(10-26-2015, 01:07 PM)VisionQuest Wrote: My new glasses came today! And just in time - I seem to have lost my old ones!!! I've had them off since Thursday, and thought they were in my purse this whole time. No case, just somewhere at the bottom. Well, when my new glasses arrived, I went to take them out and see if I could deduce what strength they are by comparison with my new ones. They weren't in my purse, and I suspect they fell out at some point when I was digging around in there, and quite possibly while out walking with my dogs! They may be long gone. Or, maybe they never got put away, and ended up somewhere strance lIke in the freezer or my dog's crate or something. : P

Anyway, thank goodness my new glasses are here as I *cannot* drive without glasses - and tomorrow I have to drive for work. My order was for three pairs at different strengths. There's a -1.5, -2, and -2.5. The -2.5 gives me about 20/100, almost 20/80 vision. I stacked different combinations in front of my eyes until I found a combo that gives me 20/40, turns out to be (collectively) -3.5. I removed the arms from one pair and taped the lenses on top of each other! It is the dorkiest, ghettoest bit of face-gear you've ever seen! But, it will allow me to drive for work tomorrow. Also, I think they're a bit weaker than my old pair (really wish I could find them to compare!!), which is a good thing. I feel like my old pair would give me 20/30 at this point, as my vision has slightly improved from last week.

Depending on how comfortable and safe it feels to drive with these, I may not even buy a -3.5 pair to replace my old ones. These Frankenglasses are going to live in my car, for driving only, so I won't really be embarrassed by them, and they don't really need to hold up to wear and tear of going on and off all day, in or out my purse, etc. If I continue to progress, -3.5 should only be a temporary need anyway. : ) I will still need a weird combo for -3, but eventually I'll reach 2.5 and can wear the glasses as they were made! Haha I do hope my old pair turns up, as I've been dying to determine what diopter they were!!

Also, one of the new pairs is good for socializing, or anytime I need to see clearly but not clearly enough to operate heavy machinery. So, that's great. No more super-strong glasses when less will do! : )

Finally, just a note on a struggle I'm having. This weekend somehow went to pot on Saturday and I've spent most of my time since then very depressed and anxious. Going outside is a no-go because I don't want any of my neighbors to see me (social anxiety has suddenly flared up), and the best thing for me to do to prevent meltdowns or deeper depression is to distract myself with constant videos or articles on my phone. And many times I catch myself just staring off into space, lost in my own head. Certainly not blinking or shifting!

It's frustrating that such a great opportunity to take care of my eyes has been cut short thanks to my unfortunate "emotional weather". I'm still not totally okay, but it's getting better. At one point I just had to tell myself that my eyes can wait, and if managing my depression means my eyes get a little neglected, that's okay. Exhaustion or other illnesses can have an effect on our vision, and if a bout of depression results in more eye strain then so be it. I'll just have to pick up the pieces when I feel better, just like with anything else that gets neglected or screwed up when I'm depressed.

Hope that wasn't too personal or, well, depressing! I'm trying to keep this journal for me, too. And if I'm depressed again in a month and feel like I'm "ruining" my progress, I want to remember that I got through it before and things still continued to improve! : )

(10-27-2015, 10:09 AM)VisionQuest Wrote: Nancy, thanks for understanding! I really don't know what kicked it off, but I think I've heard the term "healing crisis" to sort of describe what you just wrote. Layers of old stuff you've become numb to begin to resurface as you heal. I've definitely always disliked my glasses. I know it's a bad all-or-nothing attitude, but because of them I usually choose not to even wear makeup or try to make my hair look nice. I feel like my whole face is hopeless because I wear glasses. Not even that glasses are *always* so bad. They can definitely complement some faces, on a purely superficial basis. But on me? No! I've always hated them and felt like they were in the way! Always having to make sure they didn't fall off or get lost or broken as a kid. And now watching any efforts at makeup be in vain, when my glasses just mask it all anyway.

As a kid I used to sleep with my bed pushed up against a window, my pillow in my windowsill, window and screen wide open. I would look at the stars and and always have to take off my glasses when I got really sleepy, so they wouldn't get crushed or fall out the window, or just plain hurt me if rolled into them. I wanted to fall asleep looking at the stars, but when I would take my glasses off they'd be gone! It's definitely a dream of mine to finally fall asleep somewhere beautiful and not have to "turn it off" because of my glasses. Sort of a random story, but something I think of often.

I've tried vision improvement several times in my life, but I don't think I ever gave it enough time or commitment. Right now I am not going to give up until I know for sure either way. It will work, or perhaps not work for me, but I will never doubt or regret or wonder again. I will see this through until I have no question.

That said, I don't doubt that it's possible. I believe that the idea wouldn't be floating around still to this day if people weren't getting proof. I am still doubtful of whether *I* can make it happen. But, again, I'm all in right now. So I'll know for sure soon enough. : )

Sorry I just sort of rambled about! But I feel so much better today! And I'm about to head out for a long walk out in the sunshine and stretch"my eyes! I'm feeling very hopeful and excited again! : )

(01-10-2016, 09:04 PM)VisionQuest Wrote: Hello!  Long time, no update!  I definitely lost my initial momentum and level of commitment, but have not slipped fully back into my old bad habits.  I sort of put vision improvement "on the shelf", and hoped that my vision would at least hold and not get worse with my new, lower prescriptions.  

I'm corrected to 20/40 when driving, and about 20/100 when I just want to see better.  I try to keep that to a minimum, but I tend to wear glasses when socializing so I can see facial expressions, and any time I'm anxious or in a hurry because clearer vision is helpful then.

Well, I was surprised today to find that I could lower my driving prescription from -3.25 to -3!  I just tested my vision with my chart on a whim and realized my vision had improved!  I could nearly make out the 20/30 line with the -3.25!  Woo-hoo!  I switched them with -3, and lowered my socializing pair from -2 to -1.5.

I have found in the past week that wet/snowy driving at night does not feel safe with 20/40 (or even 20/30 as it turns out my glasses had been), "legal limit" or not.  So I'm keeping my oldest pair (around -4 diopters) in my car for hazardous conditions.  They give me 20/20 or clearer.

Anyway, just an update to whom it concerns!  I'm very happy for my little improvement.  At this point the changes that I've stuck with since my last post are just wearing my glasses as weak as possible, for as little time as possible (probably from 1-3 hours per day, on average), and trying to catch myself when staring or straining.  I often realize my whole face is tense (even though looking in a mirror it's not even visible), and feel so much relief when I just relax the muscles.  I was already eating relatively healthy, but I've made a concentrated effort in the past month to cut refined sugars and flours from my daily meals (though I still indulge in them as treats!), and add 5 or more daily servings of fresh fruits and veggies, plus about 15 minutes of exercise every day.  That all may or may not be relevant, just sharing!

I'll update again with more progress, and hopefully that will be soon!!  : )