I am a medical student and have just been diagnosed with keratoconus

Is it possible for me to carry on?

I have always wanted to do medicine and never considered any other career for myself.

However for the past 2 years, it has been very very difficult for me to study. I take a break every 5 minutes because of the strain on my eyes. I also found out that I have some sort of allergy because my eyes get watery and I have just been prescribed eye drops for that. I was told a year ago that I have astigmatism and my eyes have a so-called "rugby-ball" appearance to them by my optician.

My grades have dropped a lot and studying is a real pain for me because of the state of my eyes.

I don't want to further lose my eyesight and I was wondering what my options are, considering my condition.

I am sure many people have this eye disease and it is isn't the end of the world. So I am not trying to be dramatic about it.

I am just slightly worried that the remaining years of medical school may worsen things.

Any advice will be much appreciated :smile:

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Yes absolutely. I was diagnosed in medical school too. I tried contacts but couldn't get used to them so stopped and got discharged from FU when things stabilised and I didn't want to try contacts anymore. It can be progressive however and my vision has definitely deteriorated in the last 3 years and I'm waiting to be seen again. There are newer treatment options that didn't exist back then (Cross linking) however and better lenses too I think.

Ask your GP or optician to refer you to your local ophthalmology service. Some places eg. Moorfields have a dedicated keratoconus clinic but usually just falls under the cornea service.

Reply 2

Bagarigak

OP

15

Original post by Anonymous

Yes absolutely. I was diagnosed in medical school too. I tried contacts but couldn't get used to them so stopped and got discharged from FU when things stabilised and I didn't want to try contacts anymore. It can be progressive however and my vision has definitely deteriorated in the last 3 years and I'm waiting to be seen again. There are newer treatment options that didn't exist back then (Cross linking) however and better lenses too I think.

Ask your GP or optician to refer you to your local ophthalmology service. Some places eg. Moorfields have a dedicated keratoconus clinic but usually just falls under the cornea service.

Thank you for your advice :smile:

I tried the contacts today "the hard lenses" - I had an appointment at the hospital for lens fitting. I actually found out that I have keratoconus today. It was very uncomfortable- I couldn't get used to it. They will try again in 6 months time. So I have already been referred. I think going privately just to double check might help though. Will definitely look at Moorfields and similar places.

It is really comforting to know that you've had a similar situation to me and that I am not the only one. So thank you for sharing this..

I was told by the doctor that cross linking is only to slow down the rate at which my vision is deteriorating and not much else :/

Have you finished medical school?

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Yes about 10 years ago and now finished speciality training.

Keratoconus is not uncommon. Opticians diagnosed me and ophthalmology confirmed the diagnosis and took on monitoring/treatment till I moved area.

It's been a while since I've done any reading but from my understanding the rate of progression is not uniform and in many cases it will plateau off. Needing corneal transplants etc. is really quite rare.

The degree of discomfort (headache, eye strain etc) from astigmatism is also not necessarily linked to severity of visual disturbane so lenses, if you get used to them, might help all of that, I agree the hard gas permeable lens is quite uncomfortable if never used before though! I had one made for my bad eye and just couldn't get used to it. But at the time it was only mild so didn't persevere. I might give it another go. I remember reading about something called piggy back lenses(hard sitting on top of soft) but never tried it.

Reply 4

Bagarigak

OP

15

Original post by Anonymous

Yes about 10 years ago and now finished speciality training.

Keratoconus is not uncommon. Opticians diagnosed me and ophthalmology confirmed the diagnosis and took on monitoring/treatment till I moved area.

It's been a while since I've done any reading but from my understanding the rate of progression is not uniform and in many cases it will plateau off. Needing corneal transplants etc. is really quite rare.

The degree of discomfort (headache, eye strain etc) from astigmatism is also not necessarily linked to severity of visual disturbane so lenses, if you get used to them, might help all of that, I agree the hard gas permeable lens is quite uncomfortable if never used before though! I had one made for my bad eye and just couldn't get used to it. But at the time it was only mild so didn't persevere. I might give it another go. I remember reading about something called piggy back lenses(hard sitting on top of soft) but never tried it.

Thank you so much for shedding light into this. It put everything into perspective.

Would you say contact lens are not good for your eyes in the long run? Just because contact lens are invasive, whereas glasses aren't. But I hate not having clear vision and that is a problem when I cannot even get used to the gas permeable lens.

Thank you for everything by the way. :smile:

Reply 5

spleenwizard

8

There is absolutely no reason keratoconus should prevent you from succeeding in medical school and as a doctor. Providing you're proactive about getting your eyes tested regularly and have an up to date prescription (for glasses or contacts etc) then you should be absolutely fine.

I'm in my penultimate year of medschool and I have extreme astigmatism in both eyes (-4.5 in left and -3.5 in right) and do fine with glasses. I tried RGP lenses but couldn't hack the adjustment period (they're the best option for astigmatism/keratoconus but my god are they uncomfortable).

There's another student in my year with keratoconus and he also does just fine with glasses.

Reply 6

Kathy89

20

I'm an optometrist, I fit RGP lenses for keratocunus for patients, it takes sometimes more than one appointment to fit and teach the patient to use them, so don't give up. In many keratocunus cases RGP or scleral lenses are the only way to reach sufficient eyesight and from my experience, the sooner you start treating keratoconus the better your vision will be. You should also ask your doctor about cross-linking surgery, as a way to stop the progress of the condition.
There are also a few soft and hybrid lenses for keratoconus but they are harder to find (not every clinic works with their supplier) and they are not always giving the best results.

Reply 7

Waterwind

1

I'm from Germany, unfortunately my English is very poor.I started a career as a radiologist in 2008 and got the chance to become chief of a radiology departement in 2015. Two years later, I recognized that my sight became more and more blurry and ich couldn't recognized sharp borders any more. I was really desperate and Of course I thought of quitting the Job. But I found a really good optometrist, who fitted special keratokonus lenses for me and I got cross-linking at both eyes.4 years later, I still work as an radiologist.There is absolutely no reason for you to stop your studies and become a great doctor. You just have to get really fitting lenses and a good optometris.I wish you all the best!

I am a medical student and have just been diagnosed with keratoconus

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