Introduction
I’ve needed glasses due to myopia (short-sightedness) ever since I was 8. Every year, I’d have to go for an eye test and get a new and stronger pair of glasses.
– This was what everyone around me did.
– This was what the nurses at my school said I should do.
– This was what all the opticians/optometrists told me to do.
So for many years, I just accepted that my eyesight was bad and would get worse.
When I reached adulthood, I tried contact lenses for some time, but they irritated my eyes and made me feel “sleepy” the minute I’d put them on.
When my work started to suffer from my discomfort, I gave up contact lenses and went back to glasses for good.
By that time, I was determined to not have my vision get any worse. So whenever I wanted new frames, I’d keep my lens prescription the same, which was -4.5 (left) / -4.5 (right), with very high astigmatism in my left eye and less in my right.
Things were fine for several years. Then in May 2011, I had a horribly painful headache for two days straight. That was the start of my journey towards better vision.
After a doctor’s visit and a trip to the optician:
- I learnt from the doctor that my headaches were due to eyestrain from too much close vision work (made worse by wearing glasses); and
- I learnt from the optician that my year-old glasses were suddenly too strong for my eyes (this means I had become less short-sighted somehow).
Roughly 12 months later in June 2012, my prescription had fallen significantly.
| IN MAY 2011 (AND SEVERAL OF MY ADULT YEARS) |
-4.5 (left) / -4.5 (right) | WITH HIGH ASTIGMATISM |
| BY JUNE 2012 | -3.00 (left) / -2.25 (right) | NO ASTIGMATISM |
In other words, my vision had improved by approximately 1.50 (left eye) / 2.25 (right eye) in about a year.
This is my story.
How it all started—treating myself with high-dose iodine
In November 2010, I embarked on an iodine supplementation regime to detox myself from bromide and fluoride, and to resolve my lingering uterine issues. I was in the process of healing my ovarian cysts.
When I started taking iodine supplements (in my case, Iodoral), I also began a personal diary (or journal) to keep track of my detox symptoms and progress.
High-dose iodine supplementation can result in some severe and scary detox reactions such as body aches, joint pain and skin breakouts. So keeping track of my dosage and symptoms with a journal was my way of making sure I stayed safe (also… I’m a huge nerd).
My vision improvements from iodine were something I did not expect, but happily noted down in my journal along the way.
I now believe that getting sufficient iodine (and maybe iodide and magnesium) helped support a slow improvement in my eyesight, at least in the beginning. My first clue that my vision had improved came in late May 2011 when I had my eyes tested because of a persistent headache. This was about 6 months after I started iodine supplementation.
Iodine and my myopia improvement: what you need to know
I attributed the improvement in my myopia to the only regimen I had been on at the time — high-dose iodine supplementation (also called orthoiodosupplementation).
But I don’t actually know if iodine is strictly necessary for eye improvements. For myself anyway, I believe it was an important catalyst and was what spurred my first reduction in myopia.
I won’t be surprised if myopia can be reduced without iodine supplementation at all. In fact, I would not advise most people to do what I did. Before I went on my high-dose iodine regimen, I had read so much about it and prepared myself mentally and emotionally. It was a risk that I managed by educating myself, and I was highly motivated to heal my ovarian cysts. And while the detox symptoms that I got from taking high doses of iodine were temporary and petered out after about a month, they were scary at times and would have been more so had I not known what I was getting myself into.
So please DO NOT use this article and my high iodine dosages as a guide or a “how-to” manual to reduce your own myopia. I was on my high-dosage iodine regimen for six months before my eyesight first improved and I took up to 100mgs per day at one point! For most people, this is already unacceptable.
So what can you do?
You can try using progressively weaker lenses the way I did below. It’s effective and virtually risk-free to your health.
You can try Vitamin C and magnesium. If you take too much of either, the worst that’ll happen is that you’ll move your bowels once or twice.
And if you do decide to try iodine, try only smaller doses. Taking high doses of iodine is certainly do-able. I did it. But before you go down that road, know what you’re getting into and the risks. Do your own research. We are all responsible for ourselves, after all (which is a good thing).
About this article and my journal entries
I’ve decided to use my journal entries for this article because there’s a step-by-step progression to my improvements (which were not always smooth-going). And I think it’s important for me to share as many details as I can so you’ll have a fuller picture of what I did.
The first entry in my journal was in November 2010, but the early entries are of little relevance here. They mainly chronicle my gradual uptake of Iodoral and the detox symptoms I had at the time (for me, they were mostly lower back pain and body aches). So for this article, I’ve pasted in extracts of only my later entries from May 2011 onwards, which was when I first noted an improvement in my eyesight.
