Scleral Lens Wear Time

[elpapi]

How long can you wear your sclerals without having to remove them or add drops?

I have mild to moderate dry eye, most noticeable when at computer. The cause is most likely autoimmune related. I would like to wear contacts but soft lenses make my eyes burn.

[DCRdryeye]

Very good question. Scleral lenses seem to be very individual. I worn them for as long as 8 hours and my eyes were very red and sore by then. But 'others' have worn then up to 12 hours a day. I've been trying to get a good fit for 3 yrs, only because I am using a fitting set from an optometrist and each modification takes 3 weeks. If you want the best chance for the best fitting lens where you can wear them for lengthy times, go to BFS or Dr G.

[gichamp]

Scleral lens wear

I wear my scleral lenses each day for at least 12 hours and sometimes up to 15 hours at a time. I have Jupiter scleral lenses and was fit on the first try by a doctor in Charleston, South Carolina. For the first week, I took them out some during the day and refilled with saline (which was a challenge because at first getting them in was time consuming), but after about two weeks, I began to forget they were in and now I don't take them out until just before I shower in the evening. Now, I use Blink for contacts a two or three times a day, and Blink Gel at night, but what an improvement from drops every 15 minutes and constantly red, painful eyes all day. Sclerals have been a lifesaver for me and make me feel normal again.

I have posted elsewhere, but I have done Lipiflow, IPL, restasis, lotemax, etc., but sclerals were the key and the fitting was nothing for me.

[DCRdryeye]

That's incredible gichamp. At the end of your 12 hour day of wearing your sclerals how are your eyes in terms of symptoms? Is there any redness? How do you think you'd go without using Blink over the sclerals?

[gichamp]

Scleral wear

That's incredible gichamp. At the end of your 12 hour day of wearing your sclerals how are your eyes in terms of symptoms? Is there any redness? How do you think you'd go without using Blink over the sclerals?

My eyes feel better at the end of the day than they did any time of day prior to sclerals. Perhaps having liquid on the eyes all day is beneficial for me even when I take them out in the evening. I have tried to go without the Blink (at first I used the Boston rewetting solution) or any drops at all and the sclerals are still more comfortable by far than my eyes were for the 6 years prior to sclerals, but with the rewetting drops a few times a day, they really are undetectable to me - my eyes just feel normal. For me they really have been a miracle - and for all the things I paid for myself (lipiflow, ipl), insurance paid for my sclerals. I went from desperate to wow in just a few weeks, so for me it has been great. I do still read this board and follow much of the advice - this board has also been a miracle for me - because I would like to cure the underlying problem, but until then, I love my sclerals. I hope everyone gets the message that the Boston Foundation is not the only option, since they are not possible for so many. My doctor has been fitting sclerals for over 20 years and as I said he fit me on the first try, but I do think it is probably key to, if possible, find someone who has fit many patients because fit is essential to that comfort. Either way, in the end, I solved my immediate problem of eye pain and red eyes for less than $100, although I did order a spare pair that I paid a little over $700 for because I just can't imagine being without them now.

Are you having trouble wearing sclerals for an extended time?

[DCRdryeye]

Hi gichamp. I'm very happy for you, and yes I can't wear sclerals for extended time. It might be the optometrist who certainly hasn't been fitting for 20 yrs. That could be the key problem.

[gichamp]

Scleral lens

Hi gichamp. I'm very happy for you, and yes I can't wear sclerals for extended time. It might be the optometrist who certainly hasn't been fitting for 20 yrs. That could be the key problem.

I know that must be so frustrating. I guess I just got lucky, and I will keep my fingers crossed for you too, because, for me, it is the closest thing to normal I have experienced in years. I remember expressing concern with my doctor about how long it would take to fit them properly - thinking weeks from all that I had read. His response was "a couple of hours and we will be good to go." In the end, he put a lens in and it was really comfortable from that first insert - I could feel the foreign sensation in the eye, but it was not uncomfortable. He had me sit in the office for 30 - 40 minutes, came in and looked at it again, took it out and repeated on the other eye and said we were good. I went back maybe 10 days later for my set with my rx, and other than him reordering them with a plasma coating to stop the fogging, I have had no issues. It took a couple of weeks to get to where I do not know they are in, but now, I do not know they are in except I can see and my eyes are not painful and bloodshot all day. I think my doctor does not consider the fitting a challenge for most patients because he told me that he was fitting scleral lenses decades ago when the materials were not as good as they are now and it might be that experience with the old products that makes it easier for him. I do hope you get some relief.

[ALK-O'd]

Hi gichamp,

It's great that you do so well with your sclerals. Just out of curiosity, are you by any chance a heavy computer user? Do your sclerals become bothersome at all during computer use?

[gichamp]

Scleral Lens Wear Time

Hi gichamp,

It's great that you do so well with your sclerals. Just out of curiosity, are you by any chance a heavy computer user? Do your sclerals become bothersome at all during computer use?

Yes, I use the computer for work probably 10 hours a day. I am in my busy season now which means many 12 hour day of late. My eyes have always been worse at work, and since my typical week is about 50 hours (more like 60 in my busy season), the computer use is, I think, a huge contributor to my dry eyes. The sclerals are the only thing that has made my all day computer use and the dry office environment tolerable. Today, I am already at 7 hours of computer use with sclerals in and just looked in the mirror 30 minutes ago and no redness. As I mentioned previously, I have now become so accustomed to the lenses that I forget they are in since with them I have no eye pain, but whenever I glance in the mirror, I am schocked that my eyes are not red - just years of redness all day long makes me expect it. I have also noticed that lately I have no concern about going into restuarants, stores, etc.

[Katewest]

gichamp-what is your diagnosis?

[gichamp]

Scleral Lens Wear Time

gichamp-what is your diagnosis?

I have evaportive dry eye (origin unknown, no lasik and no other health issues), mgd, and occular rosacea. Whether one is primary and caused the others, I guess I will never know. I suspected occular rosacea long before a doctor's diagnosis, but from my experience, most eye doctors don't seem to think rosacea can occur just around your eyes and because I did not have redness except on my eyelids, the diagnosis was not made until last year. Although every local eye doctor I saw over the last several years said no to occular rosacea, the physicians performing the exams before I had Lipiflow and IPL, both said I was definately fighting occular rosacea and my dermatologist agrees. It is very frustrating to have so much indecision and sometimes indifference by eye doctors. It often seems as if many eye doctors are like most people in that they think it is just a matter of using more rewetting drops or Restasis (I despise the commercials for Restasis as I think it further diminishes the complexity of the condition and makes the general public think it's a simple problem and the remedy is as simple as using this one eye drop). Those without the condition certainly have no idea how it consumes you and otherwise takes over your good health.

I am so thankful for this forum (Thank you, Rebecca) as I have learned so much here.