New Glasses

[Khalid6049]

Hi everyone. I have kerataconus in both eye and need to wear rigid contacts to correct my vision. Over the past 6 months I have had to go off work due to my eyes being really sore and not being able to wear my lenses. Glasses dont provide good vision. I went to my optician to see if a new prescription to my glasses may provide better vision so I can start wearing my lenses less. I have had them for 4 days and I feel very dizzy wearing them although vision is better but am seeing ghosting vision. the optician is saying that i should try them for at least a week but I dont think I could last that long. I currently attend Gartnavel hosptial in Glasgow and was wondering what other options there were apart from rigid contact lenses. I am realy worried about my work as I have been off due to my kerataconus and am scared they dont sack me.

Thanks

[Lia Williams]

Hi Khalid,

Welcome to the forum.

If you've not worn glasses for some time it can take time to adjust to seeing with glasses again. This is because the brain has to interpret the images differently. I have a high negative prescription and it took me a few weeks to adapt to wearing my glasses, which I wear for about hour each day in the morning. I couldn't believe how long it took to adjust - for years I had thought that glasses were of no use to me. So the dizziness should go as the brain gets used to the vision. The ghosting is probably due to the irregular astigmatism of keratoconus.

There are other contact lenses so do ask at your next appointment if you can be prescribed a different type of lens. There are soft lenses specifically designed for keratoconus or perhaps you could you could try piggybacking where a soft lens is worn under the rigid lens.

Good luck,

LIa

[Khalid6049]

Hi,
I had my previous glasses for about 7 years and they helped a little but not a lot and used to wear them a few hrs morning and night. My optician said that it will take a week or so to adjust and to wear them all the time? I cant see properly with them to wear continously for a week.

The rigid lenses provide good vision but just recently my eyes have been sore with them in. I have tried soft contacts before and they dont provide adequate vision.

My recent examination was
Dist cyl Axis
Right -9.5 -6.00 174
Left -5.5 -1.00 110

[Lia Williams]

Hi Khalid,

Looking at your prescription (and I'm not an optometrist just someone who has worn contact lenses for years) there is quite a difference between the eyes and maybe this causing an extra problem as the right eye will be seeing things a lot smaller than the left. It could be the old glasses had a reduced prescription in the right eye. I'm afraid I'm guessing - your optician should be able to give some advice.

As for contact lenses piggybacking may work if you are getting good vision with your RGPs. Or maybe a slightly different design of RGP which would sit on a different part of the cornea, or semi-scleral lenses which are about the same size as a soft lens but as they sit on the white of the eye they vault the cornea and can be more comfortable.

Or perhaps you could try re-wetting drops with your current lenses.

Lia

[Khalid6049]

Hi Lia

The old glasses had a reduced prescription in the right eye and now the optician has given me a much stronger lens for the right eye. The left lens hasnt changed by much. I think thats the reason why I am finding it hard to adjust.

I have only worn soft contacts lens and RGPs for 6 years each and never has my specialist mentioned any other lens which I can try. I mentioned the piggy back lens and she said it would mean less oxygen getting through to my eyes.The semi-scleral lenses sound interesting. Do you think intacs is a possibility and is it available on the NHS?

Khalid

[Lia Williams]

Hi Khalid,

I'm sorry but I don't know enough about intacs to comment.

RGPs are the most common type of contact lenses used for KC. Although ordinary soft lenses can work in some cases. In recent years there have been special KC soft lenses developed and these can very well for some people.

As for piggybacking some of the newer soft lenses let a lot more oxygen to cornea than older lenses, as much as 98% I believe. So the reduction in oxygen to the cornea is less of a problem than it once was.

Hopefully we will hear something about the latest contact lenses at the KC Group conference in Manchester on Saturday.

Lia