UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi All
Spoke to my optometrist today. The letter has gone off to my GP to put me back in the loving hands of the NHS (after 30 years of wearing RGP’s). Sounds like the person at the hospital who looks after the KC patient’s works for him on a Thursday . He has spoken to her and she is told him she would be starting off with Corneal Topography. Question for those that have had it done. Do you have to have your lenses out for any period of time before the mapping (for the cornea to regain a natural shape) if so how long. Just trying to work out how to get to the hospital if that’s the case

Ian

When ever I have had topographys done you jut pop the lenses out when they are ready to take the measurements. With a study I took part in we found that after 4 years of RGP lens wear it took over 12 months for the corneas to return to their 'natural KC state'. I know others have found the same depending on how flat or tight fitting their lenses were.

Don't think anyone would like to go too long without lenses just so they could have a topography in its unaffected state. Lucky I had soft lenses for KC which don't mould the eye and I ams till wearing the Kerasoft IC lenses.

I know when i was going for a private consult last year regarding CXL and Intacs i was asked if i could manage without CL could i do so to give the eye chance to settle down before having a topograph. The timescales they gave me (from memory) was a week for RGP and 48 hours for soft/hybrid lenses.

My NHS hospital (in the north west) a few years ago asked if i could leave my RGP out (when i was wearing them) for 24 hours before an appointment for them to be able to get a realistic topography.

However I still have useable vision in my right eye (with glasses), which i can not get in the left eye, so these requests do not impact my day to day life. I guess that it depends on the hospital, the clinic and if you are able to manage without CL at all for general life - a lot of people with KC cant.

Thanks for the replies. I have no useful vision without the lenses. Guess it will be two days off work and the wife driving/guiding me then if its a 24 hour period Best make sure the Iphone is charged up so I can listen to some music surft the net.(Iphones are great you can surf the net whilst resting it on your nose )

Check with the hospital to see what they require. My hospital letters say that I must go with my lenses in for at least 1 hour.

So just to make sure we haven't contradicted any hospital advice, call the clinic first to make sure you are doing the right thing.