Karen Buglass

I’ve worn glasses every day since the age of 11, a total of 27 years. My prescription is -2.75, which means that I’m a perfect candidate for Ortho K. I had an initial, very thorough eye examination with Charles Babumba, which took just over an hour and included the regular sight and glaucoma tests. Charles then performed a series of further tests to measure the shape of my eye (this determines the extent of my short-sightedness). This contour map was then used to make my individual contact lenses; he also checked under my eyelids and after checking inside my eyes, took a Polaroid picture of each eyeball to check the health of my eye. I really felt that no stone was left unturned and had complete faith that the procedure was right for me.

About a week later, I returned to Charles’ office and tried on my new lenses. Unfortunately one of the lenses wasn’t strong enough for me, but in a couple of days I received a replacement one. You have to have the lenses on every night. From the beginning, I found them really easy to wear and fell asleep almost immediately. I had no trouble inserting them, but needed a bit of practice in taking them out – after the first night I had to travel to Charles’ clinic so he could take them out for me! When he took them out, the result was amazing – I could see immediately! It was a very odd sensation to be able to see properly without wearing glasses – I had to keep touching my face to check whether I was wearing them or not. It’s now been seven weeks since my first appointment and my vision’s still good. I’m experiencing a bit of glare at the moment, but this gets less and less each day. The effect of the lenses is amazing and to be able to see without any glasses is a miracle. The treatment took a few weeks to work on me, but some people take less time. My advice is to be patient and stick with it – the benefits far outweigh the settling in period. I’m a convert!

Karen Buglass
Now Magazine