Hello to everyone :)

[Lawz]

Wanted to create this topic so could get some feedback on what I should do about my KC.

I've had KC now for a good few years, diagnosed by Specsavers and refered to the hospital. I wore glasses for a number of years and I'm 24 now and have been on Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses for 2 years. Both times I've had my lenses prescribed to me by Spec-Savers.

My main question is who should I visit to get better contacts/improve my eyesight, I really want to start to learn to drive but I think I'm unable to do so, I'm not confident of passing the eyesight requirements with my current contact lenses. I'm not overly sure which type of lenses I have either, although I think I remember the optician saying they were F-50's or something at the time of purchase.

Any information about what I can do to manage my eyesight better would be welcomed.

Lawrie.

[Andrew MacLean]

Lawrie

Welcome to the forum. I am not sure from you post whether you have been referred to a hospital clinic? If not, you should go to your GP and explain that you have been told that you have keratoconus and ask for a referral to an ophthalmologist. The ophthalmologist is a doctor who specializes in disorders of the eye.

Once you are in the hospital system your ophthalmologist may either refer you to an in-hospital contact lens clinic or to a high street optician who provides contact lenses under contract to the hospital on the NHS. This means that you will need to pay only about £53 per lens and not the full commercial price.

Most of us who have found the appropriate lenses for our condition are able to see comfortably well enough to drive.

All the best

Andrew

[Lizb]

just an add on to Andrew's post that £53 per lens is per year and doesnt generally include solutions that may be needed.

[GarethB]

To be able to drive you need to be able to read a standard car number plate at 20.5 meters or be able to achieve 6/12 minumum with corrected vision.

Not all hospitals have contact lens clinics so lens fitting is contracted out which might be why Specsavers is providing your lenses. The upside is short waiting times, more time can be spent fitting lenses and once orderd you get your lenses quicker. The downside some face is a lack of choice regarding lenses available for KC, the optoms don't fit many people so experience can be lacking.

There is a whole raft of lenses available to us, so in the first instance it may be worth sitting down with your current fitter and discuss your situation regarding wanting to drive and see what is available.

[Lawz]

When I first got the condition I was referred to a hospital clinc at Solihull eye hospital, but at that time they said I could manage with glasses as I didn't want to try contact lenses at that point. After a few years, I suddenly stopped wearing glasses for some reason and after a family member seemed to get along alright with contacts I eventually went to specsavers and told them my condition in which they did a contact lens fitting.

I usually have to pay £20 per appointment for a lens fitting per yer, plus the contacts are about £100 per year from specsavers. I buy my own solution as well so thats nothing new. Does anyone think I'd be better visiting the hospital again and seeing if I could get a better prescription there?

[Anne Klepacz]

Hello Lawrie,
There are some good contact lens fitters in Specsavers and other High St opticians, but most are not used to dealing with keratoconus. Whereas in Solihull or the Birmingham Hospital in Dudley Road, all the optometrists would see a lot of people with KC and have a greater range of contact lenses to choose from. So if you're not getting very good vision with your current contacts, why not ask your GP to refer you back to Solihull or Birmingham?
Anne

[Lawz]

Bit of a bump in the topic after a nearly a year I had a hospital appointment yesterday for a eye check up. I had been waiting for a contact lens appointment however that did not arrive, after telling the doctor this he did some searching to find out the system never booked it for me and went to the reception. They were able to squeeze me in at short notice then and there because the 10am appointment was late and I got to see the Contact lens fitter. After looking at my eyes he doesn't think it'll be too much of a problem fitting me with lenses that would be good enough to drive. I was told my right eye wasnt that bad and my left eye was only moderatly bad which is good news for me. I'm waiting on another appointment now for my first contact lens fitting with him, he's much more of a expert then what I was getting at specsavers so everything seems to be working out amazingly.

Lawz