long time no see

[mike scott]

hi everyone
sorry not submitted for a while, been a very busy few weeks. the last time i submitted i had just collected my new rpg's, i guess that was about 6 weeks ago. to start with they were both very comfortable, but sadly after only a few days the tolerance in my left eye had dropped off again. so i'm back to wearing that lens every other day again at best , and then for only about 4-5 hrs max. i'm now beginning to think that my left eye is becoming almost lens intollerant. i have next checkup in october with a new consultant so i will try and persevere until then. i know i shouldnt but i get fed up of optoms prodding and poking all the time. at the mo i'm struggling along with the right lens only and can usually get a good days wear from that but at the mo i have a slight abrasion on the cornea that is reducing time, but that will heal after about a week. however painful at the mo which as we all know increases light sensitivity dramatically.
vicious circles eh.
anyway thats my feel sorry for myself moan off my chest, hope everyone else is plodding along ok

mike

[GarethB]

Mike,

Have you tried lubricating eye drops?

I was having lens problems last year and got to the point of 2 hours lens wear on a good day. Lubricating eye drops and drinking 2 litres of water in addition to any other drink and now my lens wear is an easy 12 hours and has been for over six months now.

The only hick up was when I was on pain killers, they changed my eye presure slightly so the KC cone changed and the lens just would not sit in the correct place giving discomfort, low vision and reduced lens wear.

I would give these a try before concluding lens tolerance or lens fit is an issue.

Finding the right drops is trial and error as they can take a week or more before the effects start to happen.

[mike scott]

hi gareth
thanks for your advice.
i went out this morning and purchased a bottle of "refresh contacts" by "allergan" and as both my eyes are in pain at the mo tried them out a little sceptically, but i have to say the relief has been almost instantaneous.
i am amazed at how much comfort i have had for the day so far with the right eye. i havent attempted vthe left yet as it is really painful but i have put the drops in that one as well, so really , thank you.
i will try them on a continual basis and hope to god it works, but we have to keep trying dont we? and if we cant help each other then no one else will

thanks again gareth
mike

[Matthew_]

Mike,
Glad you got a result.

Gareth,
What is the story with pressure? What should it be, why is it bad when it is not in normal limits?

[GarethB]

Matthew,

No idea of what normal eye pressure is.

I know when I used diclophenac before my sight changed a bit, I lost one line on the eye chart. That was back when I wore glasses so I called the help line on the back of the medication leaflet as that stated can affect vision. They said it changed the eye pressure slightly but most people never experienced this.

As I wear lenses now, a change in eye preasure can change the shape of the cone.

A good analergy is a bike tyre that has worn really thin and the inner tube pushes the thin bit of tyre like a blister. Because part of the tyre is worn, any slight increase/decrease in inner tube pressure will make the thin part of the tyre bulge more or less than anyother part of the tyre.

I now know if I use diclophenac that I have to either go sighted in one eye just to get to work and work without any lenses just so i do not strain one eye. That way I can still work and take the medication.

[Matthew_]

That's interesting. My optician mentioned that the pressure in my eye is very low; I wonder if that is significant or not? She did not behave as if it was and I thought it was linked with the fact that I have lowish blood pressure(110/60) and a low heart rate (42 bpm).

[rosemary johnson]

High pressure inthe eye can be a sign of glaucoma developing.
Apparently, eyes with KC can often give unnaturally low eye pressure readings because the cornea being soft and a bit squashy anyway means it yields more to pressure testing machine and so reads lower than it should.
THis could potentially mean it would be harder to diagnose incipient glaucoma in people with KC......
Rosemary

[Andrew MacLean]

I am sure I read somewhere this year about a study in Japan that found that although they measured within normal Intraocular Pressure ranges during the day, the IOP of some Glaucoma patients rose dangerously during the night.

Treated early, Glaucoma is not a problem. Left untreated it can lead to permanent loss of sight.

I found this page helpful

http://www.site4sight.org.uk/Quality/RG ... aucoma.htm

Andrew

[John Smith]

Interesting site, Andrew; thanks for posting it.

Unfortunately, it comments on "side effects being common in the elderly using non selective beta-antagonists". These are the side effects which I suffered (breathing difficulties) when using Timolol to lower my pressure.

I know that we're all different, but I'm only 41, and this site is calling me "elderly"! Hmmpf.

[Andrew MacLean]

John

Should I post them a note asking them to change their description of those at risk of side effects to "young, middle aged and elderly"?

Andrew