Are RGPs suitable for moderately dry eyes?

[mariposa]

My Schimmer test is 15 and 8 mms (one eye is worse apparently although I hardly notice the difference) so my dry eye is not so terrible but I wonder if the RGPs will be at all comfortable in dry eyes..Since I do produce some tears and RGPs dont soak the water then they should not harm my eyes but ..what is your experience?Are you able to put them on if you wake up with a burning in your eyes ?The burning diminishes through the day ..

I cant go on with my -14 glasses.The make my vision diminished are full of aberrations on the sides.Not to mention looking like a weirdo with tiny eyes, which,though, is not a crucial reason.

I really need to know if RGPs are for me before I get some befcause here in Poland a pair would cost me 3/4 of my monthly salary so that is a an expense I dont want to go to waste.

I was pretty happy with soft lenses until my eyes got so dry.

[DCRdryeye]

Something must be wrong with my computer. I just posted here and it didn't show up. Here goes again...

RGPs would suit moderately dry eyes much better than severe dry eyes. I am 1mm on a Schimmers test and use scleral lenses and still find I have to wear moisture chamber glasses over the top of them. Don't forget, you're whacking a large piece of plastic on your eye ball and the more lubrication you have on it, your eyelids will glide over them easier.

[Rebecca Petris]

My Schimmer test is 15 and 8 mms

Is that anaesthetized or no?

How's your tear break-up time?

Are you able to put them on if you wake up with a burning in your eyes ?The burning diminishes through the day ..

Is that what you're experiencing - burning in the morning, that diminishes through the day? I think it would be really helpful to find out why that's happening and what you can do to treat it, whether or not you get more contacts. But especially with wanting to get contacts, you can maximize your chances of success by improving your eye surface health.

Believe me, I understand what vision with -14 and glasses is like. I used to be -12 with astigmatism. So I totally sympathize with your need for contacts. Unfortunately I got talked into having LASIK back in the barbaric days when even some "good' doctors really believed that was a good idea for people like me.

I have dry eyes, worse than yours, and I wear RGPs but like DCRDryEye the difference is mine are a specialized kind of scleral lenses (huge - they do not touch the cornea - and they hold saline on the cornea). Before I wore those, I wore some other excellent lenses that were a bit smaller. They touched only the peripheral part of my cornea, but I only managed to wear them for 2 years before they started causing some issues.

Could you wear "normal" RGPs and be comfortable? I don't know. Maybe. For awhile. Better chances of success though if you find out what's wrong and treat it. And also better chances for success the larger the lenses are so that they do not touch very much of the cornea. If I were you I'd start researching who in Poland is fitting these kinds of lenses and whether they're having success with people who have some dry eye.

Good luck... and keep us posted!

[Rebecca Petris]

p.s. Mariposa one other thought - you might find out if anybody's fitting Synergeyes (hybrid) lenses there, and if so whether they can let you try some out without paying if it doesn't work out. Sometimes they work out with dry eye sometimes not but might be worth a try.

[mariposa]

thanks Rebeccca

Why do you think hybrid are better?

I googled your rgps - DCRDryEye - but found no information about them

[mariposa]

the schimmer test was not anaesthetized

and the film break really depends on the occasion..