Hi people. I'm new to this website. Hopefully I've posted this topic in the right place.
It's been 1 month since I started this journey of vision training. I've been using the bates method as was explained in the book I purchased, "Relearning to See" by Thomas Quackenbush. I keep a snellen chart on my wardrobe in my room to monitor my progress. It's about 3 meters away from where I usually, at my desk. In the beginning I could only read the single letter "E" in the top row. After about two weeks I could just make out (without squinting), depending on the brightness in the room during the day, the second row consisting of two letters. Right now it's pretty much the same but I do notice that with squinting I can read the letters lower down the chart that I couldn't before with squinting.
Today I happened to be in the area of an optical shop (I don't really know what you call those, I'm european) and I thought, why not pay a visit and do an eye test to check how much I had improved my vision. I had -4.5 dioptres in both eyes the last time I did an eye test which was 1.5 years ago. My last prescription though was 2.5 years ago and I had -4.25 D in both eyes at that time. After doing the test the results were that I had -4.25 D in both eyes. An improvement!
While I can say I certainly wasn't displeased with the results, I don't know it was worthy of celebration or not. 1 month kind of seems like a long time to improve by 0.25 D. But then again, I can't say I was 100% consistent with the bates method. What do you think? Good improvement?
Hi,
Any improvement is cause for celebration, no matter how small. What's most significant is your own reading. Many people are overprescribed in the first place, and others can get several slightly different readings in one day depending on who they go to. That reading is a snapshot at that moment, and depending on your frame of mind at the time, can vary somewhat. That's why taking your own readings with your own chart, keeping the conditions as consistent as possible, is vital if you are to realize self improvement. But don't use the chart as a test-taker, to test your vision. It's a critical feedback tool, one that you should memorize and become intimately familiar with. Find the distance(s) and even particular letter(s) which are your optimisms. Everyone has different optimisms - which letters appeal to you more? Try different distances, in small increments (a foot or less). Where are you most comfortable? The idea is never to torture yourself, but to be as comfortable as possible to start with. Then gradually challenge yourself with greater distances, once you feel not challenged at a particular distance.
