(10-07-2015, 09:45 PM)VisionQuest Wrote: Hello, all! My name is Pamela. I just wanted to start a thread to journal my progress as I go! I'll start with a (warning - long!) "case history."

I started wearing glasses at around 8 years old, give or take a year. I'm now 30! The prescriptions got stronger with every visit to the eye doctor, as is the norm when you wear glasses. When I got my driver's license at 18 (and still to this day), it stipulated that I need corrective lenses. Oh, and I *do* need them. For me to drive without glasses would be very unsafe!

I don't know my diopter, since it's been several years since my last exam and I've forgotten. The best I can remember is that my last set of contacts were labeled with -1.something or -2.something. There was a .25 or .50 difference between the eyes. I have a Snellen Chart, and on my first attempt to read it almost two weeks ago, I couldn't even make out the top letter (20/200 line), which suggests the diopter is at or stronger than -2.

I no longer have contacts, as they wore out, and I have a pair of glasses I bought when I was about 16. I always declined glasses any time I got an exam, since I only wanted contacts to have handy for special events when I wanted to be glasses-free - and not walk into furniture or small children!

So, that 14-year-old prescription has been my daily wear for all this time. And, wouldn't you know, my vision has not been deteriorating for as long as I've stopped get new exams and new stronger prescriptions! Btw, my main reason for not going is because I'm chronically broke, plus I've always hated my glasses and dread the idea of picking out new ones, and directing any of my time or money toward them. I have not always thought that a stronger prescription would be bad for me. Quite the opposite - I thought it was "good" to visit the eye doctor on a regular schedule and always have an up-to-date prescription! Now I'm glad I've always been "bad" to my eyes, because who knows how much my myopia would have progressed in these 14 years!

I have toyed with the idea of naturally healing my vision, as far back as my teenage years. But many times I'd get discouraged thinking it was a fraud. As the years went by, I became more and more inclined to believe it's real.

About two years ago, I bought the book "Relearning To See" by Thomas R. Quackenbush. I really loved it! Very informative and helpful! I took off my glasses and tried to practice all of the techniques, but I think I over did it. I was overwhelmed. I felt like if I didn't commit two hours a day to doing *every possible technique*, as well as keep my glasses off permanently, I'd never improve my vision. So, with such unrealistic standards, I burnt out and quit. I got tired of not being able to see my friend's faces when I talked to them, or see the screen on movie night. I've since learned a thing or two about moderation.

So, I'm at it again! I'm hoping that starting this thread will keep me from quitting too easily. Plus, I'm much more relaxed in my approach now. ("Relaxed", isn't that one of the keys, anyway?) I'll just do as much or as little as I'm able, and if it takes two months or two years, so be it. Any progress is good, and I won't pressure myself with an all-or-nothing attitude!

Okay, now that the history lesson is over, let's talk about the current progress!

I started up almost two weeks ago. I pulled out my Snellen chart, put it up in the kitchen, and tested myself at 20 feet. I wrote down the results. Then put the results and the chart away, and told myself not to check again for a week. Last time I checked the chart several times a day, hoping for improvement. I was just torturing myself, feeling discouraged whenever there wasn't an obvious change!

My results - without glasses:

Left eye: X ( couldn't make out a thing )
Right eye: X
Both eyes: X

With glasses:

Left eye: 20/40
Right eye: 20/30
Both eyes: 20/30

My only objectives for the next week were to keep my glasses off whenever possible (fortunately, that was about 80-90% of the time), and palm as frequently as I could. Some days that added up to hours, and some days it was only a few five minute sessions throughout the day. I tried to do some of the long-swing and other eye exercises (up-down, left-right, circles, etc.), but didn't really have any goals or worry too much about it. Oh, I also made a point of holding my phone or any other close work *just* beyond my clear vision. Just another way to give my eyes a break from always focusing on things that are close up.

One week later, and I checked the chart again!

Without glasses:

Left: 20/200 (*barely* but I could read it!)
Right: X
Both: 20/200 (so, so, so barely discernible)

With glasses:

Left: 20/30
Right: 20/20
Both: 20/20 (barely)

Cool! It looks like I can actually reduce my prescription for driving! I only need 20/40 in one eye by my state's laws (New York). Since I'm not sure what my prescription is, I ordered two new pairs of glasses online, both very low. One is -1 diopter, and the other is -.50. They might not be strong enough, but at least they'll give me a jumping off point to try to discern what diopter I might be ready for. That means, if they're not strong enough, I will not be driving with them - don't worry! I went with such low diopters because even if they're too weak, they should still come into play later on as I continue to progress.

After that test, which was on Saturday, I left the chart up on the inside of my cabinet door. Now it's out of sight, so I don't obsessively check it every time I walk by! But, I do open the cabinet and check it a couple times a day, just to gauge what makes my vision fluctuate. I don't expect a miracle every two hours, and I'm not being stressed or discouraged by it this time.

For this week, I've upped my game a bit. I do the long-swing every day. I do 100 swings/turns, usually three times a day. I do the up-down, left-right type of eye exercises daily, usually three times, and I continue to palm as frequently as I can. Also, keeping close work just out of clear sight.

