Jupiter Scleral Lenses

[patientpatrick]

Hello everyone,

I'm inquiring people's experiences with Jupiter Scleral Lenses.

Good, bad or otherwise.

I'm going in for a consultation / fitting exam on the 19th of this month and I'm very nervous.

I would really appreciate any advice anyone has.

Thank you.

Patrick

[Nightbird]

I have had Jupiter sclerals for about seven months. I don’t wear them often these days because I don’t need to, but there was a period during which I was wearing them every day. The longest I had them in was 14 hours, with no problem except my eyes were a little red after removing them.

They are not a slam-dunk to fit, you may need several fittings. I needed three. Also there is definitely a learning curve to getting them in properly. They have to be exactly right, if there is even the tiniest air bubble they will be uncomfortable after a couple of hours. It took me a couple of weeks to really master the process. But it's doable, you just have to keep practicing.

The only other drawback, which I consider very minor, is that they are not labeled left and right, so you have to be careful not to mix them up or you will end up having to remove them and switch them. But it really isn’t hard to keep them straight.

I think the key with these lenses is finding someone who really knows what they’re doing to fit them. They don’t use high-tech measuring equipment or that goop that takes a mold of your eye, so it really comes down to the skill of the doctor. They need to be fitted so that they are comfortable, and also so that the vault is very deep so the outer surface of the lens will dry out and get blurry, making you blink to clear them. Otherwise they inhibit the blink reflex, and if you have MGD as I do, you know what havoc that can wreak. But if you do find someone really skilled they are a great value compared to what I have read others paid for sclerals. My total cost was $1500 with fittings and insurance covered most of that.

I should mention, my doctor advised me not to wear them for more than six hours a day, even though I can, unless it’s absolutely necessary. But I guess that’s true of any scleral? They are gas-permeable of course, but it’s just not a good idea to deprive the corneas of a full oxygen supply for too long.

Good luck if you decide to go ahead with them.

[Nightbird]

For some reason I can't edit the above post again. One more correction, it's been five months not seven. Forgot to mention, ask if you can decide at a later point in the fitting process whether or not you want to go ahead, without incurring any cost if you decide not to.

[gichamp]

I have had them for going on two years and they have been a life changer for me. I wear them every day from 5:00 a.m. until I get home from work usually around 7 or 8 p.m., but I did work up from about 4 hours a day the first few weeks to where I now can literally forget I have them in sometimes at night - more than once I have laid down in bed and realized I never took them out and have to get up and go take them out. I was lucky in that I was fit on the first attempt and again they have been a life changer for me. I can now work in an office building for ten hours a day on a computer, fly, run outside, go to restaurants and pretty much be comfortable most of the time. My lenses are marked with a small black dot on the right lens for identification and I have two pair and they are both marked. I do use drops ocassionally on a bad day, but not like before the lenses. My only issue was the first pair were not coated with the plasma coating so I had issues with mucous after a few hours, but the doctor reordered with the plasma coating and from the first day of those lenses, I was good to go so I would specifically request the plasma coating. After insurance paid for the first pair, I purchased a second pair on my own because I knew I could not be without them if I lost or damanged one.

I know they don't work for everyone, but they are great for me and I have tried lots of therapies - Lipiflow, IPL, doxy, restasis, fish oil, etc., some of which worked for me, but I do still have dry eye and need the lenses to feel normal. Finally, I just had a dilated checkup on Monday of this week and my long term doctor who was not an initial supporter of the lenses and did not fit me for them told me my eyes really do look better these days so maybe that holding saline on them all day has been good. Good luck to you!

[patientpatrick]

Thank you for your responses. This has been very encouraging news on my end. Out of curiosity, did any of you try any different scleral lens in addition to the Jupiters? The doctor I will be seeing only fits Jupiter lenses. Just wondering.

thank you
P

[gichamp]

I only tried the Jupiter - mine were fit in Charleston, SC at MUSC and the lenses came from Essilor Contacts in Texas (they do have a website at essilorcontacts.com. I will say that Essilor does seem to have great customer service since they sent the "extra" pair I purchased directly to me and they arrived in less than a week from when I told the doctor I had to have a spare pair.

I really hope they help you too - it is hard for me to think about how bad things were for me before I started with the scleral lenses so I just hope and pray they are a permanent solution for me. It's hard for me to even remember trying to get used to them and learning to insert and take out since now they are just great. It's Saturday and I have had them in since 6 this morning and I will wear them until probably 9 tonight and I don't even know they are in except I can see and I don't feel any discomfort from my dry eye. I only very rarely take them out and refill with saline and reinsert - as in maybe once a month I will feel the need to take out mid-day and reinsert. I do still have dry eye, but it doesn't really affect my life so much anymore with the lenses.