I’ve also interspersed my original journal entries with longer explanations to make more sense to readers. All my journal entries are in colored boxes, with my explanations outside. You’ll find mentions of iodine (Iodoral) because that’s what my journal was primarily intended for. Also magnesium and Vitamin C, which are the companion nutrients for iodine supplementation.
I’m not a doctor, but I believe iodine and possibly magnesium were what helped my eyes the most (you might be interested to know that myopia is common in the children of magnesium-deficient mothers).
A bit of background about me might also be fitting here—I work in an office and need to read volumes of text every day on a monitor.
With that, let’s dive right in, shall we?
| Journal entry ~ 27 May 2011 |
| Been a while since my last update… but since the start of May, I’ve started taking around 100mg of Iodoral daily, with breaks during the weekends to rest. Feeling fine, no more iodine detox symptoms to speak of.I think my eyesight has been improving from iodine. Got my clue a few days ago. Had a horrible, horrible headache for 2 days straight.Went to a clinic and the doctor said it’s caused by eyestrain and that my glasses (and myopia) were probably making it worse. |
Before that doctor’s visit in May, I’d never made a connection between headaches and my glasses before. Eyestrain and reading too much, sure… but glasses? Waren’t they supposed to help? But apparently, they were not as harmless as they looked.
I had a very good doctor who explained to me on a diagram (that she sketched for me no less) that vision with glasses changes our eyes’ focus from being parallel to converging, which is unnatural and creates tension. That was what I understood from her, anyway. I was still in too much pain at the time to fully grasp much beyond “glasses = bad”.
And while the pain in my head did not make for a good time then, I look at it this way now—sometimes, something bad needs to happen to us, before something good can take root naturally.
Soon after that doctor’s visit, I got my eyes and glasses checked by an optician.
Luck was on my side as I found a great one near my office. He tested my eyes and told me that the glasses I had on were too powerful for me, and much stronger than what my eyes actually needed.
This was very surprising to me because they were not new glasses. I had been wearing them comfortably for well over a year. So why would they suddenly be too strong for me? The only explanation was that my myopia had somehow reduced quite substantially on its own.
I didn’t tell the optician that they were actually old glasses so he assumed that they were new. He was actually a bit upset after he tested my eyes and found the disparity between them and my glasses. This prompted him to share a dirty little secret with me — that many opticians secretly over-prescribe or order lenses that are more powerful that needed, in the hope of giving their customers sharper and “better” vision. He said this practice was why so many people (including me) get eyestrain whenever they buy new glasses.
While this was disturbing for me to hear, I was very grateful to him for telling me.
As I left his office that day, a theory was already percolating in my head — that somehow my high-dose iodine regimen had managed to improve my eyesight.
An experiment was born—using progressively weaker glasses
After my visit to the optician, my next decision was easy—downgrade to weaker glasses ASAP.
Since I spend most of my waking hours in front of the computer, I decided to get glasses that were only strong enough for me to do my work comfortably. I would christen these my “computer glasses”. Creative, right? 😉
Around the same time, I started reading about vision therapy. I learnt that it was possible to improve my vision naturally and slowly over time.
The basic thinking behind vision therapy is that stronger glasses weaken the eyes, and weaker glasses strengthen them (which this site explains very well).
Make no mistake—this thinking is the VERY OPPOSITE of conventional medical ideas about eyesight and myopia.
By the way, if you’re the type who only believes in conventional methods and practices, you might want to skip this article altogether (if you haven’t run off already, that is!). I know not everyone will be happy with what I have to say here, and some might even feel threatened or get angry.
That’s fine. I’m not here to change anyone’s minds, only to share my personal experience. My hope is that this article can help those who are receptive.
I’m also contrarian by nature, so it was easy for me to decide to embark on my grand experiment—I would try to reduce my myopia by using progressively weaker and weaker glasses.
29 May 2011: My 1st pair of “computer glasses”
On 29 May 2011, I ordered my first pair of “computer glasses” online.
But before I did that, I went back to the optician who tested my eyes and told him exactly what I needed—a prescription that was good enough for me to read the computer screen and nothing more. For me, this was a reading distance of 27-31 inches. I used a tape measure at home and at work to get it about right.
By the way, it’s not a good idea to reveal to an optician or optometrist that you want weaker glasses to improve your eyesight. I think some might refuse to serve you or even start a debate. Remember, they only know what they’ve been taught, which is the conventional way of thinking. So I’d suggest just doing what I did and say that you need a prescription for weaker/low-powered “computer glasses” or “reading glasses”. This request should be easy for most opticians to understand.
