Sclera contact Lenses

[bonedrye60]

Anybody out there using Slera contact lenses specifically for chronic dry eye? Do they work or are they just another dry eye cure marketing scheme?

[L8rgator]

Scleral Lens

Anybody out there using Slera contact lenses specifically for chronic dry eye? Do they work or are they just another dry eye cure marketing scheme?

I do. They don't cure dry eye, by any means. But they are a lifesaver for me. I was at the point of telling my doctor I needed to get my dry eye (fortunately I only have one - due to cheek/trigeminalor injury, my eye makes NO tears) sewn shut because I couldn't handle the pain, even with it patched over with a sealed wet bandage 24-7.

Now I wear a scleral lens from when I get up to when I go to bed and I CAN SEE! Not foggy like glasses or ointment either - is crystal clear for me. Only gets foggy if I accidentally use the wrong drops.

I DO still put drops in all day though, OR wear a moisture chamber (mostly out in cold wind) - just to keep the parts not covered by my lens (the outer whites, and the lids - of which mine are turned out a bit at the corner where they were sewn up a bit) moist and so a dry lid doesn't stick to the lens. Someone who produces some tears and who does not have nerve issues wouldn't have to do this as often.

Here are some of my previous posts about my experiences:

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ens&highlight=
http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ago&highlight=

Knowing what I know now, IF traveling to Boston for a very expensive PROSE was the only option for me - It still would have been worth it, hands down. Fortunately I found 2 other options nearby that were significantly less expensive. And I'm very happy with the one I chose.

My lens cost me:
a flight to dallas ($300)
a hotel in dallas for 1 week (discounted rate, transportation all over included, full breakfast included) - I think it was like $70 or $80 a night
$2000 total for a final lens (plus all the custom trial lenses created during the fitting process) + custom measuring/digital imaging + fitting + all care necessary for a week, and stuff to take care of the lens (plungers, solutions, case, etc). I'm told two lenses would have been $3500.
$250 more for each extra lens I wanted to order. This was the selling point for me.
A week off of work

I still use a nexcare waterproof bandage wetted with sterile saline at night to seal my eye shut. Because my eye is bathed all day with the fluid inside the scleral, it feels great when I wake up, and is WAY healthier then before. I used to fear that the corner of the bandage would pop up while I was sleeping, and I'd wake up with a permanent prune for an eye. But now if that happens the eye is healthy enough to handle that.

So clearly not perfect by any means. But a big improvement in my life.