04-28-2011, 01:32 PM
Hi, I just joined and am very optimistic and excited about starting the Bate's method. I want to share my background and have a couple general questions. (sorry this is very long)
I currently see pretty well (although I'm technically overdue for an eye exam) while wearing -4.5 diopter contact lenses in both eyes. I am 29 years old and have no astigmatism or any other eye problems besides what I consider pretty bad myopia. I know it could be a lot worse, but I have been relying on my glasses or contacts constantly. I have always loved taking off my glasses because my eyes feel so much better with them off, and I thus am constantly losing them and have to have my husband find them for me
Both my parents are nearsighted, my mother with -4 and -7 diopters, and my father is even worse. I don't know his prescription but know it's much worse than mine. My vision started to decline rapidly from 3rd to 4th grade, and I realize now that I was very stressed and felt I wasn't measuring up to the other students all year. My father did not want me to get glasses, so I squinted my way through 4th grade, anxious about my declining vision, and did not get glasses until 5th grade, when my school nurse called my father and told him I had the worst vision she had ever seen for a child without glasses. I went to the eye doctor who gave into my father's request to give me bifocals. My father knew I did not need glasses for reading so the doctor agreed to give me a reading section of my glasses with 0 correction. I was -2.5 diopters in each eye.
I loved finally being able to see and wore my glasses a lot. By 9th grade, I was -4 in each eye. From then on, my vision felt fairly stable, but of course I always needed a slightly higher prescription every time I went for a checkup. One time, one eye measured one quarter diopter worse than the other, and the difference between my eyes increased to about half a diopter.
Several years ago, when the "See Clearly Method" was so heavily advertised, I bought a book about doing eye exercises. It was a very interesting read, and I decided to try the program diligently. I had not heard of the Bate's method and did not follow the Bates philosophy of learning to reduce strain at all. I did, however, dig out some extremely old, unfashionable -2.5 diopter glasses and started wearing them instead of my full strength glasses. I also went glasses-free a lot, and I found I became pretty capable of functioning without my glasses, despite the extreme blur. I did my eye exercises everyday for a full year and felt that I had some improvement but hit a plateau after a few months. I did not try to change my reading/computer habits at all, and I never tried to consciously reduce strain.
Eventually, I got tired of doing the exercises, wearing such ugly glasses, and squinting, so I went to the eye doctor. He said that my vision was -4 in both eyes, and he had never seen someone correct their vision completely when it was that bad. I got a reduced strength, -3.5 diopter glasses, and I remember having a great deal of trouble focusing from all the strain when I first put them on. I started wearing them full time nonetheless, and in no time, my vision became just as bad as it was the year before.
I learned about the Bate's method a few days ago, and I honestly think that I could be very successful with it. I started doing palming now for three days, and I am suddenly extremely aware of how much my eyes strain when they look through glasses. I have to wear glasses to function at work, and at the end of the day, my eyes feel exhausted. Then, I go home, take off my glasses, and palm, and my eyes start to feel better. In the morning, my eyes feel even better, although I donât notice any vision improvements. But then by the end of the workday, they feel exhausted again.
Also, about two years ago, I noticed that my eyes were always looking bloodshot, and people started commenting that I look tired, even if I had been getting sleep. I am a schoolteacher and have the entire summer off work coming up. I think that I will make the most progress if I simply stop wearing glasses completely.
My plan this summer is to stay home, quit my glasses cold turkey, and also quit all other activities that I know cause a great deal of strain. That means I have to stop reading, using the computer, and watching TV. I also feel a GREAT deal of strain when I use the computer and when I read. I have always loved reading, but I think I forget to blink, and I read for way too long each time. Plus, I get hooked on the computer. I cannot manage to only use the computer for a couple minutes, and I end up wasting over an hour on it. I think that to relearn to use my eyes properly, it would be best to just cut out these activities completely for the summer. This fall, when I go back to work, I am hoping and praying that my vision will improve enough that I can function at work without glasses, and I can learn to read and use the computer properly. If this method works, I donât think Iâll ever be able to read and use the computer the way I used to, but itâll be worth it if I have good vision.
I have a 9-month old baby so my plan is to spend as much time as I can this summer playing outside with her, eat a healthier diet, perhaps take some supplements for vision health, and of course do the Bateâs exercises. Iâm even thinking of not using artificial lights and only relying on natural sunlight at home. Thatâll be easy since itâll be summer, and itâll force me to go to sleep at a reasonable hour every night. I ordered the complete CD set from Greg Marsh and also ordered the book Relearning to See by Quackenbush. Iâll try to read the book before I start the hardcore, 24-hour-per day no-strain approach to my vision.
I am hoping and praying that this will work. Do you think my goal of being glasses-free at work this fall is unrealistic? I teach middle school math and probably donât need to see 20/20 to function. How do people who do this handle driving? I cannot find my previous glasses because we moved, and I may have even gotten rid of them. I am unwilling to put my baby in jeopardy by not driving with good vision, but I donât want to strain my eyes. Do people who do the Bateâs method have to spend a lot of money buying lower and lower prescription glasses for driving? Iâm hoping that I donât have to drive much this summer at all, since I wonât have to drive to work, and my husband can drive me when we run errands. My husbandâs worried about me being so extreme and doesnât want me and our baby to be âprisonersâ in our house while I engage in this sort of experiment. My husband and family are supportive enough, but I think they would be pretty surprised if it actually worked.
I also wonât be posting on here once I start this method full-time this summer. Iâm hoping that this fall, I can post my progress in the âSuccess Storyâ section. As long as Iâm making progress, Iâm willing to do this as long as it takes, although I of course can only be so extreme during the summer. I guess Iâm posting here for encouragement and any other getting-started advice any of you have for me.
