Hi I've been reading this forum for a while and finally decided to register.
I've been doing TBM for several months now and feel I'm getting a better understanding of it every day.
Before I started I had contacts: -3.5 L, -2.75R
I got my eyes checked two months ago and had each taken down a bit to -3.25L, -2.5R.
Then I really started practicing.
Now I'll occasionally put contacts in to go out for the evening. I wear my lowest prescription in both eyes: -2.5L, -2.5R. And see great.
I'd really like to have lenses that aren't overly powered as I progress. However, I don't want to pay to go back to the opto every month to get possible small reductions each time, possibly no reduction.
I've heard opto's can legally prescribe less prescription up to 20/40 vision. I'd like to have lenses such as -1L, -1R just to give my vision a tiny boost for night.
Anyone figured a way to get reduced prescriptions? Honestly, all I can think of is forging my prescription before I get it filled.
Congratulations on your progress. If you can switch from contacts to eyeglasses, all you need for Zenni Optical (http://www.zennioptical.com/) is the prescription and the PD or Pupil Distance, measured between the center of your pupils in millimeters.
You're on the honor system to not drive with anything too weak making you dangerous or illegal, so what you use for that should let you see 20/40 (or whatever is legal in your area). That said, you can give Zenni any prescription you want. No doctor's name or phone number is required, like was the case for the contact lens sites I used about 7 years back before I switched to glasses. Plus you can take glasses off easily and stick them on top of your head when you don't really need them -- this isn't so easy with contacts and you tend to leave them in too long (at least I did).
I meant the doctor's prescription WAS needed for the contact lens sites -- sorry I was unclear. I don't know if they ever contacted him, but I needed to give his address and phone number to order. This was a while ago -- it may be different now and there are probably some new sites. Do some googling.
With -3.5 L and -2.75R you don't need any contacts or glasses.
You can use pinholes or nothing.
As for the driving, you can always get a Bus or a cab or walk with the pinholes.
A doctor can prescribe anything he wants. But if you drive with lover vision than your Law requires, you are doing time.
Forging prescription is possible and maybe easy to do, but its a very serious offense and you will doing time, again.
Only few doctors will give you lover prescriptions.
But if you tell them you fell dizziness with 20/20 glasses ( ), they might give you 20/40.
good news- I just today received new contact lenses without getting a prescription! I ordered some lenses from a company called 'eye to eye' out of Malaysia. They are legit lenses. I searched much of the web to find a place that didn't require a prescription- looking at european, asian, canadian sites. This place has reasonable prices and shipped to USA in a little over a week. I ordered powers half of my current prescription. I've popped them in and am seeing well. The important thing for me here is that I will be able to occasionally wear these when going out at night without the feeling of overstraining my visual system (which has been the case with my previous prescription).
I look forward to using them to step down off of this madness.
The more I read success stories like these, the more inclined I am to try these exercises. I'm going to go ahead and explore the official site a little more and then get started with whatever I can. What do I have to lose anyway? If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. If it does, then fantastic -- I get to live a life of better vision.
Thanks for sharing your story, napkin. Hope you continue with your success!
Best of Luck Irene. I advise you to read and reread the details of the bates method and the stuff on this site. I'm continually finding deeper understanding of the concepts when I reread after progressing.
Also the perfect vision for a life time is not the goal. This means that the vision will stay the same for years and this is not realistic. eyesight may drop at 10/20 in one day, and the next day might be 20/10. Eyes work in such ways that they need to constantly change focus. Even the thought of having the exact same vision creates strain. So let your eyes do their job and avoid the strain.
I am trying to write a page on how students can reduce their own prescription to 20/40. Then order their own low cost glasses by mail.
Problem: I never wore glasses for 34 years and not even sure how much difference a diopter... is from seeing the 20/20 line to seeing the 20/40 line with glasses?
How does a person know the amount of strength (diopter?) to reduce their lenses to 20/40. Every person has a different level of clarity, so a 20/40 for one person with 20/80 vision without glasses will be different that a person with 20/60 vision without glasses... I cant figure this out.
I suppose there is one set number for the first reduction for everyone from 20/20 glasses to 20/40 glasses? Or am I wrong on this? If people could walk into a store and try on lenses until the 20/40 line on the eyechart is clear, that would work, but.
Also, as the vision improves while using Bates Mehtod: the eyesight might improve 3x... more than the last time the glasses were reduced. No set number for each new reduction.
How to do this?
First reduction=
Second=
Third=
Clark, good goal, but I'm not sure there's a clear answer. Eyes (and brains) are not machines. Some books like Tom Q's have tried to give an approximate correlation between diopters in a prescription and acuity of unaided vision. Others, like I think Jacob Liberman's, have pointed out that 2 different people with the same strength glasses can radically differ on how well they see the eye chart with unaided vision. I think the best recommendation for people who really need weaker is what an eye doctor does: try different prescriptions until they can see 20/40 on the chart. I realize without access to a set of ever-increasing lenses this is difficult to do, but they could at least test themselves with an old weaker pair of glasses and an eye chart to find something that's better than what they're wearing now. Most people who are wearing glasses and go to the eye doctor regularly are wearing glasses that are way too strong, in my opinion. Of course if it's -2 or less, I'd say discard the glasses completely if you can, unless it makes you way too anxious.
Related point: some people improve fast and some slow. Suggesting a timeline (improve X diopters in Y months!) will set people up to see it as a race, probably giving unrealistic expectations -- everyone is differnt. Again, this is not purely a mechanical process like calibrating a piece of machinery -- there are sometimes big individual emotional factors involved. My behavioral optometrist redduced most strong 20/20 prescriptions by at least a diopter to start, and took out astigmatism correction that was lower than -2, else he decreased it by 2. Of course, make sure the person is comfortable with the new prescription -- even a minor reduction can freak some people out if they're used to razor-sharp clarity, and if you're anxious you won't improve much. Other people can relax more with the softer focus and slightly blurred edges -- this was my case.
Thanks Nancy.
A major problem is that most eye doctors will not do the reduced lenses thing. They want to sell 20/20 and stronger, knowing it will increase the vision impairment and lead to quick sale of another stronger pair of glasses. Worcester, MA is known for its corrupt medical people. Most want to hide the natural cures. Thats why I am trying to find the best 'Do It Yourself' Method without causing harm. Old weaker lenses are a good route if people have them and no astigm... corrections.
), they might give you 20/40.
