Will I ever wear contacts again?

[KarenE]

I've been wondering this lately!  I've worn them since junior high and can't see anything without my glasses on!  But they are SO THICK, I hate to wear them. 
I have facial paralysis and surgery scheduled on Monday for nerve grafts and a gold weight implant.....but I know that my eye doesn't make any tears right now.....has anyone been able to wear contacts after AFTER??
Thanks!!!
Karen

[arkansasfarmgirl]

I can now, but after 12 hours or so my eye is irritated.  So I don't wear my contact in that eye everyday, only when I'll be doing a lot of driving or driving at night.  Otherwise, I just run around only seeing out of one eye because I can't tolerate wearing glasses. 

My eye is closing all the way and blinking (albeit slower than the other one) now.  I make tears but not consistently.

Vonda

[Funnydream]

My face is numb and my eye is dry but I still have movement in my face.

No way would I put a contact in my dry eye. If I get dust, dirt, or a hair it sucks big time. With facial paralysis I would get glasses anyway.

[saralynn143]

Someone once posted about using this contact: http://www.synergeyes.com/index.html

I plan to ask my ophthalmologist about trying one next time I see him.

Sara

[Karen4639]

Karen,
I too have worn contacts since jr high (30 years or so) and am VERY near sighted. I am about 7 weeks postop and I asked my doc this question and he said I should be able to wear contact someday. I really hate wearing glasses. I've tried putting in my contacts and it was okay for about an hour. I'm hoping after I get the weight in my eye I will be able to wear them again.

[tichinose]

That gold weight doesn't help ur contacts....the cornea dr. Here said no way could I wear contacts or get surgery...I was bummed

[hruss]

KarenE,

how are you after the surgery? is your eye better?

I have some movement in my face but like you my eye does not tear on its own. it does not blink as often as the other and blinks all the way down when I squeeze my eyes. when it is windy outside my eye just gets very red. i need to put drops often to keep it moisturized. i know it is very uncomfortable for an eye to put drops in when there is an eye contact lens there. so i don't think it will work. do you know of certain eye drops that you can put in the eye when you wear contacts?

hrissy

[KBL]

Hi, I have facial paralysis, a gold weight, thick glasses, and no tears.  The vision in my bad eye has been blurry since December.  My eye doctor decided on a new approach for me.  I now wear a 1-day Acuvue Moist contact in that eye.  It is the lowest perscription  available.  -0.50. (I still wear glasses with it.)  I wore contacts for over 30 years, but none for the last 2 years. From the first day I started wearing this contact I can wear it all day.  It is a very thin contact for one day use.  She is using it as a bandaid, we need to get the inflammation down in my cornea.  She also started me on Doxycycline 50 mg.  Which is a medication for acne, but one of the side effects is to reduce the inflammation in corneas.  So  far it has worked, I went from eyesight of 20/200 to 20/60 in three weeks.  She also tried to fit me with a hard contact that has a soft edge that you fill  with contact solution and it helps to keep your eye moist.  I found that it was not as comfortable as the soft contact, but you can see through the moisture.  Even with the soft contact I use eye drops hourly during the day.
When she started me on the soft contact she gave me several days worth of samples to try. 
For me once my eyesight is back to normal I think I will try the contacts in both eyes for full correction.

KBL

[saralynn143]

KBL - do you know the name of the hard contact with soft edges?

Thanks, Sara

[Kaybo]

KBL-

I am very interested in all this - I wonder if your dr would be willing to share & talk to other docs or if there is some research to point them to??

K 

[KBL]

I do not know the name of the hard contact with the soft edges, I will try to find out.  Also I will talk to her about sharing what she has found out.  My eye still has a long ways to go, but it is improving and we are encouraged by that.

[KBL]

The name of the hard contact with the soft edges is Synergeyes, she tried several sizes on me.   With my eye weight I was aware it was in my eye, the soft contact I am wearing feels great, at least most of the time. I think if you have dry eye problems, since you can put solution in the Synergeye, it is worth trying on in the Doctor's office.  My eye Doctor is not in again until Monday,  if she wants to share some of her research where would she do that?
On Monday I had another one of those fun MRI's we all love so much.  tomorrow I find out what my tumor, Ursala, is doing.

[saralynn143]

Thanks KBL, if you are able to contact your doctor I would be very interested in the particular type of Synergeyes that she recommended for you, as there are several specialty lenses, such as for astigmatism, keratoconus, post-surgery. It makes a difference in the practitioner and I would very much like to try one.

[KBL]

Hi SaraLynn, I will find out early next week.  My Dr. has been great, trying hard to find a solution for me. 
Karen (KBL)

[KBL]

Saralynn, the contact was Duette by Synergeye. 

Karen