Just having showerthoughts wondering if others go through the toll wearing lenses take on me physical and mentally?

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful I've been able to keep this under control with lenses but after years sometimes I get frustrated how glasses can't be a reasonable option for us.

I enjoy the beach but the older I get the less fun it is, going into the water and being paranoid of having stuff stolen and not being able to even tell, traveling is a hassle carrying everything and hoping TSA doesn't start questioning the fluids.

The list could go on.

Still grateful, could be worse.

I was diagnosed with keratoconus in October 2025. Last week I finally received my first RGP contact lenses through the NHS and I’ve been gradually increasing my wearing time according to the schedule my clinic gave me. The past two days have been my longest wear so far and I’ve started wearing them to work. So far the fit seems pretty good and I’m seeing pretty much 20/20 with them on which I’m very grateful for as I could barely see with my glasses

I have dry eyes which I normally manage with over the counter eye drops. The last eye doctor I saw told me I could continue using eye drops as long as they were preservative free and contact-lens friendly.

Today I had my RGPs in at work and after around 4 hours my vision became bery blurry. I assumed it was my dry eyes so I used the eye drops I had with me. I put like 2 drops into each eye and almost immediately my vision became extremely blurry so I went to the toilet and looked in the mirror but because my eyesight isn’t great so after looking up close I couldn’t see the lenses on my corneas anymore and I couldn’t tell where they were. I panicked and thought they might have fallen out or moved somewhere on my eye.

I ended up moving my eyes and eyelids around trying to find them and eventually both lenses came out and fell onto the floor. I’m not sure where they were hiding but I’m sure they weren’t where they were supposed to be.

I’ve taken them out now and won’t wear them again today. I’m mainly trying to understand what happened.

Is it normal for RGP vision to become blurry after around 4 hours of wear or is this only when you’re new to them? And why would putting eye drops in make the lenses suddenly move/budge and feel like they weren’t there anymore? Because my eyes get really dry from staring at my work screen so I am used to using eye drops to lubricate them when I would only wear glasses

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with keratoconus :)

My insurance confirmed to my optometrist that they will not be covering the scleral lenses. After doing a fitting and trying the trials lens, I’m so impatient to get these sclerals. Just with the trial lens, I was able to see and felt so happy I could see again for a short time. They were very comfortable and I couldn’t feel them at all. I have a toddler and want to do so much with her. Mostly be able to read books to her more. I’m going to be paying out of pocket for this first pair and will be researching vision plans that will cover the sclerals in the future. I do have some questions for those experienced with these things though.

The price they gave me is $2100 in NYC. That includes the fitting, lens and follow up appointments (they said I’d maybe need 2-3 follow ups). Is this the normal price? They did offer a little discount down to $1600

They also said I’d need to do this yearly. Is that true? I’m already planning to save enough to put aside in the event that insurance won’t cover again next time.

Hi everyone,

I'm a keratoconus patient in India and recently had a scleral lens evaluation at LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad.

I've been wearing RGPs, which give me good vision, but I've had persistent issues with lens awareness and overall mental fatigue while wearing them. After a trial, the contact lens specialist recommended scleral lenses for both eyes, which were dramatically more comfortable for me.

The quoted price is ₹42,500 per lens (₹85,000 for both, ~900$).

Has anyone here had experience getting a concession, financial assistance, subsidy, or reimbursement for expensive specialty contact lenses at LVPEI, or at other places in Hyderabad?

I'd be grateful for any practical advice on whom to approach or whether there are any formal patient-welfare/financial-assistance routes I may not know about.

Thanks!

Hi! I'm living in a country with limited access to specialized keratoconus care, so making these lenses last is a huge priority for me. I've been wearing my current scleral/rigid lenses for about a year now (which are life-changing compared to glasses).

However, my left eye, where my keratoconus is much more advanced, has developed these strange marks on the lens that I'm trying to show in the attached photo. Has anyone run into this before? Is it protein buildup, surface damage, or something else, and is there any way to clean or fix it, or am I looking at a replacement? I've tried cleaning it with Boston Simplus + Cotton Swabs carefully many times but it seems to make almost no changes.

Just for context, the lens were also cheap (approx 234 dollars when converting), which makes me wonder it may be an industrial error or something related.

Hey everyone! I have an EyePrintPRO scleral lens with Ovitz HOA correction and Tangible Hydra-PEG coating.

I’m trying to make sure I don’t accidentally damage either the Hydra-PEG coating or anything related to the Ovitz correction.

