Will glasses help or not?

[Sue]

Hi I’m new to the site, although I have been regularly visiting it!!

I’ve had KC in one eye for nearly a year (I’m 41). I wear a hard lens and I’ve been told by the hospital that glasses won’t help me. However this week I had an eye test at a local optician and she said I can wear glasses!!! I’m confused!!!

My prescription is Sph -7.50 Cyl +4.00 Axis 20 and has deteriorated considerably since my last test. I don’t want to have to spend another £200 for glasses that I can’t end up wearing. By the way my KC is mainly in the posterior of the cornea and I was originally told by the hospital that the only option was a graft as lenses wouldn’t help!!! However, I’ve been wearing a lens for about 6 months now and it helps considerably!!!

Any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks, Sue

[Lia Williams]

Hi Sue,

Will glasses be any good? That's a difficult question. The answer is probably some good - but probably not as good as lenses. I have back-up glasses that give me some correction - there are others on this site who would rather wear lenses - or go without and not have glasses which give only partial correction.

I've recently had an eye test and I also have had to decide whether or not to buy a pair of glasses.

I wear my lenses 15 - 16 hours a day, seven days a week with very little problems. I do have an old pair of back-up glasses which have a power of -7.25. The prescription should be stronger - but it was backed off because I hadn't worn glasses for 20 years and it took me some time before verticals appeared vertical in them and I could walk across the room without feeling seasick. Although the glasses corrected my shortsightedness they do little for the mutiple images - but they do allow me to read or cross the road safely.

After my full eye test last month I have a new prescription. It is for -8.75 sph -2.50 cyl (right) and -8.25 -1.5 cyl (left). The cyl corrections should help the KC aspects of my sight - in test conditions I even read the driving standard! The prescription is still backed of so that the increase in prescription isn't too much for my eyes to get used to.

Until this week I resisted ordering a pair of glasse because I know that I'm unlikely to wear them more than 20 minutes a day - hardly justifying spending £250 - 300. Nice frame £100+ plus extra fine lenses. So I've ordered a cheap single vision pair - £40. Hopefully they'll be able to get the thick lenses in the frames and the arms will still close.

If the glasses do give me reasonable sight I'll have another test next year and buy a nice pair.

I suspect however the glasses will not give me the vision I get with lenses and will be for emergencies only.

Sue, I'm not sure if this helps answer your question as you've only been wearing lenses for 6 months. What was your eyesight like before? Were you wearing glasses, or soft contact lenses?

Lia

[Anne B]

Hi, I have never got on with lenses and have only ever worn glasses. My vision is not good and i had a graft in my right eye (November)i would of been really lost without my glasses as they do make a difference to me!!!
i brought myself nice frames and had the lenses reduced so that i felt comfortable wearing them.
I can't tell you if it worth your while getting glasses but i have found mine very helpful.

anne

[Pat A]

Hi
I suppose it depends what the glasses are trying to do for you . For me, they are no good for distance as I'm not actually short sighted anymore in my bad KC eye following a cataract op, and they do nothing to help with the multiple images which is what causes me all my problems.

But I need reading glasses - again due to the cataract op I can't read much at all - only headline stuff - without them - but without my lenses in they don't help either because of the multiple lines all blurring together!

If you are managing well with lenses I'd only get glasses as a back up if you feel you need it - as you are quite short sighted - and just get a cheap pair of frames! I wonder if the optician doesn't really understand KC and (sorry any optoms reading this) is trying to sell you glasses which may only help you a little bit, to make them some money!

[donna]

I wear glasses most of the time as I am short sighted, very bad in one eye and not too bad in the other. The glasses do nothing for the double images and they dont do anything for the halos. I struggle to read because of the multiple images and am waiting for an appointment at the hospital to get some contact lenses. I dont think I will bother much with my glasses then.

[GarethB]

KC is very complicated, if there is just a KC cone and the rest of the cornea surface is quite regular then glasses may be of some help and it depends on how advanced the KC is.

If your cornea has the texture of a crinckle cut chip (irregular astigmatism) then the use of glasses is probably a lot more limiting as it is for me.

I think some hospitals find it easier to deal in one thing because they can get the lenses cheaper as they are over a year purchasing a large numebr of contact lenses.

[Sue]

Thanks very much to all of you who replied - and so quickly!

Lia, my eyesight wasn't that bad before and I just wore glasses - its just recently that its deteriorated rather quickly. I was sent to the hospital quite early on as the optician thought I had a cataract.

I hadn't thought about the "sea sickness" feeling, with having such a strong lens (I remember trying on my grandma's thick lensed glasses when I was little!!).

Thanks again, Sue