Scleral Lens... When Can You Use Them?

[InnerGrace]

This may be a stupid question..... but then again.. I've never had to deal with this..lol  I have facial paralysis right now.. .HB 6.  My biggest struggle is my eye, of course.   Are the lenses not be used until you have decent closure of the eye or is it something that can be worn while your eye is healing??? 

[ccooper]

I got mine the week after surgery! Best decision yet. A proper fit is critical, and then it will feel so great. I'm five months out and still no blinking at all so they are great for that. Just remember, even with one in, you still need lots of drops.

[InnerGrace]

That's awesome!  I am assuming that they can be made for prescription.....it would be awesome to see a bit better....I think my recovery would happen quicker and I would be a bit happier if I could see....!

[Jill Marie]

Hi InnerGrace,

One of the reasons to get the lens is because you don't have good eye closure, the other reason is because you have a very dry eye.  You have 3 options that I know of, deciding which one to choose depends a lot on your Insurance, how long you think you will need the lens and your willingness to try different things.  The lens you are referring to costs quite a bit depending on what your Insurance will pay & it needs to be fitted to your eye by a specialist. 

I had a lens that was a bit smaller then the scleral lens but worked great for me.  I got the lens from a contact lens doctor that specializes in dry eye issues.  The lens only cost me $300.  After about 2 years I had problems with the lens, so I started using a daily contact lens.  The daily contact lens costs about $1.00.  The daily lens I use doesn't require any special cleaning products unlike the scleral lens or the lens I use to use because I just throw it away at the end of the day.  It's really easy to put in and take out of my eye.

If you think your eye issue is going to be permanent then I would suggest either the scleral lens or the less costly lens I had.  If your eye issue is hopefully a short term problem you might want to try the daily lens. 

We are all different so you just have to try and find what works for you.  Feel free to ask questions as I've been dealing with the eye issues for over 20 years and have tried many things.   Jill 

[InnerGrace]

Well, I'm certainly hoping that it is temporary!  :/  A long temporary, but temporary....   I visit with my opthamologist again on the 12th of July and I think I will inquire about an option or two.  Funny she didn't mention it to me at my last visit.   However, I have looked around my immediate area to see if there are doctor's that specialize in dry eye and fortunately there are quite a few but I don't believe my regular eye doctor does.  I have some blinking but not total.  The last visit to the opthamologist, she said that she saw some action going on behind my eye...(not exact words... I said in another post I'm going to start recording conversations...)... so I'm hoping that is a good thing.     I have to do something as I am due to go back to work on the 30th of July and I am afraid with how things are now, I wouldn't be able to do my job as effectively with the vision issue. 

[researcher]

Hi! You didn't ask for help for dry eye at night but this is what I tried.

https://www.dryeyeshop.com/eyeeco-tranquileyes-onyix-quartz-eyeseals-c122.aspx

I bought the clear lens goggles. It helped me at night. You could wear the goggles during the day!

Thankfully my facial nerve has come back.(regenerated, whatever it is called.) Progress was slow. I hope that you get well. Take care.

[InnerGrace]

Hey researcher!  I don't have real big issues at night.  I just use the refresh pm before I go to bed.. nudge my eye shut and I'm good to go.  Usually.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I just add a little more ointment.  But, I'm taking in all ideas right now, as I know that I'm going to have to figure something out to be able to function better when I return to work.  God willing, I will have a little bit of progress by my return.  Can I ask you where you were on the House Brackmann scale after surgery?  They didn't cut my nerve but the nerve was angered quite a bit during surgery.  They left a wee tiny bit of tumor (not even detectable on MRI) in order to preserve that facial nerve.  Very frustrating.  I have a hard time waking up in the morning and getting my day moving...but usually, once I do, I am feeling a bit more positive.

[researcher]

Hi Innergrace! I woke up SSD and a 6 on the House-Brackmann scale. Believe me both were a big surprise. I went to an opthalmologist about 2 weeks after surgery expecting to hear about the night googles or the scleral lense. Nope! He suggested to sew up my eye a little bit.

My nerve was still showing signs of life all throughout the AN surgery. If your nerve was doing the same I would think the facial nerve would regenerate. (don't know the correct term) At some point hopefully you will feel something and see slight movement. I lightly massaged my face. I don't know if it helps but it made me feel like I was doing something.

I was lucky. My nerve came back most of the way. I am about 6 months out. Take care.

[InnerGrace]

Then that is very encouraging to me.  I know everyone is different, but I'm hoping to be one of the lucky ones, too.  It is very hard, even though I'm only 3 weeks out... My friends keep checking in on me and asking  me how I am doing.  I just simply say... Ok.  Physically, other than my face, I am slowly improving, mentally/emotionally?  Not too sure.  It's a constant battle to stay on top of being depressed and believing in the healing.  And those who aren't going thru what I'm going thru.. or even remotely been NEAR what I'm going thru, just simply aren't going to understand, so I spare them my story...lol  I also woke up SSD but was pretty much prepared for it.  And although annoying sometimes in certain circumstances...it's definitely not playing on my misery..  the paralysis however... THAT was a shocker.. (not that I hadn't been educated beforehand, I just chose to believe it wouldn't happen to me..)... just another hurdle in life, I guess...  I will see my opthamologist on the 12th and I think I'm going to inquire about a couple different things other than "procedures"... I sincerely don't want to do another procedure/surgery unless I absolutely most definitely have to...   I believe in the natural healing of the body and God's promise of wholeness and healing.  I'm happy that your paralysis was as temporary as it was!  So fantastic and I can only hope and pray and believe for the same outcome....

[researcher]

You hang in there! I found that when people asked me how I was doing they could handle one "sad" thing but wanted to also hear that I was optimistic. You have already figured that out. You have a great attitude! Take care.

[Greece Lover]

InnerGrace,

The emotional/mental side of recovery was maybe the hardest part for me, and one that I wasn't really expecting.  I had never experienced anything like it before.  In the first four weeks I had a lot of anxiety and depression.  I felt like crap.  I couldn't do the things I used to do to make myself feel good (especially exercise).  My wife was worried about me.  Once my energy came back more and I could do more walking, then my mental outlook started to get better.  Hang in there!

[saralynn143]

Everyone's path is different. I am now eight years post-op with maybe 65-70% of facial function, but still an incomplete blink and very little tear production. I have been wearing a scleral for the past three years and it makes all the difference in the world to my quality of life.

In my opinion there is no reason to wait. If you are interested, I have written some weblog posts about my experience, beginning with http://www.sarahartman.com/the-eyes-have-it/

Good luck.

[Jill Marie]

Hi Saralynn,

Good to hear from you, glad the lens is still working well for you.  One of these days I will have to join facebook and check out the ANer's there.  Take Care, Jill

[madelynbeltz]

I'm guessing that a scleral lens would not work as cataract surgery heals--because the special drops they prescribe after cataract surgery need to be carefully spread across the cornea.