Trying to get used to RGPs

[Vic]

I went to Moorfields on Friday to get the lenses that ad been fitted and ordered before Christmas. Unfortunately the one for my PK eye wasn’t the right fit so had to be redone but the lens for my other eye was ok so after the lesson on cleaning and inserting/removing, I was sent away with the one lens to get used to. I’ve never worn RGPs before - I had a very brief spell with soft lenses about 8 years ago (only lasted a month) before they stopped me wearing them due to a damaged epithelium. And I’m finding the lens very hard to try and adjust to. At the moment I’m trying to start building up wear time in the evenings. But I am having huge problems getting it in and out. This evening it took me 45 minutes to get the lens in, and other attempts have been not dissimilar. Tonight for the first time I managed to get it in centrally but the other times it’s always ended up in the corner of the eye and having to be pushed back onto the cornea which then means that the eye feels sore and the lens is even harder to tolerate. I know to a fair extent a lot of the difficulties surrounding getting it in are to do with fear and anticipation of sticking it in my eye and getting all worked up over it, but it’s frustrating and wearing to sit there for so long trying to get the wretched thing in with no success. It feels pathetic to not be able to do it, other people manage it no problem. Getting it out is hard as well and again it often ends up slipping off the cornea and me having to try and rescue it from the corner of the eye with the plunger. I was just wondering I suppose if anyone else experienced the same kinds of difficulties / fears with getting used to lenses and what worked in terms of trying to overcome it and get more proficient and confident with it. Because I so need to be able to wear the lenses to get the better VA to meet job requirement, but it’s the fifth day now and I had been hoping that it would at least be slightly easier but if anything it just seems to be getting harder.

[Arun]

Hi

Glad to hear that you have got a new lens. I started on RGPs about 6 years ago. When I first started I was much like yourself at getting them in. I would always get it in one corner of my eye and have to drag it across. Getting them out was a huge problem for me. I did not have the benefit of a plunger. I spent up to an hour getting them out at first. I even contemplated going to A&E to get it out one night. After a while and with practice I got better at getting them and out. Before I moved to sclerals I could them in and out first time. I guess it is not too dissimilar from learning to ride a bike. It is a bit about confidence and a bit about technique. It may take a little while but if you keep trying you should hopefully get there. How are you finding the lens once it is in?

[Andrew MacLean]

Vic

Too bad about the PK eye.

do not over extend yourself with the RGP. It is not a really good idea to move the lens about on the surface of your eye. It would probably be safer to take it out and put it back in.

I had the advantage when I was first fitted with an RGP that nobody else put it in my eye for me. When I first went for a test fitting the young assistant (perhaps she was a pre registration optometrist) got me to pop the lens in and take it out, over and over again.

What you are doing is probably quite an unnatural process: putting something onto the surface of your eye. Here is what worked for me.

Wash hands thoroughly, and make sure that all soap has been rinsed off.

Place clean lens with the well full of a favourite lens fluid onto the tip of the middle finger of the right hand.

Using the fourth finger of the right hand, pull down lower eye lid.

Using the left hand pull up right eyelid.

Now, facing straight down onto a surface covered with either a clean handkerchief or scent-free tissue bring the lens up towards the centre of the eye.

When lens touches cornea, release eyelids and blink. Lens ought to be well placed and stable on the cornea.

All the best.

Andrew

[GarethB]

Vic,

I think we have all been there and I soemtimes think we want to see so desperatlly we put undue preassure on ourselves.

Personally I think trying lenses in the morning is best because you can give yourself time to wake properly. The other thing is, if putting the lens is troublesome you can walk away and have plenty more hours in the day to have another go. If my lenses do not go in after 15 minutes, put them away and have a rest. Most the time they go in fine after that, but it ultimatly comes down to practice.

That can mean without a lens, just get used to opening your eye lids and gently touching the eye with a clean finger.

Lens always ending up in the corner, well that happens to me due to the shape of the cornea. If I put a lens in dead centre then it will always skid off! Put the lens in slightly off where the corneal deformation is and it will go on pretty much first time every time. This is for my right eye where the lens sits very much to the left of the cornea.

