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Read a bit about this vipassana meditation, sounds interesting, though it could be a double edged sword and make you spin even more out of control. But it could also of course make the psyche more calm and accepting, but like with psychedelic drugs - if you use it, use with caution and with proper preparations. A meditative trance is actually a psychedelic state of conciousness, it does what LSD and the like does faster and more forceful, in a slower and more prepared state. I have a chronic state of DP/DR, but years of mental training have taken the "charge of fear" away from the state. It no longer causes so much anxiety. I used another "use with caution" tool - CBT. Basically reprogramming the hippocampus (where the basal fears seems to be located).. I definately agree that the fear of the visuals needs to be removed, as it is possibly the largest step one needs to take begin some kind of healing.. In my case I found out that the DP/DR was not as connected to my anxiety as I had thought, it didn't disappear when most of my anxiety did. I must have broke open my "doors of perception" a bit too much..

I read a study on what's wrong in the when you have HPPD. I'll search for it and link it here when I find it. But to put it simple: the "channel" opened the psychedelic drug is not properly closed. There is some kind of overactivation of the 5HT2a serotonin receptor still left, which in turn shuts off GABA-B inhibition. There are a lot more pyramidical cells involved also, the brain is like a clockwork were one cog malfunctioning may effect the whole system. I'm no neurologist.. Anyways the effects of this "channel" being opened are visual symptoms such as wiggling of peripheral lines, sharpened colors, trails, loss of texture resolution "i.e cartooning", and choppy visual framerate. But there's also a general change in consciousness which is could be described as a "dream-like state" Sound familiar? DP/DR! That's also why for us HPPD'ers we can never fully escape this nasty DP/DR state. It's always there - with or without anxiety. Of course anxiety increases the dissociation, but even when you're calm and tranquil, you're still dissociated! I still have constant DP/DR 7 years after getting HPPD.. As Aldous Huxley said - "the doors of perception are not so much closed, as they are cracked open and left askew." There seems to be no real way to close them fully again, but anti-EP's such as Keppra and sadly benzodiazepines are at least a way to partly restrict the excess activity flowing through the cracked open "doors of perception" or "channel" if you will.. Sorry if my reply is a bit philosophical but I hope it at least partly answered the question "Why do we have DP/DR"..

Keppra has improved a lot of my symptoms. Though the first month I had the infamous "Keppra Rage". jay: Yeah it certainly does not feel good to be without Keppra once you've got the body used to it, not even for a day. The anxiety and DP/DR really goes through the roof.. Chris: Alcohol and Keppra is not the best combo IMO.. Keppra increases the alcohol's effects. When the hangover comes it's feels like you've badly poisoned yourself. Plus alcohol disrupts the Keppra effect temporarily, it takes some time to get it back on track.

Tell the physician to contact a neurologist, if the physician is hesitant to prescribe it. That's how I got my prescription. My psychatrist hardly knew anything about HPPD or Keppra, so I simpy asked her to consult a neurologist if she was unsure. So she did and the neuro replied "I don't know much about HPPD either, but Keppra is well tolerated so no problem, try and prescribe it". Then I got my prescription! A tip is always to point out to the doctor that they're not going to prescribe you an addictive narcotic drug, just a simple anti-EP. Point out that Keppra is well tolerated and not harmful to the body, so what's there to lose for the doctor upon prescribing Keppra? Hope it goes well for you mikezero! odysseus: Yes Keppra takes some time to work properly. For me it took about a month for the first cluster of good effects to kick in, now more than 6 months on a dose of 1000 mgs/ day I've noticed even more reduction in visuals, which were not there the first months. Planning to increase the dose to 1500 mgs/ day..

