Eyesight issues: Dealing with myopia (nearsightedness)

Elon Musk said:I know someone who tried eye exercises. Her prescription actually dropped significantly—from -3.00 down to -0.50. But after she stopped for a year, it came back in one eye, though not the other. Why don't I try it myself? First off, I have this nagging feeling I'll just fail at it (I know, I know...). Second, you aren't supposed to wear contacts or glasses during the process, and I can't imagine being unable to drive to work or actually perform my job because I can't see. So, eye exercises? Who knows.

What exactly does "eye exercise" even entail? I've never heard of it, so I figured I'd ask...

I just got new lenses, and I feel like the prescription is way too strong. I really don't want to ruin my vision because of these lenses... Is there no way to avoid that?😢

Specific eye exercises can strengthen the ocular muscles, potentially reshaping the eyeball and addressing the root causes of nearsightedness, such as muscle atrophy. The catch is that you have to be incredibly disciplined with the routine, and you shouldn't use any other vision correction tools during the process.

The downside is that these results aren't permanent, so the exercises must be performed continuously.

How can you tell if your prescription is just slightly too strong?

I’ve been feeling dizzy from the start, and I still have this—admittedly tiny—sense of visual lag whenever I turn my head. I’m not quite sure how to connect the dots yet... hm...

Where can I find information on those exercises? My prescription is 1.5 and 1.25, and I'm only 18.😢

Oh man, you guys... seriously, go ahead and ask me what my prescription is... it's a whopping minus 11.
But honestly, my eye doctor told me they can actually treat up to a -30, so I’m (still) not sweating it too much.
Actually, I'm not worried at all—I'll probably just go for laser surgery, so I've been doing a ton of digging to gather info on how that works.

BTW, for anyone out there insisting that vision can't be "fixed": my husband had a -0.75 and -1 back when he was just a teenager. He absolutely refused to wear glasses back then. Now he's 37, went for an eye exam with me the other day, and they actually found he's at a plus 0.50 now—just old age catching up! 🙂
In his own words, he says he actually sees better now than he did when he was younger. And yep, still refusing to wear glasses...
The doctor confirmed that it happens sometimes with those smaller prescriptions (up to -2), but if it's anything higher than that, there's basically no chance...

I’m a total amateur when it comes to vision correction; I’ve only been wearing glasses for about nine months. I assumed that actually wearing them would help slow down my prescription from getting worse. So, was I wrong? Should I just ditch the glasses entirely and rely on those eye exercises people talk about?

Once again, I'm asking where to find actual information on this, since my ophthalmologist didn't bother to mention any of it.

Matthew Morris28 said:I'm dead serious about the training part—basketball players deal with astigmatism all the time. It's basically just uneven light refraction because the eyeball doesn't develop perfectly. Intense physical strain and heavy lifting are proven to worsen eye deformation, which shifts your prescription. And yeah, extreme pressure changes can cause blindness, but that’s a whole different ballgame.

where'd you get that from?
you ask a question then just answer it yourself??

here's how I read it:
...for people with myopia, it's not that their vision gets worse just from working out—if that were true, every athlete with nearsightedness would have gone blind ages ago. The real issue is retinal detachment, which can actually lead to blindness.
basically, if your myopia is over 5.0, you shouldn't go overboard
with the training—especially sports involving sudden directional changes or abrupt stops, like jumping (into pools, skydiving, bungee jumping), or motorsports, etc.
it also means avoiding improper weightlifting (though "improper" is
pretty subjective, let's be real)...

You guys just reminded me that I haven't been in for an eye exam in over a year either. Does anyone have a good ophthalmologist recommendation in Los Angeles? Ideally somewhere on the Westside—I really don't feel like driving halfway across the city.

Alex said:So my absolute bestie refuses to wear her glasses even though her prescription hasn't changed in forever (I think we're talking like 20 years now?!) while I'm over here constantly running to the eye doctor because they keep cranking up my prescription every single time I go!😠

Man, good for her, I guess...
but honestly, I feel like everyone's eyes are just built differently..
I mean, I was such a stubborn kid about wearing my glasses that there came a point where I literally couldn't recognize people walking down the street unless they were practically breathing on me or standing within two feet!
Plus, my grades totally took a hit back in high school because I couldn't actually see the problems being projected on the screen during exams, even though I was sitting right there in the very front row!
That was the moment I realized the devil had actually stolen my sight.

So, here’s some fresh "good news" from today’s eye exam for my contacts:

Left: -1.25 Dsph + -3.00 Dcyl (basically -4.25 diopters)
Right: -4.25 Dsph + -3.50 Dcyl (which means -7.75 diopters)

The left one had been pretty steady for three years, but the right side just took a 0.5D dip after being fine for a year and a half. 😢

I’m honestly starting to think I should just try to level things out myself using a fork... or maybe an ice pick. 😠

I didn't find myself needing glasses until quite a while after the awkwardness of puberty had settled, specifically when I hit twenty-two. My starting prescription was a mere -0.5, which seemed negligible at the time. However, my vision began a steady, rather unwelcome decline, worsening by about half a diopter to a full diopter every single year. Now, at twenty-five, I’ve already reached -2.5. As for how much further this downward trajectory will continue, it remains a mystery to me, though as long as I stay under the -10 mark, I suppose I can live with it. 🙂

So yeah, I’m the one to blame for my nearsightedness (-1 in both eyes), clearly!
Basically, I earned this at 21 after basically living in my textbooks... just staring at pages for hours on end, studying or reading until my brain melted.🙄
Then, out of nowhere, everything just went blurry. Like, overnight.
But hey, my prescription hasn't budged since then—been steady for over 10 years now.
I usually stick to contacts, or maybe throw on some tiny glasses when I'm just chilling at home, because honestly? I can't stand the feeling of glasses on my face... not even sunglasses.

Since I've been glued to my computer for about 10 hours a day on average... I’m noticing my vision is getting blurry in my right eye, while the left one seems fine for now... Guess it’s time for an eye exam...

My vision took a massive hit during my college years—all those late-night study sessions and staring at screens until my eyes practically burned. I went from a negligible -0.50 to a staggering -3.50 in what felt like the blink of an eye.

So, what? I managed to tank my GPA by half a point just because of one single—and let's be honest, massive—exam. Truly a stellar performance on my part.

I honestly find this whole "eye exercises" and the idea that avoiding glasses can prevent vision deterioration to be complete nonsense—I truly don't buy it. There was a period where I didn't bother wearing my glasses at all, except for when I was sitting in a dark movie theater or attending lectures, and frankly, nothing changed; if anything, my vision stayed exactly the same.

The prescription for lenses and glasses should always be at least 0.25 weaker than the actual measurement—it’s a necessary precaution to prevent the eye from becoming "lazy."

Hey there! I’ve had -12 vision in my left eye since birth... plus, both eyes have been a struggle, and after dealing with a stroke, I ended up with strabismus in my left eye—basically a coma situation...

The specialists at Mayo Clinic told me they won't even bother with lens implants at -12 because it wouldn't make much difference... does anyone have any advice? Is laser surgery even an option? Apparently, ablation isn't possible at this level... I'm actually heading in for muscle surgery soon, because years of constantly looking down and avoiding eye contact have totally wrecked my self-confidence. I just want to try and fix the aesthetic side of things for now. If anyone knows of a way out of this mess, please let me know...😕

Look, I'm 14 years old and sitting at a -4.50 prescription. I got my last pair of glasses about 2.5 years ago (and in just those 2.5 years, my vision tanked from -1.25 straight down to -4.50 Dsph)
Am I seriously gonna be hitting -9.0 in another 2.5 years??