I also recomend to those I have spoken to at the Birmingham group about to get lenses or getting used to them, to get a week or so off work to practice. This gives you all the time in the day with very little pressure on you regarding time constraints, needing to be places or see. You are in more control and can go at your pace.

Hope this helps.

Gareth

[Anne Klepacz]

I don't know about the rest of you, but even after 30 yrs of wearing RGPs, I can't put them in without looking in a mirror to see whether I'm putting them in centrally. And even then, I don't always manage it first time! I guess we all develop our own technique and the difference lenses make to our vision is a huge motivator. But as Gareth says, if it's not working, it's best to go off and do something else for a while and then come back and try again - nothing worse than trying to force a lens into a sore eye! Good luck - I'm sure you'll get there.
Anne

[Andrew MacLean]

I forced myself to do it withoug a mirror. I was helped in this by my native short-sightedness: I could watch the lens through the final stages of its docking procedure!

That meant that I would never be stuck if I had no mirror.

Andrew

[Sweet]

Vic

I am really sorry that you are having trouble with your lenses, that is the most frustrating thing especially when you have been waiting a long time for them. I know that you really need your VA to work i'm not allowed to suture either because my vision isn't good enough.

It is all about practice, the more you do it the better it will be. I am really lucky that i have never needed a mirror and just look straight ahead and put it in. Maybe your cornea is a different shape as Gareth said which means that you are being central but your lens is sliding? Have you got a topography scan?

The whole fear about touching your eye is very common, most of the staff in work can't either. Did they not give you any anaesthetic drops just so that you can spend some time practising? I find benoxinate absolutely brilliant (it does have another name now which i have forgotten) but maybe you could get some and try it? Your eye will be nice and numb for a little time and you can practice putting a lens in and touching your eye.

Take your time Vic. This isn't a race though i know that it feels like it at times. I never did get the hang of sclerals and drove myself mad trying. After hours of practicing and still getting air bubbles and having saline run down my arm (a real phobia of mine) i used to be in tears and wanting to scream and throw the dam things away!!! I gave up and went back to RGPs, we are not all good at the same things.

Be nice to you and take care. Thinking of you

[John Smith]

Vic,

It really is tough, as you're getting lots of different techniques thrown at you. Try out a few, as you may well find one that works for you.

Initially, my insertion technique was to pull down the lower lid and let a lens rest there between the lid and the eye. Then with the upper lid held firmly open, let go of the lower lid... and ping! The lens is in your eye, usually pretty straight on. This technique certainly requires a mirror.

Once my vision became so bad that the mirror was useless, I developed a technique similar to Andrew's... with a very full (overflowing apart from the surface tension) lens balanced on a dry finger. Then the other hand holds the eyelids open, and the lens is gradually brought closer to the eye. When it gets very close, the eye makes contact - but with the droplet rather than the hard plastic - and the surface tension then literally sucks the lens from your finger to your eye, and you'll generally get it spot-on when you're doing it, too.

The dry finger is the key to this one.

Don't fret over it, and you'll soon find a technique that helps you. Try not to spend too long in one session either. As Gareth says. Put the stuff away and try again in an hour or so.

All the best,

[Steven Williams]

Hi Vic,

Your RGP experience to date mirrors my own.

Were they happy/satisfied with the fit of the lens at Moorfields? If they were it should not be coming off the cone.

Sore eyes:- treat them with Systane (Thanx to Gareth's tip) good but pricey!

If the lens has a coloured tint (ask for BLUE for left eye, and GREEN for right eye) it makes it alot easier to locate.

I found it difficult putting the lenses in due to the small diameter and fighting to keep my lids open but taking out no problem using the lids to pop them out.

However if the lens was on the white of the eye......oh boy.......it was a lie on the bed job facing the ceiling with my wife locating the lens then moving it onto the cornea then me popping it out. No plunger provided for me with RGPs but have one with the mini scleral I have been prescibed with.

It was practically impossible for me to use the lenses at work. For that reason I had no confidence in them allowing me to adequately function. They were not fit for purpose!

Good luck

[GarethB]

Steven,

Get Systane from Postoptics, I get all my stuff from there and it works out cheaper. Especially if you concent to their news letter, I have benefitted from several discount offers.