On a side note, the doctor who fit me told me that he started fitting them decades ago fitting mostly athletes and then he stopped because they were so hard to fit and most could not wear them for long time spans due to the materials. He said he started fitting them again several years ago after the materials got so much better. I believe he only offers the Essilor Jupiter lenses, but I am sure there must be multiple labs and lenses types now. I know my doctor has patients who come from several states away for fittings, and he told me that for most getting over that first month can be a challenge, but for those who can, they are a miracle. I am sure he still laughs at my fitting since after explaining to me how he had to insert it with my head down and it would be hard not to blink, etc., mine went in on the first try and I wanted to wear the test pair until mine came in - as he says, I was motivated! Finally, as for vision, my vision has not been this good in maybe a decade since my lenses are for distance and I wear readers when needed for close reading or fine print, but I do most all activites with just the lenses in.

Again good luck, and let me know if I can help you.

[Nightbird]

I also only tried the Jupiter, but my doctor does fit other lenses. He told me he believes the Jupiter is better for dry eye patients than some other lenses because it is one the brands that can be fitted so as not to inhibit the blink reflex--see my post above. So hopefully more encouraging news for you, and I echo what gichamp said, best of luck and let me know if I can help.

[L8rgator]

How did your fitting go? I've tried 3 different types of lenses. But I only tried a trial Jupiter lens for maybe 15 minutes. It felt very scratchy –catchy on my top outer eyelid. If that was my only option, I would have taken it - but I would have been constantly very annoyed, and I wanted it out right away. Otherwise for a trial lens is was very comfortable and functional. And since they are stock trials, I could have walked out with one to try the same day if it had worked for me. Definitely worth the try.

Are Jupiters non-rotational? Meaning there is no top/bottom/left/right?

I ask because from what I've read the reason that some people have a problem with discomfort and/or clouding is because of fit, especially in the early generation styles. Now I could be totally incorrect here, but from what I read it sounded like the next generation up of sclerals made were made to be non-rotational, using the “average shape” of a the human sclera (which apparently isn't perfectly round???) and this improved fit. And then the next generation after that was trial lenses with modifiable areas, so the lens could be milled after selection to better follow the structure a single individual eye. I think that is what Boston does? And then the lastest generation is to mill a custom lens (from scratch) from a goop-mold or digital image, to perfectly follow the contours of each individual eye and for better control of thickness.

So if Jupiter is non-rotational, then it would be a good early generation to try if you can get a really good experienced fitter locally. And then if there is a discomfort issue with a Jupiter that can’t be overcome, I’d say consider trying a higher generation style before giving up on sclerals altogether. I know a number of people who moved up to a higher generation that that worked great out for them when others didn’t .

[patientpatrick]

So it's been a few weeks since i've started wearing my jupiter sclerals and there have been both postives and negatives.

Positives:
My corneas feel good while wearing them. There's even a cooling effect that is quite pleasant.

Negatives:
I still feel the lenses (i'm going in for another fitting) I feel them more when the air is drier.
They tend to make my eyes red if i wear them more than 6 hours.
My eyes feel even drier after I take out my lenses than before I put them in.

Additional Observation:
I've been experimenting wearing them for short and extended periods of time. If I wear them for a day, the day after my eyes are REALLY dry. If i wait 2 days, the 2nd day, they aren't so dry. This is so strange. Anyone else experience this?

Patrick

[gichamp]

Jupiter Scleral Lenses

I still wear my Jupiter's about 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, so I do hope you find yours continue to improve or you get a better fit. I only rarely take them out to refill during the day. I remember when they were new thinking it would take me forever to work up to long wear (it didn't), but I don't think I felt them like you describe beyond maybe two weeks. I do remember feeling them in the very beginning, but I was quickly up to long day wear. My eyes are more comfortable even when I take the lenses out, but I do still have the redness when they are not in and some days I have redness with them in if it is really dry or a bad allergy day. I do have two pair because I can’t imagine not having a spare pair and I rotate them. I will say that I almost ordered a new pair several months ago because both pairs started looking foggy and were not as comfortable and I thought the plasma coating had worn off, but my doctor stopped me from ordering and told me to buy the Lobob brand cleaner (regular not extra strength and the rewetting solution) and that completely solved my problem. My routine is to use the regular strength cleaner, rinse, and soak overnight in the cleaner. In the morning, I rinse with water and let them sit in the rewetting solution for ten minutes before insertion. I think the rewetting solution is expensive and using it daily it’s annoying that it is so expensive. Price aside, I really like the Lobob much more than the Simplus I was first advised to use and I do think my lenses are more comfortable with the Lobob. One other thing on the Lobob, in my area I can only find it at Walgreens - or on Amazon. Originally, I think I recall the doctor telling me the plasma coating might not hold up to anything other the Simplus which supposedly the Jupiter's were tested with, but once my lenses were more than a year old, I guess he figured I didn't have anything to lose. I do hope you find the comfort because I still occasionally lay down in the bed and realize I have forgotten to take them out – so mine really are like not wearing anything – I only feel them when my allergies are really bad or if the environment in the office or car is really dry.

