Hi,
I am VERY EXTREEMLY myopic. I have a -6.5 and a -6.0 in my left and right eye. I am only 29 years old. I began having myopia after I started reading in the dark when I was about 11 after my father shut off the light. I liked reading very much but my father would not let me keep the light on after 8 pm. I've also experienced a very problemactic childhood and it put alot of mental stress on me. I would squint to see better. eVENTUALLY THEY PUT ME IN GLASSES AND HAD THE PRESCRIPTION CHANGED EVERY YEAR. mY EYESIGHT GOT SO BAD AFTER BEING PUT IN GLASSES (oops caps)
I DON'T LIKE WEARING GLASSES. nONE LOOK GOOD ON ME. I HAVE WORN CONTACTS. (damn caps) But contact lens solution is expensive and hard to find and I just wish I could have better eyesight again without surgery.. which I can't afford and don't trust anyways. I have stopped wearing my glasses.. luckily I don't have a job right now since I am waiting for a residence permit...but I really am hoping that it will improve by the endof the year. I am looking at this computer screen close because I'm not wearing glasses.. i probably shouldn't do that. I also have a hard time having patience with the palming.
Don't suggest that I should get my prescription reduced. It is imposssible for me to find a doctor willing to do that. I've been laughed at time and again. I live in Norway right now and I doubt I'm going to find anyone near where i live.. I don't have the money or means to join an online or real life program.
I have been disheartened to find that some people try this for 8 months with no sucess..does anyone with any sucess have suggestions for someone who really needs it?
Thanks!
Dr. Bates objected to the minus lens -- as I do. Objection in this
manner is indeed the second-opinion, that under "right" circumstances
entry can be prevented.
Dr. Bates did this in 1913, and as a result, his study was SHUT DOWN.
We are still fighting that "closed mind" of 1913. Imagination-Blindness, is
about the people who slam the door on that 1913 successful study -- and
we all suffer because of it.
Some people are in the process of becomming successful. Here is
a "blog" by Sassy who is working on that goal.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://sassisailor.wordpress.com/">http://sassisailor.wordpress.com/</a><!-- m -->
I think her refractive STATE was about -8 diopters when she started.
Today she reads the Snellen at 20/70 to 20/50.
No one can EVER "predict" success. You find this out by
working at it.
I think you'll do great since you are willing to go completely without glasses! I started with -8.00 glasses and after nearly 1 year my eyesight has improved a great deal. It fluctuates around 20/40 to 20/70 at the moment. This is good enough for me to ride a bike without glasses and do most of my work without glasses, so I'm finally in a place where I can say I'm having definitive, useful progress with the Batesmethod. I still have a ways to go I guess before I can drive a car without glasses, but that is nothing compared to what I've reached. I have a blog (link below) where I've described everything from the beginning, and there are two fixed pages that you might find useful: 'better eyesight' and 'daily routine'. I have used reduced prescription glasses, but I think progress would have been much faster with no glasses. Here are some tips off the top of my head, but there's a lot more on my blog, at wordpress my sister writes one as well and another guy that has gone without glasses completely for the last two weeks (their links are on my blog).
first, realize that clear eyesight without glasses looks a lot different than clear eyesight with glasses. Be prepared and let things change. Colors will be more vibrant and you have to let go of the glasses world where everything is small and sharp all over.
stop staring , do some relaxation techniques that help you to learn to breathe properly. I learned proper breathing by teaching myself autogenics training.
Stay positive, and if possible, find some other people around you that might be interested in trying this at the same time. It helps a lot to get feedback as to how other people learn the Bates method.
Read a lot. I think the best place to start is Bates's original book and magazines, which you can get free on this site and the central-fixation site. If Bates's writing doesn't do much for you, then explore other authors. Everyone has a different personality and different vision problems, so they all have a different take on Bates's original work. That's why I think it best to start with his stuff before branching out. I've read books by Huxley, Quackenbush, and Lieberman so far. All are very different in their approach and useful in their own right. But, I still find that reading an article from Bates's magazines every day helps more than anything else.
notice more detail every day by moving around more and being interested in different things around you.
finally, let me say that although it took me about a year to be able to use my computer at work without glasses, this whole process of relearning to see has been worth it times 100.
Good luck! I don't check back here too regularly, just when I have a free evening because writing my blog posts takes more time than I really ought to spend online... but my blog address is in my signature line.
Thank you for your help. I was very discouraged when I could not find a doctor to give me a reduced prescription, but your optimism helps alot! I have heard of Meir Schneider also but he just takes alot if not everything from the bates method.. plus he is impossible to contact. I have grown slightly cynical of other people and would rather just listen to some program read the bates book over and over. I was considering reading a book by one of his students as well. It takes alot of patience and as a computer addict it is hard to stay off the computer when it is bad for my eyes but I am doing my best everyday one step at a time. I need to improve because if I don't my bf thinks I should have surgery and I do not want to do that at all whatsoever, even his mom is getting on my case about it. It is encouraging that there are some people who have managed to recover from eyesight as bad as mine, if not worse, by doing it the right way. The way that helps you from the inside. Thanks again
Yes, everyone here has of course encountered problems with skepticism and optometrists. The bottom line is that they don't need to know why you want to do something; Health care professionals make a habit of putting money before us. Just say, "I suffer from severe eye pains when I receive a new prescription, could I get a reduced prescription to lessen this?". Think on your feet and you will always get what you need out of life. You may want to go to a new optometrist for this, but I used it to great effect on the same optometrist I've always been to.