Sorry again that this post is so long! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read it.
I currently see pretty well (although I'm technically overdue for an eye exam) while wearing -4.5 diopter contact lenses in both eyes. I am 29 years old and have no astigmatism or any other eye problems besides what I consider pretty bad myopia. I know it could be a lot worse, but I have been relying on my glasses or contacts constantly. I have always loved taking off my glasses because my eyes feel so much better with them off, and I thus am constantly losing them and have to have my husband find them for me
Both my parents are nearsighted, my mother with -4 and -7 diopters, and my father is even worse. I don't know his prescription but know it's much worse than mine. My vision started to decline rapidly from 3rd to 4th grade, and I realize now that I was very stressed and felt I wasn't measuring up to the other students all year. My father did not want me to get glasses, so I squinted my way through 4th grade, anxious about my declining vision, and did not get glasses until 5th grade, when my school nurse called my father and told him I had the worst vision she had ever seen for a child without glasses. I went to the eye doctor who gave into my father's request to give me bifocals. My father knew I did not need glasses for reading so the doctor agreed to give me a reading section of my glasses with 0 correction. I was -2.5 diopters in each eye.
I loved finally being able to see and wore my glasses a lot. By 9th grade, I was -4 in each eye. From then on, my vision felt fairly stable, but of course I always needed a slightly higher prescription every time I went for a checkup. One time, one eye measured one quarter diopter worse than the other, and the difference between my eyes increased to about half a diopter.
Several years ago, when the "See Clearly Method" was so heavily advertised, I bought a book about doing eye exercises. It was a very interesting read, and I decided to try the program diligently. I had not heard of the Bate's method and did not follow the Bates philosophy of learning to reduce strain at all. I did, however, dig out some extremely old, unfashionable -2.5 diopter glasses and started wearing them instead of my full strength glasses. I also went glasses-free a lot, and I found I became pretty capable of functioning without my glasses, despite the extreme blur. I did my eye exercises everyday for a full year and felt that I had some improvement but hit a plateau after a few months. I did not try to change my reading/computer habits at all, and I never tried to consciously reduce strain.
Eventually, I got tired of doing the exercises, wearing such ugly glasses, and squinting, so I went to the eye doctor. He said that my vision was -4 in both eyes, and he had never seen someone correct their vision completely when it was that bad. I got a reduced strength, -3.5 diopter glasses, and I remember having a great deal of trouble focusing from all the strain when I first put them on. I started wearing them full time nonetheless, and in no time, my vision became just as bad as it was the year before.
I learned about the Bate's method a few days ago, and I honestly think that I could be very successful with it. I started doing palming now for three days, and I am suddenly extremely aware of how much my eyes strain when they look through glasses. I have to wear glasses to function at work, and at the end of the day, my eyes feel exhausted. Then, I go home, take off my glasses, and palm, and my eyes start to feel better. In the morning, my eyes feel even better, although I donât notice any vision improvements. But then by the end of the workday, they feel exhausted again.
Also, about two years ago, I noticed that my eyes were always looking bloodshot, and people started commenting that I look tired, even if I had been getting sleep. I am a schoolteacher and have the entire summer off work coming up. I think that I will make the most progress if I simply stop wearing glasses completely.
My plan this summer is to stay home, quit my glasses cold turkey, and also quit all other activities that I know cause a great deal of strain. That means I have to stop reading, using the computer, and watching TV. I also feel a GREAT deal of strain when I use the computer and when I read. I have always loved reading, but I think I forget to blink, and I read for way too long each time. Plus, I get hooked on the computer. I cannot manage to only use the computer for a couple minutes, and I end up wasting over an hour on it. I think that to relearn to use my eyes properly, it would be best to just cut out these activities completely for the summer. This fall, when I go back to work, I am hoping and praying that my vision will improve enough that I can function at work without glasses, and I can learn to read and use the computer properly. If this method works, I donât think Iâll ever be able to read and use the computer the way I used to, but itâll be worth it if I have good vision.
I have a 9-month old baby so my plan is to spend as much time as I can this summer playing outside with her, eat a healthier diet, perhaps take some supplements for vision health, and of course do the Bateâs exercises. Iâm even thinking of not using artificial lights and only relying on natural sunlight at home. Thatâll be easy since itâll be summer, and itâll force me to go to sleep at a reasonable hour every night. I ordered the complete CD set from Greg Marsh and also ordered the book Relearning to See by Quackenbush. Iâll try to read the book before I start the hardcore, 24-hour-per day no-strain approach to my vision.
I am hoping and praying that this will work. Do you think my goal of being glasses-free at work this fall is unrealistic? I teach middle school math and probably donât need to see 20/20 to function. How do people who do this handle driving? I cannot find my previous glasses because we moved, and I may have even gotten rid of them. I am unwilling to put my baby in jeopardy by not driving with good vision, but I donât want to strain my eyes. Do people who do the Bateâs method have to spend a lot of money buying lower and lower prescription glasses for driving? Iâm hoping that I donât have to drive much this summer at all, since I wonât have to drive to work, and my husband can drive me when we run errands. My husbandâs worried about me being so extreme and doesnât want me and our baby to be âprisonersâ in our house while I engage in this sort of experiment. My husband and family are supportive enough, but I think they would be pretty surprised if it actually worked.
I also wonât be posting on here once I start this method full-time this summer. Iâm hoping that this fall, I can post my progress in the âSuccess Storyâ section. As long as Iâm making progress, Iâm willing to do this as long as it takes, although I of course can only be so extreme during the summer. I guess Iâm posting here for encouragement and any other getting-started advice any of you have for me.
Sorry again that this post is so long! I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read it.