My optician was very accommodating. After I explained to him what I wanted, he let me test my vision on his own computer screen. So you can imagine me sitting in front of his computer, wearing those funky-looking eye test frame thingies. Best of all, his computer was right in front of a clear glass wall so everyone passing by could get a good look at me. 🙂
After I got my “computer glasses” prescription at the optician’s office, I went off to buy my glasses online.
Why? Money.
The thought of spending $100-200 on a new pair of glasses at the optical store was too painful, especially since my experiment would mean buying several pairs. Plus, I’d always felt ripped off having to pay hundreds of dollars on a flimsy piece of no-brand plastic and metal. Most glasses are made on assembly lines and factories. It’s not like someone was painstakingly making them by hand. So I never could understand why they cost as much as some gold jewellery.
Meanwhile, the prices for glasses online were great (and most of all, fair). It was easy for me to find nice ones that cost $10-20 each.
It was my first time buying glasses online, so I was a little nervous. I’d bought many things online before then, but never glasses because they can “make” your face. If you wear glasses, you’d know what I’m talking about…
I’m very glad I took the plunge because the glasses I ordered online came and looked great. I couldn’t tell the difference in quality between my new, cheap glasses and my older, much more expensive ones (which I’d bought from an optician). I actually thought the new ones I bought online looked better.
Because I was nervous about my online purchase, I took extra care and used my old pair as a guide when it came to the frame measurements for my new glasses. It was less of a risk for me because all I use are frameless glasses. Without visible frames, it was much easier to choose glasses that would suit my face (although the shape of the lens chosen can still “make” your face quite a bit).
My first “computer glasses” prescription was as follows. This was what the optician gave me.
My 1st pair of weaker computer glasses (viewing distance 27-31 inches)
| OS L (left eye) | OD R (right eye) |
| – 4.00 (SPH) | -3.25 (SPH) |
| – 0.75 (CYL) | -0.50 (CYL) |
| -170 (AXIS) | 10 (AXIS) |
Note: SPH (or sphere) is the degree of myopia. CYL (or cylinder) and AXIS indicates astigmatism. As you can see, the astigmatism in my left eye was much higher than in my right.
Ordering glasses online would normally require these figures, so make sure your prescription includes them. If there is no astigmatism, the fields for CYL and AXIS should be left blank (i.e. zero).
23 June 2011: One month after…a quick leap to my 2nd pair!
| Journal entry ~ 23 June 2011 |
| I’ve been dosing with 9 Iodoral pills daily — 3 in the am, 3 after lunch, and 3 more at 3-4pm.I’ve also continued with my high-dose vitamin C of 5-10mgs daily to keep my iodine receptors clear.I’ve given up on chelated magnesium, the pills are too big and I dread taking them. Need to look for other types of magnesium that I can easily take…I’ve been wearing my computer glasses for almost a month now and while they started out blurry whenever I look at faraway things (normal for low-powered glasses), now my distance vision with them is sharper. This tells me my eyesight has continued to improve. |
I was very happy with my visible progress after about a month using my weaker glasses. Eager to continue improving, I quickly purchased two more pairs online. I planned to keep them on hand for whenever I would be ready to downgrade.
I downgraded the prescription for my next two pairs quite aggressively—by 0.5 (left) / 0.5 (right). I also completely removed the astigmatism at the same time. Yes, I was feeling very ambitious at the time!
My 2nd pair of weaker computer glasses
| OS L (left eye) | OD R (right eye) |
| – 3.50 (SPH) | -2.75 (SPH) |
| -0.00 (CYL) * | -0.00 (CYL) * |
| 0 (AXIS) * | 0 (AXIS) * |
* 0.00 CYL and AXIS = NO ASTIGMATISM
Fortunately, my second pair worked out well eventually. But it took some adjustment.
During my first week wearing them, I had to move my PC monitor a few inches closer to me so I could work. There was also some distortion whenever I looked left or right because the adjustments for my astigmatism had been completely removed. This was slightly disorienting, but nothing I couldn’t live with. My eyes adjusted and this distortion went away in about a week.
During this first week, I’d also switch to my first pair of computer glasses whenever I needed to see something that was further away in more detail. So for the first week, I always had two pairs of glasses with me, which made me feel quite amused at myself. One would be on my face and another would be tucked over my collar. But soon enough, my eyes adjusted as well and I could retire the first pair into my drawer for good.