Actually, the trips that contributed most to my HPPD were the best and most intense experiences. The first symptoms came on after trying eating hashish, combined with some smoked in a bong. I had visuals and an intense out-of-body experience and visions of flying over a thousand alien landscapes. My friend said I was in a state of trance, laying in the bed and staring at the ceiling. The next day I woke up with HPPD. The other was a large dose Hawaiian Baby Woodrose-seed (LSA) trip. A 17 hour, very spiritual and crazy trip with intense OEV's and CEV's. When I finally landed from that trip, the HPPD symptoms had increased a lot in severity. So I don't think bad trips are necessary to develop HPPD.. Just the right (or rather wrong?) drugs and a latent predisposition and bam you got HPPD!

I suppose everyone is structured slightly different.. I tolerate must substances very well, Keppra, benzos, dopamine agonists etc. but not SSRI's or even tryptophan in higher doses. I might give Sinemet a try also. My DA/NA agonist Wellbutrin has ceased to work completely, so I need to switch it soon. Mostly because of my ADHD-related rage which is unchecked again (yeah Keppra alleviates some ADHD symptoms but definately not all). The doctors now suggest one of the last resorts Concerta, which also is known to increase HPPD symptoms. So I wonder if Sinemet does anything against ADHD rage? If so I could suggest Sinemet to the doctors instead.. "Lets crack this sucker"!! Priceless!

I was quite surprised that felt the first pill I took within 1½ hours. The effects of a Keppra pill lasts for ~12 hours. It was quite harsh in the beginning, Keppra really "forced" itself on my brain. I napped quite often, since I hardly could stay awake. Then "Keppra rage" came as well.. Hmm I would probably say the first positive effects came within days, but the best effects without nasty side effects came on about 1½ month after starting Keppra. I.e there is an adjustment period like with most meds. Thanks for the well wishes. So far the effects have been unwavering and gradually accumulating. Think I'll try 1500 mg/day soon..

I recently increased my dose to 1000 mg/ day.. And I must say Keppra is incredible stuff! Some HPPD symtoms have decreased a bit, no major changes but still something. My visual snow is less patterned and doesn't flicker as violently now. Micropsia/ macropsia is has decreased most, distances and dimensions of objects are a bit more stable now. Visual framerate is close to normal now. I would estimate the HPPD symptoms to have decreased about 5-10%. But this is not the best thing. I feel almost completely normal now. DP/DR has basically died out. The brain fog is the symptom which has improved most, and I feel much more sharp-minded and clear headed, much less spaced out. I have always had an speech impairment (dysarthia) which took a turn for the worse when I got HPPD (and it's companions brain fog, DP/DR). Now with Keppra it's almost gone! People around me say that my speech is a lot more understandable now. I'm almost anxiety-free now. I had some kind of generalized anxiety which consisted mostly of unexplained feelings of dread and terror coming from nowhere. It's GONE now!! I also had a form of pain which is called neuropathic pain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropathic_pain. This I found out after starting Keppra, since Keppra completely erased it. No more pins and needles, cold spots, electric tingling, or that my body feels like a giant bruise! My ability to stay asleep is much improved, also my dream patterns are much more pleasant now. Before Keppra I usually had nasty dreams about demons tormenting me. I waked and fell back to sleep with 1-2 hour intervals. Everytime I waked up soaked in sweat due to the nightmares and involuntary movement during sleep. Now I sleep uninterrupted most nights, from having a literal hell for almost 7 years. My GF has told me, upon observing me in my sleep , that my breathing patterns are a lot more normal. Before it was short, strained breaths, now it's slow, deep breaths. I've also noticed I'm less prone to get constipation. I feel a lot more happy with life now, more relaxed and laugh more.. So in conclusion, Keppra has not cured me, but it has alleviated so much problems as a whole that my quality of life has improved a lot!

It took me years to get Keppra. Keep persisting to get it and you will, eventually. Getting the HPPD diagnosed helps as well. The problem with the psychiatrists and neurologists bouncing the issue back and forth is something I know to well. So I demanded my psychiatrist to send a request to a neurologist with the simple questions "Do you know anything about HPPD? Can I perscribe my HPPD-diagnosed patient Keppra?". He repiled that he didn't know anything about HPPD, but he also said that Keppra is so well tolerated among his patients, so it wouldn't really be any problem to try out Keppra. And then my psychiatrist perscribed it to me, and I can assure you that Keppra was worth all my years of effort!

