Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

General forum for the UK Keratoconus and self-help group members.

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melissa
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Posts: 256
Joined: Tue 18 Dec 2007 3:08 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Graft(s) and contact lenses
Location: South Africa

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby melissa » Mon 31 Oct 2011 10:59 pm

i am an architect....
my challenges are dust and wind on sites... and airconditioning in the office and staring at a computer.... and trying to see drawings across boardroom tables...
my solutions (although not perfect ) are....wrap around glasses and sunglasses..... rewetting drops and flaxseed oil.... and for the last one i just get up from my seat and go around the other side of the table making a joke about being blind...
i also battle with seeing defects on my buildings from a distance... so i normally take a colleague to help me and try to use it as an opportunity to train them

it has not been easy.. and i agree that it has been easier since my transplant (in one eye) as my employers now believe me and accept that if i need to go to my doctor or wear an eyepatch in the office that i am not faking it.... i think that they thought i was a bit of a hypochondriac before i had my eye cut open....

my suggestions is basically just not to give up.... you will find a way... it may be different to the conventional way... but dont give up

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Matthew_
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Posts: 814
Joined: Thu 13 Jul 2006 3:13 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Graft(s) and contact lenses
Location: Gallafrey

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby Matthew_ » Wed 02 Nov 2011 3:32 pm

I am a naval officer. Used to be a mine clearance diver but after I had a graft to the left eye, the navy said I could not dive anymore. Ironically, my opthamologist gave me a DALK especially so I could continue diving but my uncorrected va is not good enough (it says so in the book). I never dived anywhere I could see beyond the end of nose but hey! The navy has to be extra careful as they would be in big trouble if they took risks with peoples' health so I do understand the decision. But they have been really good, I got time off after the op and they paid for SuperNova software on my PC. They also did not kick me out, I am still using 20 years of diving experience and coordinating diving operations. I also got sponsorship to do a doctorate in command and leadership, so I am very lucky. I am now at the point where the right eye is progressing fast, so I am looking at another graft. As long as I can see well enough to operate a PC and get out to the dive sites, I will be fine. :D
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Get a life...get a dog!

chris1972as
Regular contributor
Regular contributor
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat 25 Apr 2009 5:33 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: On the waiting list for a graft
Location: derbyshire

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby chris1972as » Wed 02 Nov 2011 7:04 pm

hi folks I have tried every sort of eye drops but they fail to touch my eyes and now on graft list official today :|

ruralrob
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Contributor
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed 24 Sep 2008 12:06 am
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Graft(s) and contact lenses

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby ruralrob » Mon 07 Nov 2011 9:11 am

I am a waking night support worker in a young peoples home for challenging behaviour .I have good vision in my right eye but am having a graft in my left eye in december ,that one is completley shot with a large scar . Unfortunaley I have had a few comments (some not very nice ) from the YPs in the past about the look of the eye .Adults never mention it ,but kids dont hold back!

ruralrob
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed 24 Sep 2008 12:06 am
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Graft(s) and contact lenses

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby ruralrob » Mon 07 Nov 2011 9:35 am

I am a waking night support worker in a young peoples home for challenging behaviour .I have good vision in my right eye but am having a graft in my left eye in december ,that one is completley shot with a large scar . Unfortunaley I have had a few comments (some not very nice ) from the YPs in the past about the look of the eye .Adults never mention it ,but kids dont hold back!

David3569
Newbie
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Posts: 1
Joined: Tue 25 Oct 2016 4:27 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Other

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby David3569 » Tue 25 Oct 2016 4:42 pm

hey! I had a cornea transplants 2010. I couldn't afford the expensive contacts I needed, so i have to do without. I've had a Flex Associate job at Banana Republic.

Mostly folding clothes and such. It was good to the point of: customers pointing out wants from afar, dim lighting (made me sleepy) and most of the time half way through, I'd get nose bleeds. I'm 6'2'' and when I inform colleagues of what i have. They all give the same questions: glasses, contacts. Its hard to keep eye contact. Been told by my "best friend" that i had a lazy eye, and it didn't sit well with me.. I've been made fun of my eyesight ever since I was a kid. luckily, no ones that rude out in the real world. But keeping eye contact is hard. which is one of the main things you need in sales...

all in all, go for what your heart desires. T

Sk_89k
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue 27 Aug 2019 7:13 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Spectacles

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby Sk_89k » Tue 27 Aug 2019 7:19 pm

I'm a graphic designer, I got diagnosed with KC a couple of years ago and had cross linking. I've had to leave two jobs as a designer due to the pain, glare and all the joys that come with it.

I am now out of work and feel utterly useless and stuck on what to do next in my life.

Creativity is a huge part of my identity and it kills me that the thing I love, studied for, and invested time and money is of no more use.

I feel really defeated and sorry to bum you all out but I came on here just to see what options or what other people are doing with their careers and in life in general.

Any help is appreciated as I'm only in my 30s and I don't know what to do. I feel like it stops me in progression or getting to where I know I could be.

brian-ire
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Joined: Wed 27 Jun 2007 6:59 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby brian-ire » Tue 27 Aug 2019 9:26 pm

I'm a software engineer and I've managed to get by for the past 20 years since I was first diagnosed. Hasn't always been easy, it's taken me a little longer to get to a position I'm happy with than I'd prefer and there's been some compromises that I've had to make throughout the years but I'm still in full time employment.

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CrippsCorner
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Posts: 377
Joined: Wed 02 Oct 2013 3:40 pm
Keratoconus: Yes, I have KC
Vision: Contact lenses
Location: Essex
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Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby CrippsCorner » Tue 03 Sep 2019 10:57 am

I work in radiotherapy as an equipment technician - Don't really find keratoconus effects anything specifically apart from maybe looking at lasers! It's a bit hard to see what the fine line is when you're seeing 5 of the same line :shock: it's a shame I don't have the opportunity to move on to being a field engineer though, which would bring a £10k pay rise! However it would involve driving around the country, often in the dark which I just cannot do.

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Lia Williams
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Location: Surrey

Re: Got Keratoconus, What field do you work in??

Postby Lia Williams » Sun 15 Sep 2019 8:53 pm

Hi Sk_89k,

Like many people my job involves spending far too long looking at a computer screen.

I note that your profile states that you correct your vision with spectacles. You may find that you would get better vision with contact lenses.

I get a theoretical 6/9 vision in my better eye with glasses; except that in practice it doesn't seem like that. I wear my glasses first thing in the morning and last thing at night and they enable me to do many things, but not work. My glasses have a high -ve power so not only do I get some residual ghosting from the KC I also get the effect of minification and some chromatic aberrations.

So although when I read text on the screen or in a book the brain can work out what the distorted words are meant to be it's not so good with figures and mathematical signs. + and ÷ can look the same and in some fonts so do 6, 8 and 9.

Do look into getting contact lenses, you won't know whether or not they will improve your vision in less you try them.

Lia


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