Wowza (dramatically increased reading speed)

 Damn.  I haven't fused yet, but wow.  I am making a lot of progress on the amblyopia.  I was not expecting this, but it appears my reading speed has increased quite a lot.  I guess it's because I'm now using both eyes when I read, and when I switch from one eye to another, there's a lot less switching.  I am switching, but it's much more subtle.  I don't know if it's doubled or tripled, but it's made my reading both much faster and more enjoyable.  I know Susan Barry has mentioned that when she gained stereopsis there were other changes to her cognition--as though the inter-hemispherical communication improved, and her brain began working in a more integrated way than before.  That may be part of what is going on for me as well.  

It just sucks.  It makes me wonder how many more books I would have read if I had binocular vision at an earlier age.  

Binocular vision is a big deal.  

And for reasons that aren't readily apparent.  I was right to put so much energy and work into this.  My instincts were correct all along.  

November might be the month (crosses fingers)

 I think this might be the month.  This software is working super well.  I had sooo much suppression and amblyopia, and my current regimen is cutting right through it.  I have been having noticing how my vision has changed while going about my day doing normal things.  Every so often, I'll see both images almost fused.  It's very exciting.  I'm getting the impression that stereo is indeed a very different way of seeing--and far superior.  And the way it feels is amazing.  

I do get the feeling I'm close.  When playing Ice Breaker, for instance in MFBF mode, it's like.. I can see the improvement starkly.  I don't think I have much more to go.  November may be the month.  Let's see.  

This is working super well

 Yeah... I wish I had been doing Optics Trainer way earlier.  I am seeing real lasting change on a daily basis now.  I've been doing Ice Breaker for 30 minutes every day, sometimes more.  I noticed the way I'm playing the game has changed mode.  I'm now more focused on looking at things correctly as a whole system than hitting the blocks--although I'm getting better at that because I do not look at the blocked I'm hitting when I hit them.  I use my periphery.  Works good.  Change is occurring quickly.  

Chugging away at Optics Trainer

 I gotta say I'm excited.  This stuff works well, and I'm noticing the effects when I go about my day.  My regimen hasn't changed since the last entry.  It's 30 minutes of Ice Pick in MFBF (monocular fixations in binocular fields) mode, a round of Bomb Boxing, and then the normal Daily Workout.  Altogether it's about an hour per day.  I've also taken out the of Brock String and have been doing a bit of that--not so much as a workout (I think Optics Trainer is way more effective than Brock String--at least for me), but as a way of gauging progress.  I am basically getting the 'X' in Brock String, but I do notice the bead is bigger and stronger on the left side (strong eye).  I think that's what's preventing fusion.  It appears I still have a bit of amblyopia remaining.  Fortunately Pick Axe game in MFBF mode is super effective for that.  I am taking it one day at a time.  But I think all my other problems are pretty much gone (mobility, for instance).  We'll see where this takes me.  Hopes are high. 

This is really bananas

 I think this may be happening soon.  I still have a lot that needs to be resolved, but this regimen (Ice Breaker game in MFBF (monocular fixations in binocular fields) mode for 30 minutes, a round of Bomb Boxing, and then Daily Workout is working extremely well, and way better than anything else I've come to.  My vision is really changing in a noticeable way.  Has a way greater positive impact on my amblyopia than anything I've done in the past.  

Josh recently asked me how often I do this Ice Breaker game in MFBF mode, because apparently some of his associated doctors have clients who 'overuse' this MFBF mode at home and have developed 'permanent double vision'.  I'm not really that worried about it.  I only do 30 minutes, and I already have permanent double vision.  All I need to do is continue to pound away, and get the right eye stronger and on par with the left eye.  I do think it will result in fusion.  

What's kind of bananas is that it seems to be working on the hyperopia on the right eye as well as the amblyopia.  That's kind of surprising. 

I do think it's kind of a result of combination of everything I've learned over the years, particularly the brain-pliability techniques. 

Optics Trainer appears to work

Damn.  Optics Trainer seems to work... like really well, especially for my amblyopia.  