I've had HPPD for 7 years now. Nothing has gotten worse, neither has it improved by itself. Just the same ol severe visuals every day I wake up and fall asleep (and in ... Keppra and benzos have alleviated som symptoms but I'm not really cured, I don't think I'll ever be but it's ok. HPPD is my standard state of vision and perception now.. I completely stopped using drugs in August 2006, and have not fallen back into the negative circle.

1. 22 2. Alchohol (100+ times), hashish/ marijuana (100+ times), Hawaiian Baby Woodrose (LSA) (once), Bromo-Dragonfly (once), 5-meo-DIPT (once), Salvia Divinorum (once). Inhalants, butane gas (10+times), gasoline (10+times). 3. Hashish (oral and smoked, very large dose) triggered the first symptoms, HBWR (very high dose) made the HPPD full blown. These occasions were a month apart. 4. Born with ADHD and very mild autism. Anxiety, rage, sleep, depression and OCD issues. I also had several migraine (with aura) attacks before getting HPPD, between ages 15-21.

If we're talking about the direct visual processing, the visual cortex has a separate dopamine system which relates primarily to the function of the retina. It has less to do with the actual processing of the visual information, rather it tells the retina how to respond to the processed visual information. The visuals which psychedelics (of which HPPD is a residual effect) produce are, simplistically explained, mainly caused by massive agonism of the 5HT2A receptor and overridden GABA-B receptor inhibition primarily in the visual cortex. This is however a very simplified description, but it points to where the main problem is. Dopamine, serotonin, glutamate etc. and with them a wild assortment of proteins are involved in the complex clockwork like system which is the brain. One cog dysfunctioning can effect all the other cogs. Dopamine can counterbalance serotonin, which could mean that increased dopamine levels might make less serotonin available. Which could in turn make the overheated 5HT2A receptors calm down. Just a little hypothesis I figured out as I studied the subject of this thread.. 5HT2C serotonin receptor-antagonism can increase the amount of dopamine in the frontal cortex, evidentially.. Though I seem too find very little hard evidence on why dopamine normalization would help HPPD. I found really no evidence that the dopamine level is out of order in HPPD'ers. All I could really find is the dopamine-serotonin counterbalancing effect. I found this little article while which is really intresting, it also has several sections on HPPD.. http://www.tripzine.com/pit/html/multi-state-theory.htm I hope I shed some kind of light on the subject...

http://psychedelic-i...sensory-Binding This article had some very interesting info on how the 5ht2a receptor is involved in visual framerate, edge detection, peripheral vision, but also depersonalization and other dream-like states. Just eyed through it but I'll read the whole article soon. "There is evidence that 5-HT2A agonists lead to lateral disinhibition in the cortex by blocking presynaptic uptake of 5-HT at the lateral inhibitory synapse, or by overriding tonic GABAB inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) with asynchronous ESPCs at the lateral-inhibitory synapse.21,22 Loss of inhibition at the lateral synapses in columns of the visual cortex would lead directly to shifting and wiggling in peripheral line, texture, and contrast resolution." http://jp.physoc.org/content/539/1/223.full.pdf I also eyed through this article regarding dopamine and vision. Interesting as well! "The visual system is equipped with a separate dopaminergic system which modifies lateral interactions within the retina during the course of light/dark adaptation (Weiler et al. 2000)." This would explain a bit why many with HPPD have so bad reactions to serotonin agonists+antagonists (boosting the dysregulation), good reactions to benzos and anti-eps (increased inhibition), but also why many dopamine agonists can help some of the HPPD-symptoms (photosensitivity and poor working-memory in particular). Here is the Dr. Abrahams list of HPPD symptoms. http://www.dpselfhel...order-aka-hppd/ We might be on the verge of cracking the HPPD mystery, Visual!

