My eyesight sucks balls.
It’s annoying, in life in general. Played waterpolo, blind as as fuck. Boxing. Diving. Just figured, that’s how it is. And I’m not doing LASIK, waaay too many incidences of permanent side effects. So, three months ago, my eye prescription whatever thing was:
Right: -4.00 Left: -3.50
I had it checked, it was still right (actually the friendly optometrist recommended adding another 0.25 on each side). After some research and recommendation from a friend, I ended up trying a ‘long distance rehab program’ he kept going on about, endlessly.
Today, three months later, I went back to the optic shop, had my vision checked again:
Right: -3.00 Left: -2.50
Back down one whole friggin diopter on each side. Amazing, unreal. Same shop, same optometrist. A three months difference, and my vision has improved a massive whole diopter in each eye.
All thanks to this Austrian guy, Alex Frauenfeld, who is a *genius*. He gave me the whole rundown, how myopia (nearsightedness) is a stress symptom, and how wearing prescription lenses turns a temporary problem into a (mostly) permanent one. He sent me research on chickens, stories of Russian draft dodgers with perfect vision using glasses to ruin their eyes, the whole bit. Apparently fucking up my eyes wasn’t medically necessary, especially if optometry at large wasn’t a fucking for-maximum-profit, fix-problem-dark-ages-style business. Ass. Holes.
Alex Frauen-genius-feld has this whole program to rehab eyeballs. And no, it’s not crazy-man Bates method stare-into-the-sun. Lots of stuff about corrective stress and focus exercises, and peripheral stuff and gradients and whatever else. I’ve been doing more or less most of it. Though apparently my results aren’t what I’m told to expect to continue to happen at the same rate, since, he says, my prescription was ‘loaded up’:
You go get ‘your eyes checked’, they stick you in a dark room, put that Snellen test in front of you. Get you the highest possible prescription. Then you go back to work, looking at a computer screen all day. Nobody tells you that your vision is worst in the dark, and when you have no peripheral vision. Nobody tells you that using a minus prescription when focused up close fries your eyes. So you come back a year later and get the next dose of higher prescription, overpriced glasses. Suckahs!
I’m not about a lot of the conspiracy theories and quack solutions. My optometrist from back in the day is a close family friend and a good guy. Professional ignorance though, no fucking excuse. I had 20/40 back in highschool, and according to Genius-man that was just because my eyes were stressed from staring at books all day. Totally preventable. Whatever. I’m back to a prescription I last had over 13 years ago.
I’m on this all the way back to 20/20.
Does it work on astigmatism?
I don’t have it so I didn’t ask. Try an e-mail to alex at frauenfeld clinic.
Was wondering how this experience was going…pretty impressive.
Although : so fucking logical it’s a shame. Did he give any timeline to arrive to 20/20? Also, since you seem to do computer work : what’s the advice on how NOT to fuck up your vision when you need to focus your eyes on a screen for hours at a time?
He told me that 20/20 might not be realistic for me when I started. Now he says ‘maybe’.
The deal is to definitely not wear minus while looking up close. Take longer breaks. And for me they turned up close work into exercises. Two birds, one stone.
Did you pull this off with just info from the initial consultation or did you get a custom program he talks about here:
http://frauenfeldclinic.com/?p=96
Thank you for this. I’d heard about stuff like this before but thought it was mostly pseudo-science live off sunlight junk. Good to see real results.
My current prescription is -1.25 right and -1.00 left. I’ve thought about lasik but I’m really not trying to fuck up my eyes. If I could get 20/20 that’d be awesome even if it took 2 years.
Yea it’s a full on program. Much like any physical rehab. All of it makes sense too, no chakra mystic healing vibes. Talk with them weekly, exercises, progress, stuff. I bet you could go from that small prescription to 20/20.
I’ve got the same measurements and it’s really not extreme enough to warrant surgery.
My eyesight gets the worst after extended periods of necessary computing. It used to be perfect before computing, of course.
When talking to opticians, all I heard were unscientific short-sighted explanations as to why one’s eyesight gets worse (or “different”, in their words – “myopia could be seen as superior condition because your lens are stronger”..). Apparently, reading close-up, or in poorly-lit environment, and using a computer doesn’t have any negative effect, and that myopia comes naturally, with age and genes.
Experts…
And then they ripped me off, and tried to rip me off even more some time later. Unless necessary, glasses aren’t coming back on.