This morning when I checked the chart shortly after waking up, I could clearly read the 20/100 line!! For about 2 seconds. Haha But it was there, and clear, and amazing! It kept being clear for a second or two after opening my eyes, and the clear moment got shorter and shorter each time I opened them, and was eventually gone. This was within about 5 minutes after getting out of bed. Oh, well, it was very exciting and I know it was a good sign, even if it's not here for good yet.

I'm only measuring my results on Saturdays, so who knows what that day will bring! I'll keep you all posted, though!

(10-09-2015, 03:33 AM)arocarty Wrote: Hi Pamela,

You have a great positive attitude, your enthusiasm will no doubt help you get to where you want to go, whether that takes a longer time, or not. Not pressuring yourself with deadlines and timeframes will only help you relax your approach with everything, as vision improvement is not a race in any way. The eyechart is a great tool to facilitate vision improvement. But be careful not to make it so much a test environment, rather, approach it more as tool to facilitate your vision improvement. Bates encouraged people to memorize the chart, to familiarize themselves with the curves and shapes of letters, to notice the slight motion of letters, to develop awareness of halos, to practive central fixation, and reinforce memory. He had schools hang a chart in classrooms because of the effect it had of looking at familiar letters each and every day, reinforcing in a positive way the memory and imagination. You never want to walk away from a chart feeling defeated, powerless, or disappointed, as many do because they approach it like an exam/test. While it' fine to use it to occasionally gauge where we are at, the vast majority of the time it should be utilized as the powerful tool that it is, at a near point where it is seen best, with least amount of strain. Have fun with it, as Nancy always says. Gradually increase the distance as your abilities improve. But always finish with the memory of something seen clearly, a memory that you can take with you for the rest of the day. This will also impact how you feel the next time you practice with it, considering it more of a friendly tool, and not so much a test.

(10-10-2015, 06:52 AM)sleepmaster Wrote: Spend a lot of time outside without wearing corrective lenses. The more faraway distances around you in your line of sight, the better.

(10-09-2015, 12:39 PM)VisionQuest Wrote:

(10-09-2015, 03:33 AM)arocarty Wrote: Hi Pamela,

You have a great positive attitude, your enthusiasm will no doubt help you get to where you want to go, whether that takes a longer time, or not. Not pressuring yourself with deadlines and timeframes will only help you relax your approach with everything, as vision improvement is not a race in any way. The eyechart is a great tool to facilitate vision improvement. But be careful not to make it so much a test environment, rather, approach it more as tool to facilitate your vision improvement. Bates encouraged people to memorize the chart, to familiarize themselves with the curves and shapes of letters, to notice the slight motion of letters, to develop awareness of halos, to practive central fixation, and reinforce memory. He had schools hang a chart in classrooms because of the effect it had of looking at familiar letters each and every day, reinforcing in a positive way the memory and imagination. You never want to walk away from a chart feeling defeated, powerless, or disappointed, as many do because they approach it like an exam/test. While it' fine to use it to occasionally gauge where we are at, the vast majority of the time it should be utilized as the powerful tool that it is, at a near point where it is seen best, with least amount of strain. Have fun with it, as Nancy always says. Gradually increase the distance as your abilities improve. But always finish with the memory of something seen clearly, a memory that you can take with you for the rest of the day. This will also impact how you feel the next time you practice with it, considering it more of a friendly tool, and not so much a test.

Thank you, Arocarty! Yes, one of the reasons I decided to leave it up this week is so that I wouldn't get anxious or excited putting it up and checking it just that one day a week! I wanted to have the chance to get familiar and comfortable with looking at it. But, yea, even now I'm not so much working with it or using it as a tool, as much as just a test. I feel like recording my progress will help to keep me motivated, and reinforce my beliefs that my vision can be (and has!) improved.

I might begin working with it the way you described. I'm still trying to keep my goals very simple. I know why I gave up before (and also have given up on many other things unrelated to vision improvement). If I set a goal for myself and don't stick to it, I pretty much fall apart and scrap the whole project! Not very admirable, I know.

Perhaps working with the chart and practicing central fixation will be the one of the next additions to my daily practices. : ) I figured every week I'd add a new exercise or habit to focus on, but I think this next week I'll continue with the same goals I have now; minimal glasses-wearing, regular palming breaks, eye movement/stretching, and the long swing.

When I begin working more with the chart, do you have a suggestion of how or what techniques? I find there are so many different practices and methods, it's overwhelming to decide on which ones to do! Is there a particular thing that worked best to imprive your vision, or others you know?

(10-15-2015, 09:04 PM)VisionQuest Wrote: That weekend threw me off pretty badly. I got into the habit of keeping my glasses on, and ignoring my eyes, even when they were screaming a message loud and clear!

I know I'll get back in the groove. But I am currently feeling like I threw away some of my progress so far, and "wasted" almost a whole week of potential progress.


Nancy and Arocarty, thank you for the chart tips! Nancy, I really appreciated your post about the different games to play. I tried a few just the other day! I found that it felt more like looking at a picture or even reading something, in the sense that I wasn't focusing on my clarity (or lack) of vision, but simply focusing on the object in front of me. I think that's how vision's supposed to work! Just seeing what you look at, and not constantly critiquing or questioning your ability to see it!