23 August 2011: Continued improvements and forming new habits
| Journal entry ~ 23 August 2011 |
| Eyesight has continued to improve. My vision keeps getting sharper with the low-powered glasses. Progress is slow, but it’s there.I’ve also started taking off my glasses completely whenever I’m away from the computer. Making my way around without them is not so bad… My eyes actually feel more relaxed without glasses on somehow. I’ve told most of my friends and colleagues about my new habit just in case they see me outside and I don’t react. At least they’ll know I’m not ignoring them on purpose! I literally can’t see who’s who unless they come within a few feet of me.I’ve also been consciously trying to get more morning sun without my glasses on. I’ve noticed a temporary improvement in my vision whenever I expose my eyes to sunlight. I love the sun!Since May, I’ve been taking 100mg of Iodoral per day. I’m going to start lowering my doses to 75mg now.Started taking magnesium chloride. These pills are much easier to take than the chelated magnesium. I also feel immediate calming effects from it, unlike the old pills. Mag chloride is awesome. |
In my journal entry above, I mentioned that I started not wearing my glasses at all sometimes. I take a train to work and don’t drive, so this was quite safe for me to do. If you drive, you should of course wear glasses that are strong enough so you can see everything at a distance clearly. When I’m walking in an unfamiliar area, or places where the ground is uneven, I’d always put my glasses back on to be safe.
Fast forward to November 2011 below—I’d finished my high-dose iodine supplementation regime and have moved on to a lower, maintenance dose of iodine. Nevertheless, my vision improvements remained and I continued to keep track of my progress.
8 November 2011: Still on my 2nd pair
| Journal entry ~ 8 November 2011 |
| I’ve continued to take iodine, but have reduced it to a maintenance dose of around 50mg on most days.I’ve been staying on my 2nd pair or reduced power glasses.Just out of curiosity, I tried on my 1st pair of computer glasses this weekend and guess what? They were WAY too strong! I put them on and very quickly took them off—they were that powerful and uncomfortable.Very, very happy there’s still progress.
I have to push my monitor to the very edge of my desk now, otherwise the screen is too sharp. But I’ll give it a bit more time before I downgrade to my 3rd lower pair. I tested them for a while and they were too blurry, so more time then… |
17 December 2011: Onto my 3rd pair (after hitting a small snag)
Finally, in December 2011, I decided it was time to downgrade to lower-powered glasses again. When before I couldn’t see faraway objects clearly with them on, now I could. This means my eyes had improved so much that they’ve effectively stopped becoming “computer glasses” for me and were just regular, almost full-powered glasses. However, I hit a minor snag when I tried to move down to my 3rd pair.
| Journal entry ~ 5 December 2011 |
| Still no iodine detox symptoms. All good with the maintenance dose.I tried to downgrade to my “3rd pair” recently, which was -3.00 (left)/-2.25 (right). But the 0.50/0.50 downgrade from my current pair made my monitor too blurry to read. |
As you can see, I’d made a mistake with the 3rd pair I’d purchased. They were much too weak for me to transition to comfortably this time. Instead of making myself struggle with glasses that made it hard for me to do my work, I decided to relegate my 3rd pair to be my 4th pair and buy another to fill in the gap.
So I ordered 2 more pairs online, this time making sure that the downward progressions were smaller at 0.25/0.25 each instead of 0.50/0.50. These smaller decrements would greatly ease my future transitions.
After my new glasses came in the mail, I had on hand:
- -3.25 / -4.00 (right OD/ left OS — my 1st pair, retired)
- -2.75 / -3.50 (my 2nd pair, retired)
- -2.50 / -3.25 (my NEW 3rd pair)
- -2.25 / -3.00 (my 4th pair, previously my 3rd pair), and
- -2.00 / -2.75 (my NEW 5th pair)
My first five “computer glasses”. Yup, they all look the same!
I started wearing my NEW 3rd pair when they came in the mail on 17 December 2011.
The total cost for my two new pairs of glasses was close to $47, including shipping. I’d feel bad about buying so many glasses, but I intend to donate them all when I’m done (I found a hospital that accepts eyeglass donations). I also decided not to change the lenses each time because lens replacements would cost me more than brand new glasses. Go figure.
Around this time, I also started making an effort to rest my eyes from the computer every so often. It’s good to give your eyes a break by looking away at things that are at a distance every 30 minutes or so (e.g. a 30-second rest for every 30 minutes). It was very hard for me to remember to do this (still is) whenever I’m busy working, so I set up an automatic reminder to pop up on my screen every half an hour, which has been very useful. I’ve also continued taking iodine, magnesium chloride and Vitamin C daily.
