Contact Lenses & Hospital Stay

[Mom26 313]

As i near my surgery date (11/9), I'm trying to get myself as organized as possible for the hospital stay. One thing that is a major concern to me is my contact lenses. Backstory - I had a corneal transplant 15 years ago in one eye, as well as followup surgery. 2nd eye had experimental procedure last year to stop my eye disease. I wear scleral lenses (they closely resemble a Cereal bowl for a Barbie Doll). They're huge hard lenses and cannot be worn overnight or while napping. I have to put them in and take them out with a tiny plunger while standing up and looking straight down into a mirror. The process is a total pain in the ass - but without them, I cannot see the eye chart. I KNOW it's an eye chart - but cannot see the damn E. (Yup, I've memorized the chart by now - but that's another story).

Here's my concern. I literally cannot see anything but shadows without them. Obviously that's fine for when I'm in a hospital bed recovering. Close my eyes and sleep. But there is not a chance in hell I will be able to walk even a few feet without being able to see. And doing that every hour is freaking me out. When I get up in the middle of the night now, I feel my way to the bathroom. But it's my house and I KNOW where my bathroom is. The hospital is a totally different story. Due to the disease/shape of my eyes, I cannot wear glasses nor soft contact lenses, so that's out. I'm hoping I feel good enough to put them in and out all day/night long. Otherwise, I'll have to have the nurse map out the path by steps and pray nobody puts anything in my path. lol

Anyone else contact lens dependent? What did you do while in the hospital?? I'm hoping to only be in two days/one night.

Edited October 26, 2015 by Mom26

[Tssiemer1 549]

Never mind

Edited October 26, 2015 by Tssiemer1

[peaceout 273]

It may be difficult to deal with scleral lenses while in the hospital. Is anyone staying at the hospital with you? Otherwise, there are always nurses and aides on duty, so I would ask if one of them could walk the halls with you. You can have them guide you. Especially if you can let them know ahead of time that you have this issue, they should be able to work something out. Do you have keratoconus or something similar? On my hospital intake form there was a section about eye conditions that would render you needing a little extra help, and that was certainly on there.

[Mom26 313]

It may be difficult to deal with scleral lenses while in the hospital. Is anyone staying at the hospital with you? Otherwise, there are always nurses and aides on duty, so I would ask if one of them could walk the halls with you. You can have them guide you. Especially if you can let them know ahead of time that you have this issue, they should be able to work something out. Do you have keratoconus or something similar? On my hospital intake form there was a section about eye conditions that would render you needing a little extra help, and that was certainly on there.

I do have keratoconus. Not many people have heard of it! I had the corneal cross linking last year. My husband is on duty that night - and I'd rather have him take off when I'm home - so I'll mention it to them at the hospital when I get there. Having an aide or nurse guide me would be great - and much easier than having to pop those suckers in and out of my eyes every hour. Thanks so much for your reply!

[peaceout 273]

@@Mom26 You're welcome. Hopefully they'll be able to work with you! I'm an optometrist, but it's been a few years since I've worked with anyone who had keratoconus (I work in a diabetes clinic in a hospital now, and we don't do anything with contact lenses). How did your cross linking procedure go? I've never known anyone who had it done.

Also, from reading about other experiences, it sounds like a lot of hospitals gather your intake information via phone call. So if that's the case, and the nurse questioning you doesn't bring it up, it's definitely something I'd make him/her aware of.

Best of luck with the surgery! I wish you a speedy recovery.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Definitely let them know about your needs. I had a pre-registration phone call a few days before my surgery. That would have been a great time to let them know about your issues and challenges. Frankly, from what you described and based on my own experience in recovery, if I was in your shoes I wouldn't mess with them. As someone else mentioned, you can get an aide to walk with you and help you to the bathroom, etc.

Best of luck with your surgery and keep us posted on how you are doing.

[Mom26 313]

@@Mom26 You're welcome. Hopefully they'll be able to work with you! I'm an optometrist, but it's been a few years since I've worked with anyone who had keratoconus (I work in a diabetes clinic in a hospital now, and we don't do anything with contact lenses). How did your cross linking procedure go? I've never known anyone who had it done.

Also, from reading about other experiences, it sounds like a lot of hospitals gather your intake information via phone call. So if that's the case, and the nurse questioning you doesn't bring it up, it's definitely something I'd make him/her aware of.

Best of luck with the surgery! I wish you a speedy recovery.

Thanks so much! The cross linking was crazy. The drops were put in over a period of almost 2 hours. The UV light was intense - and at one point, I started to feel the burning of the light so they added more anesthetic. No biggie. One HUGE thing I noticed was that it affected my non-cross linking eye. I lost some corrected vision in that one for a bit. I see the transplant surgeon often - and he said it's looking like the disease hasn't progressed any further. I cannot undergo a 2nd transplant... that was horrific. Let me tell you - scleral lenses are a LIFESAVER!!

I go for some testing tomorrow at the hospital. I'll mention it to them then!

@@Inner Surfer Girl Thanks so much. I go tomorrow for testing - so I'll be sure to mention it to them then!! I'm so excited to be heading towards the losers bench in 2 weeks!!