UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hiya

I was diagnosed with KC when I was 17, I'm 33 now and have always used glasses. I only have KC in my right eye my left is not affected.

On evenings out I've always just not wore my glasses, I'm lucky enough that I can do this as my left eye is fine so I can see But I was just wondering what peoples experiances are with contacts?

I tried them years ago and I found it really uncomfortable as the contact was so rigid. I'd like to try then again, maybe times have changed since I last tried them and they aren't as bad.

I've been discharged from St Paul's eye hospital in Liverpool so not sure how I could go about getting specialised contacts. Does anyone know of anywhere in Liverpool where I can go to?

Thanks
Rachael

Hi Racheal and welcome to the forum,

Some people do find rigid contact lenses uncomfortable and they can take some getting used to; and sometimes the fitting needs to be adjusted to get a comfortable fit. As you only needed a contact lens in one eye, and you can manage with glasses, it is not surprising that you gave up with the rigid lenses as you probably found that the overall improvement in your vision wasn’t worth hassle.

As your right eye can be connected by glasses it is quite likely that your KC is quite mild and ordinary soft lenses may be able to correct your right eye to a similar standard. It would certainly be worth asking your optician to have contact lens trial to see what vision can be obtained with ordinary soft lenses.

If ordinary soft lenses don’t correct the vision in your right eye then you could ask to be referred back into the hospital system for specialised lenses. Alternatively you could find a high street optician who is able to prescribe specialised contact lenses.

Lia