I freaked out my eye doctor tonight

(Arlene) #21

I have wanted to do this. Eye docs say “that’s impossible” every time I ask about it. Nice to know you have had success with this. It makes perfect sense to me, and I’m also one that believes that many impossibles are just narrow-minded thinking. It certainly doesn’t hurt to try.

(Crow T. Robot) #22

Wow, that’s pretty cool, congrats! I’ve wondered if this were possible, but only ever got the same old advice from optometrists. Then again, I’ve never asked to try this method. Did you read about this or is it your own invention?

(Stickin' with mammoth) #23

Go back and read the history of medicine–it’s appalling what people used to believe compared to what we now “know.” Did the facts change? Nope. Just our understanding. Imagine what we’ll know in a hundred years. I say why wait? Hell, is it any wonder I’m keto?

Little of both. I started with being angry at being told what my health was going to be regardless of my input or agency (sound like any diabetes lectures you’ve ever gotten?) Then, I did what I always do: copious research. Sure enough, there were plenty of people healing and curing themselves of all sorts of things out there, usually contrary to smug doctors’ opinions. This suited me very well.

I found the Bates Method and did a little of it, then “Restoring Your Eyesight,” by Doug Marsh. Again, I did only a little, then stopped. Mostly, I just used these things as tools to convince myself that it was possible. Once my body and brain were lined up with the ability to have 15/20 vision again, it pretty much happened on its own. I had shifted my mind from focusing on “I have bad eyesight” to “my eyesight is getting better and better” and the body always follows the mind.

The only thing that slowed me down, really, was the cost of having to go in for another check up every time my eyes improved. They all know me by name down there.

(Melanie Marie) #24

I did a bit of reading about this last fall, when my daughter all of a sudden immediately needed glasses. The doc suggested that she could not see a matter of feet ahead of her and it was quite a frustrating shock. She was fine a year ago (She is 14 yrs).

She does try to go without them, and spends more time outdoors which is supposed to help “retrain” your eyes to re-adjust to seeing farther? She is a book reader, and in the past year has gone to reading nearly constantly. I read a study re: children in cultures that changed their focus to education rather than labor and the drastic increase in near-sightedness. I’m sure cell phones don’t help, either. But luckily mine aren’t too badly wrapped up in theirs. It’s all the darn books.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #25

Look a little further out around her. What’s her social life like? Does she have a healthy one? Are you sure?

My vision suffered suddenly at fourteen, too. Looking back, I realize it was the horrendous stress of junior high that did it. There’s only so much trauma the body and mind can take before something gives. I was a heavy reader before fourteen and I’ve been a heavy reader since I healed my eyes. It ain’t the books.

(Crow T. Robot) #26

I was a heavy reader when my eyesight went bad, too, but now that I look back, I was also a heavy consumer of sugar, like, right out of the bowl. I would even sneak away with it so Mom didn’t know how much I was eating. I strongly suspect now that that was the real cause of my vision problems.

(Crow T. Robot) #27

Wow, sort of mind over body? Pretty cool, thanks.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #28

Precisely mind over body. Mind has the conn. I’ve turned all sorts of stuff around using the same technique. It’s kind of astounding how simple and effective it is. And free. Free is good.

(Melanie Marie) #29

bacon and Chris, yes. I do worry about all of that. It has been a stressful year just on a normal basis, with typical “stresses” (I mean she doesn’t have anything traumatic she is dealing, that I know, and we are pretty close and I monitor her phone, etc) She is an anxious child anyway, so there’s that. I have upped her supplements, added more D, Omegas and B vits. I got them a basketball hoop. We live in a terrible climate. If it’s not freezing, it’s 95 degrees, so getting them outside has been great. My kids are NOT sports enthusiasts, but having that basketball hoop outside has gotten us all out shooting hoops for hours. :slight_smile: Anyway, I’m trying. What I think is odd, is I am just like she was. I didn’t have computers or cell phones, but I read constantly and I still do. My eyes are 20/10 at last check-up. I wonder why the children are degrading and mine are still perfect (even at 41). I am going to work harder with her on using the long-vision, and like I said she has been actively trying to avoid using the glasses when she can.

(Richard Morris) #30

Awesome response. Apparently in a type 2 diabetic that polyol disposal of glucose via sorbitol and fructose jumps from 3% to 30% so it’s a very nasty steep slope I was on that I consider myself very lucky to have avoided cataracts.

I had an eye test in 2005 after the incident in 2004 and going onto an Atkins diet that brought my HbA1c back from 11.2% to 5.7%. I don’t have a copy of the report, but my recollection is the optometrist observed no long term damage.

Last year I had the full “bells and whistles” eye exam. I have no apparent cataracts, no retinopathy. I have one imperceptible widening of one retinal capillary that the ophthalmologist said he probably wouldn’t have noticed had I not told him I was at one point very diabetic and asked him to look closely for anything.unusual.

I had both of these done. If I can find the copy of the report I’ll post it up here.

I have always been a little long sighted and survived without glasses into my early 50s, but then hit the usual focus issue of people my age and had to get reading glasses for small font work.

Personally I think I may have dodged a bullet in 2004 and again in 2014 (when diabetes caught back up with me and that was when I found a ketogenic permanent solution)

(Craig) #31

An amazing result! Wonder if that could be put down to a change in refractive index of your eyes’ lenses?

