Scleral lenses?

[samba_elite]

I've been struggling with soft lenses since being diagnosed 6 years ago,at first the vision was good but i had a lot,and i mean a LOT of issues with tolerance,infections etc,now that's really settled down a lot and i can wear lenses for 12 hours+ without any real hiccups but the vision is uselss and between my opthalmologist and my consultant the suggestions have been thin on the ground as to lens types etc, leaving me pretty down in the dumps.

Then i heard about scleral lenses and mentioned them and they have agreed that it's worth a try (quite why they didnt suggest it sooner when they're the experts and i'm not i really don't know!)and have said they will refer me to moorfields for further examinations.

The problem is that they are not too forthcoming with more information about sclerals so i thought i'd see if anyone on here has them and could shed some more light on the matter?

Are thyey easy to adapt to/fit? vision improvements?
Long-term wear?


Many thanks.

[GarethB]

Hi Samba,

Have a look at this link; Contact Lenses for KC

Soft lenses are used in some cases for early to mild KC before progressing to the RGP corneal lenses. High street optomotrists may well not have a wide range of lenses to try compared to a hospital eye unit. You do not mention any more detail regarding treatment to date, have you been to a hospital eye unit before?

Moorfields will probably do some sort of corneal topography which will show the extent you have KC and will help in lens choice.

There are mixed stories here regarding scelrals from those who have no problems to those who find them as hard to get used to as corneal lenses. Just goes to show we are all different. Some do not get the same visual aquity and need glasses for further correction in addition to sclerals.

As we are all so different in all honsty, it is not possible to say sclerals are for you and that you will adapt to them.

Look at the information on the above link and see what Moorfields have to say. There is a vast number of different lens types which Moorfields may recomend that are ultimetly far better for you.

Hope this helps and all the best.

[samba_elite]

Thanks mate.


In the last 5 years i must have had around 40-50 pairs of lenses as they just seem to wear out!

I can't be fitted with corneal lenses(hard) due to the nature,and more to the point the shape of my KC, i've had countless topographies done using a variety of techniques and equpiment types and have even been told that a graft is not advised due to not so much a severity issue but more an irregularity issue, so really there dosent seem to be much to do!

Mr Akay,my opt is a good bloke but seems to be at a loose end,as done my consultant surgeon, Mr Stephenson, so they've advised sclerals as the next and most promising step, apparently my type of KC merits them and they seem to be positive about the possible outlook.

So i now i feel i need ask the questions again,i can read leaflets all day, and in fact have on many a day but there's no substitute for real life experiences so, anyone with sclerals please get in touch, as i've said before i'm an optimist and negative or pessimistic advice is welcome but won't really help.

[Sweet]

Hehe sorry then that what i will put here won't help as it is negative where sclerals are concerned!

I found them really difficult to get used to and that when i did get them in properly that the vision wasn't much better. I eventually gave up as i had a graft done and so didn't need them as i only really needed them for the bad eye.

A lot of people here though swear by them so please don't let me put you off. They do take a lot of practice and you are not allowed to leave with them until you can prove that you can insert and remove them a few times. However i would say to go for it and give it a good try!

Best of luck with it, Sweet X x X

[samba_elite]

Hey Sweet,rhanks,negative experiences are as welcome as positive ones as i want to know all the facts,good and bad.

One thing that concerns me is not so much the dynamics of the lenses but also the process involved in fitting etc, i'm lead to believe that only a trip or 2 to moorfields will help me,that's a bit worrying when you're used to typical NHS waiting times for even a brief appointment of anything from a few months up to 2-3 years, unless anyone's had experience of other hospitals that deal with sclerals?


I go to Hinchingbrooke in Huntingdon and see Ali Akay and Mr stephenson and they don't deal with sclerals, they seem to think it's moorfields or nothing?

[John Smith]

Hi Samba,

Well, if you've been sent to Moorfields for a scleral fitting, the odds are that you'll end up being seen by Ken Pullum. He really is "Mr. Scleral", and he is incredibly expert at fitting them.

My experience was that he crouched down about 3-4 feet from me and looked at my eyes from a few different angles, and then again under the slit lamp.

He then produced a scleral lens which he thought would fit me. Popped it in my eye, and checked the fit under the slit lamp. He then decided that I needed more clearance between the cone and the lens, and produced the next size up.

And that was pretty much it!

As for getting used to them, they really are a shock when you see one, but most people find them quite easy to get used to, and comfortable when worn. After a few weeks, I couldn't tell I was wearing them!

Insertion and removal do take a fair bit of practice though

[GarethB]

moorfields are not the only eye unit to do Sclerals. The Coventry and Warwick Eye Unit in Coventry have a lens specialist who fits sclerals as does the Birmingham Eye Unit.

There is also an eye unit in Mancheter area that has fitted people with sclerals. It is a specialist fitting but there are a few eye units outside London that fit this type of lens.

[samba_elite]

But the question is.....how do i get into them when i am to be referred to MEH?

I know waiting times are due to patient volume but the timescale i've heard about at moorfields seems overly long even for your first consultation, i think after all the "hurry up and wait" we suffer we should be able to explore the possibility of attending other units, but my opt won't refer me elsewhere.

[sarah.w]

Hi samba
I've been wearing my sclerals for over 2 years now and they have been the best things that have ever happened to me. Before i had them i'd had a sucessful graft but the vision was still poor. I was eventually referred to Ken Pullum at Moorfields who is an absolutle legend, he's helped me so much. From having very poor vision i can now drive and have really good vision so im able to do all the things that i want!
Ok so they are a bit labour intensive to begin with and you do have the odd off day but who doesnt? Im a 19 year old student and i can manage them fine with work, college , going out, sports etc - just dont be put off by the size they are very comfortable i cant even tell they are in!

Hope this helps
sarah

[Andrew MacLean]

I am near Glasgow, and when all other lenses became impossible for me, the contact lens clinic at Gartnavel prescribed and dispensed a scleral for my left eye. At first it was a little uncomfortable, so they got me another with a fenestration just beside the cornea.

I liked my scleral, but I became increasingly lens intollerant: nothing to do with the scleral, just me.

Before we got to that point we had been through a whole ranger of lenses and lens materials. I was amazed at just how much variety there was available.

Andrew