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Nystagmus: plan A again...
Jul. 6th, 2014 10:06 amOver the past few weeks I have been trying an "acupuncture" treatment for nystagmus. Acupuncture in quotes, because its something a little different. Small patches with steel spheres are glued onto pressure points. You rub them several times a day, and even if you don't, the spheres create enough irritation to be noticeable. They actually make little holes in your skin, which take a few days to heal. They don't usually seem to get infected though.
The treatment helped my mother with her nystagmus. She had a nice objective test using her computer. With glasses, she managed to get to 20/20 vision. But for me, I feel no difference. I will test myself tonight and if anything changes I will make an update here but I think the nystagmus is actually a bit worse. I am looking sideways more.
Why I am responding differently than my mother, I don't know. Maybe its a matter of having the right placebo. To me, patches with steel spheres just aren't acupuncture. Maybe to her they are. maybe she, as a woman, is more used to jewelry and is not bothered by such irritations. I don't know.
Now I will try plan A again - eye training. Last night I sat looking checking nystagmus again by feeling the other (closed) eye with a fingertip. The exercise felt pretty good. Its nice to be able to stop the eye from shaking. Just stop it, even if the stopped eye does not see well because it de-focuses. I don't think I lost anything in terms of the exercises, having taken a long break. Maybe over time, the exercises will help.
The treatment helped my mother with her nystagmus. She had a nice objective test using her computer. With glasses, she managed to get to 20/20 vision. But for me, I feel no difference. I will test myself tonight and if anything changes I will make an update here but I think the nystagmus is actually a bit worse. I am looking sideways more.
Why I am responding differently than my mother, I don't know. Maybe its a matter of having the right placebo. To me, patches with steel spheres just aren't acupuncture. Maybe to her they are. maybe she, as a woman, is more used to jewelry and is not bothered by such irritations. I don't know.
Now I will try plan A again - eye training. Last night I sat looking checking nystagmus again by feeling the other (closed) eye with a fingertip. The exercise felt pretty good. Its nice to be able to stop the eye from shaking. Just stop it, even if the stopped eye does not see well because it de-focuses. I don't think I lost anything in terms of the exercises, having taken a long break. Maybe over time, the exercises will help.