So yeah, I've been doing around 20 minutes of vision therapy per day, and sometimes a few times a day.  I've been doing a few antisupression games like Bomb Boxing (in standing position punching bombs with different hands depending on their color (left for blue, red for right, and you avoid black bombs)), and this Ice Breaker game where you have a few pick-axes and you break green chunks of ice as they rise up in a vat of water.  I play these games in MFBF mode (I forget what those letters stand for).  But it's antisuppression mode, which means that some objects are visible only to one eye while other objects are visible to only the other eye.  It forces the eyes to work as a system.  

This particular setup seems to work ultra well, I suspect, because the objects are so close to you, and thus, the exercises have a large imprint on the retinas, and thus, it works on the periphery quite powerfully.  I told this to Josh, and basically told him that this software is far more powerful than anything else I've done, or have tried. 

As far as I know, Optics Trainer isn't implementing any new exotic vision therapy techniques.  It's the same old stuff, just very well implemented.  I've seen the power and potential of VR for vision training from the beginning.  The platform just gives developers so much control over the way photons land on the retinas.  Therein lies the power.  I have done Vivid Vision over ten years ago after I learned about James's story (he fixed his own vision, and gained stereo function with a combination of the Oculus Rift DK1 (first developer kit) and software he developed for it.  Amazing story.  Amazing man, that James.  As such, I got to know the guys a bit (we started chatting originally on Reddit), as well as some of the other guys on the team.  I even funded their Kickstarter so I could gain early access to the software.  And I did use it.  I'm sure it's in the blog somewhere.  This blog goes back a long ways.  

However, it didn't fix my vision.  I think I now understand why.  There was stuff that I had to figure out about my brain, and I basically figured out non-VT techniques to put my brain in a more pliable state.  I've outlined those things exhaustively in this blog, so I won't get into them now.  But what I'm getting at here is that my brain is now ready, and Optics Trainer works like none other.  Now, is it necessary for me to do all of those things now?  I'm not sure.  But I'm going to keep doing them.  My amblyopia has gone way down since I've been using Optics Trainer for the past few weeks.  I'm excited.  It works.  Let's see.  

Teaming up with Josh

 You know... I always have my eyes open to things that could potentially get me closer to my goals faster.  As such, one day I did a search for 'VR vision therapy' and hit upon Optics Trainer.  I emailed the contact, and got a prompt response from the owner (and only employee) Josh, asking him about product availability.  It just struck me as obvious that VR has huge potential for vision training, and here I am with a fancy VR headset and no VR vision training software.  Time to get some.  I tried my hand at Vivid Vision (the pioneers of VR-based vision training), but that kind of fell through.  

So, I got to talking with Josh (based in San Diego), and he struck me as a super-legit guy--with a background in gaming design, and a desire to help people.  Turns out game design experience is a very valuable and applicable skillset.  

Anyway, we got talking, and I dug where he was coming from, his obvious intelligence, and interest in having a positive impact on people's vision.  I was really messaging him because I wanted access to his software--and was willing to pay a lot for it.  There are a few versions.  One is for doctors to use with their clients, and one is for the clients themselves to use with their own HMDs.  The client version isn't yet publicly available, but he did tell me the price range he was planning for, and was shocked as its low price.  

Regardless, he agreed to give me a free beta version (I don't mind being a guinea pig).  I would benefit from the therapeutic uses of the software, and I would provide him with feedback.  From what I've seen so far, the software is more sophisticated than any other vision training software I've seen.  The games look better, they're more fun, and some of them are auto-adjusting, meaning they gauge your abilities dynamically and won't push you past your limits.  And Josh has access to all the knobs.  I asked him 'got any antisuppression games'?  Then he was like... 'give me a sec.'  Then BAM.  Just like that, most of the games are now anti-suppression (Some elements of the game are accessible to one eye; others are accessible to the other eye--and it's randomized--a neat trick he programmed himself.  Like I said, smart dude.).

Then the gears started turning.  What would be real nice is a community centered around vision therapy--kind of like what I had around ten years ago on Facebook.  So Josh quickly spun up a Discord server.  We're the only guys in it now.  If you're:

• Interested in vision therapy
• Interested in the therapeutic potential of VR for vision training
• Interested in being a part of a community that is centered around those things

Send me a message.  We'll chat, and if you seem like a good fit, I'll invite you to the server.  

awaranowski@gmail.com

You can spam me if you want.  I'm not going to have this email address for much longer.