Question about sclera lens wear

[alb1967]

I got my sclera lenses back in Devc 2014. I got them more for vision (due to irregularity in my cornea from lasik in 2005) but I also have dry eye. My Dr says my glands flow but do get clogged . I wore them great for 7 months with no issues except cloudiness which I just took them out and refilled the solution. But ever since July they has started to become more uncomfortable (then lens dried out and I had to start using rewetting drops). Back in August I started on Lotemax becuase my Dr said this was due to a flare up I was having. It did seem to help some and all was better but never the same as the first 7 months. Since then the lens have been getting more and more uncomfortable. They dry out after an hour of wear. I have to put drops in every half hour. But the weird thing is, my eyes are OK at night. Sometimes they feel dry and burn but not always. The last time I went to the Dr he expressed my glands, said after that I was getting a good flow. He said on a scale of 1-10 my disease was about a 4 so I am thinking that is not too bad. So WHY am I having trouble wearing these lenses now ? He said they looked really good when he looked at them the last time. But even though they look good, could my problem be they need to be plasma treated again ?? I have read you should get this done every 6-12 months. Anyone think this could be my problem? I am so desperate because I have to wear these for vision because of the STUPID lasik procedure that I got. Wish I could go back in time

[hirentherock]

im having the same problem as urs.But my prob started after 1.5yrs of use of sclerals.
I m from India and none of boston cleaning products are available here.But i searched and found that the Boston Simplus is a better choice.I started using it and 80% of my problems went off,Plasma treatment may help, but the weather where im staying would not give much benefit, my doctor said.So i didnt go for it and simply started using Boston Simplus.
But still i have some problems.My lenses are Boston Equalense2 material Lenses with 87dk ..Im facing neovascularization from my current lenses.Also after almost 3 years of use of these lenses, the lense has got wear n tear scratches(doctor said).Also after wearing lenses for a long time, my eye structure has changed a bit so i need a new fit for my lenses to be more comfortable.So im advised to place order for new lense with new fit.I have also asked them o give me new material lense which is Boston XO2. its having 140dk. (higher dk, higher oxygen transfer).
i hope this new material will resolve neovascularization and new fit will give more comfort.
recently i have been benefited from Cyclosporine 0.1% drops.(i use generic of restasis named Cyclommune).
also cleaning lense once a week with h2o2(hydrogen peroxide) solution would help me to retain crystal clear vision with more comfort).

i hope this helps.

[alb1967]

Thank you for the reply. My Dr does not believe it is the lenses but my MGD is getting bad. My glands are all clogged. I have been on Restasis for almost a year now. He is now starting me on Alrex and Azacite to see if this helps.

[hirentherock]

well as far as i have experienced, most of symptomatic difficulties have gone away when i clear lense with hydrogen peroxide solution.
i have have bad lids and mgd.i have been advised for Mucus membrane grafting surgery so that my lids which have gone scratchy and wiping on cornea to create roughness.But thy are still not so sure whether to go for it at this stage, which is moderate.
I would advise u to try and get a new lense with superior material and better fitting before going any surgical interventions. Using antibiotics and lotemax(steroid) would surely help temporarily but will not solve underlying problems i guess..Or just try plasma treatment as u have heard it helps too. Here in India, plasma treatment is not available.We have to get it done at boston which may cost 500$ or so. We get new lense for 900$ here so i chose that.I m going to have my new lense with boston xo2 material, better fitting next week.Wish u all d best!

[L8rgator]

I hope it's your glands and the doctor can make some improvement in that area, but if it ends up being more your lenses then...

You might want to try having your lenses cleaned and plasma treated. The plasma treatment helps the lens retain moisture and remain slippery (or so I understand - I could be wrong). I've heard from a few people that that really helped make them comfortable again. If you scrub your lenses, you can undo the effects of plasma treatment, so having it done periodically can really help.

A couple other people recommended trying lobob CDS solutions to scrub off any lasting deposits. Both things are not too expensive.

It's also possible the lens itself has become warped or scratched. In that case it might be worth it just to order a replacement lens and see how it feels. I stupidly carried my lenses in my car in winter and they froze and got warped.

Boston conditioner solution can help keep the lenses wet also. I think I'm a bit allergic to it though, because it makes my eye goopy.

Unfortunately if you eye changes shape, a lens can become a poor fit. In that cause you would need to be refitted. Which frankly just sucks. But I know sclerals are a fast growing industry, so when I decided to get refitted it comforted me a little (JUST a little) to know that there were already new designs and materials being used that would make my new lens superior to the one I got less than 2 years before. And admittedly my new lenses do seem to retain more moisture than the previous ones - I rarely wear a moisture chamber now over it (I do still do drops every 20-30 minutes though, and I've been in the warm seasons only so far since getting it). Still not perfect, but helpful.

Is your current lens a custom fitted lens? You said it used to get cloudy, which made me wonder if maybe it wasn't a perfect fit to start with. Cloudiness is often related to fit.

On my latest trip I opted to get a new lens for my right eye (which has no medical issues) because I was amazed with the clarity of my left lenses (it has high order abberation corrections built in) and my vision in my right eye has alot of halos that I wanted corrected. My first trial lens for the right eye left my eye feeling dry and sore by the end of the day, and it felt raw once i took the lens out. I couldn't tell if it was dryness, or scratchyness. Turns out I have a bump (sorry I forget what it was called) on the inside of my sclera that is irritable - which probably explains why wearing a regular contact in that eye was always scratchy. So the doctor manually put in clearance around the bump in the next trial lens, and the lens was perfect. So maybe have the doctor check and make sure you don't have any irritated areas or new bumps or lumps that are affecting comfort (?)

I hope you find a solution!

[alb1967]

L8rgator thank you for the info. The last time I wenr to my Dr I asked about plasma treatment and he said the looked good and I did not need treatment. The lens gets cloudy and I asked him about that He said it is due to dryness cause the fit is fine. The lens did great for about 7 months and every since July everything has went down hill. It is so depressing. I do find now that I have to use drops about every hour just to keep the lens moist and comfortable. I guess I should be happy with that. I was on Lotemax gel which I think made things worse. I am starting a new eyelid cleanser tonight called Avenova. Have you heard of it ? Suppose to have grat results. I go back tot he dr in Nov and he will do a topography to see if the shape of my eye has changed. Fingers croseed that it has not. Thanks again for your reply