13 March 2012: My progress plateaus… and my odd little theory on why it did
| Journal entry ~ 13 March 2012 |
| Wow it’s been ages since my last entry. My progress has plateaued and it’s only recently that I’ve realized why.This may sound very strange, but whenever I walk around outside (in crowds etc) without my glasses on, I really, really like not being able to see the faces around me clearly or not at all. I don’t like crowds and I sometimes get a bit overwhelmed living in a small, very densely-populated city. So going without my glasses gave me this unexpected perk of being totally relaxed in crowds now.Unfortunately I think I might’ve unconsciously told my brain and eyes that I don’t want to see faces clearly, which has been hindering my progress (this is my theory, anyway). Now I’m trying to undo this accidental belief/thought creation with simple affirmations whenever I remember.I upped my dosage of iodoral to 7 yesterday + 3 mag chloride pills (spread out 3 times over the day). And I felt really, really good. I’m doing the same today, let’s see what happens. |
3 April 2012: Eyes started to improve again
| Journal entry ~ 3 April 2012 |
| Still sticking to daily mag chloride + iodine (with breaks during weekends), still good.I think my vision has started to improve again, I saw a bus sign across the street clearly (a flash of clarity) the other day, which was great. |
7 May 2012: Started taking serrapeptase
What serrapeptase has to do with my eyes, I have no idea. But it was a new addition to my regimen.
Full disclosure and all… 🙂
| Journal entry ~ 7 May 2012 |
| I’ve been taking 3x serrapeptase (total 120k mcg) each morning when I wake up and a benign lump in my left breast is so, so different in texture now. I can barely feel the hard circular lump now. Amazing! I think serrapeptase is eating up my scar tissue and breaking down some old wounds.I’ve lowered my iodoral intake to 2 in the am and 2 in the pm. This is a return to my maintenance of 50mg per day. No reason other than I think my body has reached a good limit. |
19 June 2012: My 4th pair (finally!)
| Journal entry ~ 19 June 2012 |
| After what seems like forever (but was actually 6 months), I finally started on my next lower-powered glasses last night. My vision has been sharp for a while now, it was time to downgrade.So I’m now using: -2.25 / -3.00 (my 4th pair).I actually thought I could skip my 4th pair of glasses altogether and go straight to my 5th, but my monitor was too blurry to read with them (overeager yet again). I’m very glad that I bought my glasses in 0.25 / 0.25 decrements, they still seem to be the best for my eyes and the most practical for my use.Today at work I can still read the screen, with just a tiny bit of fuzziness. I pulled my monitor closer to me by an inch and it was much better. As usual, will push my monitor back as my eyes adjust.
I’m still on my maintenance of 50mg of iodoral per day + 3 mag chloride (spread throughout the day). |
At this point, I’m feeling quite excited as my next pair (the 5th) is also the last that I have on reserve. I guess it’s for that reason that I feel like I’ve travelled quite far, eventhough I’m only somewhere in the middle of my journey.
I’m also really looking forward to reaching the 1.0 level. My 6th pair will be -2.50 / -1.75, which amazes me considering I was wearing -4.5 / -4.5 (+ high astigmatism) for many years of my adult life. All I can say to this is… wow.
Read Part 2 here.
This is so amazing!!!1 Instead of the iodine supplementation, I will try the magnesium and vitamin c combination. This is truly amazing. Thank you so much for writing this, can’t wait for the update.
Good luck dylan, and thanks for commenting!
I think you’re the first person to have read this article. 😀
Thanks for sharing your experience. Mine is very similar. My last eye exam about 7-8 yrs ago had me at -4.75 with astigmatism in one eye. After wearing those glasses for a few months I felt they were too strong for me and started ordering weaker prescriptions on-line. The last pair I bougt were -2.25 and I can drive in them at night with no problems. I’ve recently started using plus lenses for reading and computer use and have noticed further clearing of my myopia. The plus lenses can be a bit tricky to get used to but many have seen dramatic improvements from careful plus lens wearing. I also recommend Dr. Christophers herbal eyewash with cayenne. I just make eyedrops out of it and it still works good. Best of luck. Hope to hear you get back to 20/20 or better.
Hi Henry, thanks for your comment.
I’m so glad to hear I’m not the only one who’s been doing this. It’s great to hear of your vision improvements over the years. 😀 awesome…
I’ll have to look into plus lenses again. I’d read up on them some time ago and it sounded really interesting. But it ended up being quite confusing to understand, so I’d decided not to go down that road at the time. If you have any good links for me to read up on plus lenses, I’d be grateful.