A few tips:
* Unless sleeping, turn up your lighting to the maximum. Refuse to live by conditions of others, especially short-sighted people who love to read in the dark.
* Buy a few extra lamps if necessary, and opt out from fluorescent lighting. I use around 300W of lighting myself in a big room.
* If working on a computer, place the screen as far back as possible. Also if possible, place your desk in front of a window so you could look outside frequently.
* Eat a right diet. Apparently blueberries are good, but I’ve performed no research myself.
* Don’t work late at nights, get good quality sleep.
Forgot to add: they also said with complete certainty, that wearing glasses does not worsen your eyesight. Full of jack shit.
I think it’s not malice in most cases. Just like the rampant prescription of anti depressants. It’s just a quick easy fix, puts money in pockets.
Alex has some really solid explanations of myopia. How exactly it develops, all kinds of studies leaving not much room for spurious interpretation.
Had me a bit angry at first but it’s really no different than most other bullshit. Go to college, get a credit card, find a wife, eat your meds, wear your glasses.
I’m glad to see that you aren’t too upset about the optometry racket. Everyone’s got a jelly spot, and I’m glad to see that you don’t have that much hippocracy.
Doctors run a con, lawyers run a con, teachers, PUAs, CEOs, girls, men. If you are really dealing with shady people in LOS, you need 20-20 vision, going in with your eyes open.
Whoa, nice gains man. I was disappointed to find that after a few months of no glasses, mine had only improved .5 diopters. Though we can thank the doctors for that–they refuse to give me under-prescribed lenses. Just been going without em, though I’ll order some online when I get the chance.
You allowed to tell us about their methods or is it on the down-low?
None of the methods seem to be super secret. It’s more about how much of what, does it give me headaches, how much to change the prescription … I prefer to have somebody to talk to, it’s my eyes after all.
Most of the exercises are about staying at the edge of where text is sharp, keep moving to where it’s blurry. That I do a lot of. And some peripheral vision stuff, not eating crap food, no TV, outside without sunglasses, reduced prescriptions practicing seeing things at a greater distance … it’s all just to push the focusing of the eye right where it’s not quite blurry yet.
It’s amazing how they won’t let you under prescribe. I had tried that once, too. That’s when I got weary, it’s like you try to cut back on the meds and they tell you that you can’t. Online, for sure!
heres is what i do, im minus fucking fourteen….-14.00, but i think maybe i have halted the annual slide.–i wear my -14 contacts, but when i work on the computer or read a book, or do any close work, i wear a pair of +2.00 glasses while still wearing my -14.00 contacts — you can buy the +2.00 “reading glasses” for $10 at the drugstore without a prescription. the +2′s take down the power of the -14′s which are good to see long distance, but too powerful for close work, and will stress your eyeball making it grow longer, and thus even more myopic in time. you guys with weaker prescriptions then mine will have to get +1.00 or maybe a +0.50
I think close work is at fault for most myopia, but a recent study showed lack of daylight may also be a cause. you can google “lack of daylight causes myopia” to find the articles on the study. here is a bit….
The average primary school pupil in Singapore, where up to nine in 10 young adults are myopic, spent only about 30 minutes outdoors every day – compared to three hours for children in Australia where the myopia prevalence among children of European origin is about 10 per cent. The figure in Britain was about 30 to 40 per cent and in Africa “virtually none” – in the range of two to three per cent, according to Morgan.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Study+says+lack+sunlight+causes+myopia/6565524/story.html#ixzz1wyynqnij
Yea, outdoor time is part of my prescribed activities too … specifically without glasses (which Alex says cuts the UV light that may be beneficial). I don’t know that it’s just any one thing. For instance, he had me eat a bunch of junk food and check my Snellen after. It was rough. Blood sugar, in my case, another piece of the eyeball puzzle.
Apparently this guy’s dad did nothing but myopia prevention and rehab also, they’ve got 40 years worth of tricks. I wish they’d put together a good online program / resource but they’re pretty bad about anything technology related.
I got the LASIK back in 1999 and it worked great for daytime, but night vision suffered and lights have a halo effect. All in all it was worth it for me I’m eagle eyed outside in the day.
For computer work change the screen to green text on black to save your eyes from staring at a lamp (so stupid!). Firefox add-on (blank your monitor) or Chrome (change colors). This helps with insomnia as well.