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+--- Thread: Recovery from pretty bad myopia (/showthread.php?tid=627)
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - Oleg K. - 01-28-2008
Heck, why don't you just forget about the ODs for good?
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - otis - 01-28-2008
Dear Sorrisi,
Subject: Yes, Majority-opinion ODs are great and try to help.
No doubt about it. But equally, they can not control you. ???
I believe that Bates was correct in stating that you must work with no minus lens on. If you can read the
20/50 line in excellent light -- then you have personally confirmed a very important point. You
are profoundly over-prescribed!!! This is not intentional -- but that is the way it is.
I think this is why Bates so strongly OBJECTED to that minus lens.
I think you must begin to trust and DEPEND on your reading of the Snellen. Because, in
the end, that is the ONLY way you will be successful. (Just my second-opinion.)
Quote:Hereâs the positive: this morning I read the fourth line from my Snellen chart in dim light from 10 feet! (10/50 eyesight) When I started the Bates method I could only stand about 5 feet away to read the top line! (5/200 eyesight)
Otis> EXCELLENT. I would strongly recommend that you down-load a Snellen from i-see -- a check outside. You could
then report your BEST visual acuity to us. That would be very valuable to all of us.
Quote:Hereâs the other side: this morning I also went to the optometrist, who said she would still prescribe -7.75 lenses for me, same as two months ago.
Otis> In strongest terms -- I would suggest you transistion to a sun lit Snellen. If you can read 20/60 naked eye -- that
would be WONDERFUL.
Otis> If you do that, I can suggest how you can get the IDEAL minus lens to clear that to normal -- and
avoid that -7.5 diopter minus -- which I think will KILL your improvement.
Keep up the excellent work!
Otis
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - otis - 01-28-2008
Oh, I forgot.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.i-see.org/eyecharts.html">http://www.i-see.org/eyecharts.html</a><!-- m -->
is the souce of the easy-to-use Snellen
for out-side checking.
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - sorrisiblue - 01-29-2008
Thank you Otis,
Yes I agree, it is very overprescribed. I just want to confirm though, you mentioned that I can read the 20/50 line. What I read is the 50 foot line from 10 feet. (10/50, corresponding roughly to 20/100). Miles better than 5/200 (approximately 20/800) where I started! For those of you who aren't so comfortable with these fractions, I will explain below so that you can understand that.
The next sunny weekend, I will indeed read from the Snellen chart outside from 20 feet! I am also very interested what the result will be and will post this here soon! (well, depending on the sun in Engand, maybe not so soon)
I had some encouraging word recently from the teacher of a natural eyesight improvement workshop that I went to - she mentioned in a follow-up email to me that my visual accuity without glasses during the workshop was what she would have expected from someone with half my prescription!
I will continue to post milestone progress here, thank you all for your support.
here is just a quick overview of Snellen fractions so people can better understand the above discussion.
SNELLEN FRACTIONS:
Here's an example: 20/100 eyesight. The first number is me standing at 20 feet. The second number is the line I can read on the Snellen chart. The 100 foot line corresponds to a certain height of letters. What this means is that what I see at 20 feet, a person with 'normal' eyesight can see from 100 feet.
A typical Snellen chart has many lines of different sized letters, each corresponding to the distance that someone with normal eyesight can stand and read at least half of the letters correctly. Now, let's say that you can't read the chart from 20 feet, or your room is smaller than 20 feet long. You just change the way you report it. I stand at 10 feet in my room, and can read the 50 foot line, so I write 10/50. This is the way Bates reported all readings: the viewers distance over the smallest line the viewer could read. You can multiply the reading by 2/2 to get a fraction of 20/100 in order to compare with other readings at different distances. For example, if I want to compare 5/200 eyesight with 10/50 eyesight it may be easier to convert and say similarly 20/800 is much worse than 20/100. However, it is not necessarily the case that if I can read the 50 foot line from 10 feet, that I can also read the 100 foot line from 20 feet. Hence the reason that I report my actual distance over the smallest line I read.
Hope that helps. If it's still confusing then please start a thread in the eyesight side topics forum and maybe with help of other members we can sort you out!
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - otis - 01-29-2008
Dear Sorris,
Subject: Profoundly DIFFERENT OD measurement.
