Just over a year ago, I made the decision to improve my vision. I am in my early 50s and have worn glasses/contacts since I was 10. Since the late 80s/early 90s my glasses prescription has been pretty much unchanged at L -6.0 and R -5.75. (My eyes were last tested in 2012.) During this time I have almost exclusively worn contacts at the corresponding contacts prescription of L -5.5 and R -5.25.
For a variety of reasons I decided in February 2016 I no longer wanted to continue wearing contacts, and that I didn’t want to wear glasses either! Around that time I had a chance encounter with someone who had improved their eyesight with eye exercises, which motivated me to find out more and begin my own journey.
I have been doing what many of you are doing: palming, ocular stretches and rotations, wearing under-corrected lenses (or no glasses at all for most indoor activities), print pushing and walking outdoors without glasses for at least 30 minutes every day.
Fourteen months later, according to my own measurements (i.e., far-point distance when reading) I am at L -4.75 and R -4.5.
In order to have this independently verified, I went into an optical store today and inquired about getting my vision tested. Very unpleasant experience! The employee was extremely dismissive when I mentioned I felt my eyes had improved. He had me put on the glasses I had with me (L -3.75 R -3.75) to read the Snellen chart and I read up to Line 6 (20/40) and might have also read the next one if he hadn’t made me feel so uncomfortable.
He then held -6.0 trial lenses over my eyes and asked me to read the very bottom line on the chart (20/16), which of course I did. According to him, this proves my old prescription is the right one! (My own conclusion is very different.)
This was my first attempt at getting my eyesight “officially” tested since I started my vision improvement efforts. How can I find a "vision improvement-friendly" optician? I am in the Vancouver, BC area, if anyone has any suggestions. Thank you!
Iris (love the name!), first of all, good for you for realizing this eye doctor is not helping you. Here's a list of helpful links from Esther van der Werf whom I worked with years ago, when she was interning with the same holistic optometrist I trained with, in upstate NY. Scroll down until you see the sections for Vision Educators or Behavioral Optometrists. http://www.visionsofjoy.org/visionlinks.htm
Hopefully, this will give you a place to start and a few people to call.
I apologize for no one getting back to you sooner. I was out of town at a training myself. and am still digging through what piled up while I was away. Ask if you have any questions. That's what we're here for. And welcome to the adventure of vision improvement!
(04-11-2017, 10:30 AM)Nancy Wrote: Iris (love the name!), first of all, good for you for realizing this eye doctor is not helping you. (...) Ask if you have any questions. That's what we're here for. And welcome to the adventure of vision improvement!
Thank you, Nancy. I had already contacted one of those behavioural optometrists listed for my area but he will only do full eye exams, i.e. not willing to just check progress without repeating the full exam each time. At $135 for each 20-minute exam, it's just too expensive. So I'm going to rely on my own Snellen chart for the time being.
My issue at the moment is ghost images, or double images. Often times I can see the letters clearly but there are multiple images that overlap. Do you have any techniques to recommend to help improve this? I read Todd Becker's site where he describes success he's had fusing double images by focusing on the clearest/darkest one, but I haven't had much success with that yet.
(04-11-2017, 10:30 AM)Nancy Wrote: Iris (love the name!), first of all, good for you for realizing this eye doctor is not helping you. (...) Ask if you have any questions. That's what we're here for. And welcome to the adventure of vision improvement!
Thank you, Nancy. I had already contacted one of those behavioural optometrists listed for my area but he will only do full eye exams, i.e. not willing to just check progress without repeating the full exam each time. At $135 for each 20-minute exam, it's just too expensive. So I'm going to rely on my own Snellen chart for the time being.
My issue at the moment is ghost images, or double images. Often times I can see the letters clearly but there are multiple images that overlap. Do you have any techniques to recommend to help improve this? I read Todd Becker's site where he describes success he's had fusing double images by focusing on the clearest/darkest one, but I haven't had much success with that yet.
Iris, I don't have a tried-and-true method. I usually move closer, than farther away, noticing how the ghosting changes. The level of light makes a difference to me too. I see it as an intermediate stage in the calibration to get to the clear image, not a "problem". Mind games maybe, but it helps me be more positive about my progress.
(04-19-2017, 06:35 PM)Nancy Wrote: Iris, I don't have a tried-and-true method. I usually move closer, than farther away, noticing how the ghosting changes. The level of light makes a difference to me too. I see it as an intermediate stage in the calibration to get to the clear image, not a "problem". Mind games maybe, but it helps me be more positive about my progress.
