I have seen SO MANY TRULY BAD PRESCRIPTION, that I truly don't believe them - nor trust them. Further, Peter, even you discovered some interesting facts. 1) You have "Variable Snellen" - which NO OD COULD FIND OUT OR CHECK. You can read the 20/25 line at time, but also make your Snellen very sharp with a -1.25 lens. (I congratulate you for your self-checking). You also found out you can read your 20/25 line THROUGH a +1 lens. This gives you the ability to CONTROL YOUR DISTANT VISION - if you choose to do so.
Thank you Otis. I am pretty confident, that my first many attempts to read my snellon gave at most 20/150 vision. So, my variable vision was not all that crash hot for the first several days after I got my snellon. Afterwards, as I started to do the equivalent of using plus lenses, that is pushing print with no glasses at all, I recovered from 20/150 to about 20/50 or 20/60 with flashes of better vision. I must be clear, they were only flashes of better vision, and nothing I could hold steady.
Also, the first thing the OD had me do in Dec. 2011 was have me look at a regular snellon and tell me what I see, and I told him barely the big E. Again, consistent with my own findings a few weeks later when I got my own snellon and before I started learning.
I think it is fair to say, I did not in any sense of the word begin with variable vision that allowed me at times to see 20/60. This was at a time when I wore -2L & -2.5R.
So, given this scenario, and based what you have stated, I think you rightfully don't make claims of recovery. I think that is sensible.
At 13, when I got my first glasses and the OD told me I was 20/30 L and 20/50 R, I was definately in the situation where I could have applied prevention with a strong plus lens and gotten out of it. Right now, I can apply the same plus principle, as I did in January 2012 but this time with plus glasses, and over 6-9 months I may potentially begin to more consistently see the 20/40 line and have less variability in my vision. But when I get to that level, I don't think I reset physiologically to where I was when I was 13.
As I've read from Don Rehm's site, your info, info from Alex Freinfeld, and other like minded sites, I fall outside the prevention sweet spot, and likely am attempting to recover from physiological changes. No matter how forcefully I apply the plus lens, I may not recover. We never know from each individual, whether they end up successful like Todd or Brian Severson. I am sure others have applied themselves just as forcefully as those two gentlemen, and failed to get out of it. As I've heard from most prevention minded practitioners, everyone is different.
I do hope to attain consistent 20/30 or better accuity, understanding completely that if I get there, it will likely not give me the same visual experience as a person who has never worn glasses but also has 20/30 accuity. I am thankful for Shadowfoot who has achieved 20/15 accuity, for helping me understand this. He stated it was frustrating to have 20/15 self-measured accuity, but also experiencing that a person with "perfect" uncorrected vision is still able to outsee him in real life scenarios. I would gladly be in that situation.