Diving with Scleral Lenses

[divesergeant]

Thanks alex,

I think he's looking down the road a bit to allow time for more info to come in as the procedure matures. But if things start going downhill with my corneas quicker we can jump to it. So far, things seempretty much stable with not a lot of progression lately. (I'm crossing my fngers hoping it'll stay that way!)

Thanks for sharing your experience and happy diving.

 

[caffeinedreams]

Glad to hear it man! Hope that continues. Happy diving

 

[divesergeant]

You too!

Cheers,
DS

 

[vacagirl]

Thanks divesergeant for this thread. I was recently told to get scleral lenses. I was very apprehensive since I was a long time gas perm wearer in the 70s and 80s. Gave up when they became just too uncomfortable. Then did the multiple refractive surgery experiments. Now with the experience that you are having with daily vision fluctuations. My local optometrist said the next step was corneal transplants. Found the Univ of Michigan Kellogg eye center by accident when asking a different opthamologist about options. The corneal specialist there said I was not a cross linking candidate but I may be early in my "disease" I'm not sure. My first re-check for progression is still a few months away. I pick up my sclerals on Thursday. I was looking for dive info & found this blog. Thank you. You have made me feel MUCH encouraged.

 

[vacagirl]

Was it on this thread someone posted about a Facebook group for post refractive complications? Can someone give me the name of that group or a link please? Thanks

 

[Davend Dominick]

I dive with mine all the time. They are the greatest thing ever. Even opened my eyes during a mask clear accidentally and they did not come out.
Just make sure you fill them with saline completely... No air, but you should be doing that all the time anyways

 

[divesergeant]

Vacagirl and Davend,

Glad the thread is helpful. I had seached high and wide for info with little success and after calling DAN figured others were in the same boat, hence the thread!

I hope the sclerals work for you. They have been a blessing for me. I still find them a bit uncomfortable at times but I see well, so it is worth it. The learning curve for putting them in was a bit hard but it is second nature now. Just do like Davend said and be sure you get them filled completely with fluid. Air bubbles in your lens can be a frustrating!

I got a second pair recently and alternate them so every few days I can give each pair a double cleaning. That, and on my days off I skip a day if I can to give my eyes a break. It seems to help with comfort.

I don't have the link to the facebook page for refractive surgery problems, hipefully someone can help with that. I think it as early in this thread.

Keep us posted on how they work and your learning curve for inserting and removing!

Cheers,
DS

 

[vacagirl]

Well I didn't get them today. First fitting was not optimal. She wants to change the Rx for the right and totally change the filing on the left (too tight she said). I did practice a bit at insertion/removal. Even tho I wore RGP for years, this is a bit different. Plus these are toric so I have to find the "little dot" that tells me the bottom. They expect me to do that when I can't see???? Gonna take some practice.

A big question: I did not realize that these had a fixed focal length. I will be able to see great at distance but may still need to wear glasses to see mid & near. Do you guys have this issue? I was a bit disappointed but will give it a go. To have steady vision may be worth it

I found the Facebook group. Thanks. Now I understand why I can't see a bit better. It's a bit of a negative group tho.

 

[Bratface]

I can see like a hawk at a distance but need readers for up close and to see computer. I have no issues seeing my Dive computer. Don’t give up. I also wore rigid contacts. Inserting and removing them is different and the care is also different. It can be annoying but worth it for good vision.

I quit every Facebook page on scleral lenses after a few weeks. I also found them to be negative people. The last one I quit because everyone was posting videos of them inserting their lenses.

 

[divesergeant]

I have one that ended up a bit better for distance and one a bit better for near-ish. In most cases I can get along with them for reading if I have really good light and decently sized font. A magazine-size font is about as small as will work without cheaters. I don't think we started out trying for mono-vision, but ended up slightly that way. Both eyes work for intermediate distance so I don't really notice it at all.

It is common to have several fittings, at least in my experience and from what I read. I had 6 or more visits and was getting quite frustrated. It was worth it, so hang in there!

Mine have a bottom and top also, but I don't worry when I insert them. They settle where they need to be. I don't know if the bottom is weighted a bit or if they just settle onto the eye based on the fit. I found it easier to skip the mirror and just insert them with a plunger while watching the dark center of the plunger as it comes up to your eye. You'll get the hang of it!

I ended up looking for the facebook groups too. Yeah, not much more than bitterness there. I don't need someone else to tell me that is sucks. I'm quite aware. I was looking for ideas and experiences of fixes. I'm sure they are there, too, but finding them by wading through the whining was painful.

Keep us posted Vacagirl. It gets frustrating but you'll get there.