One other tip, for travel, I starting looking for travel saline because the Unisol may be TSA compliant, but it is huge. I ordered single vials from Amazon (Addipak) and they have worked great. The come in a box of 100 and each vial has enough saline to fill up approximately 3 lenses (so one insertion each eye and one re-do if needed).

I do hope you work up to more comfortable wear or find a better fit. Until something better comes along for me, I will continue to be thankful for my lenses which allow me to work in an office all day, fly, and exercise outside in comfort like before I had dry eye. I wish they worked for everyone.

[patientpatrick]

thank you for your very in-depth reply gichamp. It meant a great deal that you would share your experience we me and the rest of us on this forum. I'm hoping a better fitting would help me. 6-7 hours seem to be the max amount of time i can wear the lenses.

I'm going to ask my eye doc about Lobob. I'm using the Simplus right now.

How often do you have to use drops when you are wearing your lenses?

Patrick

[Nightbird]

So it's been a few weeks since i've started wearing my jupiter sclerals and there have been both postives and negatives.

Positives:
My corneas feel good while wearing them. There's even a cooling effect that is quite pleasant.

Negatives:
I still feel the lenses (i'm going in for another fitting) I feel them more when the air is drier.
They tend to make my eyes red if i wear them more than 6 hours.
My eyes feel even drier after I take out my lenses than before I put them in.

Additional Observation:
I've been experimenting wearing them for short and extended periods of time. If I wear them for a day, the day after my eyes are REALLY dry. If i wait 2 days, the 2nd day, they aren't so dry. This is so strange. Anyone else experience this?

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

Sorry for the delay in replying, I haven't been on the site in awhile. I would not worry about the redness too much as long as it's mild and there is no pain once you take them out. Also it took several fittings before i couldn't feel mine, so definitely keep trying. One of the advantages of these lenses is they can be adjusted as often as you need. Maybe your eyes feel drier after you take the out because of the exposed area not covered by the lens? I did use drops every few hours to prevent that while wearing mine.

Quick note about traveling with Unisol, TSA requirements are waived in most countries if the liquid is for medicinal purposes. You just have to declare it to Security and tell them it's medicinal.

Cheers.

[Nightbird]

How did your fitting go? I've tried 3 different types of lenses. But I only tried a trial Jupiter lens for maybe 15 minutes. It felt very scratchy –catchy on my top outer eyelid. If that was my only option, I would have taken it - but I would have been constantly very annoyed, and I wanted it out right away. Otherwise for a trial lens is was very comfortable and functional. And since they are stock trials, I could have walked out with one to try the same day if it had worked for me. Definitely worth the try.

Are Jupiters non-rotational? Meaning there is no top/bottom/left/right?

I ask because from what I've read the reason that some people have a problem with discomfort and/or clouding is because of fit, especially in the early generation styles. Now I could be totally incorrect here, but from what I read it sounded like the next generation up of sclerals made were made to be non-rotational, using the “average shape” of a the human sclera (which apparently isn't perfectly round???) and this improved fit. And then the next generation after that was trial lenses with modifiable areas, so the lens could be milled after selection to better follow the structure a single individual eye. I think that is what Boston does? And then the lastest generation is to mill a custom lens (from scratch) from a goop-mold or digital image, to perfectly follow the contours of each individual eye and for better control of thickness.

So if Jupiter is non-rotational, then it would be a good early generation to try if you can get a really good experienced fitter locally. And then if there is a discomfort issue with a Jupiter that can’t be overcome, I’d say consider trying a higher generation style before giving up on sclerals altogether. I know a number of people who moved up to a higher generation that that worked great out for them when others didn’t .

Not sure who this question was directed to, but I don't have to turn mine once they are in.

[tealeaf]

Nightbird,
Do you have to apply drops when the scleral lens are in your eyes?

[Nightbird]

I never felt discomfort but I did notice the parts of my eyes not covered by the lenses would get a little red after awhile. I confess I can get very vain about that. When I used the drops it didn't happen. I bought the ones that are made to be used with contacts.