Just got fitted for sclera lens

[alb1967]

Last Friday I got fitted for my sclera lens. I have MDG and some irregularity in my cornea from my lasik in 2005. Strange I never had a problem with my eyes until I developed dry eye. My Dr said before I had good quality tears that filled in the irregularites in my cornea so I never had any vision issues. Well now since I have dry eye and do not have good quality tears I am having ghosting issues. That is why I chose to try scelra lens out. I was fitted for the Europa lens wich I understand is a new lens. The initial fit was fine. I felt just a little sensation in the left eye but after taking it out several times and adjusting, all that went away. I am hoping to get them this week or next. Any advise on insert and taking them out ? I have read some scary stories on here where the lens gets really stuck to the eye and hard to break the seal (I am thinking this may be an issue for people with really dry eyes, which mine are not terribly dry thank God). Any advise on that ?? Any advise on keeping them from clouding up ??

[DryInDenver]

I've had plenty of issues with a tight lens so I can offer some advice on how to get one out.

1) Above all else, keep calm and relax. It can become incredibly frustrating when a lens doesn't want to come out. Frustration can build quickly like it does when a computer won't work, or you hit your shin on a coffee table twice in the same day.

2) Make sure you have the removal plunger as close to the edge as possible. Once you crack the seal it will come right out, so your goal with a stuck lens is just to get one edge lifted up a tiny bit.

3) Don't pull too hard and don't blink. This sounds obvious but requires some focus if a lens is being difficult. It also ties back into #1, stay calm. If you end up pulling too hard the lens will eventually yank off suddenly which can cause you to flinch and blink. If you blink when lens is on the way out your eye lid will drag the edge of the lens across your cornea. It's a little painful. This might sound pretty bad, but it is pretty easy to avoid once you are aware of the issue. If it happens once you probably won't let it happen again. As long as you're keeping your cool and not doing anything rash it's not too hard to avoid.

4)Put drops in. Preservative free saline works the best for me (unisol 4), but if it is really stuck I'll rotate saline and my Refresh Plus drops. This can sometimes be the best way to help loosen up a lens. As a practice, I always drop some saline in before I remove even when my lenses are not tight. Additionally, this can be more effective if you give the drops a couple minutes to sink in. I probably should have put this as number 1 or 2 since I think it helps the most.

5)Try rotating your lens with your finger. This can help to break the seal a bit. Sometimes it seemed to help me and I based it on the theory that my lens was not a perfect circle as it was customized to my eyeball which is not a perfect circle. If your lens is a perfect circle it may not help as much.

6) Try putting the plunger in different locations around the edge.

7) When you pull, try pulling sideways rather than straight out. You can pull almost parallel to the surface of your eye but slightly diagonal away from your eye.

8) Take a break. If you spend several minutes and it is not working, put in a few drops and take a break for a couple minutes.


Doing the above has always worked for me. Sometimes it seems like it's on there so good it will NEVER come out, then all of a sudden, it pops out with very little effort. If you have continual problems and find yourself going through these exercises often, your lens is probably too tight and it's worth trying to get it loosened (if that's an option) or trying a new lens (same of different brand) with a looser fit. I was able to get my lenses loosened and it helped quite a bit, especially for the left eye. It helped less in the right eye, but that is a long story that I haven't quite figured out yet. Long story short, I had the flap in the right eye lifted to remove a foreign object and I will get refitted for a new lens sometime in the first quarter of 2015.

[alb1967]

new to sclera lens

Thank you so much for all the advice. I am a really nervous person in general (I am just like my Mother) so keeping calm may be a little hard for me at first but I will try my best. (see I am already worring about it). I will print off all your tips and keep them close by. Happy Thanksgiving !!

I've had plenty of issues with a tight lens so I can offer some advice on how to get one out.

1) Above all else, keep calm and relax. It can become incredibly frustrating when a lens doesn't want to come out. Frustration can build quickly like it does when a computer won't work, or you hit your shin on a coffee table twice in the same day.

2) Make sure you have the removal plunger as close to the edge as possible. Once you crack the seal it will come right out, so your goal with a stuck lens is just to get one edge lifted up a tiny bit.

3) Don't pull too hard and don't blink. This sounds obvious but requires some focus if a lens is being difficult. It also ties back into #1, stay calm. If you end up pulling too hard the lens will eventually yank off suddenly which can cause you to flinch and blink. If you blink when lens is on the way out your eye lid will drag the edge of the lens across your cornea. It's a little painful. This might sound pretty bad, but it is pretty easy to avoid once you are aware of the issue. If it happens once you probably won't let it happen again. As long as you're keeping your cool and not doing anything rash it's not too hard to avoid.

4)Put drops in. Preservative free saline works the best for me (unisol 4), but if it is really stuck I'll rotate saline and my Refresh Plus drops. This can sometimes be the best way to help loosen up a lens. As a practice, I always drop some saline in before I remove even when my lenses are not tight. Additionally, this can be more effective if you give the drops a couple minutes to sink in. I probably should have put this as number 1 or 2 since I think it helps the most.

5)Try rotating your lens with your finger. This can help to break the seal a bit. Sometimes it seemed to help me and I based it on the theory that my lens was not a perfect circle as it was customized to my eyeball which is not a perfect circle. If your lens is a perfect circle it may not help as much.

6) Try putting the plunger in different locations around the edge.

7) When you pull, try pulling sideways rather than straight out. You can pull almost parallel to the surface of your eye but slightly diagonal away from your eye.

8) Take a break. If you spend several minutes and it is not working, put in a few drops and take a break for a couple minutes.


Doing the above has always worked for me. Sometimes it seems like it's on there so good it will NEVER come out, then all of a sudden, it pops out with very little effort. If you have continual problems and find yourself going through these exercises often, your lens is probably too tight and it's worth trying to get it loosened (if that's an option) or trying a new lens (same of different brand) with a looser fit. I was able to get my lenses loosened and it helped quite a bit, especially for the left eye. It helped less in the right eye, but that is a long story that I haven't quite figured out yet. Long story short, I had the flap in the right eye lifted to remove a foreign object and I will get refitted for a new lens sometime in the first quarter of 2015.