You are correct. I know of one person who PASSED the DMV (legal) snellen.
When he went to the OD he got a -2 diopter lens -- and was told to "...wear it all the time".
This is the objection of Bates. The minus of that power does not help at all. It can
ONLY make matters worse. If the person had CHECKED HIS SNELLEN, he would not
have fallen into this over-prescription "habit" of the majority-opinion OD.
Quote:Hereâs the explanation: I have discovered that the optician makes a completely different reading on the Snellen chart than I do at home. You have to be quick reading the chart, and that with only one eye! There is a sense of tunnel vision (ie staring) which can quickly take you back to bad habits as you stare in the darkness into a small bright square of light.
Absolutly correct. If we learn anything -- we should understand this OD bad habit.
Quote:First, she asked me without my glasses on how much I could see on the chart. I ended up seeing one letter on the second line, but can that really count as 20/100 eyesight if I couldnât see the giant letter above it?
Otis> The STANDARD is that you read the chart with BOTH EYE OPEN. You pass the line if you read 1/2 the letters
correctly. When checking at home -- please use that standard.
Quote:the bright field for a line, a bit surprised that I didnât see anything. I reminded myself to breathe deeply and sway a bit which is when I finally noticed the letter much further down! She moved on after that so I didnât have a chance to see anything else.
This is a very bad test. You are also "tense" and want to "please" her. Bad idea.
You need to check at home -- trust YOURSELF and what you ACTUALLY read on your Snellen.
I do hope you get to 20/60 in due course -- and continue.
Otis
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - Urban - 01-29-2008
I agree with Otis here.
As David has said, the Optometrist's test is a test of the *worse possible* vision you are capable of having at that point in time.
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - otis - 02-04-2008
Dear Friends,
Subject: Some clarifications on the Snellen.
The Snellen was intended to be a reasonable way to measure your visual acuity IN THE DISTANCE.
The distance chosen (for various reasons) was 20 feet, or 6 meters. It was intended to
be the sharpest vision possible.
For convienence, the Chart can be read at 10 feet, or 3 meters. But that does make the reporting
confusing. In my judgement, you must reduce the size of the letters for the distance.
Thus 20/20 would mean reading 0.9 letters at 20 feet. At ten feet, the size of the
letters must be 1/2 that size. Thus, if you read 0.45 cm letters at 10 feet,
you would have 10/10 vision.
As a pratical matter, most DMV tests recognize 20/20 to be an excessive requirement.
So they test for 20/40 -- not 20/20.
If you are working to clear your Snellen, then an excellent "target" to his is to
read 3/4 inch letters at 20 feet.
More commentary:
Quote:A typical Snellen chart has many lines of different sized letters, each corresponding to the distance that someone with normal eyesight can stand and read at least half of the letters correctly. Now, let's say that you can't read the chart from 20 feet, or your room is smaller than 20 feet long. You just change the way you report it. I stand at 10 feet in my room, and can read the 50 foot line, so I write 10/50.
Otis> But to be consistent for reporting, it would be a good idea to test at 20 feet. (Just my opinion). Or just convert
10/50 to 20/100 -- and we will trust you to do the conversion correctly.
Quote:This is the way Bates reported all readings: the viewers distance over the smallest line the viewer could read. You can multiply the reading by 2/2 to get a fraction of 20/100 in order to compare with other readings at different distances.
Otis> Not exactly. That means reading at 2 feet, or 24 inches. If you are -2 diopters nearsighed, you can probably
read "perfectly" -- but you are at "near" -- so the test in not valid. Keep it at 10 feet or greater.
Quote:For example, if I want to compare 5/200 eyesight with 10/50 eyesight it may be easier to convert and say similarly 20/800 is much worse than 20/100. However, it is not necessarily the case that if I can read the 50 foot line from 10 feet, that I can also read the 100 foot line from 20 feet.
Otis> I would do all the coversions to 20 feet. I would place a Snellen outdoors at 20 feet. Just leave it there
and monitor it when you leave you home.
Quote:Hence the reason that I report my actual distance over the smallest line I read.
Otis> As you wish.
Otis
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - rolfey - 03-23-2008
Hi Sorrisiblue
I am would be really interested in where to find natural eysight improvment sessions.