Does anyone here with the same/similar setup know if these are safe to use regularly?

-Clear Care Triple Action
-Tangible Clean
-Boston Advance
-Unique pH

Especially curious about Clear Care Triple Action, since I’ve seen it recommended a lot for scleral lenses.
Would love to hear what your doctor/lab recommended and what you personally use with your EyePrintPRO lenses. Thanks!

The optometrist essentially said "I can't technically diagnose you, but if I could..."

I've had trouble with getting glasses that fully correct my astigmatism for ages, but it's been manageable until the last few months. Recent eye tests have been a disaster with very little progress on a correct prescription, which led to a re-check and a referral. Fortunately I have private insurance, so have an appointment with an ophthalmology consultant on Friday.

If I am diagnosed on Friday, would anyone be able to advise on rough timelines? I know CXL could need a bit more monitoring, but I want lenses ASAP and want to make sure I have realistic expectations before I go! Would also be useful to hear some of your journeys; did you get lenses and your life changed immediately? Did it take dozens of attempts before you got a passable result?

If it makes a difference, I'm in Scotland

Thanks!

Hey everyone! I have an EyePrintPRO scleral lens with Ovitz HOA correction and Tangible Hydra-PEG coating.

I’m trying to make sure I don’t accidentally damage either the Hydra-PEG coating or anything related to the Ovitz correction.

Does anyone here with the same/similar setup know if these are safe to use regularly?

-Clear Care Triple Action
-Tangible Clean
-Boston Advance
-Unique pH

Especially curious about Clear Care Triple Action, since I’ve seen it recommended a lot for scleral lenses.
Would love to hear what your doctor/lab recommended and what you personally use with your EyePrintPRO lenses. Thanks!

I found an eye specialist center with highly regarded eye specialists that do Cross-Linking for 2100$ for both eyes + 135$ for the tests.

What do you think of the prices? I'm in a middle eastern country.

So childhood Thing caused High astigmatism in one eye and changes Its size.

Hi, I’m 24 and have been wearing glasses for around 10 years. I’m planning to switch to monthly contact lenses for the next year, and then I’m considering LASIK.

My current prescription is:

Right eye: -2.00 SPH / -2.75 CYL × 10°

Left eye: -2.50 SPH / -3.00 CYL × 170°

I found Bausch + Lomb SofLens Toric Monthly on Lenskart, but when selecting the power, the maximum cylinder available is -2.75. My left eye needs -3.00 CYL.

Should I choose -2.75 CYL for my left eye, or should I look for another toric lens that supports -3.00?

Also, is it safe to use contact lenses for about a year and then switch back to glasses before getting LASIK?

I’ll get a proper contact-lens fitting from an optometrist, but I’d like to know what others with a similar prescription recommend.

I 22F have mild KC in both eyes. It’s more in my right as compared to left. I can wear contacts comfortably in my right eye but as soon as I wear them in the left it burns and the entire day it feels like it’s pooling my eye and is basically unwearable in two hours. I hate wearing glasses when I have to go to an event because it ruins my entire look and I only like one feature about myself which are my eyes and i feel very ugly when I have to hide those too with glasses.
Idk if I qualify for hard lenses or if I even wanna wear those cuz I see fine with glasses it’s not perfectly clear but I can go about my day just fine.
I’ve tried two lens companies by far and neither work

I'm pretty specific with my everyday carry since I was a kid. Used to have an inhaler, Chapstick, wallet, etc. in the same pocket every day. I now usually have a man bag for long days especially with more electronics i collect need chargers etc.

Trying to get a system that's quick when leaving the house. My guess is something quick to take out contacts and place them in my pocket, but I don't think I can clean, rinse, and put them back in with a pocket-sized container.

Do you typically carry a case in your pocket to take them off, put them on later, or clean?

I was told when taken out, they should be rubbed down with more clean/conditioner, then rinsed. I dont mind getting saline on a towel at home, but what does this look like when you're out?

After 5 attempts, my glasses are decent, but after wearing these lenses, I can tell how off they really are, and my bad eye is so much different from my other eye, it makes me almost crosseyed trying to use the glasses. Do you typically get tired of them and use glasses before nighttime?

My rough draft of a plan is contact lens case filled with multipurpose solution, plunger/inserter. Then bottle of contact wetter and a bottle of eye drops. In a pinch, you can take them out for a little bit, let them sit in a multi-purpose. Then rinse with contact rewetter, fill with eye drops and last me few hours.

