Keratoconus Diagnosis
A few days back I was diagnosed with keratoconus and I thought I would write about my experience, cause in my research I found it difficult to find people talking about it. Maybe I was looking in the wrong places?
"Keratoconus (pronounced keh-rah- toe-cone-us) is an eye condition which causes the thinning and weakening of the cornea, resulting in it changing shape. A cone-shaped bulge develops in the cornea, which is typically round and dome-shaped."
Quote and picture from Moorfields Eye Hospital
January
I had another eye test as I felt like my left eye in particular was struggling a lot even with glasses on. So it went about as normal as expected and got another set of glasses and went on my way. But, I quickly felt like my vision had not adjusted to the new glasses at all. For a bit I thought I was overreacting, like surely it was that I needed more time to adjust, and I was jumping the gun.
April
I got another test, and another pair of glasses to take home. Of course, a big part of the appointment was how abnormal this was. She mentioned keratoconus, but I misheard, so I didn't really spend any time looking into it at all. She just told me that she was sending me to see an ophthalmologist to look into why the left eye in particular is getting so bad so quickly.
June
The appointment went about as you'd expect, sit down, stare forward, get some flashes in your eye. I believe this machine specifically checked the shape of the cornea. It was quite difficult to stare forward for so long, and I kept blinking, but we go there in the end.
#July I get a strange phone call. The lady introduced herself as someone from a local hospital and mentioned something about prescribing eye-drops, and also about confirming the diagnosis for keratoconus. Now, I don't know if I'm stupid, but I thought she meant the appointment itself would be about whether I had it or not and the appointment would not be until August. I started doing as much research as possible about the condition to understand as much as I could. Either way, this made me feel quite anxious, and I spent a lot of that night looking into the condition. I'm not sure if I could say the thought made me sad, or depressed, or what it was, I guess I just didn't really understand a lot about the situation, so being left in the dark without access to a professional was anxiety inducing more than anything.
Anyway, another week passes and I finally receive the letter confirming the diagnosis and also about the prescription of eye drops. I've been told I can no longer rub my eyes, which I guess was a bad habit anyway. This period was very frustrating, as it took a while for the drops to be delivered, and I could not rub my eyes for relief at all. I found myself going to bed earlier, using screens less, and also just being more irritable during the day. However, I received the drops today. I was given Carmellose eye drops to use as required whenever my eyes get itchy, and Olopatadine eye drops to use twice a day. I'm not great at administering them, and I missed once or twice, though I assume I'll become a master at this if it's something I have to do for a lifetime.
All in all, I feel mostly fine. It'll take some adjustment, I guess. There's a lot I still don't know, or understand about the condition which can be a little scary. But I'll manage. I thought it was worthwhile to write about my experience anyway. I will keep you updated.