The hardest test of your vision improvement, is visiting the optometrist.
Once you learn how to measure your own eyes, you realize just how much that optometrist exam room stacks the deck against your eyes. The dark room, the poor quality, narrow spectrum lighting, the possibly unevenly lit chart. The clicking of lenses, of which you aren’t told the strength, and the disembodied voice, forever asking “better now, or … now”.
It’s an eye inquisition. It’s no fair trial.
You are coming out of that room with a piece of paper, which leads to racks of fashion frames, and 400% markup profits on lenses you’re about to be sold.
It’s really a brilliant scheme, the “prescription”. What stronger selling tool exists, than being “prescribed”?
Whenever you read of me complaining of optometry, I’m really just jealous. It’s a brilliant business model. You don’t argue with a “doctor”, and “medicine”, and a “prescription pad”. And then once you take their prescription, you are going to need more of it!
It’s really the height, the zenith, the magnum opus of sales strategy.
But we’re getting away from where this is supposed to go. Steve has been working on his eyes, and he finally decided to go back to the dungeon and have his eyes put to the test. I don’t recommend it, because above deck-stacked issues, but Steve did it anyway.
And it turns out, yet again, that your effort (Steve’s efforts) pay off:
So today I had my yearly Optometrist exam. My 2nd since starting my rehabilitation journey, but the first with comparative results from a years worth of active focus, strain reduction, prescription management, etc.
Quick results:
May 2015: OS: -6.75D, -1.00cyl | OD -5.25D, -1.00cyl
Previous results:
May 2014: OS: -7.25D, -1.00cyl | OD -6.00, -1.25cyl (~3 months into therapy)
May 2013: OS -7.50, -1.00cyl | OD -6.00 -1.25cyl
So, after about ~15 months, my long-time OD verified a .75D reduction for both eyes to 20/15. While not spectacular, it is a measureable result that cannot be ignored even by my OD, who does not really believe in therapy. He mentioned that the Rx he wrote to correct me to 20/25 last May, was getting me to 20/15 today as well as a slight reduction in astigmatism in my right eye.
However, I realized how horrible the lighting in the exam room was today. They must have changed to new energy efficient fluorescent fixtures and bulbs, because the light was focused down in the middle of the room and the chart was very dim against the wall. This may not have been SO bad, except I had just come from spending my lunch hour outside in the bright sun and after a 20 minute drive without sunglasses. Within 5 minutes of arriving to the office I was already in the refracting chair, so my eyes were barely adjusted to the lighting at this point.
After he was done refracting, I spent a few minutes trying active-focus with my differential-turned-normalized glasses, which are OS -5.75, OD -4.50 (spherical). I was able to make out the 20/25 line without too much trouble.
Another surprising thing was without any glasses on, I was able to use active-focus to make out the top line (20/200) and some of the 2nd line (20/100) of the chart from ~10ft away. While it wasn’t clear by any means, I haven’t been able to do that since I was a teenager! Being a high-myope, that is quite an accomplishment!
I am hoping to visit another office next week to verify these reductions and also have an IOL master test performed to check axial length. I had my axial length measured last November and I am eager to compare results.
Stay tuned!
-Steve
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Here is the whole post.
I won’t gloat further on Steve’s behalf, tempting as it might be. I’m just really thrilled that all of these pieces are working together. You find this resource, you try it, you stick with it, it gives you the results we promise, and last but not least, you even come back and share your results.
That’s so worth all the trouble (ie. not being a good capitalist), since …
I added up my “salary” from the site vs. my regular offline client base. It’s something like minimum wage in Cuba on the Internet side of the ledger (though to be honest, my regular “offline” client base would buy me much of the island). And also Alex did a whole lot of the groundwork.
Steve makes it worth it, Cuban minimum wage and all.
Just the though that the revolution might be at the door, should be warming your heart. Any number of Steve-like motivated individuals can have this material, without having to pay me or any behavioral optometrist a minor fortune. The Internet democratizing access.
Though if you find a good behavioral optometrist, and you have a minor fortune to share, please do. Those guys need to be fed and watered.
That’s it for today.
Oh, except, what really made my day:
Honestly, that just made me happy. Thank you Steve (and James, well said)!
And … cheers.
– Jake Steiner
