Prescription gradually changing after switching to Focus N&D?

Hello all, I'm 29 and have been wearing soft contacts on a daily basis
for about 10 years now. A month ago my eye doctor prescribed Focus
N&D for me to try out (had been wearing B&L's that were replaced every
other month). The lenses felt great for about a week or two, and the
doctor said everything looked good after my one week checkup.

After two weeks, my eyes gradually became irritated, prompting me to
remove my lenses and disinfect with ClearCare. After disinfecting
overnight, the lenses felt good as new upon insertion the next day. A
day two after cleaning, the lenses would get uncomfortable, so I would
remove them overnight. By the end of the third week I was taking the
lenses out every night due to discomfort, and went back to see the
doctor. He thought that my handling of the lenses might be involved,
so he gave me a new pair to try (same BC and prescription, -4.00 in
both eyes.)

The first day I wore the new lenses, they felt comfortable on the
surface of my eye, but after a couple of hours my eyes felt strained,
looked somewhat red and I got a slight headache. When I got home from
work that day, I took the lenses out and my symptoms went away. I
decided to leave the lenses out for a couple of days to give me eyes a
break.

Two days later when I put the lenses back in, they felt like new on
the surface of my eye, and vision was very sharp, but I could soon
feel the sensation of straining in the back of my eyes. I don't know
how to describe it other than it feels like trying on someone's
glasses who has a stronger prescription than you. Removing the lenses
caused this sensation to subside rather quickly.

I won't be seeing the doctor for a couple of weeks, so my question is
this: Could the eye straining sensation be caused by my eyesight
improving after switching to N&D? I've been reading about the low dk
lenses causing the corneas to swell or thicken, so is it possible that
after switching to high dk lenses ones vision might improve in the
absence of the corneal swelling? I've noticed that I can see my
digital alarm clock on the night stand a more clearly than I used to,
and my vision with glasses seems a bit crisper. Am I crazy?

At any rate, I'll leave the lenses out until I see the doctor again.
I just thought someone might be able to share some insight. Thanks!

 

I have noted this a number of times in my practice in continuous wear
patients after switching to a high DK lens like Focus N&D. I attribute
this to less corneal swelling. Corneal swelling can result in a steepening
of the curvature, which would manifest as an increase in the myopic
prescription.

DrG

(Eric H) wrote in