Anyone experience with Ortho-k?

[Kell.nl 0]

For the people that don't know what ortho-k is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ortho-k
http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/orthok.htm

So does anyone have experience with it? I am looking into (aha!) it, and I have difficulties finding actual experiences with it on the internet. Almost everything I come across reeks too much of marketing material.
I am not interested in Lasik, Lasek, PRK or any other surgical procedure. My vision isn't very bad (-0.75 and -0.50), and I only use my glasses when I am driving my car. For skydiving I got prescription goggles.

Some specific questions I have:

- I never wore lenses before. How much time does it take to get them in before sleep, and out after sleep (assuming after getting proficient. I can imagine it takes forever in the beginning)
- Is it difficult to get used to, or is it even hardly noticeable when first using them
- Most sites say if you wear them during the night, the vision should be good all day long. Is that true? And what if I don't put them in a night? (for example when I am drunk, and I don't want to risk poking an eye out. Will I know the next morning that my blurry vision is alcohol related only?)

Also any experiences (good and bad) are very welcome. Also if you considered it, but decided not to get them, what were the reasons?

Thanks!

[dannydan 0]

Whats yr age? If I may.... I am 45 in March, and I was 1.25 in the left and 1.50 right last Nov... I have NO plans on ANY surgery for my eyesight in the nearest future.... I will continue to use "cheaters" until my eye doc says to quit! But I think in my next appt or the one after that (Nov 08/Feb09) He may start proding me to do something better...

[Kell.nl 0]

You may I turned 30 last October.

I assume you mean ortho-k lenses with "cheaters", correct?

My eye sight has been stable for a long time. I actually still use my first pair of glasses I ever got, 14 years ago. I only bought one extra pair, which are subscription sunglasses, about 12 years ago.
Are ortho-k lenses bad if eye sight is changing? I would think they can easily use another lens.

[peregrinerose 0]

With your script and part time wear of glasses anyway, I don't see why you'd bother with ortho-K... seems like more hassle and expense than it's worth in your case. How old are you? If you're somewhere in the ballpark of 40, you'll be putting readers on if your bit of nearsightedness is corrected, so you wouldn't really gain anything by it.

But, to answer your quesitons....

It takes 4 seconds to put contacts in.. it's easy... once you learn how, that's the hard part Once you get the hang of it it's easy anyway. Like anything else, it takes a little practice.

RGPs are not the most comfy lenses in the world, but with your eyes closed and asleep it's not too bad.

Yes, you wear them every night. If you don't wear them one night, your vision will be your usual -0.75 and -0.50 rx the next day, no biggie, wear your glasses if you need 'em.

Let me know if you have more questions or need more information. I'm an eye doc, and don't do ortho-k myself, it's a specialty I'm just not interested in, but I do co-manage a few ortho-k patients.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Kell.nl 0]

Thanks for your answers Peregrinerose :)

I am 30, so I am hoping I won't need reader for a while yet
The reason I am looking at ortho-k, and not any surgery is because I realize the gain in both cases won't be big. And I rather not take a risk for a small gain, hence the ortho-k. And from what I read, there is almost no risk involved, because it is always possible to let the eyes get their original shape back. If there are any risks you know of that aren't in the "marketing material" on the internet, I would be interested to know.

The expense is not really a factor for me. The only prices I read gave a range from $800 to $1500. So I am counting on $1500. That's realistic, I assume? Or was the website wrong? And I will check with my insurance. I have pretty good insurance, so they might cover something.

For the hassle part; if (after practice) the contact lenses "ritual" at night and in the morning is in the seconds range, than that would offset the hassle of putting on the glasses. But it has the added benefit of having better vision during the moments that I wouldn't wear glasses.

So is it correct to have the following expectation?: After initial investment in time (doc visits, learning how to take care of the lenses) and money ($1500) , a few minutes at night and in the morning will yield me the same vision as wearing my glasses, without actually wearing glasses. All throughout the day. And all without running any substantial risks of permanent damage.

And one more question, which is probably the most important one. How do I find a good eye doc for ortho-k? The only site I could find that lists docs really looks crappy and doesn't provide much information. (http://www.orthokeratology.com/
I live in Sacramento, CA if that helps.

Thanks!

[MarkM 0]

I've been wearing Ortho-K lenses for about 6 years now. I never wore contacts before then, had been wearing glasses for about 5 years and have such a slight prescription it would've been crazy to go with Lasik.