It´s good to see some researcher-rigidness letting go! I had an standard EEG which showed nothing abnormal. Still hunting for a QEEG, which is needed to show the mini-seizures which are apparent with the conditions ADHD and HPPD. Standard EEG´s sweep the surface, while QEEG´s check every frequency and brainwaves. That´s why nothing besides stronger epilepsy will turn up on standard EEG´s.. I remember checking a site which listed different persisting perception disorders, and reading in this forum has made me come to a conclusion: there are different types of HPPD. I am sure I have the classic type HPPD, while some have a more dopamine-related HPPD. There different severity of symptoms within the types. And also, if the HPPD has persisted for more than 5 years the chances for recovery are much slimmer. This means that different types of meds will be more useful for different cases. The "classic" type seems to respond well to Anti-EP meds (Keppra, Klonopin, Lamictal etc.) but not respond much to DA´s. Dopamine type HPPD responds well to DA´s, but not to anti-ep´s. With classic I mean the HPPD which follow the 15 symptoms (with a character of more CEV´s, color confusion, illusions of movement etc.) Overall I think the "visual reduction" property of all the barrage of meds I´ve tried so far have been very overrated. And I don´t want to take large benzo doses every day to maybe keep the visuals down, that would be a devious trap for getting severely addicted. I don´t know how I respond to opiates with HPPD, but I did get intravenous morphine a couple of years before HPPD broke out. It was just waves of warm fuzzy euphoria, and I understood how easy I would get addicted to it..

Yes there can be too much focus on dopamine in ADHD. Low dopamine firing & uptake is the major culprit from what is known about the causes of ADHD, yet they said that there might be a whole lot more neurological factors involved. Now they've made some progress - link between ADHD and epileptic activity.. From what I've come to understand the about brain it's like clockwork, it needs all cogs running perfectly to work properly. One disturbance in a subsystem can ripple out and affect the whole system.. Thank you! I hope it helps you too.. Though I think it will not improve the HPPD symptoms massively, it have had a lot of other benefits so far; no sweating during sleep (from excessive activity spikes), DP/DR has lessened a quite a bit, body perception has improved, my cognition feels a bit sharper, less stuttering, and a couple of very small improvements of HPPD symptoms. I generally wanted Keppra for improving the comorbid symptoms of HPPD (DP/DR, brain fog, "feeling high" etc.) rather than the visual symptoms. 7 years with HPPD has made them into normal everyday reality, in fact I would probably fall into a state of shock if the visual symptoms would vanish.. No benzo or dopamine agonists have done anything profound against the visual symptoms, and if Keppra doesn't do anything profound with them either it's fine by me. But I'm impressed with what Keppra has done so far though! PS: No "Keppra Rage" yet. Though I do have a lot of rage due to my ADHD so it might go unnoticed if it would appear..

Thanks! I have the standard form of Keppra. So far I have noticed better sleep quality with Keppra. Since I have ADHD my wake-ups are probably caused by EEG spikes, which Keppra has been found to reduce http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21683631 There have also been a little less anxiety and some discrete decreases in HPPD, mostly less micropsia/macropsia. Body perception has gotten a bit more normal, too. So, no major chages yet but the small changes are very promising! Will most likely bump up the dose to 1000 mg/ day in a month or so.

I'm on 500 mg/ day, combined with 40 mg of pyridoxine (vitamin b6) to reduce the risk of "Keppra Rage". Currently I can say that I get drowsy on it, but it's quite pleasant.. And I've enjoyed my first uninterrupted sleep in years, usually I wake 3-4 times per night.. With Keppra, it's 0 wake-ups! No visual reduction yet though, but Keppra seems to be very promising so far! I'll keep ya'll updated in this thread..

