After getting tired of having to use contact lenses while surfing and then losing one while riding last night, I’m looking at non-surgical alternatives.

Does anyone on here use Ortho-k, and if so what are your thoughts on it?

No. But interested.

It’s plausible at least.

Yes, been using for about 2 years now.
I switched form monthly/daily lenses due the amount of water based activity I was doing.
Initial assessment said it was viable and over the course 3-6 months they feedback the results and changed the lens shapes to optimise the correction. I was initially -3.25 and -1.5 and now am consistently at -0.75 and +.25 when examined late afternoon.
There are limits to the amount of correction achievable and you have to wear them consistently otherwise your eyes regress pretty quickly.
Initial bedding in period took a bit of perseverance (I’ve never worn hard lenses before) but a change from standard solution to hydrogen peroxide based helped. as an added benefit my dry eye symptoms have pretty much cleared up.
They can ping about when handling them and they’re bloody expensive to replace if you lose one.
paying about £45 a month for 2 sets per year after care and solutions. (you get 1 free replacement if you lose one and I haven’t had to use it yet)
In short, it works for me.

I did for a few years, a few years ago. It was great while it lasted – I canoe and ski as well as cycle and was on the cusp of needing varifocals; didn’t like the idea of laser because the (very small) chance of issues was too high for me.

Once the effect was complete, it was just a case of wearing overnight (some people apparently go every other night, and missing one night shouldn’t be an issue).

However, after a couple of years, or so, they became progressively more uncomfortable to insert and took up to an hour for that to settle to allow me to sleep. We tried replacement lenses, a different cleaning regime (because they’re in all night cleaning needs to be rigorous), but to no avail, so I ditched them and went back to specs. The optician gave me a selection of soft contacts to allow me to drive etc during the transition – it Took a short time to revert to a stable prescription.

In conclusion, I think it’s a good idea if it works for you. But you shouldn’t be left with permanent effects if not.

Thanks guys.

Did you go through a specific optician? I only ask because I see Specsavers are now doing it now, and living on the Isle of Wight optician options are a little limited without crossing water.

I used a local independent. He was clear that the problems I had (too much protein deposit on the lens) were unusual, in his experience (and I could see that he had quite a few other ortho-k clients).

small-ish chain for me too. Didn’t know specsavers now do it, but like piranha said, rigorous cleaning/handling regime is key to use.

Great – thanks both. I’ll research further!