Sam93

Yeah it's best used once or twice a week, I'd say twice at most, in the form of maybe one dose mid-week and one dose at the weekend, or maybe a dose Saturday and a dose Sunday, most people don't experience problems with this kind of usage. 

The thing is with Benzo's is that it's so easy to get into the pattern of taking them more and more often, after all, all you have to do is swallow a pill, that's 1 second of effort for a day of anxiety and symptom relief. Be very careful, monitor your usage if possible as due to the nature of Benzo's and their effect on memory, it is quite easy to forget you have taken one on a certain day and end up getting into nasty habits.

Not to demonize them too much, used sparingly they are great and this is something I practice myself, yet I never feel I 'need' them, use them with respect and you should be fine. I'd hate to see anyone go through severe Benzo withdrawal just because these are currently legal and easy to obtain.

Haha mutually assured destruction sounds about right!

Yeah, I suppose not much is known about what causes/triggers schizophrenia. My uncle has a very bad case of schizophrenia, you know, believes he works places he doesn't, believes he has no arms and legs and is blind (even though he can see) quite awful really!

And as for your brother, maybe the stresses of a PHd level education could bring about the condition? It's not unheard of for life stressors to trigger mental disorders like that I guess. Also there's probably much more involved in the pathogenesis of Psychotic disorders than increased dopamine, otherwise anti psychotics would more or less completely cure them. I believe 5HT2A is also over active in people with Schizophrenia, and there's probably much more. 

However, I've done my fair share of drugs, including ones renowned for bringing about psychoses, and copious amounts of cannabis of which there is a link to psychotic disorders, and I'm still (relatively) sane so I'd have thought I was safe haha, it's interesting but I've never heard of anyone with HPPD going psychotic as far as I'm aware?

Ah Klonopin helps my visuals tremendously, but I only take it every once in a while, once or at most twice a week to help prevent addiction.

Nope no other prescription meds aside from the Sinemet, I do supplement with a B vitamin complex, omega 3 fish oil along with L-Theanine and Valerian Root for anxiety and sleep sometimes, I try to keep it to just one med at a time as I don't like the thought of lots of chemicals floating around my brain.

Thanks!

The only EEG I've ever seen to do with HPPD is in this PDF: http://www.lycaeum.org/research/researchpdfs/2001_abraham_1.pdf

Not sure if that's what you were looking for as I don't really know what I'm looking at if I'm honest lol, but it seems to show an EEG of a HPPD sufferer in eyes closed state if I'm not mistaken?

Cheers.

Yeah it seems to either work quite effectively or do nothing at all, it's strange how there's not one med that helps all isn't it? Aside from Clonazepam I suppose.

The dosage is 25/100 and there's no other meds in the pill aside from carbidopa/levodopa.

Thanks!

Yeah I've often had insane dreams in the past, I don't very often have 'good' or 'bad' dreams, just nonsensical series of events and conversations, gets pretty weird!

Yup my trip was awful, and landed me with this rubbish, drugs are bad!

Yeah people have said I seemed much better over the weekend too, was a bit worried about increasing dopamine as my uncle has schizophrenia, and I'd tried amphetamine before which made me a rude and obnoxious fool for a day, but I suppose they're not the same.

Haha! That gave me a good laugh, are those for me or her

Haha! I did a quick google and it seems Sinemet can indeed cause REM sleep issues like I described, it's weird because it seems REM sleep bodily jerks like that are common in Parkinson's and Sinemet fixes this in those people.

My dreams have been slightly more unusual and nonsensical, but hopefully this will pass as my body adjusts.

Back on the Sinemet today I'll keep the thread updated with progress

Haha! Yeah I'll have to sleep with my hands wrapped in bubble wrap.

Might I add that the above 'side effect' has happened twice now, and only since taking Sinemet, nothing of that nature has ever happened before.

I don't want to be potentially injuring myself or my partner (I'm sure I'd get a punch back if it happened again lol) as both times it has been fairly quick movements, the first time a punch and the second time a random arm movement that woke me up as I hit my arm on something.

Apologies for not editing my previous post but I'm currently using the mobile site on my iphone and can't see an edit option.

Thanks,

Sam.

Yeah I was extremely surprised that half a pill had such an effect, I wasn't expecting it to do anything!

Was your suggestion to just keep it to half a pill daily for now, or increase to 2x or maybe even 3x a day? The only thing I've noticed is I feel a bit nauseated for around an hour after I take it.

Other than that it's fantastic! Been in a brilliant mood ever since the first half a pill, and my anxiety is dramatically improved.

Regarding the COMT inhibition, thanks for the info, the results from that study actually looked quite promising, it's a shame there aren't more responders.

I find it so strange that a little dopamine can have such a dramatic effect on one, yet do nothing for another.

I don't know if this is a side effect of the drug or just a random occurrence, but I was asleep in bed and had a dream that I threw a punch at someone/something, and actually punched my girlfriend in real life (while asleep of course). It woke both of us up, my fist was hurting quite badly and her face was red and swollen so I must've punched her quite hard unfortunately. Do you think the Sinemet could cause this? It's like my body is doing what I'm doing in the dream state, in the same sense as sleepwalking.

