I have written this list to inform other KC patients of how I reversed my keratoconus (KC) condition from severe to moderate.  In 1996, I was beyond the severe stage in my left eye and was advised to put myself on the waiting list for a corneal transplant.  I searched everywhere for answers (even writing a 75 page paper), but everything I read told me that KC is degenerative and only gets worse.  It may have periods of inactivity and then periods of rapid progression, but I never heard of it actually healing.  Till this day, I still have yet to encounter any other KC patient that had as much regression as me.  However, if you have or know of anyone who did, I’d love it if you emailed me about it.  When I began my “re-education” with my eye doctor, he told me that he thought KC was controllable.  This really made it a condition instead of a degenerative disease.  All of my experiences support this belief.

For those of you who appreciate detail, I have written my whole story, but here I will succinctly highlight the things I did that produced results in reducing KC.  Please understand that I am not a doctor and have no medical background.  I am not trying to diagnose or give advice, but I am hoping that my success will possibly be the keys for more research to help others.

Over the years, the patients who have typically contacted me are advanced cases and already very familiar with KC.  Therefore, I am not going to cover any background on the disease itself.  If feel you want to learn more, I suggest visiting http://www.kcglobal.org.  

Things that I Personally Observed Improve Keratoconus

The first two items actually caused my KC to recede.  I think the rest of the list is probably more helpful in stabilizing KC.

1. Plant-based diet rich in raw produce:  After eight months of switching to a diet consisting of mostly raw produce, my corneas mysteriously flattened.  This can be seen in my most recent corneal topography (which is like an elevation map for the eye).  I have added a page devoted to diet because I receive so many questions, and the things I do are very unusual.

2. Flat fit, aspheric rigid gas permeable lenses: Academic guidance currently teaches the doctor to fit the contact according to the steepest part of the eye.  I was originally fit with this traditional method.  I had no problems with the mild cone, but I had great pain in the advanced cone and could not tolerate the lens beyond three hours.  I later learned that the steep lens was fitting like a suction cup on the eye and trapping tears.  The pain I was feeling was trapped acidic tears burning my eye.  I currently wear a superior intermediate alignment (flat fit), which means that the contact is fit according to the flatter healthy portion of the cornea. 

3. Relaxation:  My doctor took photos of my cornea before and after I tried visual biofeedback, and there was a distinct improvement.  The biofeedback machine included a beeping noise that indicated when my ciliary muscle was spasming.  The point of the exercise is to breathe deep, relax, and decrease the frequency of the beeps.  I also observed improvement in another patient’s before and after pictures after deep breathing.  Yoga, massage, breathing, meditation, and anything else similar are probably beneficial in containing KC.

4. Low powered reading glasses:  My doctor believes that KC patients have weaker accommodative ability that can be assisted through low-powered reading glasses being worn over the RGP lenses when near-point work is being performed.  I have been wearing them for several years.  My doctor was actually able to reduce his own myopia while he was in optometry school by doing this and increasing participation in sports that require him to look in the distance (far-sighted) such as golf.

5. Eye exercises:   The first time I heard about eye exercises, I saw an article in the newspaper on Meir Schneider who had previously been blind but restored his sight enough through eye exercises so that he was able to obtain a driver’s license. His DVD, “Yoga For Eyes,” came with an eye chart, so I was able to test my before and after vision.  At the end of the first session, I was able to read one line higher on the eye chart.  My doctor is a staunch advocate of eye exercises. 

Things that Probably Help Keratoconus

These are other things I do.  I suspect that they help KC, but I have no proof.

1. Supplements:  Improved nutrition clearly improved my KC.  (See my corneal topographies.)  If this is true, I would think supplementing with vitamins and minerals would possibly help.  However, not all supplements are equal.  I discuss what I personally take in diet.

2. Exercise:  Everyone has probably heard about several of the benefits of exercise.  KC is a reflection of the whole health of the body, so anything that is good for the body should also help KC.  Since certain types of exercise can be stress relieving, this can also assist KC, which is exacerbated by stress.  Since this is a topic I have studied with great interest, I have devoted a page discussing what I have learned about exercise and what I specifically do.

3. Sleep:  I think this is probably the second most abused component of health (right behind diet).  During sleep, the body switches to detox mode.  Have you ever noticed how you sneeze more in the morning or if you have a cold the symptoms will be worse in the morning?  This is your body working to remove toxins found the night before.  Sleep is also a time for the body to regenerate and make any necessary repairs.  If you’re hoping to heal KC, hopefully you can see why increased sleep is crucial.   

My greatest motivation for this site is to spread the word about my success to help other KCers and foster viable options to treat this disease.  Please see my wish list to see if there is something you can do to help.