Research eg https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26826749 tells us that in advancing myopic kids, the best that we can hope for by way of myopia control strategies is a reduction in the progression of myopia, let alone reversal like you experienced.

Also, you would think it wouldn’t have been too hard to find an optometrist willing to support your strategy, seeing that you were purchasing new lenses on a regular basis, even if they were weaker!

(Craig) #32

Plenty of studies eg https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=The+Association+between+Near+Work+Activities+and+Myopia+in+Children—A+Systematic+Review+and+Meta-Analysis pointing the finger at both genetic predisposition and environmental influences eg sustained near work, less outside sun exposure, playing a part in the increase in myopia in the population.

(Sondra Rose) #33

Years ago, my vision improved when I moved to a small town from a big city. Freaked out my ophlamologist!

At the time, I attributed it to stress reduction, but I had also greatly reduced the amount of computer work I was doing.

Once I realized that vision was malleable, I was open to learning more ways to improve it.

Going Paleo helped.
An optometrist who introduced me to monovision helped.

Most recently, I found great info over at www.endmyopia.org. I’ve further improved my vision simply by reading the blog and the free program. (No need to buy anything, if you understand the principles!)

(Craig) #34

Agree. Definitely dodged a bullet mate.

What your opthal was describing was probably a micro-aneurism, which are occasionally seen in non-diabetics, but are often the first sign of diabetic retinopathy. The OCT allows us to check for subtle diabetic macular oedema, which is often a little harder to visualise than micro-aneurisms or retinal haemorrhages. I work in a community where I see the ravages of diabetic eye disease on a daily basis.

Am in an AHPRA regulated profession, so am in a similar position to Dr Gary Fettke, however I often get to see diabetics at the very start of their journey, where early evidence of retinopathy or refractive change during a standard eye-test is the forerunner to a formal diabetes diagnosis.

Am only just starting my own personal journey into ketosis (non-diabetic, 10 weeks, lost 7 kgs, BG 4.3, ketones 2.1), and am excited about the future.

(Christopher Avery) #35

First, thank you all for these forums. I searched on “eyesite” (nothing, would have helped if I searched on “eyesight”), and then “eye” this morning and read through this thread. Fascinating.

I’m 61, have been keto for 3.5 months, have needed reading glasses since 47, and distance correction since last year. Usually when doing computer work I wear 3.0 readers as it is easier than tilting my head back to look through the thin slice at the bottom of my “transitions” (multi-focal) glasses. The readers give me a larger window to look through. But something changed yesterday. I’m seeing the computer screen better with my transitions glasses and it’s more fuzzy with my readers.

I haven’t noticed any other differences yet (driving, etc.). I’m very interested in the hypothesis that this could be due to Keto.

KCKO

(Holly Easterling) #36

Just wanted to add my story.

I’ve had the same prescription since I was 12 (24 years) and it has remained constant through 3 pregnancies and breastfeeding 3 children as well as a new eye doctor with each move (approximately 5).

I don’t have any health issues, eye or otherwise, and while I have put on weight over the years, I would not be considered overweight.

After a month of keto, I had my annual exam.
My right eye improved from -3.25 to -2.50 and left eye improved from -2.50 to -1.75.

My eye doctor was shocked when I showed her my previous prescription. Keto FTW!

(Michael Phillips) #37

Just checking around to see if a change in eye prescription is related to keto… My current computer and bi-focals do not work any more. My eyes have improved and the current prescription is now too strong.

(James Gough) #38

I had no idea my eyesight would improve.

I’ve always had 20/20 vision (50 years) except in the last year or so where it got so bad that I couldn’t read even at arms length, sometimes. By that I mean my eyesight would get worse and better on different days. I thought it was due to looking at the screen too much or I was tired.

However, in the last few weeks my eyesight is getting better every day by a very noticeable degree. I can now read without glasses. This morning I found that at the right distance and angle (one eye is slightly worse) I can almost see perfectly again.

The only drastic change in my life is diet. And I can say that I was eating maybe double the carbs last year due to advice from my PT.

I hear avocados have something, especially found nearest the skin, that helps eyes. I wonder if it is that or the keto diet?

Does anyone have a good study/research on this?

#39

Sorry I don’t have any research on vision versus very low carb diets. But I have been connecting the dots:

I recently found out both my parents are T2D so I’ve been researching non-stop:-

  • all diabetes foundations say a leading cause of blindness is diabetes.

  • And with keto we know many cases of T2D can be reversed - it is simply excess carbohydrate consumption!

Dr Eric Westman does a lot in the T2D area, he says it’s like the law of gravity, as night follows day, keto cures T2D (and a ton of other diseases).

Dr Hallberg, who works with Phinney and Volek at Virta Health, is also using keto to resolve T2D.

Both have papers on the way, the pre-release hints are - “bingo: T2D = nailed”.

I accidentally fell out of keto, due to hidden carbs. I did not have any obvious signs, my keto meter read zero (that was a hint) - but the next biggest hint was my vision went noticeably blurry.

One motivator I had for going keto was trouble with vision, in particular night vision. I refused to believe “it was just my age”. I was right. It was due to excess carbs.

So, yeah, I reckon it’s the keto diet not the avocados. I realise that’s anectodal unscience but I’m not complaining.

(James Gough) #40

Thanks, Alex99. Interestingly, it was my night vision that I noticed going first. And with bright light I can read much, much easier.