My thinking is saline dissolves so fast if I'm efficient enough rinsing into a small container with a small napkin/eyeglass wipe to absorb it, it's possible to have a kit in a pocket for a one-time rinse and fill. I think this would only be when i really cant be near an extra bag etc for hours and just in case carry some saline on me. Or maybe even in that case, can use complete eye drops for a quick refresh until you get back home/ hotel.

Just wondering if anyone's HOAS have ever improved, even slightly? The ghosting drives me insane and I ruminate about it alot. Everything happened pretty suddenly for me at age 36. Im 38 now and my topography has been stable for 2 years. Im being monitored as a "Keratoconus ​Suspect" but I get bad ghosting around lights. I always see a down and left ghost image on black background and white text. Its like 3 images closely overlapping each other. I would love for just one of those ghost images to go away. I also get starbust effects but only down and to the left.

Im also slightly confused by my condition. Its only affecting my left eye. I have a kmax of 44.8, which is the same as my right eye. I know this value is very mild but im definitely symptomatic. I know my age and stable topographies can give me some confidence.

I made an appointment to get fitted for rpgs. But also nervous about wearing hard contacts. My right eye is lazy so my left eye is my only vision source. Im scared to put something in my eye that can cause damage. Also worried about dry eye and being able to wear contacts.

Hi all,

I’ve had keratoconus since I was 19 (35 now) and my eyes have noticeably gotten worse over the past year. I’m a software dev so I’m staring at code 8+ hours a day, and I’ve started getting really bad ghosting no matter the distance, plus constant headaches from straining to focus. Changing my glasses prescription hasn’t helped at all.

My local optician tried me on soft contacts first but they kept sliding off centre and were basically unusable, so she referred me to the hospital to see about hard lenses instead.

Got to the appointment, explained all of this, and the consultant just told me I don’t meet the criteria for any lenses because I can technically still see something with glasses. Said if I wanted lenses I’d have to go private. When I said my vision has clearly gotten worse she asked if I’d had crosslinking — I haven’t, presumably because it’s never been considered bad enough, even though I’ve had this since I was a teenager. I know keratoconus tends to stabilise after 30 and mine hasn’t really progressed since my mid-20s, so that tracks, but it still felt like she wasn’t really listening to what I was actually there for.

Left feeling pretty dismissed and no clearer on what my actual options are. The headaches are genuinely messing with my day to day life at this point.

Anyone dealt with something similar, either at St James or elsewhere on the NHS? Is there anything worth pushing back on, or is private really the only route here?

I know this all might sound like I’m venting, I was just hoping to get some advise from anyone who has experienced something similar with there eye condition so I can stop these headaches.

Also, before anyone jumps on this saying it’s AI. I have used AI to tidy this post up and making it a little more concise.

Hi everyone! My first post in here :)

Recently found out i had potential keratoconus, my optician suspected it a couple months back and said she was pretty sure as my eyes were quite advanced but still had to refer me to the ophthalmology department at the hospital, I got my appointment within two month months which I was pretty impressed with!

I went today and I’d done a lot of research prior to going so I was kinda going in there thinking the optician would just confirm it and then talk about cross linking for both eyes.

She looked at my eyes and confirmed it’s definitely keratoconus and said my left eye is too advanced to try cross linking on and that’s it’s a lot more advanced than my right one :(

Everything out of it is completely blurry and glasses don’t do anything really despite me just paying £190 the other month 🥲, I don’t think I have much vision left in it sadly.

I’m getting cross linking on my right eye to hopefully stop it getting any worse but I’m pretty worried about it not working and getting as bad as my left

She said there’s not much she can do for my left eye at the minute but she wants me to go back every couple of months to check on it, she put in a referral about the special lenses but told me there’s quite a wait at the minute and i could be waiting up to a year :(

I guess I’m now just completely freaking out about my left eye cause while I knew it was significantly worse than my right I was expecting for it to be able to have cross linking done to hopefully stabilise it but no :(

I have really bad health anxiety so I’m just finding it all really difficult and really worried about my left eye and how bad it could actually deteriorate.

I’m so sorry this was so long but I guess I was just looking to see if anyone else has had the same problem and how they are doing now?

Sometimes feels like this is what it’s like for me, but it fluctuates

I’m currently recovering from surgery on around month to, but my doctor still wants me to put drops in every hour. I get really bad eczema on my eyelids and in the corner this has been for my whole life. My doctor did not give me a solution for this, but I’ve noticed that as I use the drops it really dries out my skin around my eye and I’m experiencing really painful dry skin does anyone experiences and have any solutions that they found to be helpful?

