Starting Rx: OD -5.75 OS -5.50 (20/20+ acuity)
Current Distance Rx: OD+OS -3.75 (20/40)
Current Close Rx: OD+OS -2.00 (20/80)
Hello, I'm Mark825; I used to have a vision blog on Word Press. I had forgotten my password and was unable to reaccess the blog, but I've still been improving my vision.
I had been using -4.00D distance glasses for a while, but they had seemed so strong and made my eyes noticeably tense whenever I put them on. When I checked them a couple weeks ago with the Snellen chart, I saw that I was seeing about 20/30 through them. That doesn't seem too strong, but it prompted me to get my current -3.75D glasses which are slightly weaker.
As for my way of improving my vision: I focus on shifting, blinking and being relaxed at all times as much as possible. After reading and trying methods from many vision books, I feel that Thomas Quackenbush's Relearning to See makes the most sense and works best for me. These habits along with gradually reducing my Rx for the distance and close work are what have helped me most, and I believe with persistence will take me some day to a state where I don't need glasses.
I hope this post provides encouragement to others, and I would be glad to answer questions others have about my experiences with improving my vision.
(04-18-2015, 01:14 AM)mark8:25 Wrote: Starting Rx: OD -5.75 OS -5.50 (20/20+ acuity)
Current Distance Rx: OD+OS -3.75 (20/40)
Current Close Rx: OD+OS -2.00 (20/80)
Hello, I'm Mark825; I used to have a vision blog on Word Press. I had forgotten my password and was unable to reaccess the blog, but I've still been improving my vision.
I had been using -4.00D distance glasses for a while, but they had seemed so strong and made my eyes noticeably tense whenever I put them on. When I checked them a couple weeks ago with the Snellen chart, I saw that I was seeing about 20/30 through them. That doesn't seem too strong, but it prompted me to get my current -3.75D glasses which are slightly weaker.
As for my way of improving my vision: I focus on shifting, blinking and being relaxed at all times as much as possible. After reading and trying methods from many vision books, I feel that Thomas Quackenbush's Relearning to See makes the most sense and works best for me. These habits along with gradually reducing my Rx for the distance and close work are what have helped me most, and I believe with persistence will take me some day to a state where I don't need glasses.
I hope this post provides encouragement to others, and I would be glad to answer questions others have about my experiences with improving my vision.
Mark, Hi! Believe it or not, I thought of you for the first time in a while yesterday, wondering "What ever happened to Mark?". Congratulations on your progress. My questions: about how much of the day, if at all, do you spend without any correction? Also, do you do the Long Swing or palming or sunning or any of the traditional Bates exercises? I agree about having good seeing habits all the time, continually coming back to awareness of how you're using your eyes. Thanks so much for returning here to share your experiences.
Hi Nancy
I do still use Bates' methods of relaxation including palming, swinging, and sunning. I would say I use them most days but not on a set schedule or for any length of time. I just use them for a bit when I feel inclined. As for the eye chart, I pretty much only use it when I'm testing the strength of my glasses.
To be honest, I spend the majority of the day wearing some strength of glasses. Close glasses for reading and computer work; distance glasses for driving and my job. However, I do take off my glasses at times during the day such as when I'm eating or riding public transportation. I especially enjoy going on hikes where I can constantly be in motion and let the natural sunlight enter my eyes as I look at things far away. I leave off my glasses for the duration of my hikes-- generally from 45 minutes to 2 hours, and I go hiking about once a week. So, I probably spend about 2 hours total each day without glasses. I can feel the strain when I wear any level of correction, and my eyes feel most relaxed when they are without glasses. I guess I'm just using my reduced prescriptions for my normal activities, and some day I hope to have clear enough sight to continue on without them.
Hopefully this answers your questions. It's been nice to hear from you and I'm glad to discuss other questions as well.
I'm glad you have some progress. But then if you feel the best when you don't wear glasses - why don't you try to find even more activities in which you don't need them?
Just go cold turkey and ditch your glasses. That's when the fun really starts. Where you are at now, you should be able to ditch your glasses for everything except driving.
04-20-2015, 01:38 PM (This post was last modified: 04-20-2015, 01:45 PM by mark8:25.)
Aureus:
I agree. At this point I'm trying to at least use the weakest prescription I can to do things. But, I know I should just start doing more things without glasses. It's not convenient for me to carry around several strengths of glasses, so I'm just putting up with the tension the glasses cause for now. I believe, and have experienced, a statement from Quackenbush's book p. 36
"In the long term, correct vision habits are more powerful than the negative effects of the reduced glasses."
Sleepmaster:
I would love to throw away my glasses, and that is the goal of my vision improvement efforts. However, I still am unable to read signs in the distance or read tickets on the board at work without glasses except when I have a clear flash. The clear flashes are not frequent enough that I could efficiently work without correction. Being able to earn an income to provide for myself and not be a burden to others is more important to me than stopping/changing my job in order to live without glasses.
04-21-2015, 08:01 AM (This post was last modified: 04-21-2015, 08:02 AM by sleepmaster.)
You started only a diopter worse than I did. You don't have to change your job and you definitely don't need glasses to use a computer at your station if you put your face close enough to the monitor. For reading tickets on the board, you can use the undercorrected glasses for that, slip them on and off quickly instead of leaving them on. You can also short-swing at things to get clear flashes more when you need them. If you are talking to people at work or just walking around at your job, you shouldn't have them on.
I like your enthusiasm I'm a cook so my job involves reading food tickets from 2 ft. to 5ft. away and running around to cook the items quickly. I do always wear under-corrected glasses, but my hands are occupied with tools or food the majority of the time. While there are times where I could do without glasses (meal times, walking between places, etc.), I do need some level of clarity since I work around so many hot or sharp or heavy objects. I will continue to practice good vision habits with reduced prescription glasses until I can get by without them.
If you need to wear glasses of some sort to see the tickets, have you ever thought about usinig pinhole glasses?
If you could somehow get your vision better to the point where you didn't need glasses to see tickets, the tickets would actually aid your vision improvement.
(04-23-2015, 05:55 AM)sleepmaster Wrote: If you need to wear glasses of some sort to see the tickets, have you ever thought about usinig pinhole glasses?
If you could somehow get your vision better to the point where you didn't need glasses to see tickets, the tickets would actually aid your vision improvement.
