tfouto It improves every day now and depends on the activity - pictures and videos least difficult, reading most difficult. Now today it was 2-3 hours in total and I feel no symptoms, or just slight tension. Its also a bit taxing and tiring as it requires effort still. Im not there yet completely, the idea is to not feel any problems at all with a larger display (computer).

ryans not yet but we might get to it, he mentioned using some tech possibly down the way.

MagnuM yes but thats the point. In the exercises I know whats causing the issue and I can train it, then if it overlaps with what the tech is causing, I can compensate for it. The idea is basically to find the pain and train in that area. It was previously impossible with the tech, because it was too much at once, an overload. I believe people who gotten used to it but had same symptoms as us had similar deviancy with they eyes, just less severe and the tech served as a training in itself, so they managed to adjust in couple weeks.

        hpst This is just plain wrong. Not everybody has some degree of convergence issues.

          5 days later

          Update in case anyone cares, my insurance will cover a portion of vision therapy, so I will be starting once the new year rolls in. I am not going to get my hopes up that it will cure everything (e.g. muscle twitch from smartphone), but I am hoping it will at least help.

            JTL Thanks, will do!

            martin Definitely! Do you have weekly sessions with daily homework exercises?

                After "graduating" from vision therapy 5 years ago, and doing maintenance exercises at home ever since, I'm starting to think I might have to book another binocular vision session and see if I've regressed again. I've had a strain in my right eye since December 11th that has unfortunately put a damper on my holidays so far (I took this week off). It's strained, blurry, and my vision is often "jumpy", which is a symptom of suppression. What that means is that my brain is actually cancelling out the vision from one eye for a split-second before it pops back every so often. I might have to buy myself a Brock string and try those exercises again.

                Another thing I never understood much is that my right eye will strain really bad within the 30 - 90 seconds it takes for me to get wicked behind-the-eye pain and sharp headaches whenever looking at LED backlit monitors. This might just be because my right eye is often more strained than my left eye because it's my dominant eye and I do a lot of reading.

                Just curious, the people here that complain about eye strain, is the strain equal in both eyes, or worse in one eye?

                  MagnuM is the strain equal in both eyes, or worse in one eye?

                  Usually I got strain in both eyes, but on certain days I felt that one eye was strained to much bigger extent. It may be related to -0.5 difference between my eyes which occasionally gets bigger or lower as I get tired.

                    MagnuM Both eyes, but right eye is usually twitching more and more muscle tiring. But the pain behind the eyes Is the same.

                        tfouto but right eye is usually twitching more

                        Have you tried magnesium? A good supplement like Magnesium Glycinate that will have high absorption. In people without our problem, this seems to be a recommendation for them to try. It might at least cut down on symptoms in people like us.

                        MagnuM and my vision is often "jumpy", which is a symptom of suppression

                        I wonder if this is "alternating suppression"? https://www.ontrackreading.com/dyslexia-puzzle/alternating-suppression

                              ryans Likely, although it's very brief. The last time it happened was about 10 minutes ago while reading an email. For a split second, we're talking half a second or even a quarter of a second, it felt like my vision shifted while reading a line in the email. It almost felt as if my eyeballs spasmed to the corner or something for a brief moment, but what I think happened instead is my brain "shut off" the vision from one eye very briefly before recalibrating it and turning it back on again.

                              I don't have strabismus or amblyopia and have never had anyone point out that my eyes don't line up properly, but when doing vision therapy back in 2013, my vision therapist did suggest that my eyes seem to work pretty hard to maintain fusion when reading. Could a hard to detect flicker be making it harder than it should be? I'm not sure. I should really do more testing again reading print long term to rule out flickering and backlights and what not to see if the symptoms are the same as doing a lot of reading on a phone or computer screen.

                                6 days later

                                @martin I'm curious if you've ever identified PWM as a cause for your eye strain ? Does your optometrist have an idea for how long your vision therapy will last?

                                Yes I did, on external asus pb298q monitor, when lowered below 100% brightness theres pwm of 2000 Hz. That triggered similar symptoms as other tech. But it also triggered them when connected via HDMI instead of VGA, maybe VGA disables FRC dithering. I dont know, too many variables, but confirmed in this single case that clearly PWM is to blame.

                                  martin At some point I remember you were doing the "SEE sick" exercises, do you still do them?

                                      ryans No, see sick syndrome is not my issue. Its also a problem of visual and vestibular system, so I felt some connection when doing those exercises, but it wouldnt help with my issue.
                                      With the therapy now its better everyday, I can use the new iphone 7 for longer periods of time without any issues. Also when I push it just gets more uncomfortable and tiring, but no migraine so far. And the discomfort fades quickly when I lay the phone down.

                                      Basically the cup of tolerance is increasing all the time now. Before it filled in 10 minutes, now its hours. Hopefully eventually it will be as tolerable as all other devices of the past.

                                          tfouto computers seem better now, judging by friends laptops. But Ill know best when I buy a new of my own. Still waiting with that. I think with the glasses I have and the exercises that are filling what the glasses cant, it should be ok now for couple hours of work. Without them, not yet, only the phone.

                                          It still also changes day to day, when Im tired or anything else.

                                          Funny thing however - I used to have really bad headaches when hungover. Theyre gone now - apparently the muscle strain showed much more when tired from drinking previous night.

                                            5 days later

                                            Hi @martin and all,

                                            Finally started my vision therapy. I am doing these exercises for a few weeks, will then go back to get harder ones:

                                            1. Read print with one eye covered and the other eye using two different lenses and switch between them. One lense makes text seem closer, one makes it seem farther away. Will get harder lenses every few weeks. I believe this trains accommodation.

                                            2. For suppression - take a handheld mirror on one eye at a 45 degree angle. With the other eye focus on an object. Make the image on the mirror appear in front of the object solidly. If it appears behind the object, this is mild suppression. (Similar to http://squintyjosh.blogspot.com/2011/01/vision-therapy-week-5.html)

                                            3. Syntonics -- using a blue colored goggles, stare at a light 20 mins 3x a week. I'm curious if your optometrist knows much about syntonics @martin .

                                            I've not really noticed a difference in my strain after doing them for a few days but this is probably way too soon to see a difference.

                                              ryans I remember some of these exercises! I believe the device you use in #1 is called a "flipper". I also remember the mirror one being fairly tricky.

                                              While doing these vision therapy exercises, often the very type of strain/pain you are trying to resolve will be brought on by the exercises. Maybe that's a good sign that you're targeting the right area?

                                              I also wondered for those doing vision exercises if there is still benefit of doing the strengthening with strained eyes (or it is better to rest them and wait for there to be no ache/strain?)

                                                  Hey, I'm doing my excercise for nearly 6 months now with such spherical and prismn flippers.

                                                  one with +-0,75 diopters and and one with +-1,5 diopters
                                                  and each a +-1, +-2 and +- 4 prismn flippers

                                                  Im doing the excercices while I'm looking for some time trough the + side of the flipper and than suddenly change to the - side of the flipper and so on.
                                                  Also I change the distance from the object to which I focus. I change between 30cm, 50cm, 3m and 5m.

                                                  These exercices help me a little bit with my strain. However a notebook with intel graphics is still too much for me. I'll do these excercices till february in this kind. After that I'll visit my optometrist again in order to test my progress and try out other excercices.

                                                    dev