Predisposition for HPPD is hereditary. My mother begen having static, floaters, pareidolias in her childhood. She never used any psychedelic drugs through her whole life, the mild-HPPD symptoms simply appeared out of nowhere. The symptoms never bothered her either. Then you have me who shoveled in a lot of psychedelics and RC´s and developed severe HPPD. The only visual disturbances I had before was temporary static during my migraine attacks. So if I didn´t use any psychedelics, there would be a large chance of me never developing HPPD. The latent predisposition would not be triggered. Predisposition+psychedelics= large risk for getting HPPD Predisposition+no psychedelics= small risk for getting HPPD-like symptoms

Their thinking can often be very paradoxical.. Keep on going and you´ll get Keppra in the end. Besides poor working memory, did the test reveal any kind of diagnosis. ADHD, Asperger etc.? I have a combined type ADHD (inattentive & hyperactive) and Autism spectrum disorder (very mild autism).

It´s a realistic worry, I have had a couple of meds which have caused lasting problems. Be sure to study side-effects, interactions with other meds and quit in good time if you´re feeling something is wrong. Some meds can do a lot more than worsening HPPD. Be vigilant and you should be able to reduce the risk of lasting problems, and thus worry less.

I can definately relate to this. Not only anxious about getting old, but all this senility. Not remembering how or why I went to the kitchen to take a drink, leaving stuff in places I can´t find them. And of course taking sips from objects which do not contain any liquid.. Doctors probably would name this condition pseudodementia, but brain fog is probably the most fitting diagnosis. Caused by to much interference "activity" in the brain it seems.. But of course it makes you wonder how you´ll be when you´re 60+ years old.. Eating food through a straw, messing the underpants and needing helpers to keep track of your weird doings is what crosses my mind..

I totally agree! After 6 ½ years with unchanged HPPD, I´ve come to terms that I´ll never be rid of it. The first years I was freaked out, shivering in a corner. Now I can hardly remember normal vision is. HPPD is "normal" now. So even if my HPPD is unchanged, and I still have a lot of DP/DR, sleep problems, head pressure etc. I rid myself of panic attacks, agoraphobia, OCD, fear of going psychotic. Self confidence is back again, feeling strong despite my numerous problems. So I´m partially recovered, "the glass is half full!" Which is something instead of nothing..

Great progress, boogres! Can´t wait to get Keppra myself, hoping that letter calling to the neurologist appointment will drop in my mailbox very soon! gobigorgohome, keep your head up and keep nagging holes in the doctors heads about Keppra. I´ve been nagging for years about it ever since I heard about the first good trials in the old forum. Now I´m going to get it, just a matter of weeks, maybe some months left! I´ve had one (1) excellent doctor who took the little extra time I talked about in the other thread and actually studied HPPD and Keppra, who said "it would really be beneficial against HPPD". And now my other doctor catched on. All because of my persistent, constant nagging.. And of course, getting my HPPD diagnosed has made a huge difference.

I got PTSD from a traumatic experience 5 months after getting the first symptoms of HPPD. The trip I got HPPD from I still consider to be the best I ever had - very lucid, visionary and euphoric. Under that 5 month period I stuffed myself with many exotic psychedelic drugs, all good trips though. The symptoms got worse due to the drug use, progressing from mild to severe HPPD. Then came the trauma, which I was sober when I experienced. So I don´t consider PTSD to be a factor in HPPD onset, more of a coincidence that some people got HPPD from a bad, PTSD causing trip. Though I admit it was the PTSD that caused the largest leap for my full crash, which made me disabled (still on disability today).

I see the substance in this supplement is Phosphatidylserine, a cell component which can prevent cell oxidation it seems.. Interesting! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphatidylserine There are a few natural sources for it, mackerel which happens to be my favorite fish has 480 mg/ 100 g. Doctors are very talented at bouncing patients around. My psychatrist sent me to a neurologist (after years of arguing for Keppra), and for you the neurologist sent you to a psychiatrist. The funny (or rather tragic) thing is that a licensed doctor can perscribe any meds, regardless of specialization. They could seriously just have done some minutes of research or consulting colleagues of why Keppra is helpful for HPPD, and given a perscription in the hand the same day.