Optician editor Chris Bennett concludes his diary recording his experiences as an Ortho K patient with Batemans Opticians
I continued with my every night wear, only missing one night due to a sore eye after a run. Another week of wear continued uneventfully and by the Thursday of the following week I had a call from Batemans to say the new lenses were ready for collection.
I asked if they could be posted and they duly arrived the following day. I was a little surprised to find only one lens in the container but a call to the practice confirmed that was the only one new lens needed. This new right lens was noticeably more comfortable which made me tighten up my cleaning procedures.
During the following week I did notice that the lenses were a little misty in the morning and I put this down to the extra heating in the house because of the cold weather. During this week everyone seemed to have a cough or a cold and I was waiting for the day to arrive when I would catch one and have to cease wear. Luckily, this day didn't arrive and by the end of the week the morning mistiness had gone.
One incident that did stick in my mind was being overtaken while cycling home by an ambulance and being dazzled by the flashing light. The intensity of this was very noticeable and persisted for a while. I had not experienced this before.
Taking time out
By the weekend I felt like missing a night's wear which I did with no noticeable impact on the daytime vision.
At this stage, I felt I had reached a plateau in the overnight lens comfort which, while not perfect, was reasonable. My next visit was scheduled as the last of the whole fitting process and, all being well, I would then only visit the practice for check-ups on a three-monthly basis.
At this consultation, I underwent the now familiar fluorescein and slit-lamp examination plus an acuity test. Batemans' Sean Allen revealed that there were no signs of wear on the cornea. The change in the right lens has taken the early day vision down from +1 to +0.25. Allen said at this sitting my vision was 6/4 in both eyes. I was now a fully fledged Ortho K user.
In the interests of completeness, I suggested I revisited the practice in one month's time. Four days prior to the visit I would discontinue wear to see if my vision had returned to base line. It turned out that my break in wear would be sooner than I expected.
After packing for a long weekend away I discovered that my partner had removed my Ortho K lenses and solutions plus the -0.10 and -1.50 daily disposables I kept to 'top me up' in case I couldn't use my Ortho K lenses. My vision was fine on the Friday, Saturday and the Sunday but by Monday morning the loss of acuity was noticeable. At midday I tried to put on my glasses and they were far too strong. I then put in some Sauflon New Day -1.50 disposables which, while slightly too powerful, saw me though. By Tuesday I did feel I needed correction and could wear my glasses with slight discomfort.
The final countdown
In the run up to my final check, I used the Ortho K for the last time on the Thursday night. My vision was fine for the weekend but by Monday I was struggling. I had taken the opportunity to order some -1.00 Provis DaysoftUV lenses to 'top me up' which I used for the journey home in the dark and wet on Monday and again on Tuesday. My consultation on Wednesday showed I still had about -0.5 of cylindrical correction in each eye.
Allen said the keratometer reading was slightly on the flat side of my normal and a fluorescein and slit-lamp exam showed no signs of wear.
Allen claimed that I was probably one of the most successful Ortho K patients he had seen and he was particularly impressed by my positive attitude and response throughout the trial. He also commented on my good night vision and the condition of my cornea.
One of the highlights of the trial was the consistent good care, full information and opportunity to discuss the procedure.
As good as the best
As I was preparing to leave, Allen asked the '$64,000 question'. 'If I were a patient with no connection to the profession would I continue using Ortho K?' After a short, but sufficient pause, I had to answer with a definite 'Yes'.
In common with most people working in optics I have access to the very best in eyewear and contact lenses. I do enjoy wearing good eyewear and am lucky enough to have prescription, wrapped sunglasses, polarised lenses and fashion frames and it is nice wearing these at times.
Visually, Ortho K is as good as the best correction I have had and the overnight wear became part of my routine. My link with optics has also made me more aware of the hawks on the issue and those who advise against any overnight wear.
From a lifestyle perspective I have become an emmetrope for the last three months and the biggest 'problem' I had was realising all of the sunglasses I wear are prescription. For anyone with an active lifestyle being spectacle-free is priceless. If you have a patient who doesn't want to wear visual correction, Ortho K is for them.
It is interesting reading back over my Ortho K diary. It is a contemporaneous report on how I felt at the time and if you asked an opinion of my Ortho K now I would say it was totally trouble-free. My only gripe would be managing the cleaning and a slight dissatisfaction with the solutions.
Resuming spectacle wear hasn't been a problem. Initially, it was quite nice coming out of Ortho K and being able to wear polarised lenses on a bright day, fashion frames and wrapped cycling specs. Of course, sport means daily disposables.
Allen says Batemans wants to offer options to its customers and Ortho K doesn't have to be a full-time solution. The advantages it offers means it is an option I think many users will want to take up.
STOP PRESS
A month later and I am already looking at Ortho K through rose-coloured spectacles. I am now deciding when would be the best time of year to resume Ortho K wear and wondering why I stopped.