Thanks for the tip about your eyewash too. The cayenne gives me pause, though. Doesn’t it sting?
There is a lot of info on plus lens if you do a search. Otis Brown has a forum and some other blogs. Ypu’ll also find plenty of articles about how bad plus lenses are. I am using a +1.5 for working on the computer and +2.75 when reading books etc. I think plus lens can take some time to get used to and to figure out what works best for you. I am about to set up a Snellen chart when I get in my new apartment so I can track my improvements. Yes the eye formular stings but you don’t have to use a whole eyecup. I just fill a shot glass 1/4 full with water and add about 4 drops and then use another dropper to put the drops in my eyes. It stings but I can tell it’s doing good. I’ll post again later once I get my Snellen chart up so I can track my improvements. Cheers!
Thanks Henry, appreciate all the info. 🙂 I don’t have a Snellen chart, but I taped a work poster with some words on a wall and I use it as a crude gauge sometimes.
I just got a snellen chart off amazon for about $5 w/ free shipping. Took a break from the plus lens but am now using it again. I noticed a big improvement at first but I think I have been in front of the compurer screen too much lately so now it’s leveled off a little. I think getting outside in the sun for at least 1-2 hrs per day is important for me. I wish I knew in 7th grade what I know now and had never been prescribed minus lenses. Oh well. Best of luck to you.
Hey Samantha, I am definitely gonna try this out. Can you share what was the lowest power u could achieve? My current power is -6 in both eyes.
Hi Biru, I’m not quite done with this experiment so I don’t know how low I can go yet. I’m at -1.75/-2.50 right now 🙂
Best of luck and let me know how you get on. I’d be interested to hear someone else’s experience.
Thanks for your response. I ordered my first pair of -5.5, -5.5 glasses. Lets see how it turns out. I shall update you of any advancements.
Interesting reading, I have very similar problem. I will defenitly try your advice. Especially because you have the experience and the method has been tested.
My eyes are currently left: -2.50 right: -2.75.
My doctor prescribed me computer glasses in addition to my normal glasses but i’ve been wanting to order some 1-day contacts as well for convenience. Do you think it would be possible to even out your eyes by weakening the prescription of one side to match the other? And might it work with contacts?
Hi Esther, I don’t know if it’ll work with contacts, you can try and see what happens. All the research I read only mentioned weaker glasses (not contacts).
I suppose improving just one eye is certainly possible, but I don’t know the implications of trying this. Vision is more than the eyes — from what I know, vision = our eyes + brain working together.
So I would imagine that the “full-powered lens” eye might try compensating for weaker vision in the other, and strain itself with this constant imbalance. If so, then the “full-powered lens” eye could weaken over time (i.e. increase in myopia), in which case, you’ll be worse off than when you started. But this is just my theory and I could be wrong.
You may want to try and search a Bates/vision forum and see if anyone has tried just improving one eye at a time. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help!
thanks. your reply was still very informative. i’ll be sure to check out the forum.
Hi Samantha, just found you today and I’ve been bouncing all around- originally for hair- anyway I just found this post. I had a great eye doctor as a child who was careful about advancing my prescription and gave me bifocals with none (at age 10) so I wouldn’t strain my eyes while reading and my other doctors went along with it as well until I started wearing contacts in high school. I’m 28 and when I went in for my most recent eye exam she lowered my prescription from -3.75 to -3.5. She explained that because we strain so hard to see things at various distances it makes our eyes seem like they are more blind when we go to the dr. The other information you have here is very interesting, I’ll have to check it out further!
-Paige
Thanks for sharing, Paige. That was lucky that your first eye doctor was so good! It sounds like it really made a difference.
What you explained happens to many short-sighted people, including myself (although my astigmatism hasn’t changed), as we age. My eyesight started to improve at around age 50 – my glasses became too strong, so I took my previous weaker glasses back into use and again an older pair after another 6 months. I’m now back to glasses I had 10 years ago and don’t have any more. Now these 10 year old glasses are too strong so I am now going to get some even weaker ones. Like you, I am going to ask for weaker ones to use for computer work. I’m pretty sure weaker ones for computer work will work as allround glasses too. My vision was around -2.75 at its worst and I’m now at the stage that I can manage without glasses but a pair of weak lenses would make the computer screen easier to see as I sit in a layed back position with the screen more than an arm’s length away. If I sit upright I can see my screen without glasses. This has happened to quite a lot of people my age at work (for some it has started earlier at around age 40). I doubt it has anything to do with supplements you’ve been taking. As presbyopia kicks in, in short sighted people, distance vision improves. Another advantage of being short-sighted is that you don’t need reading glasses – my near vision is perfect at age 53. My eye-doctor also agrees that using as weak as possible lenses is the way to go. He also advised me against LASIK because my vision is changing and if I had my eyes fixed for perfect distance vision I would need reading glasses (I wouldn’t have LASIK in any case, I believe it ruins your eyes, the cornea never actually heals and is far too risky).
