Return of orthoK, we called this center and they claim it corrects -8 myopia and -4 astigmastim

Return of orthoK, we called this center and they claim it corrects -8
myopia and -4 astigmastim! Their quoted price was $600-900 for both
eyes which is a reasonable price. I could not believe the claims, but
the sectractary insists its possible. I told her I heard on the
internet one optometrist could only achieve a maximum of -4 diopter
correction, he never got a patient corrected more than -4 and anyone
with more than -4 of myopia got a partial correction. I also read that
websites say orthoK can address up to -6 in theory but -3 to -4 is the
pratical limits. No matter, ill be happy with a -3 diopter reduction in
my myopia, this will slightly undercorrect me but enough to reduce my
dependancy on glasses while still not needing reading glasses. I may
make an appointment there asap

 

Dear Ace,

Subject: Verify claims.

I have heard many claims of this nature.

Ask them for a money-back guarantee
of 20/40 or better -- by your own
verification.

If they clear your vision to 20/40 or
better -- pay them.

If they do not -- they do not get
paid.

See if they will sign that type
of contract.

Best,

Otis

 

Pot ... kettle ... black ...

More importantly, Ace: ask them whether they have read "The Printer's
Son," or if they can claim to have prevented their own nephew's
myopia?

As long as they have, then it's a certainty that their claims are
legitimate. No further inquiry is required.

 

No legitimate medical person would sign such a contract. In particular,
OrthoK requires patient compliance.

 

Did I understand this correctly?

1) The center claims it corrects -8 (the sectractary)
2) Internet optometrist has one achieved max -4 correction.
3) Websites say -6 theoretical and -3 to -4 practical

And you're going to rush right down there to hand over
$600-900? sign me up -

-Quick

 

Actually, I give that guarantee already.

Rarely does it need to be initiated, but 3 or 4 times in the past 12
years it hasn't worked well enough to get a satisfactory result. Then
there was athe girl who got perfect 6/6 and had a reaction so I pulled
her from the lenses and refunded the money.

dr grant

 

Dear Quick,

I have seen reports by some "disgruntled" Ortho-K users.

They heard all the "promises".

They get the Orth-K lens

They do it -- and then "nothing happens".

Then they give up -- and there bank account
is $800 to $1,600 lighter -- and nothing
has changed.

Just on man's opinion.

Best,

Otis

 

Only those who didn't try hard enough.

It takes great personal resolve, you know....

 

I wasn't questioning Ortho-K.
I was questioning going to a practice which you
suspect of making highly exaggerated claims.
To be crystal clear I'm not even addressing the
claims. The OP said they thought the claims
were highly exaggerated.

-Quick

 

Dear Mike and Neil,

Forget it.

 

update: We called the doctor himself and he refuted the sectary's
claims of it correcting -8. This much myopia isnt possible anytime in
the near future if ever due to the nature of molding your cornea. I
guess its analogious to fitting a size 10 foot into a size 3 shoe. He
said difficult cases are -4 to -5 diopters. That sounds more like it.
He wouldnt make any guarantees except that the less myopia, the easier
and to have relistic expectations. Some are disapointed to end short of
20/20(they would never make good lasik candidates either!) But with
orthoK you can simply stop this procedure and have your pescription
revert back. Thats the thing I like about it.

"I have heard many claims of this nature."


Most will claim -6 or more but in reality, -4 is the pratical limit
where you can expect a full correction. I know one optometrist who
never fully corrected more than -4 but others have claimed to correct
as much as -5.


"Ask them for a money-back guarantee
of 20/40 or better -- by your own
verification."


Most places dont offer this guarantee because they spend the time and
money doing orthoK on you. Others will give a partial refund.


"And you're going to rush right down there to hand over
$600-900? sign me up -"


We will call all the orthoK centers first, but $600-900 is probably
going to be the best deal.


"Actually, I give that guarantee already."


You probably wouldnt guarantee anything for higher myopes like me
except that my vision will improve at ALL and that I wont develop a
reaction or infection.


"They do it -- and then "nothing happens"."

Define nothing happens. If their myopia went down at ALL then something
indeed did happen!


Whatever astigmastim I have will be taken care of, its very small,
should be no more than -1 so this isnt the issue. My myopia isnt an
issue either since some of it is pseudomyopia plus I have "presbyopia"
so as long as I achieve enough reduction in myopia to greatly reduce my
dependancy in glasses, its a success! All I ask is to be less myopic
than where I am now!
Courtray to what you think, -5 is quite bad!

