Anyone here have CRT (Corneal Refractive Therapy) Contact Lenses?

[newParadigm]

I got mine about 1.5 years ago, and they work great when I use them regularly. They actually reshape your cornea so that you don't need to wear anything during the day (you wear the lenses while you sleep). They are a form of Gas Permeable Hard Contacts. The only drawback is that if you don't take them out right, they can scratch your cornea (not severly as in damaging your eye, but its enough to distort vision in that eye). This happens if your don't re-wet the lenses before your remove it. I suppose there is one other drawback, well its more of just an inconvenience. They aren't designed to correct your vision while being worn, so while they will do this to some degree, everything just looks weird, and peripheral vision is shot. Reading is also very difficult, until you get used to wearing them, so if you read at night before you go to sleep, this can be frusturating (for instance, I used to read in bed until I was tired enough to go to sleep, now I'll either just put the lenses in while in bed, or push deal with the difficulty of reading with them in.

Overall I love them, I just have to make myself put them in at night even when I'm exausted.

 

[Shawn]

How well do these work? What is your perscription? Would these work for someone who is -2.50?

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: Shawn
How well do these work? What is your perscription? Would these work for someone who is -2.50?

IDK what I am in Diopters, but on the eye chart I can hardly see anything beyond the big E. They have actually improved my vision though (I went two months without wearing them to measure there effectiveness, and my vision had improved from 20/500 to about 20/200).

In short, yes they should work well for you, they can even correct mild astigmatism.

 

[glugglug]

Wow that sounds like an awesome idea.

What do you do about your vision during the day though? If these things are changing your prescription so rapidly, do you have a whole set of regular contacts with different strengths to gradually move to or something?

What would be the time frame for correcting my -1.50 prescription?

You used these from 20/500?! Isn't that measured in Coke bottles, not diopters?

 

[brandonbull]

Originally posted by: Shawn
How well do these work? What is your perscription? Would these work for someone who is -2.50?

I got the coke bottle like -5.00

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: glugglug
Wow that sounds like an awesome idea.

What do you do about your vision during the day though? If these things are changing your prescription so rapidly, do you have a whole set of regular contacts with different strengths to gradually move to or something?

What would be the time frame for correcting my -1.50 prescription?

You used these from 20/500?! Isn't that measured in Coke bottles, not diopters?

The therapy doesn't permenantly correct your vision. After about two weeks my vision reached a peak of about 20/7 (for both eyes). This had to be maintained by wearing the lenses every other night (the 'off' day my vision deteriorated marginally to about 20/20). I can wear the lenses every night to maintain the even higher acuity of 20/7, but it's not necesary. The lenses WILL keep your vision from getting any worse, but will not fix your eyes like lasix.

 

[unsped]

you mean orthokeratotomy?

its also not covered by any healthcare as its generally considered to be unproven

you can also just wear regular hard contacts if you wanna try and stop progression, its really only recommended for the very young with bad vision.

the best thing you can do for your eyes is look far away for 30 seconds every 30 minutes

 

[Kenazo]

That's crazy. Sounds kind of like these orthodontic units that gradually expand your mouth and what not.

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: unsped
you mean orthokeratotomy?

its also not covered by any healthcare as its generally considered to be unproven

you can also just wear regular hard contacts if you wanna try and stop progression, its really only recommended for the very young with bad vision.

the best thing you can do for your eyes is look far away for 30 seconds every 30 minutes

Thats not really true. It IS true that its not covered by insurance, but its only because its usually not deemed necesary. Just like if a certain antibiotic may cure your disease, but one is available that might cure it faster, the insurance company wouldn't pay for the more expensive drug.

 

[JeSpre]

I looked at these before when I was checking out options. I never really got a clear answer on one question: How uncomfortable are they to wear? Are they uncomfortable enought to cost you sleep? I'm sure they are more noticeable than soft lenses, but how much?

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: JeSpre
I looked at these before when I was checking out options. I never really got a clear answer on one question: How uncomfortable are they to wear? Are they uncomfortable enought to cost you sleep? I'm sure they are more noticeable than soft lenses, but how much?

After a couple weeks or so you won't even notice. The key is to get them in correctly. If there is even the SLIGHTEST amount of dirt it will be VERY unconfortable, but this is very easy to avoid if you make sure you clean the leanses every time you wear them. Cleaning them is as simply as squirting some solution into your palm and placing the lense in it. You then just need to place a [clean] finger in the lense and rub it on your palm, and then rub the inside of it. There is also a 'deep' cleanse solution that you should put 2-3 drops of with the contacts during the day twice a month. Its not necesary, but it does make the lenses more comfortable I believe, and I've been told they'll last longer if you do that. The results are amazing, and I would say that its much less of a nuisance than wearing soft contacts.

 

[JeSpre]

Thanks for the info. That was very helpful.

 

[Fenixgoon]

i have orthokeratology lenses. i'm not sure how different they are from CRT lenses (sounds like the same exact process, different name maybe?). anyway, i got the lenses before they were FDA approved, have had them for 4 years now and couldn't be happier

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i have orthokeratology lenses. i'm not sure how different they are from CRT lenses (sounds like the same exact process, different name maybe?). anyway, i got the lenses before they were FDA approved, have had them for 4 years now and couldn't be happier

Probobly something to do with brand names.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: newParadigm

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i have orthokeratology lenses. i'm not sure how different they are from CRT lenses (sounds like the same exact process, different name maybe?). anyway, i got the lenses before they were FDA approved, have had them for 4 years now and couldn't be happier

Probobly something to do with brand names.

oh yeah, how long do the effects last for you? i get 24-48hrs of perfect vision. some people get up to a month from a single night's wear:Q

edit: want to feel pain? just try putting the lenses in the wrong eyes.. hurts like hell (did that when i got my last pair because i wasn't sure if they kept the same lense color system or not)

 

[newParadigm]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: newParadigm

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i have orthokeratology lenses. i'm not sure how different they are from CRT lenses (sounds like the same exact process, different name maybe?). anyway, i got the lenses before they were FDA approved, have had them for 4 years now and couldn't be happier

Probobly something to do with brand names.

oh yeah, how long do the effects last for you? i get 24-48hrs of perfect vision. some people get up to a month from a single night's wear:Q

edit: want to feel pain? just try putting the lenses in the wrong eyes.. hurts like hell (did that when i got my last pair because i wasn't sure if they kept the same lense color system or not)

You're lucky. I've never done that, but it'd be a lot easier for me, my lenses aren't colored. They both look exactly the same. The only way to tell them apart is to read a micro engraved code on the exterior surface of the lense with a microscope.