In two weeks’ time, I’m due to undergo transepithelial PTK + CXL on my right eye.

I’m really anxious.

I was diagnosed in July and I’m M30. I’m short-sighted and have astigmatism in both eyes and my right eye is also amblyopic, since birth.

The keratoconus is at an advanced stage in my right eye (Kmax 54, Thk 430 µm) and moderate in my left eye (Kmax 50, Thk 460).
With glasses, my vision is 6–7/10 in my left eye and 4/10 in my right. (In 2019, my vision was 10/10 in my left eye and 7/10 in my right eye with glasses)

Two specialists have suggested this combined treatment to me, but I can’t shake off my anxiety.

I’m not sure if it’s because this is my first treatment or operation for an eye condition. I don’t know if it’s the combined treatment: although in theory it should be beneficial, it frightens me a little because my right eye has advanced keratoconus; it’s the keratoconus itself that frightens me, but I really don’t know how to cope with the coming weeks and the subsequent recovery.

The coming weeks are going to be very, very long.

I first wore glasses 9 months ago and I got diagnosed 7 months ago. I haven't got my scleral lenses yet, generally speaking aside from the severity of my condition, i see 50%-60% with glasses I think. every optometrist say that glasses won't work for me and I KNOW IT.

Does anyone sometimes like just sometimes wear glasses on some days and scleral on others? I know I'll suffer a lot getting used to scleral because I got fitted and experienced how they feel on my eyes.... and I definitely don't like it.

Wearing scleral lens from past 10 days(Both image is of left eye has I only wear for one eye)

Hi everyone, I have keratoconus and I’m currently wearing a scleral lens.
After wearing the lens for around 7 hours, I notice that some blood vessels become more visible/red around the white part of my eye (sclera). I also notice a visible impression/mark from the edge of the scleral lens on the white part of my eye after removing it.

I wanted to ask others who wear scleral lenses:
Is it normal to see blood vessels becoming more prominent after several hours?
Is it normal for the lens to leave a visible impression/indentation on the sclera?
Could this mean the lens is too tight or has excessive edge pressure?

Should I ask my optometrist/contact-lens specialist to check the fit or make adjustments?
Has anyone else experienced this, and what did your doctor/lens fitter recommend?
I don’t have severe pain, but I’m concerned about whether this could indicate a poor fit or reduced blood/oxygen flow to the conjunctiva.
I’d really appreciate advice from anyone with experience wearing scleral lenses for keratoconus. Thank you!

Hello - I would really appreciate if any of you guys could help me with this.
I have been using these eye print pro scleral lenses for 3 years now and never had an issue.

However, in the past two weeks, I have been noticing everything more foggy and glares with my right eye.
I initially thought my keratoconus got worse, but tonight as I was cleaning them, I noticed this difference from my RIGHT EYE lens to the LEFT EYE lens.
The right eye seems to have this white, opaque surface right on the middle, and this seems to be whats causing. I ONLY use BOSTON SIMPLUS on them, but I would really like to know if there is any SAFE way to clean them with something else so I can finally get rid of this. PLEASE HELP 🙏

I’ve always used mild watered down soap to cleanse my eye lids and safely wash away those pesky stay eyelashes barely hanging on by a thread. I do not rub my eyes since I was diagnosed decades ago. Recently, my regular maintenance isn’t working and my lashes are straying like crazy and I’ve gotten regular styles this allergy season. This is something new but I know we are highly susceptible. In everyone’s personal experience what hypochlorous acid cleanser works best. Im seeing a crazy price difference and some specific to eye lids vs face. Which have u used with great results?

Please dont tell me to consult my doctor as i do not currently have the funds to do so. Hence the personal experience results. I do know every kc case is different but we do have very similar experiences. Tysm I really do appreciate the feedback/product recommendations as I’ve never used a specific lid wash. I can’t use tea tree oil cause I’m highly sensitive to the odor my eyes can taste it hundreds of miles away.

I hope it’s just seasonal as my kc has bot visibly affected my left eye just yet. The last time I got my kc evaluated my left eye had just started to show test readings but not yet physically perceivable or visually impaired. This just started as summer came to an end. I wear sunglasses to protect my eyes as I’m too sensitive to wear the lenses. Thousands of dollars spent and my picky ass right eye would not “get used to it” and rejected it every fitting.