I will read more about orthoK and get back to you

 

Heres my comments from what ive read so far:

1. OrthoK is the safest way to reshape your cornea. No cornea is
removed, ablated or destroyed. Its analogous to a belt shaping your
waist to a slimmer shape.

2. OrthoK is about a third the price of refractive surgury.

3. OrthoK not being permaent is much more of a blessing than a curse.
Get lasik or PRK and if you arent satisfied, too bad your stuck with
it, theres no "undoing" surgury. Not happy with orthoK? Just stop
wearing it and in short time youll revert back to the way you were and
go back to glasses.

4. Theres people arguing that lasik is quick, effective and permaent
while orthoK takes time. Whats the hurry? Slow and steady is where its
at

5. someone said "That could put the laser centers out of business in a
hurry!"
We have yet to see this happen but once contact and orthoK technology
experiences a breakthru, it very well could. Who would risk their eyes
with lasik when orthoK will give you clear vision for a week with just
one night wear?

6. no drugs nor chemicals are needed for orthoK, just sometimes
artifical tear drops which are just mostly water anyway without
medicines or chemicals

7. I obtained good result in orthokeratholy up to 4.00. I asked an
ortho-k OD and he said that ortho0k is good for people with up to -4.00

Ace: I agree with that! My myopia is only a little more than that so
most of it will be removed with orthoK and besides I have a little
pseudomyopia that will work its way out so ill end up with excellent
distance vision anyway.

8. Depending on the corneal shape of the patient,
changes as much as 4 to 5 diopters of myopia/astigmatism can be
worked with. Typically the best results are in the 3 to 4
diopter range.
Ace: not a problem for me, in fact a slight undercorrection is
beneficial for a "presbyope" like me.

9. I tried Orthokeratology about a year and a half
ago. I was left -4.75
and right -5.25. It was great at first. I have
never been able to
leave the molds out for more than an hour or two
before my eyes
started regressing.

Ace: I am not looking to correct this much myopia, more like -3 to -4
diopters of my myopia and if I regress I can just use glasses durning
that time or move closer to see clearly. Anything is better than my
terriable vision now!

10. OrthoK is great for those who work in dusty or dry environments
where contact lenses would dry and irritate ones eyes. My contacts dry
my eyes in short time, especially when im outside and the wind blows!
With orthoK I can sleep in them and keep my eyes closed and moisted at
all times

 

I had Ortho-K decades ago (early 70s), when I think it first came out. As
with you, the promise of seeing without glasses was appealing. (Up until
then I hadn't worn contacts either. Those were my first.)

Well, I have never been able to see without corrective lenses. If the
ortho-k helped my myopia at all, it was slight, not a noticeable
improvement. Yet, I think the ortho-k might have given me astigmatism, or
made my astigmatism worse.

I'm very skeptical of this procedure, a gimmick to make money IMO.

 

What was your pescription back then? What is it now? Back then, orthoK
was only good for -.5 to -1.5 diopters and once in a while someone
would improve by -2 diopters. Todays orthoK is much, much more advanced
and can improve large amounts of myopia like -3.5 to -5 diopters! Its
also much faster and more effecient

 

That's what they say, the people advertising this thing, who want to make
money from it. That doesn't mean that it's true.

 

actually it is true. Todays orthoK is far different than orthoK of 20
years back. Its also a great solution to reduce your dependancy than
glasses and a much safer alternative than lasik

 

How do you know that? Have you used it?

 

Ive read about orthoK and they say its much safer than lasik. Those who
disagree were challenged to prove that orthoK is as dangerous as lasik.
Of course no one could prove it because I am correct. If by chance
someone does prove it and its true that orthoK has risks comparable to
lasik, I will forget about orthoK as I am not willing to take such a
big risk. But the truth is orthoK is pratically as safe as regular
contact lenses!

 

Well. It sounds like you have it all sorted out and
all the proof you need. Was there a point to your post?

-Quick

 

Again, when you write "the truth is", how do you know what "the truth is"?
Because that's what the ortho-k practitioners say.

But yes, I'd agree, that ortho-K is probably far less risky than Lasik. Not
comparable.

On the other hand though, I think it is far less effective than Lasik. Not
even close. (I'm not advocating Lasik, btw. Just since you compared those
two procedures, in terms of riskiness, in which case you are correct, I
thought you should also compare the efficacy of the two procedures.)