Scleral (PROSE) Expectations?

[Aaron77]

I will be making an appointment with BFS for myself soon whether or not I'm able to get any type of cost coverage - just thought I should ask what type of expectations can somebody have regarding scleral lenses from BFS?

Personally I'm expecting to have greatly reduced pain, regain the ability to work on a computer for long hrs, improved night vision, and a cosmetic benefit as my eyes are currently quite discoloured - reddish, I want to get the white back in my eye without Alphagan P or non-stop use of theratears. Is this to much to ask?

[SAAG]

I don't know if it's too much to ask, but I think it works out that way for some... hopefully you'll be lucky (and me too!!)... I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high though... have seen too many people on here go to get sclerals, only to come back unable to tolerate wearing them for long...

For those who currently wear them successfully, I'm wondering if they were comfy for long periods right from the start? or did you have to wear them every day and work up to longer and longer wear periods?

[Connected Visions]

Aaron77, I posed your question about expectations of PROSE to our BFS facebook friends...here is what they had to say:

1. Patient 1. I was treated 3 years ago at BFS for dry eye. I now work all day on a computer, have no pain, and wear my [devices] every wakng hour. BFS doctors are miracle workers...feel confident lthey will work one for you!
2. Patient 2. It is a wonderful life changing experience for somebody with dry eyes and for those who had suffered from SJS. I am very thankful for the sight that the PROSE from BFS has given me for the past seven years. I don't know what I would do without it, everything would be a big blur. I am grateful to BFS. Thank you : )
3. Patient 3. BFS saved my eyesight with my [devices]. I wear them over 12 hours a day with no problem. They are my miracle.
4. Patient 4. All of the above symptoms applied to my condition pre- PROSE...it's a life changing experience (I can wear mine comfortably 18 hours a day)
5. Patient 5: If you set out [on] this venture, pack your courage, tears, humor, hope and stay with it until the outcome is reasonably clear. You couldn't find a group of people more dedicated to comforting your eyes and restoring your vision." This is a wonderful quote, but I need to add that they will care for so much more than just your eyes.
6. Patient 6: I wear my [devices] 16-18 hours a day- work long hours without pain. The doctors at BFS are like angels - they give you your life back.

If you care to speak directly to them, you can find them here: https://www.facebook.com/bostonsight.

Best,

Janice M. Epstein
Boston Foundation for Sight
Online Community Advocate
connectedvisions@bostonsight.org

[Aaron77]

Thanks for posting these responses to my question! My funding has just been approved and I will be making an appointment shortly.

[Connected Visions]

Outstanding! So happy for you and I wish you every success!

[Rebecca Petris]

Aaron77... keep us posted please. You have had a long hard journey and I just so, so want something to work out for you.

[DCRdryeye]

I posted recently about a similar topic and didn't get any replies (perhaps because I posted near Christmas day), please have a look at my post: http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ght=#post67133

I am very curious as to how other scleral lens wearers perceive the sclerals. No disrespect, whilst it's okay for "Connected Visions" to post 'only' the positive testimonials, I'm sure there are many who cannot wear the PROSE lens due to discomfort. They would not qualify as testimonials.

[Rebecca Petris]

DCRdryeye... I didn't see your earlier post but I went and replied a moment ago.

It's interesting, I know all kinds of different people in different eye situations who wear sclerals. If you get down to the nitty gritty details of their day to day life with sclerals, they're all over the map (in terms of insertion/removal, comfort with lenses in, need to remove/rinse, wearing time, etc) - quite independent of whether they do or do not consider themselves successful long term wearers. What is one person's miracle is inadequate for another person. A tradeoff easily accepted by one person is a deal-breaker for another. So I agree it's important to have real life feedback on what sclerals are like so that people can understand the wide range of experiences and set reasonable expectations.

To clarify re: "Connected Visions" - I recently divided the Sclerals archive forum into two (PROSE vs. sclerals in general) and opened the PROSE forum for Janice to participate in because I thought it would be helpful for people who have questions best answered by BFS to be able to get 'live' feedback here. The 'sclerals' forum is still patients-only. I don't want this to inhibit anyone from posting as usual but if anyone has concerns about the arrangement don't hesitate to let me know.