I too am going through this process, but my eyesight isn't that bad, for years I didnt' wear glasses, and then for the last say five or six years I have, but my prescription just hasn't changed.
The OD suggested that I have just been lucky, anyway, I really really want to make a go of this in the same way you do, but would maybe like a bit of a leg up on on the methods, what part of the UK are you from? I'm near London myself, if you could give me some idea of where to contact an organisation in the UK that would be really helpful.
Mike
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - sorrisiblue - 03-27-2008
On the iblindness homepage there is a link on the left 'Find a Teacher'. Of these links the following has the most teachers in England, many in the London area.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.seeing.org">http://www.seeing.org</a><!-- m -->
Sorry it has taken me so long to respond, I've been away! I wish you the best of luck in your search and definitely recommend asking about the teacher's personal history with vision improvement before signing up.
Best, S
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - otis - 03-27-2008
Dear Friend,
Subject; Developing Success Story by Sassy
This is a statement by a person with a refractive STATE of -6
diopters. (She measured it herself). She is in your position.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://sassisailor.wordpress.com/">http://sassisailor.wordpress.com/</a><!-- m -->
By her own checking of her Snellen, she started at 20/200.
At this point she is at 20/70 -- by her checking of her Snellen.
Should encourage you in your work.
Best,
Otis
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - rolfey - 03-27-2008
Yea thanks,
will do!
Mike
20/40 line reached! - sorrisiblue - 07-24-2008
This is an update for this thread, my eyesight has been steadily improving, and I thought now that I've reached the point where I can read 20/40 on the Snellen chart it's time for an update! The last week I've been able to read 20/50 consistently.
This morning I could read 20/40 on the Snellen chart - really easily and not just as a clear flash! Exciting, because that's the line I've been wanting to read from 20 feet since I could only see the top letter from 5 feet when I started this. Wow, I've come a long way! Yet, not as great as I thought it would be, I still have a long ways to go. I think that I am very relaxed when I see the Snellen chart and so my eyesight is better. When I have to do other things that require my concentration, then my visual accuity lessens.
Overall, since starting this journey, there has definitely been a permanent and positive improvement to my eyesight: without glasses I can read most road signs now, I can recognize people's faces from further and further away, and around my desk I can see so much more detail. That said, I don't think I see 20/40 at work, maybe something like 20/100. So my 20/40 Snellen chart readings are my best case, I still have a lot of work to do to get my worst case eyesight up to par. That's ok
I'm patient and convinced that I'm doing things right. First order of business will be to get a lower contact prescription. I wear -5.5 contacts to work lately; I can see sooo much better out of my -5.5 contacts than I could 7 weeks ago when I last had them in. The difference is huge, and I looked yesterday at the Snellen chart and could read 20/20 with them. so I'll get -5.0 and see how I do. Very odd - same lighting conditions and I can see a perfect 20/40 with no lenses and a slightly distorted 20/20 with -5.5 contacts. I've read many other stories like it from people improving their eyesight, and this is definitely something that optometrists should stop ignoring. Eyesight is so much more complex than the camera they pretend it is.So - for Bates methods activities that I do here is what I think is most important to my success:
1. I do autogenics to make me aware of my breathing.
2. I wear glasses/contacts only when necessary (8 hours work) and otherwise don't wear them.
3. I do yoga and some swinging every morning.
4. I swing before going to bed.
5. I read from the Snellen chart every day.
6. I palm when I notice eye fatigue, but usually only a minute or so consistently. Unconsisitenly, I'll palm for 5-10 minutes at lunchtime.
7. I try to keep my life less hectic.
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - AnonymousLex - 07-24-2008
Your persistence and diligence is excellent - and it only takes a few simple steps every day, all day long to see improvements within almost no time at all (compared to how long we live). It is also great that you are seeing improvements even whilst wearing correction for 8 hours a day at work! Keep up the work you are truly an inspiration to many people here.
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - Ram - 07-24-2008
I too think it is an incredible improvement while still wearing lenses. Glasses certainly does not impede the progress for everyone.
Re: Recovery from pretty bad myopia - world - 08-13-2008
Any success stories for recovering from very bad myopia ?
I tried Bates method for months and didn't have any noticeable improvement. Maybe I done something wrong or because of my myopia is just too bad ?