Thank you Both

I put the Sinemet on hold this weekend as I went away for the weekend with my girlfriend, so all in all I've taken half a pill on 2 consecutive days, I must say I'm feeling much better.

It's done nothing for visual snow, but afterimages, halos and star bursting seem definitely improved. What's nice is that the effects seem to have lingered on all weekend, I've felt so much better in myself, better than I have in 9 months since onset, and there's been no changes in lifestyle, diet, exercise, medications (none) so it must be down to the sinemet.

Yes I've never really looked at the study to be honest, is the sinemet study the same one as the COMT inhibition study? I don't really understand the COMT inhibition thing as I thought it just made l-dopa more effective somehow?

Hey all,

I have some sinemet 25/100 and took half a pill today, already noticing some benefits, afterimages have been greatly reduced and I took a walk today and noticed my vision seemed much sharper.

The best thing though is a slight lessening of DP/DR, not much but I can tell a slight improvement.

I also feel more alert and awake, not charged up in the sense of an amphetamine high, I can just tell there's more dopamine floating around haha.

Be very interesting to see what happens in a week.

tinnitus, tinnitus, tinnitus !!!!

Oh yes, I'll add this to my list, can get really bad sometimes when you're trying to sleep!

I do get it where sounds sound a bit more deeper and 'bassy' now, I also can't distinguish where sounds are coming from as well as I could before.

However, you'd be surprised at the amount of symptoms that can be caused by anxiety, even mild anxiety. From physical sensations you describe, to trembly hands, even to mild hallucinations. I realised this the first time I took benzodiazepines and many of these symptoms vanished, I asked why and I realised the anxiety had also diminished while under the influence.

DP/DR and shit memory. DP/DR is manageable most of the time but walking into a room and forgetting why you went there, only to remember 10 hours later is bothersome sometimes!

I had this even before HPPD, probably to a lesser extent but it's pretty normal in dark conditions if you stare at something. Don't worry

Nope I don't take any anti-depressants, I'm extremely concerned about taking any serotonin modifying agents as my personal HPPD pathogenesis appears to be extremely sensitive to changes in serotonin levels. Namely anything that increases it seems to drastically worsen symptoms. SSRI's and Tricyclics are a no-go for me. It would be interesting to try and DNRI or a dopamine agonist though, hence my interest in Aniracetam (D2/D3 receptor agonist I believe).

I have little faith in SSRI's, they are only labelled antidepressants by the pharmaceutical companies and in the majority of studies have been little more effective than placebo. Too much emphasis is put on serotonin being the only neurotransmitter responsible for mood. Similarly, there are many more neurotransmitters at work in the brain than the 'big 3' (Serotonin, Dopamine, Norepinephrine) that should be focused on more. There is absolutely no hard evidence to suggest depressed or anxious individuals have a neurotransmitter deficiency, there isn't really a method of measuring neurotransmitter levels in the brain anyway. The brain is very good at balancing out neurotransmitters itself.

Anyway, I'm rambling!

I've pretty much given up on trying to cure the visual side of things, and instead am taking an approach to treat the cognitive and DP/DR side of things now. I figure that if these problems are dealt with then I could easily deal with the visuals. For some, the visuals are the worst symptom but I think from what I've seen on the forum, the visuals are at the bottom of the list almost.

Future things to try are anticonvulsants (namely Keppra and Lamictal, maybe even Topamax for migraines too, I wonder if anyone has tried Carbamazepine also?) and cognitive enhancers/nootropics.

Hopefully some of these herbs will at least provide some relief though! Thanks for the replies guys.

Hey all, hope everyone is well. I've not been very active as of late as I've been trying out some different things and been pretty busy, but I'd like to share my experiences with a few things:

I've tried out Noopept today, I'm sure most of you will be familiar with it but it is a Nootropic structurally related to the Racetam family (it is infact a peptide but yeah) and it's proposed mechanism of action is both increasing the concentration of the endogenous nootropic cyclo-l-propylglycine and to stimulate the expression of NGF and BDNF (increasing nerve growth factor in the brain).

I took my first 10mg dose today and I'm feeling much better, much more alert and my memory is definitely improved. A slight but noticeable reduction in DP/DR too, it'll be interesting to see what a daily regimen of 3x 10mg does for my symptoms. Also worth noting is that it's a very 'clean' feeling. Not speedy or stimulating whatsoever, and definitely reduces anxiety. I'd recommend you give this a try as it is very cheap.

Other things I've tried as of late are:

L-Theanine;

Combined with Caffeine this is great as it reduces many of the negative side effects of caffeine, namely jitters and anxiety which I am sensitive to. Taken on it's own, I've found it to be quite relaxing but does make you feel slightly sluggish, I could see this being great taken at bedtime, or combined with a low dose of caffeine.

Ginkgo Biloba;

Not much to say about this one, seemed to improve alertness slightly with little else, wasn't expecting too much from it though.

