UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi all,

Hope you guys can help. I have just been fitted with my first pair of RGP contact lenses today. Now, I have done a lot of research and understand that they take some getting used yo comfort wise. What I didn't expect was a serious reduction in quality of vision. My left eye is significantly worse with the lens in than with no correction at a all.

My optician has told me to give the lenses some time, but I guess I was expecting to see at least as well as with spectacles. I feel like I am learning to cope with the discomfort of rgp's with no benefit (my vision is worse with them in).

Am I being impatient? Or should I preserver for a while. I guess I was just expecting an instant result after reading other peoples experiences.

Thanks all in advance

What you describe is so far from my own experience that I am completely at a loss to understand what might be going on. Maybe somebody will be along in a moment with an explanation, but I should say that although I was not able to ward my lenses long when they were first fitted, I did have significantly improved eyesight when they were in.

Andrew

Hi Plasticfridge,

You should be able to see better with your lenses than with your spectacles otherwise there is not much point in wearing them!

The only thing I can think of is that when you first put the lens in there might be lots of tears affecting your vision but when the lens has settled after half an hour or so I would have thought that you should be able to see properly. Another thought is that the prescription needs to be tweaked slightly. It's not unusual for lenses not to be correct first time.

Lia

Well, my lens fitter told me that RGP's are the best correction for KC.

I have tried different hybrids and RGP's (piggy back) and they give me worse ghosting than soft lenses. RGP's all give me the same ghosting, in the same direction. It makes my vision worse.

If there's no improvement in comfort/vision within a few days I'd go back

Lou

Any news?

Andrew

The change in vision may be down to how the optomotrist is wanting it to work. Some fit lenses so they push the cone flatter but as the fitting is done over a relatively short time compared to getting used to lenses, the cornea may be flattend more. The other thing some fitters do is have a lens that squezes the cornea to make it more rounded.

I only found this out when my vision changed steadily over 9 months when I didtched RGP's which I found extreemly painful after 4 years and gave reasonable vision. As I got used to Kerasift lenses my right eye got steeper but vision improved and my left eye went flatter.

Gone from max of 2 hours lens wear up to 20+ hours (average is 16 hours because that is how long I am usually awake!) and get 6/5 most days, 6/6 is a bad eye day for me, no only at the hospitla for an anula check up rather than 1 per month which I used to attend. Been using these lenses for four years now and they are far superior than an RGP lens for vision and comfort, I did keep a diary of changing from RGP lenses and getting used to Kerasoft lenses.

These gave me a new leasse of life that I now work in Belgium and the new job means that I travel all round Europe, something I would never have thought to try and do with RGP lenses which used to fog up if I went from -5C outside to +18C in the house and feel icy cold on my eye. In February I was in Austria walking round in -18C to get to a restraunt which was at +21C and no changes in vision.

If the lenses are cauing a real problem, you really need to pursue further with your lens fitter as some fail to appreciate how hard it is for us to adapt to these lenses and even once adapted what issues we have with them.

plasticfridge wrote:Hi all,

Hope you guys can help. I have just been fitted with my first pair of RGP contact lenses today. Now, I have done a lot of research and understand that they take some getting used yo comfort wise. What I didn't expect was a serious reduction in quality of vision. My left eye is significantly worse with the lens in than with no correction at a all.

My optician has told me to give the lenses some time, but I guess I was expecting to see at least as well as with spectacles. I feel like I am learning to cope with the discomfort of rgp's with no benefit (my vision is worse with them in).

Am I being impatient? Or should I preserver for a while. I guess I was just expecting an instant result after reading other peoples experiences.

Thanks all in advance

My experience was exactly the same

I had much worse vision with RGP's, and in the end gave up.

Ive now got a kerasoft lens, but I rarely wear it as its pretty rubbish too. It makes my vision worse, particuarly outdoors.
But in an opticians wearing it my left eye can read down all the way to the bottom line.

However in real life, its really blurry and I cant even read a computer screen with it - it makes no sense whatsoever.

Dont give up though, hopefully you'll prosper whereas ive just completely given up with lenses.