keratoconus treatments that are not hard contacts?

Question

I have severe keratoconus in one eye (the other eye doesn't show any traces).  I went to a reputable doctor and was given a hard contact lens.  It worked fine, but because my fingers were so big, I couldn't remove it.  When I kept trying I ended up causing eye trauma and having to go to the ER.  Long story short, ER Doctor said no contacts for me...   So now I am faced with either continuing to be blind in one eye (it manifested 5 years ago) or is there some other treatment that works for someone who doesn't have insurance?  My company canceled it on me.

David E · Accepted Answer

I agree with Prince about not taking the word of an ER doc about wearing contacts. If you continue to wear a rigid gas permeable lens, it would be a good idea to get a suction cup. Your doctor can teach you how to use it and it should keep you out of the ER. You could also have Intacs and/or Collagen Cross Linking done. These are still in the investigation stages as a treatment for keratoconus so insurance does not pay for it (not a problem in your case). Just a few corneal specialists are doing it right now so you need to ask around.

Anonymous · Answer

First I would become familiar with taking out your lenses with suction cups designed for that. Using your hands is really out of the question here. Unfortunately there are many in the medical field who have yet to have enough experience with this condition to give solid and reliable advice. Always consult with someone who knows what they are talking about, in this case your ER Doctor would not qualify. I live next door to a nurse and she never even heard of my disease until I described it to her.

As far as other treatments you could try and get some Kerasoft lenses which is the soft version of the RGP lenses we use. I have not tried them myself but they should be a lot easier to deal with and allow you to have at least some functional vision in your eye. Perhaps you could use both where you would switch from a soft lens to a hard lens if you needed to do some more detail work.

Finally there is the option of having surgery such as a cornea transplant as well you could try and see if the combination of intacs and cross linking would work in your case. The advancements being made in treating this disease is remarkable and perhaps soon there will be a cure.

princeidoc · Answer

it is my experience that ER docs don't know a whole lot about contact lenses or eye conditions.  just b/c the ER doc said "no contacts"...does that mean you "can't" wear contacts?  not to me it doesn't.  go to an eye doctor.

and yes, I fit most of my 'cones now with SYNERGEYES hybrids.  good luck.

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keratoconus treatments that are not hard contacts?

3 Answers