Going back to contacts after Intacs

[bongoland1]

Hi Everyone,

First off, this forum is an outstanding resource!

Now to my question, I have recently had intacs placed into my right eye (6 and half weeks ago), which is my more keratoconic eye. I had the procedure done 6 weeks ago after CXL in June 2008. Vision without hard lenses was very poor before but my vision with lenses was outstanding (although i do struggle with red eyes and dry eyes which drops do not really help).

For people that have had intacs, I would like to know how long it took for you to go back to wearing contact lenses regularly? My intacs were done with intralase and with no stiches, just an overnight bandage contact lens. My surgeon is very happy with how it looks and has said that I can go back to lenses. My eye still feels a little gritty in the morning and I am still showering with goggles. However, after that it feels completely normal.

The reason I ask as well is that I assumed that people usually take a lot longer to get back into lenses than 6-7 weeks? I'm really hoping I will be able to wear kerasoft lenses going forward as my eyes get extremely bloodshot with my SoClears, especially in my air conditioned work environment.

Kind Regards,

Bongoland

[Lizb]

I had cxl 2-3 years ago, intacs last november and was cleared in april this year for trying contact lenses.

You will need to see your CL fitter as it is most likely your eye shape has changed so dont just start wearing your old CL without being reassessed.

[bongoland1]

Thanks Liz, thats still a good six months after the surgery. Did you have stiches with your intacs or just the bandage lens? I will definitely be seeing my lens practitioner as the shape of my eye has certainly changed. at the six week check-up, astigmatism was down from -8 to -1. However, i am now much more short-sighted after being far-sighted before! i can see quite a bit better now with correction (i could see zero before) but still bad compared to the other eye. i still think it will be hard to see well with glasses even after intacs but am hoping that i will be able wear kerasofts.

[Lizb]

My astigamitism went from -10 to -7, and for me that was just outside the realm of gettting some vision in glasses we almost got there so dont discount the possibility until you have an eye test. I could see barely anything prior to the opp and only a line or so after without correction.

I did have a stitch for my intacs and some of the delay in getting clearance for contact lenses was down to how often my hospital appointments came through.