I use z-Wave lenses which is a specific type of ortho-k. They scan your eyes, CAD out the lenses and send out for them to be made. I paid 2k for my first doctor to do my eyes which included a few sets of lenses. That price is high for Ortho, but he was really good. My current doc is cheaper, I think he charges about 1300. The lenses themselves cost about 150 each and they last a good 3 years(or longer) if you take care of them.

Since I never wore contacts before it was hell getting used to them. They're RGP contact lenses and larger than normal contact lenses. Very uncomfortable and even today I get some discomfort with them. But that could very well be me, I just might be bad with contact lenses.

Taking them in and out is silly quick anymore. Under a minute to put them on and the same to take them off and clean them.

I wear them while I sleep, only while I sleep, and I'll have good vision the entire next day. I can skip a night wearing them if I want, but by the end of the 2nd night my vision starts to get sloppy.

Overall I've been happy with Ortho-k. I don't miss the glasses at all. If my vision got worse I'd probably go with Lasik, since dealing with lenses even just at night is still an annoyance.

There's no real commitment with it, just some $$$ to try it out. If you don't like it you can just stop wearing the lenses and your vision will go back to normal. It's also perfectly safe, they're just RGP contact lenses which have been used for a long time.

If you give it a try I'd recommend finding a couple doctors in your area and visit more than one. Some docs will be better than others. Ortho-k is sort of an art.

[peregrinerose 0]

I agree with everything here except the 'perfectly safe' part. You are putting a hunk of plastic on your eye every day, there is a risk to it... same with wearing contacts during the day. Unfortunately most patients don't really think about the risk until they come in with a problem.

Primary risk are corneal abrasion (most common when learning how to deal with the contacts as a new wearer) and infection. Think about it... bacteria like warm, most, and dark environments. That's exactly what you give bacteria when you sleep in a contact. The risk is very low, and you can keep it low by taking good care of the contacts every day (rub the well, never re-use solution, wash hands before handling contacts, etc.)

It's a low risk procedure, but not no-risk

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[gainer 0]

I started wearing Ortho-k about 3 months back, initially it was a hazzel to get them in but lately i can get them in and out very easily.

As to discomfort, yes they are dicomfortale but only if you watch tv or read or is very active still with your eyes.

Third is yes, I put them on at night and have perfectly good vision, my vision does get a bit distorted id I do not wear them and onece it took about 4-5 days and I was back on my prescription ( -4.5 and -5.5) but getting back to no glasses about 2-3 days. Just remember to resist putting any other glasses on.

My only complaint is that it is a hazzle to put them on every night but not a big one and you get used to it soon.

[Rudderow 2]

I did ortho-k for about 9 months. The first 6 months i had no problems whatsoever. could even go a couple days without them and still be able to see fine. I loved it! (having worn contacts and glasses for the past 10 years) then i started having problems. for the last three months, started getting infections that would not go away. developed corneal infiltrates from lack of oxygen to the eyeball at night. finally gave up and have since gone back to contacts and/or lenses.

PMS #165 Swooo #613 CSA #687

[TheBachelor 5]

I've been wearing Ortho-K lenses for about 15 years. I think it's the greatest thing. I can go 24-48 hours without the lenses, and still have nearly 20-20 vision. For your specific questions, here are my answers:

It doesn't take much time to put them in (seconds), but you do need to spend a couple of minutes (maybe one) cleaning them after you take them out.

It will take you a while to get used to them. The first time I put them in, I thought I had boulders in my eyes. I'd suggest wearing them for shorter times during the day until you get comfortable with them. Now I usually can't even tell that they're in.

Again, my vision is good for 24-48 hours or more after I take them out. For some of my annual appointments, I'll have them out for a day or two before going in just to see where I am, and I'm close to 20-20.

PM me if you have any other specific questions.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[Kell.nl 0]

Thanks for all the great replies!

I did read about possible infections (and something about oxygen deprivation, but that was long ago and shouldn't be a risk anymore). But as long as the infection is taken care of, it shouldn't cause any permanent damage.

But as I see everyone here is positive about the results (and I am sorry they didn't work out for you, Rudderow ), I will go ahead and visit some eye docs and "take it to the next level".

Anyone have some tips how to "judge" if an eye doc is any good with ortho-k? I don't have a regular eye-doc, since I haven't been in the US long. So I can't ask for referrals there.