Improving My Eyesight

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Hello all….

I wanted to share two useful websites with you.This is courtesy the Program For Better Vision.

Firstly, let’s define what a behavioral optometrist is…

A  behavioral optometrist is a doctor who believes that how you see is the result of how you have learned to use your eyes and that visual skills - including how clearly you can see - can be enhanced through exercise, relaxation and training. He/she has received specialized training, can give you a comprehensive examination and can perform all the required tests.

Of course, a behavioral optometrist, like a regular optometrist, can prescribe glasses and contacts. But a behavioral optometrist would be more likely to comply with your request for an undercorrected prescription (a weaker pair of glasses or contacts that allows your eyes to benefit from a natural vision improvement program).

In addition, a behavioral optometrist can provide a program of training that improves overall visual functioning.

Here are two sites which allow you to search and find behavioral optometrist:

College of Optometrists in Vision Development

Optometric Extension Program Foundation

Hope this helps…

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I got this very interesting article from the Rebuild Your Vision Newsletter today, and I wanted to share it with you guys…

The article relates some information about LASIK. It’s a bit to read, but quite interesting…

It seems so easy—you’re tired of wearing glasses or contacts; tired of waking up in the morning and not being able to see the alarm clock; tired of having to squint to see street signs or holding the menu at arm’s length just to order a meal. So you drive to the nearest of several Lasik centers near you, lured by the promise of “Personalized Vision Correction,” a “Lifetime Satisfaction Plan,” even “NO MONEY DOWN! No interest til 2010!!” You’re a little bit afraid to “go under the knife,” but you console yourself by imagining what it would be like to wake up and see clearly, painlessly, throughout the day—each day, every day.

It’s a seductive vision (pun intended), but the reality, as revealed at a hearing organized by the Food and Drug Administration this past April, is not just ugly, but literally painful and painfully complicated.

As in, complications from surgery. Horrible complications.

From the New York Times:
Patients harmed by Lasik eye surgery alternated between fury and despair Friday as they told federal health officials of suffering years of eye pain, blurred or double vision—even of people driven to suicide.

From the Washington Post:
“Since Lasik, I am visually handicapped,” patient David Shell told [the] panel … “My eyes never feel comfortable … 10 years have passed and I still suffer from this problem,” Shell said.

From eFlux Media:
“I have no night vision. I can’t drive at night. When I look across my living room, it’s like looking through used wax paper,” said Barbara Berney, who underwent the procedure in 2001 and now is president of the Vision Surgery Rehab Network, which helps patients who have experienced complications. “I deal with people every day who are miserable and depressed after Lasik surgery.”

Turns out that, of the estimated 700,000 Americans who undergo the procedure each year, many more are reporting post-Lasik problems than the industry’s self-proclaimed “95 percent satisfaction rate” would have us believe. Here is a partial list of complications:

* “Starbursts and halos that make it difficult to see” (Post)
* Poor vision even with glasses
* Complete lack of night vision
* Extreme blurriness, haze, glare
* “Dry eye … so severe that people suffer intense pain and need surgery to retain what little moisture their eyes form” (Times)
* Depression and other psychological problems

That a Lasik patient could still have 20/20 vision while experiencing these complications—and thus be claimed as a “success story” by the Lasik industry—is part of what Matt Kotsovolos describes as “a deceptive industry practice.” Kotsovolos underwent a so-called successful Lasik procedure, but testified at the FDA hearings that “For the last two years I have suffered debilitating and unremitting eye pain.” It seems pretty obvious that ongoing serious eye pain would trump any claim to “perfect” vision, but the industry statistics are, well, fuzzy, to say the least. Although the FDA convened the panel precisely to ascertain “the range of effects on patients’ quality of life,” which hitherto had been “a big unknown,” the panel ended up concluding that “Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is safe and well accepted,” according to MedPage Today.

Ah, but like those inadvertently hilarious TV commercials for miracle drugs with a list of side effects that take longer to announce than the benefits of the drugs themselves, the panel recommended these caveats to those seeking Lasik (from MedPage Today):

* The panel suggested labeling changes to more fully state what and how problems can occur, including extreme blurriness, haze, glare, halos, and starbursts. It also suggested that the label take note of possible depression or psychological problems.

* The panel also recommended that the FDA’s LASIK Web site should include photographic illustrations of visual disability, detailed statistics as to risk of side-effects or complications, and an expanded explanation of the benefits of LASIK, i.e., that improving distance vision will mean the need for reading glasses.

Caveat emptor, as they say: Buyer beware. When you consider not only Lasik’s potential horrific side effects but also that you’re paying anywhere from $2,000 to $2,500 an eye for the possibility of ruining your sight, squinting at street signs or holding the menu at arm’s length doesn’t sound so bad. Of course, there’s another option—with NO side effects and for a fraction of the cost—but it requires a little bit more work than just strolling into surgery. It’s called “Eye Exercises for Natural Vision Correction.” And no FDA panel has ever had to be convened for that!