Thanks for sharing your story, PB. My improvements didn’t come from presbyopia though — I’m about 20-30 years too young for that!
My dad has presbyopia. He can see things at a distance very clearly, but needs glasses for reading or close work. It’s interesting because as far as I know, he wasn’t short-sighted when he was younger.
Hi. Samantha. I recently bumped into your site and I’m interested in trying your method. I would like to ask if we can converse by private email. I’m willing to try your method but i have a few questions that needs answering. Please contact me by emial anytime soon. Thanks
Hi jeanne, if your questions aren’t of a personal nature, it’d be better if you could ask them here in the comments. Though I’d be happy to answer what I can by e-mail (sam at skinverse dot com), I just think it’s going to be more helpful to do so in a open format here, where others can also benefit from your questions.
I took notes and I wanted to ask if the supplement you’re referring is the one made by Optimox. Also, could you specify if you downgraded from 9 Iodoral pills to 7 Iodral pills in March 2012? Many thanks. P.S – If you want the story of my life with glasses, I could send it via email. I think it’s too long for a comment box.
Hi jeanne, feel free to e-mail me at the address I gave (sorry to have written my e-mail that way, I was trying to thwart the spambots).
Yes, I use Iodoral by Optimox and was taking 7 pills in March last year. I’d also tried Lugol’s iodine before that, but it made me break out so I switched to the Iodoral. I also felt more confident keeping track of my dosage with pills instead of a liquid and dropper.
Others have used Lugol’s with good results though, so don’t just go by me. The breakouts I had was just my reaction, it won’t be the same for everyone. If you want guidance on using Lugol’s iodine, a good place to get info is the curezone forum (if you haven’t already been there).
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for the clarification. I’ll check out the forums and I’ll see if I could make a plan just like you did. Anyway, how did you measure your prescription before you order a new pair of glasses? I hate to walk in eyeglasses stores in malls because they expect me to buy a pair at their place.
You’re welcome. As I mentioned in the article, “I went back to the optician who tested my eyes and told him exactly what I needed—a prescription that was good enough for me to read the computer screen and nothing more. ”
I’d told him from the start that I only needed a prescription and I wasn’t going to buy glasses. He was very accomodating, but I know what you mean about pushy salespeople. That just sends me out the door! I think if you tell them what you need from the start, that should minimise any fuss though. It’s also better because it lets you decide if you should take your business elsewhere.
I saw an eye specialist today to get a new prescription and eye health check. I last saw him two years ago and I was at -2.75 in both eyes. Over the last two years I have progressively taken older and older (=weaker) glasses into use until the oldest I had were too strong. I’m now at -1.5 in each eye. The eye doctor told me that the best thing I could do is to NOT wear glasses at all with the exception of when driving in the dark. I have a code on my driver’s license that means I have to use glasses when driving. However, my vision has now improved enough for me not to legally require glasses for driving a car. The doctor said that I can expect more improvement but I will never get perfect vision, although almost. My wife, who is the same age, hasn’t had any improvement, she’s at -4.5 and -5.5 and her vision had become slightly worse. My wife was also diagnosed with Krukenberg’s Spindles in both eyes. She also has signs of UV damage in her eyes caused by the sun.
My eyes have progressively needed weaker and weaker prescriptions everytime I stay away computers for a week or longer. After being away from computers for a bit and then coming back I find that the lenses are too strong and I become disoriented when i’m away from computers. This has happened to me twice… and I believe it’s happened a third time after my last ten days away; I just haven’t gone to the eye doctor recently.
Hi Sam, nice to read about your post. I have astigmatism in one eye. Do you think just using weaker lense would suffice or weaker lenses should be accompanied by magnesium and Vit c or iodine…i talked to one of the docs to see if magnesium helps and he said it does not.
Hi Minz, I think most people can get results just using progressively weaker lenses alone. My lovely sister is doing that now and she’s getting results without magnesium or iodine (she does take Vitamin C pretty regularly though).
This post is just my own experience, and I was on magnesium, iodine and Vitamin C for my own health reasons (still am).
