Piggy Backs - New member

[Asif]

Hello everyone.

I came across this website accidentally while looking for information regarding my eye condition. This site has given a lt of information which is very helpful and enlightening.

I am now 19 and will be starting uni in a few weeks,but found out I had keratoconus in both eyes left slightly worse, when I was 17 at the start of my 2nd year in A levels. I was then wearing glasses, my vision ok but ghosting and multiple images were a slight problem. AFter a year I could not see at all with glasses and ghosting was really bad, worse in the left than right.

I then started to wear RGPs. I eventuslly built up my wearing time to 8 hours but was horrible while they were in my eyes. I was refitted wth different lenses three times to make them more comfortable. 8 months since wearing RGPs and no longer being able to tolerate them I was given Softperms.

The softperms were great, I could wear them all day until I went to sleep. After 3 weeks of wearing them my left eye began to feel sore. This was because the fit was too tight. The optometrist said that this was one of the problems with softperms. I had too take 4 day breaks after wearing the lenses continuously for 2 weeks. I was then refitted with looser softperms for both eyes. The same problem occured but now in both eyes.

I will now be refitted with a different type of lens in both eyes, piggy backs.

Can any of you please tell me what it was like first starting to wear piggy backs, of those who have/are wearing them. How the differed from regular RGPs in comfort? How long you are able to wear them for? As I would need to wear them for at least 12 hours. How was it like getting used to putting 2 lenses in eash eye? What you have to do to look after them, cleaning etc?

Thank you for any help/advice you may be able to give. I look forward to hearing from you.

[Dave Dale]

Sounds very simliar to myself with the overwearing of softperms..I was told they can be 'too' comfortable that people wear them too long.

I had a time last year when I was off them for over a month..like you glasses are a waste of time! I am now a teacher and weried if I have to have a 'break' from wearing the soft perms as I simply could not get to work..never mind teach if I got there! Like you I need to wear my lenses for at least 12 hours a day simply to do my job....recently I have had really bad constant eye pains and a worsening of vision in my left eye so I wiould be eager to hear any views on the 'piggyback' route..another option is always worth considering!

Good luck with the studies!

Dave.

[Asif]

Hi Dave

Your problem is exactly the same as mine. When i wear the soft perms they feel great, like i havent got anything in my eyes at all. I can wear them for 16 hours wthout any problems like them feeling tight.

After a week or two, 10-15 days, of wearing them they make one or both of my eyes sore and I have to stop wearing them for a few days. Then after when theyre back in they feel great umtil another week or so where I have to give them another 3-4 day rest.

I didnt know that over wearing could be the cause of this problem. My optometrist said that it was because of them being a tight fit, and to move onto piggy backs. But when They are in my eyes they do not feel tight. Only problem is making my eyes feel very sore after a week or so, that i cannot even put them in for a few seconds. This problem was mostly in the left eye but now is also in the right.

I have to wear my contacts as long as posible to attend uni and then do normal stuff throught the evening, as glasses now at this stage really are a waste of time. My eye sight has continuosly been getting worse since the start of keratoconus, it has never stabalised so I really need to get something sorted.

Does anyone know whether over wearing them is the cause of my problem??? If so, how long would I be able to wear them?

Any other info/advice on piggy backs would be great.

[John Smith]

Asif,

Take a look at this article which may well apply to you.

http://www.clspectrum.com/archive_resul ... 5&auth=816

It talks about overwearing a comfy lens causing comfort problems on subsequent days.

[Asif]

Thanks John, that is exactly my problem. I now understand what is happening to me, thank you very much. Not even my optometrist was able to tell me this that I was wearing my contacts too long.

I actuually wear my contacts from 12 to 16 hours a day. I'm guessing this is too much. I wear my lenses to the maximum time as glasses no longer enable me to see well enough so I have to rely on contacts.

Does anyone wearing softperms know a safe length to wear these, how long do you wear these without having bad days.

Would it be advisable to take breaks during the day, eg wear them from 8am-5pm then take a break and reinsert them and wear thehem again same day till 9pm-1am so that the total time is abput 13 hours but bearing in mind me having a break in between???

Would it also be okay to wear 2 different lenses during the day as mention a bouve, piggy backs during the day and softperms during the night???

[Gillian]

As a very long time KC sufferer and contact lens wearer (33 years) my advice
is to play around with breaks, type of lenses and see what suits you best.
KC sufferers have different problems and we all have to try different ways
to find the most comfortable solution to conduct our lives. I find that if
I chop and change from rgp/piggy backing/sclerals it works for me at the
moment. Best of luck.

Gillian

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