How Did the Last Week Go?
The last week went super well! I have been doing some computer based red/green activities and I feel some great progress happening…mostly because I was so nauseous in the evening for the first few days that I added them to my home exercises.
The lady who designed them did some great work, but it just wasn’t exactly what I needed, so I did the only thing I know how to do, which was create my own. I have been having a blast on the computer working on different layouts and combinations that make it easier or more challenging for me to see depth.
I am planning on making them into PDFs and having them for sale up on this site eventually, but for now, I’m just using them for myself and experimenting with what works the best for me, and spending WAY too much time on it…but are any of us really surprised by that, it’s definitely just how I roll.
I’ve been wearing my glasses full time, like a good girl and I feel like my eye is starting to turn in and up more, yikes! I also haven’t been doing Vivid Vision because my prescription ran out. I can’t decide what is going on, but I think it’s worth noting.
I have full confidence that my eyes will eventually figure out how to be straight!
How Did the Appointment Go?
I decided that for my progress pictures I need to include some pictures of my eyes wide open, even though it is NOT an attractive look. When they are wide, it is easier to see the vertical difference and the esotropia…hopefully we can start seeing those things lessen over time.
The appointment went okay today. I felt like I worked pretty hard on my exercises this week, but I didn’t do near as much on virtual reality because my Vivid Vision subscription ran out. I didn’t spend near as much time on Optics Trainer as I should have.
I have been doing appointments first thing in the morning for over a year now and I changed my appointments to the afternoons and I don’t know if I am a fan!
Gem
Today we worked with the gem vectograph for quite a while, probably 15 minutes or more. I was on a balance board and Dr. Dan was holding the Gem close and then slowly backing up from me. I was able to hold the depth for a bit, but then the ring just went flat and I think I was suppressing again. It was difficult to do it without my prism glasses on.
I still don’t see the gem leaving the plastic at all during BI, I can tell it is “behind,” but when I try to quantify it by taping or using my finger, it just goes flush again.
I was able to get a few fleeting moments of the left side floating in front of the plastic, but it doesn’t feel concrete at all.
Will I ever get this?
What’s In the Box?
We played a game that seemed pretty silly to play as an adult. I had to reach into a box and find little wood block shapes that fit inside a little puzzle. It was pretty easy and I was tempted to think it was pointless.
Instead, I took it seriously and just did everything Dr. Dan said. I tried to visualize it and focus on that image I was “seeing.” It was interesting to practice visualizing, it was actually challenging and it’s something I’m going to practice during my yoga time.
With the right attitude, I can make any activity during any appointment useful, but I also have the power to make it all pointless. I choose to make every second count. If you want to purchase the game, it is on amazon, here is the link.
Mirror Snowflake Overlap
While standing on a balance board, I looked straight forward at a white snowflake on the wall. Then I held a mirror up to my nose at an angle so that I could see a blue snowflake directly to my left in the mirror with my left eye while the right eye was still focused straight ahead.
Then the fun part: I tried to get the snowflakes to overlap and even blend together. When my weak eye was looking straight ahead, it was harder to get the images to overlap and I didn’t really get any mixing.
When I turned my body and the mirror so that my strong eye was looking straight ahead I was able to get some mixing. The snowflakes were both there and I was seeing them kind of overlap, but it was a little blurry. But there were little hints of overlap and mixing of the colors into a lighter blue.
I am excited to work on this more this week!
VTS4
Next I did two 5 minute round of VTS4 multiple choice vergence. A few short weeks ago I was doing so well on it, scoring in the teens for BI and really high for BO, but today I was horrible!
I got to 4 BI the first time and only 1 the second time. It was so hard for me and I just couldn’t get it. I was standing and had backed up quite a bit so I kept moving closer and closer and I was just struggling to get anything. There were a couple spurts of 10-15 seconds where my eyes would suddenly work and I could get 4-5 correct in a row, but then it was back to missing them over and over again.
I felt extremely frustrated with myself and my brain and the computer and just everything in general.
I worked hard this week on my regular VT homework, but slacked on virtual reality and it showed. I don’t know how to be insanely dedicated to so many different things! It is frustrating. I feel like progress is going to take 2 hours of daily therapy and I just don’t know how long I can keep that up!
Homework
- Vivid Vision- I renewed my subscription for another 3 months and I am excited to start again!
- Red/Green Mix- While looking at a white background with red/green glasses on, walk forward and back trying to maintain the luster or mix between red and green.
- Mirror Overlap- Continue the work we did at the appointment trying to get the eyes to fuse the two different objects. I am going to try with white pieces of paper and red/green glasses and see if I can see the luster!
- Gem- Try shaking it, taping it to a window or moving it closer and further. Try to see the space in front of and behind the ring.
- Head turns on a balance board.