness and so on. I am expecting a long road but I think it will be worth it. I do not think everyone in my position would make the same decision and it is certainly not to be taken lightly.
I hope this helps as you are not alone by any means. I hope you get the eye sight you want and need; it is achievable. How you get it is down to patient choice but the experts will guide if you keep plugging away. Good Luck

[Simon Hare]

Thanx for the words there Matthew, I have now taken my letter to my GP and have got an appointment to see the specialist, and as you say, the 'nothing to lose' factor plays highly in whatever will come - I don't think I will be happy with any advice to try different lenses, too much hassle and i also suffer from cists, sties etc on a regular basis when I were any 'tacts. A graft is what i want, I am sure ........ i think......... lol

As a side note, Specsavers are currently doing a buy one get one free on designer frames £75 and above - I got a nice pair of Tommy Hilfiger specs, and chose a pair of 'scrip wrap around shades as my free pair - best choice i have ever made - my vision is greatly improved during daylight when wearing the shades, so much so that i'm sure i could pass my driving test if i wanted to (so long as the test was on a dry, clear, sunny day .....lol) - however I'm not deluding myself that i can safely drive - i can't.

And that sucks for an ex-taxi-driver. So I guess its taxi-control (answering phones, taking bookings and giving pick-ups to the drivers via computer-aided GPS data units) for the forseeable future for me.

Hopefully, if and when a graft is done and calms down, i can try to drive again, and earn the kind of cash i deserve!!! (BTW, did you know that Cabbies make similar salaries to Doctors?? - Just check out the car-park at your local golf course)

[Andrew MacLean]

Simon

How did you get on, what did you decide?

By the way, do you know how you can find the nearest golf course to any town? You park outside the health centre just before lunch and follow the doctors when they come out. i didn't know it worked for taxi drivers as well!

Andrew

[Matthew_]

He he he
Anyway, good luck with it Simon, hope you are driving again in due course!