Ruth Ann writes in the forum:
It was one year ago that I signed up for the web program.
My prescription last year as I began rehab was R -4.00 -0.75 x 120 and L -7.25 -0.25 x 105. I have the start of cataracts in both eyes, the left one being the worst. The cataract in my right eye doesn’t seem to affect my vision very much. My Snellen last year to begin was without glasses indoors in natural light, in the morning with the sun on the chart, at a distance on 5 feet:
R 20/25, L 20/30, Both 20/25.
On October 6 I did No Glasses Sunday for the first time, and in the late afternoon I had my first taste of double vision. It was amazing–clear but double images far into the distance. The next morning my vision was blurry again.
Within two to four weeks, the double vision came back, this time to stay. I have been waking up with double vision automatically every morning for the past nine months.
My Snellen, after one year of rehab, is as follows:
Outdoors on a sunny day in the sun or shade, without glasses at 20 feet
R 20/13, L 20/20, Both 20/13
Indoors in natural light, without glasses at 20 feet
R 20/25, L 20/60, Both 20/25
Night, in artificial light, without glasses at 20 feet
R 20/60, L 20/100, Both 20/50
I still have lots of multiple images, less on bright days, more on rainy days. At sunset my vision quickly deteriorates into many doubles at night.
Over the past nine months, indoor and close-up vision has gradually improved, as some of the doubles are getting fused. Since May I have been playing the organ at church without glasses, something I would never have thought possible until I found this web program.
At the end of last December I did the installment of no glasses for one week. I found I could function quite well without them. At the end of the week I didn’t like to wear them anymore. It seemed like they ruined more than helped my vision. I enjoy the peripheral vision without glasses, and the image is so much brighter and of much better quality.
I am retired now, and can arrange my activities as I wish. I get a mix of indoors, outdoors, close-up and distance. And I haven’t been wearing my glasses very much since January, mostly just for driving. The prescription is R -1.0 and L -3.25. My left eye really complains when I wear them–I can feel the ciliary tighten up.
As I began the web program last August, I got very quick initial improvements, and double vision in less than three months. Then improvements slowed down, as I have been trying to fuse double vision.
I have worn glasses for more than 55 years, since December 31, 1958 when I was nine years old and in third grade. I have kept my old glasses. Last winter I took them to optic shops to find out the prescriptions I have worn through the years. My highest prescription was from 1997 to 1998: R -7.00 +1.00 x 052, L -8.50 +1.25 x 111, with +1.50 bifocals for both eyes.
When I moved to a different state in 2004, I found a new optometrist. Although he did the exams in a dark room, he did not dilate my eyes–said it wasn’t necessary. I got three successive reductions in my prescription over the past ten years. He said my vision was getting better, astigmatism was getting less, and that I couldn’t see as well if the prescription was too strong. I believe my axial myopia was gradually going away, and was probably gone by the time I found out about myopia rehab. But I still had ciliary myopia.
As I began rehab and reduced strain and did active focus, I reduced ciliary myopia and got quick improvements. I suspect that both axial and ciliary myopia were gone when I got double vision, since I have no blur horizon with double vision, and it has never been an effort for me to get double vision. It just happened unexpectedly.
I keep track of my progress fusing doubles by looking at a little red LED indicator light, both at night and in the daytime. It shows me my pattern of doubles. I see the main central image, with rings of doubles surrounding it. The left eye at night has five rings, in daylight three rings. The right eye has four rings at night and two in the daytime. The array of doubles in the left eye is more circular. In the right eye it is sort of an oval, elongated on the axis where astigmatism was in my prescription. The left eye has a pattern sort of like an 8 within the array, which at first had no images within it. I think it is where the cataract is cutting down on the light. Since May I have been outdoors more, and now faint images are appearing in the empty 8 of the left eye. The UV light must be helping the cataract. It also makes a brighter, prettier red, especially on days I spend a lot of time outdoors. UV exposure definitely produces a better image.
I think these patterns of doubles are the result of the brain having fused light that was focused by minus lenses for many years. Now, without glasses, the brain has to figure out a new pattern. I expect the patterns to gradually lose the outer rings first, and finally get back to one central image. I’m looking forward to getting the doubles fused.
I’m enjoying MUCH better vision this year than last year! Nature is more beautiful without glasses.
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The full story is here in the forum.
Consider that many things are at play when looking at your own prescription. You may be overprescribed, which will make your progress seem faster once you start rehabilitating your eyesight. You may also get great Snellen results after a time, but only in good natural lighting.
If one were to be critical, the net improvement may not be as much as the example we looked at here. Four diopters in a year is not achieved by very many of my clients (though it does indeed happen, to some degree).
More than anything, above should serve as inspiration. Whether you are just starting out, or thinking of starting, or maybe stuck in a rut after your own first year. Getting some active focus into your day makes all the difference. You need positive stimulus to improve, besides having eliminated close-up strain. Most participants do a fine job with the latter, but then possibly struggle to get enough of the focus work into their habits.
Enjoy!
