First of all, please pardon my grammar, I'm Asian. I've been wearing specs for more than a decade and haven't gotten used to it yet! I often find myself adjusting my glasses and ending up having a headache. It's so frustrating.
What I need to know is:
1. Is the Bates method 100% effective? (I'm a 28 yr old guy, nearsighted, my glasses are 200+ left and 100+ right, not sure though)
2. On average, how long does it take for someone to fully recover his perfect vision?
3. Should I totally discard my glasses for the whole duration of the 'training'? (I'm asking this because I drive everyday; if I have to stop wearing specs, then I should let somebody drive for me temporarily.)
marlon Wrote:1. Is the Bates method 100% effective? (I'm a 28 yr old guy, nearsighted, my glasses are 200+ left and 100+ right, not sure though)
Is it 100% effective? perhaps... It really depends on you. If you do everything right and understand the main point you would most likely benefit.
Quote:2. On average, how long does it take for someone to fully recover his perfect vision?
Also up to you. I wouldn't suggest setting a deadline... If I had to answer, I'd say in your case it can take up to a year or two. In theory if you relieve all your strain, you can be cured in seconds, but that often takes time.
Quote:3. Should I totally discard my glasses for the whole duration of the 'training'? (I'm asking this because I drive everyday; if I have to stop wearing specs, then I should let somebody drive for me temporarily.)
No, do not have someone drive you "temporarily" because that would involve you setting a deadline to improve by. This, in my opinion, is the #1 reason why people fail. Either take the bus or use glasses for driving only - maybe get reduced rx?. In theory you should discard the glasses completely because using them even for short periods of time can hinder progress considerably, but I understand that the values of the society have changed....nobody walks/bikes/buses anymore.
What's wrong with the bus? I can probably afford a car, but the bus is so much fun. You get on, sit down, relax, and watch the houses and the people walk by. It's quite amusing and can be one of the most relaxing moments of my day.
I can see that you're very excited about the idea. You, however, must not set a deadline. You must understand that you can practice these techniques all day long and the benefit will come... trust it. Feel your eyes getting more and more relaxed as you go, and vision will clear more and more as you go. You should practice these techniques indefinitely, and over time try to go back to the literature and this site to refine your techniques.
Setting deadlines will force you to strain to meet them. If you don't see improvement halfway through you become discouraged, and discouragement usually fuels strain. The idea is to relieve strain, not produce it. Furthermore, you should enjoy the benefits of not wearing glasses...don't be overwhelmed with the blur. I like to think of blurry eyesight as a side effect of getting rid of glasses. This side effect can be corrected by the Bates method.
The first step would be reading the book written by Dr. Bates, available for free here:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.iblindness.org/books/bates/">http://www.iblindness.org/books/bates/</a><!-- m -->
Hey.
"Either take the bus or use glasses for driving only - maybe get reduced rx?."
What's reduced rx? Do you mean that if my vision starts to improve I should get a pair of lenses that matches my 'new' vision, until the time when I no longer need glasses anymore? (In other words, do I have to constantly buy new lenses to cope with my improving vision?)
I've already downloaded and printed Bates' book.
By the way, I learned about this site from Yahoo Answers. There were people posting links to this site, one of them was 'Hydra' (don't know if male or female). Do you know that person? Because I would like to chat with him/her about him/her experiences.
Hey, glad to have you here.
I've never heard of Hydra, maybe some other people here have.
The idea is not to wear glasses at all. The minus lens itself causes strain, no matter what prescription it is (reduced or not). However, it seems that less strain is caused with a reduced prescription, so if you really need to wear glasses for several minutes a day or so, and cannot go without them, I would get a slight under-prescription. I say under-prescription because modern day optometrists love to over-prescribe (give you a stronger lense than needed). The over-prescription causes headaches and introduces considerable strain that further worsens vision; however the patient says they see very well and the optometrist fees like he has done his job well, and will be glad to see the patient next time and sell him a stronger pair.