But Sam, astigmatism is due to change in shape of cornea..How can shape of cornea change by just using weaker lenses ..Is it possible???
Hi Minz, I managed to remove my astigmatism so I know it’s possible, though I don’t know the mechanism of the healing exactly.
But astigmatism isn’t a static condition — it can get worse so it’s not so much of a stretch that it can get better. I hope that makes sense?
You might get a better answer at one of the Bates forums if you’re really curious. Doing this experiment, I’m personally much more interested in my results than the hows 🙂
Hi sam….
I have decided to follow what you suggested…Can you please point out the details about doses of magnesium and Vit u took…and affcourse the brand you used…
Hi Minz, I take 3-4 magnesium chloride pills daily (it’s the Alta brand and each has abt 500mg). I spaced them out throughout the day because taking 2 at a time makes me sleepy. But you should decide on your own dosage based on how it makes you feel/your lifestyle. I took this dosage because it works for me — I’m at my calmest mentally/emotionally with it.
And I take 2.5-5 grams of Vitamin C daily through ascorbic acid powder (in a bit of cold water). I used the Now Foods and the NutriBiotic brands (no discernable difference between the two).
Good luck!
Hello, Samantha, I’ve just read your diary about your eye-sight but you haven’t updated it OVER a year. Can you please let me know how your eye-sight is now? Thanks.
P.S. I really want to get rid of these glasses ASAP!!
Hi anony, my current prescription is -2.25/-1.50. My eyesight is still improving, but it’s taking a while because I’ve been simultaneously busier and lazier than expected.
Don’t worry though — I’ve been updating my journal entries offline, and I plan to update with Part 2 when I think I’ve improved enough to warrant an update.
Though I have to say that if you’re hoping to eventually hear that I’ve thrown away my glasses completely, you may be disappointed! As funny as it sounds, I actually like wearing glasses.
What I don’t like are feeling as if I’d be lost without my glasses (the vulnerability that comes with depending on a “thing” irks me) and the inherent, constant eyestrain that comes with strong prescriptions.
What I’m trying to say is that my goal has always been to improve my vision, rather than to attain perfect vision. Who knows, I may not need glasses at all someday, and that would be amazing, but it’s not something I stress about.
I’m already in a *much* better place in terms of my vision and overall eye health now than I was when I started 🙂
Hi there, do you think you could detail your detox symptoms? I would love to improve my vision, but you made it sound like it might be scary or even dangerous! What was it like?
Hi jon,
Sorry for the late reply. It’s been a really busy Christmas 🙂
I assume you mean my detox symptoms from my high iodine intake?
Well, I remember mainly feeling like I was about to get the flu constantly, even when I knew I wasn’t. A lot of tiredness, achiness and feeling like I’m not quite 100%. I would also sometimes have a low-grade fever that lasted for days at a time. These sucked, but what scared me was the lower back pain that I got later. I’d never had any back problems ever, and the dull pain was around my kidneys. When I felt that, I’d immediately take a break from the iodine to be safe and lower my dosage a bit after.
But I think detox symptoms are quite unique to each person because we all have different weak areas and body tendencies. I know other people have reported skin breakouts, headaches and joint pain. I think what really helped me was really believing in my goal, knowing my limits and the companion nutrients. And all my detox symptoms were temporary, they tapered off eventually.
Eventhough I used iodine for my own purposes (healing ovarian cysts) and they improved my vision inadvertently along the way, I really think it’s possible to improve vision without it and with only using low-powered glasses. So you really needn’t be scared 🙂
Hope that helps.
Sam
I recently read Dr. Bates’ book about eyesight, and am determined to try his method ASAP, but I can’t because my eyesight is just too poor: -6.50 in each eye.
I have to have my glasses for every day things like driving, etc. If I were to order some -6.25 glasses and/or contacts, and then progress to -6.00, etc, would I get there??? I am already using magnesium, but will now research iodine.
Thanks for the inspiring post!
Hi Sarah,
I started off with -4.50/-4.50, but I’m using -1.75/-1.00 now. I definitely think it can be done.
I also had the same problem as you. I needed my glasses for everything. But that’s why downward progression works for us — we still have our glasses, they’re only slightly weaker.
If you’re less confident about driving with them on (understandable), you can always switch to your full-powered glasses for that. Also while -0.25 adjustments worked for me, you can try slightly less than that or whatever you’re most comfortable with.
Think small steps and improvements (not perfection — that goal will freeze anyone up!).
Don’t worry, you’ll get there 🙂
Sam