5-HTP;

Needs further testing. Seemed to increase visuals and DP/DR but that may have been because I was rather ill at the time and at home recovering in bed.

Valerian root;

Decided to give this a whirl again as it was very, very cheap. I've always held Valerian root in high regard, greatly improves my quality of sleep I find, although it can make you feel slightly groggy in the morning.

Xanax/Alprazolam;

This is usually the benzo people hold the highest and is usually #1 favourite for recreational purposes, but it's definitely my least favourite by far. Not much in the way of visual reductions and the anxiolysis feels 'dirty'

Next to try in the bottom drawer are:

Aniracetam

Rhodiola Rhodesia (SP?)

Panax Ginseng

Anyone else had any success with anything as of late?

Cheers,

Sam.

It would seem that if your eyes changed with/after HPPD then the dilation isn't "normal".  Iris size is controled by the parasympathetic nervous system which is altered in dopamine disorders such as Parkinson's.

One member reported his eyes returning to normal with Sinemet.  Sinemet doesn't affect my 'saucers'.  Zukov -- I know your Sinemet trial was brief (faintness) but did you notice anything with your eyes?

I get different pupil sizes and often bad anxiety when this shows up, though not always.  Gabapentin resolves this.  However, it returns the larger one down to 'normal', not to beer-saucers-eyes, lol.

Yeah it definitely started after HPPD, not that I observed my pupils all the time before but I know for definite I didn't have saucers haha.

I'd love to give Sinemet a try but I think it's going to be quite the task getting it prescribed in the UK, I know some members have had success in the UK but doctors I've spoken to seem extremely hesitant due to possible 'strong adverse reactions' (their words, not mine).

I've often thought that it feels like I have low dopamine since HPPD, not sure if 'feeling' neurotransmitters make sense but anyone who's taken dopamine agonists/releasers will know what I mean. Especially since doing things that naturally increase dopamine, such as maybe crying with laughter, seems to reduce symptoms. Maybe that's just a coincidence.

Another symptom I have been having is twitches and jerks, even in the day time, I know this can be related to Dopamine. 

I'd love to try Naltrexone myself but unfortunately I don't see how I could possibly get that prescribed.

Suboxone on the other hand, I could acquire very easily and is something I'd like to try, although I have no opiate tolerance and the dosages I can get hold of are 2mg to 8mg tablets, and I have no idea what dosages would be appropriate for a none opiate tolerant individual.

I spent a while looking into K Opioid Antagonism and it's role in mitigating the symptoms of DP and it seems an interesting, credible theory to me. 

It's interesting that Salvia (or Salvinorin A) and Ketamine (Dissociatves) agonise KOR, and antagonising KOR mitigates DP. There's obviously something there! 

I've not tried Xanax, but all Benzo's do pretty much the same thing, the main difference is whether they are mainly anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic etc. However I've tried a fair few Benzo's and all have given some degree of relief from visual symptoms, there have been reports of Xanax improving visuals too. However, as far as Benzo's go, Clonazepam seems the most efficacious in treating the visual side of HPPD.

So if you have the choice I'd definitely opt for the Clonazepam over the Xanax.

Best of luck and I hope it provides at least some relief!

Hell yeah You too man.

Yeah, beer turns my eyes into saucers too. I've had some weird looks from bartenders and friends have commented on it numerous time, I basically still look like I'm on LSD as far as my eyes go.

Yeah I suppose it is normal, however my pupils can randomly look like saucers in the most random of lighting conditions, mostly when there's fluorescent lighting, and it's quite embarrassing sometimes, especially when meeting people or job interviews where you look like you've consumed a hefty dose of drugs. Not fun.

Does anyone else have this?

My pupils are often very dialated in moderate to dark conditions and even with a few lights on in the room can look like this: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://trialx.com/g/Dilated_Pupils-4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://trialx.com/curebyte/2012/08/22/images-related-to-dilated-pupils/&h=701&w=600&sz=85&tbnid=d-8RDkK4oC-FdM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=96&zoom=1&usg=__wJ1eGsKnX-6gy8osDS-9Ua-QeSk=&docid=fkcCpQo0LqZZcM&sa=X&ei=qOY4UreICuqh0QX58YH4AQ&ved=0CDYQ9QEwAQ

My girlfriend has commented on this a few times and thought I was on drugs, but she knows of my condition and was understanding in the end haha.

It's interesting because in bright light situations my pupils go tiny.

Thank you muchly,

Sam.

Yeah Magnesium does help but I've found herbs to help me relax and provide anxiolysis but not induce sleep for some reason, my brain has never been wired to fall asleep haha. 

The only thing is that Doxylamine is a 'potent anticholergenic' apparently which worries me slightly, although I don't know if this is common with all antihistamines as I assume this is what gives them their deleriant effect in excessive dosages. 

I've yet to try Melatonin though, the problem I have is my HPPD leaves me feeling quite stimulated, so I've been looking for something to knock me out, without going down the route of Z drugs or excessive BZD use.

Thanks!