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In the last post, I indicated that laser eye surgery has been popping up in the news lately. Here is an article that gives one of the reasons for this. Several patients have been complaining about their discomfort they feel long after having the surgery.

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As I promised, here is some more news… This one is a video about Laser Eye Surgery.

If you didn’t know, a lot of questions about laser eye surgery have been popping up lately. Check out the video…

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Yesterday I was searching on a news site for information on vision improvement, eye exercises, etc…

I found quite a number of articles and videos, such as this one on computer vision syndrome…

I will post the other videos/articles over the coming days.

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This is useful tip I got from the Program For Better Vision Newsletter, that I would like to share. It’s about using sunlight to nourish and relax your eyes… Try it!

It’s called The Sun Cycle Exercise and addition to nourishing and relaxing your eyes, it also reduces your sensitivity to light.

Here are the Instructions:

1. Close your eyes and face toward the sun. (If you cannot face the sun with your eyes closed without squinting or tightening your facial muscles, then begin the Sun Cycle by facing slightly away from the sun so that your face and closed eyes can relax. Then, as you become more accustomed to the light, gradually turn closer and closer towards the sun.)

2. Let the sunlight fall on your closed eyes for five seconds.

3. Place your cupped palms over your closed eyes, shutting out all light for five more seconds, then take your hands away, keeping your eyes closed.

4. Repeat steps 1 - 3 ten to twenty times, for a total of three to five minutes.

The Sun Cycle helps to nourish your visual system, exercise the focusing muscles of the eyes and reduce sensitivity to light and glare.

Practice the Sun Cycle regularly. Most people experience a decrease in sensitivity within twenty to thirty days.

And here are some additional tips:

To get the light nourishment that your eyes and body need, spend at least 30 minutes a day outdoors - without glasses or contacts - so that your visual system can receive unfiltered sunlight. Any glass - window glass, car windshield, eyeglasses or contacts - filters part of the full spectrum of light and reduces the beneficial effect that sunlight has on your eyes and body.

We recommend sunglasses only in situations of glare or reflected light (the beach or ski slopes).

Your eyes most fully rest in total darkness. The best way to rest your eyes is to close them and place your cupped palms over your closed eyes. You can palm for as little as 30 - 40 seconds any time that your eyes feel tired or strained. While palming, it is also helpful to visualize a pleasant scene in your mind’s eye.

If you find this tip useful, then consider signing up for the Program For Better Vision Newsletter…

William

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I want to share another experience with you today… actually it just happened about 30 mins ago while I was driving on my way to work.

One of the things that is recommended when someone is trying to improve their eyesight naturally is to practice focusing…. focus on near objects, focus on distant objects, focus, focus.

I have developed the habit of doing just that as well as  doing my eye exercises wherever and whenever…

While waiting at a traffic light, I decided to focus on the number plate of the car in front of me… without my glasses. Now, because my eyesight is so terrible, I can’t see the numbers without my glasses. But I decided to try it anyways. To my delight, as I focused more and more, the numbers became clearer and clearer. Though not absolutely clear, I was able to discern the numbers and when I put my glasses back on, I was able to confirm that the numbers were actually what I saw without my glasses.

This is very encouraging for me and I hope that you find it encouraging too.

So remember… focus, focus, focus!

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Here is another testimonial from the Rebuild Your Vision Program. This one is from Margot Costenoble of Australia:

“I am 73 years old. I was found to have right eye pressure of 35 on a routine checkup and was sent to specialist. After three months I finally got to see the specialist who confirmed it was glaucoma and the reading was still the same. 27 on the left eye and 35 on the right eye. Then I looked up on the internet and found you and I ordered the Ocu-Plus Formula. In one month’s time my pressure dropped to 20 on left and 22 on right! That is really good.”

I hope you find these testimonials as encouraging as I do…

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In my last post I suggested that eye exercises can be done anywhere, anytime. Today I just wanted to point out another time when I do the eye exercises.

I am trying to improve my overall fitness and as such I try to do exercises regularly. What I also try to do is…. just after I finish my exercises I would a ten minutes or so and do some eye exercises..

So there you have it.. another time to do eye exercises..

William

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Although I try to do the exercises every morning and every night, I am also trying to make it a habit to do my exercises as often as possible.

As such, I find myself doing the eye exercises, at other times during the day, regardless of where I am… For example:

If I am in traffic, I do some eye exercises… I would look at an object close to me and focus on it for about 2 seconds, then I would look at an object in the distance, and focus on that for about 2 seconds, back and forth…

I also often do what I call “stretching exercises”, where I would look left, right, up, down, etc, etc.

The point is, don’t limit yourself to doing the exercises at regimented times… do them whenever you like. In fact, the truth is, it’s difficult to stick to a scheduled program.

You can use these free eye exercises if you wish.

William

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