etardnow

There are several users/reports that experienced a worsening of symptoms over the use of ritalin so you are not alone there. I am not sure if its permanent but it was significant iirc. As you may know, we assume/know that our hppd is very closely tied with our serotonin and dopamine balance. Ritalin and Cymbalta are dopamine and serotonin reuptake inhibitors respectively so it is no surprise it effects hppd. When you ingest a reuptake inhibitor, it blocks the 'hole' that our body uses to reabsorb/dispose excess dopamine/serotonin. When we ingest reuptake inhibitors, our bodies reaction is to eventually downregulate/desensitize our receptors? (im not too science savy but something along those lines.) Simply put i think it further screws up our dopamine/serotonin balance.

Depends on the individual user but tolerance is obviously a medical phenomenon, not just for recreational users. I'm not too informed on different type of benzos and its tolerance rates but i dont think its out of line to say that everyday use will have diminishing effects. Its also worth noting that psychological expectations greatly effect on how the drug works as well. Yea i guess it doesnt hurt to try and assess the benefit vs negative

i dont have color problems either but when i lined them up it was kinda glowing/brightening on me lol :\

That is my current theory on mine as well. I have an underlying infection/disease that presents itself as HPPD symptoms since my use of drugs allowed my brain to learn such ways of perception. http://hppdonline.com/index.php?/topic/2086-keppra-trial-unsucessful/#entry18426 can you also check the last comment on that thread and reply here if you could. thanks and gl.

yea careful with benzos. today 0.5 tomorrow 1.0 and so on. :\ Good luck.

Even though I have not tried benzos myself, just reading about them tells me that its only a temporary relief pill. So the choice is really up to you. The more and the longer you take, the less effective it becomes. You have to find the benzo that works for you too. IIRC, some users such as Jay made it work for them by taking it only 2 times a week/every other week without noticeable tolerance but him too treats it as a 'getaway' pill.

My phosphenes are usually only when I wake up, my VS is very mild like 1%, and blobs of black upon waking, for me i do have blobs but I cant really point out what it is. I too have tinnitus, muscle twitches here and there but nothing noticeable. I have internal tremor(body is not actually shaking but i feel like it does) when i wake up sometimes Even the rainbow in the halo, i have that too. like this right? http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/transportation/img/headlightglare.jpg and halos/glows have like a swirly consistency It sucks that you have lyme but maybe its not hppd and just lyme? that would be awesome imo assuming that lyme will be cured. Was it confirmed by a ELISA/Western blot test? Update us on how it goes.

was it western blot test? maybe it wasnt hppd afterall o.O?

Remember that the mind is very powerful. Our expectations can greatly effect how our body reacts. If placebos can produce hives (from an experiment), then I have no doubt that our state of mind greatly effects how we react to drugs. Even the food I eat, i worry about it to a degree :\ When you take meds, instead of 'waiting' for something to kick in, try to just go about your daily routine. Or it could be just biological in which case I hope that the drug sensitivity will be extremely useful for you someday With keppra and other meds, have you tried much smaller doses? I know its in poor taste to use weed as an example but when I first smoked weed, too much would green me out, puked once and basically became immobile and asked for an ambulance lol but finding the right balance allowed me to enjoy it. Its true with most recreational drugs, too much can just take away all the fun and desired effects but once you find the right balance its heaven or hppd :\

If you're still on tramadol, I wouldnt call that a 'true' recovery. I guess a pill a day for the rest of your life isnt so bad if there is no long-term effect or tolerance buildup. I did read that trams withdrawal is pretty serious stuff.

all my visual and non-visual symptoms occurred at the same time so it would seem possible there is a relationship, even if this symptom is uncommon for those with HPPD (although a higher number on the VS Facebook group report symptoms of pain). I will stay on this combo (if my doc allows) until late November when I will have a anesthetic/steroid injection in the bursa between my hamstrings and buttocks as this is mainly where the pain is located (suggesting that the pain is possibly as a result of something called ischiogluteal bursitis). If it is ischiogluteal bursitis (I hope it is) then hopefully the injection will cure it and I can go med free (I can deal with the standard HPPD symptoms until a reliable treatment is found). I'm not sure if mine is that but I do have some 'sore muscle' like pain in the right buttocks. I also believe it to be linked with a single line of muscle(if it is a muscle) in the back. WIth the back one, I can pinpoint the pain area, and rub it to soothe it but the buttocks one is not as easy. I also believe a swollen epididymis has something to do with my hppd. I can't say for sure but I think i remember thinking your symptoms or circumstances match quite a bit. Here's a 'quick' recap: Phosphene like visual when I wake up, i only have little to no visual snow, lots of ghosting, starburst, halo, swirl like halo, nerve zaps here and there, cherry angioma, thinning hair(could be from the anxiety i had for a week or two), dry eyes, tinnitus, hypersensitive skin, nystagmus, mild fluid movement, tonsil stones, mild cevs, haha i guess thats a lot and probably matches with others but things like buttocks pain matching really interests me. I still have a few physical symptoms and it really leaves me questioning if i have some underlying infection or disease that is also triggering* my hppd rather than standalone hppd, especially since my physical symptoms presented itself a month before developing ghosting at which point it progressed pretty fast along with other symptoms. could be the medications i took for the physical symptoms though :\ *(Kind of like how a hangover can worsen symptoms for a couple days, maybe my hppd baseline is at no symptoms and an underlying problem is constantly triggering my symptoms.)

Welcome! Care to share your story?

Anyone else try my "picture" method? depending on the visual effects, taking a picture of something can really show and help me remember/realize what my 'normal' vision was like. Just taking a picture of a streetlight, i know im not supposed to see all that starburst and halos (even though a camera will naturally pick up some, which in a way gives me some support lol)

Anxiety and stress alone can effect bowel movements and such. It could even just be IBS[also suspected to be caused by stress among other factors] which is like hppd (in the sense that, "oh you have ibs, too bad." Did a doctor diagnose all the conditions you have? Candida, leaky gut, allergies? Its interesting but not surprising how i came to those conclusions and more at the beginning of HPPD. HPPD like lyme imitates so many symptoms and more. Its hard to distinguish the 'actual' symptoms vs ones caused by our mental reaction to it and such. Vitamin B and magnesium are both helpful in digestion as well as enzymes. My bowel movement varies alot even before hppd. Some periods of time, ill be pooping everyday while some other times like now, itll be every 3-5days. I chew my food thoroughly and also rarely eat processed foods and foods made from 'powder' like flour and such; i eat whole foods. I also drink 3-4liters of water a day. Exercise is basically good for the whole body. Digestion and the brain and even reports of some visual relief after a workout, (runner's high and the like), you should try to get started, even a 20min jog. I'm still a newbie to hppd, i'm sure more experienced will chime in in a bit. Welcome to the forums!

I know that some eye drops can cause a negative effect with prolonged use, do you use a particular one that addresses this issue?

Who has it? How to manage? Tips? I've noticed that it has become more prevalent now and another new symptom of mine is that my eyes are partially open when i sleep now. My eyes are dry/burning a lot when I wake up and it gets better a bit after waking up. It's a relatively new symptom. Made me go wikipedia blinking and obviously blinking is related too: Greater activation of dopaminergic pathways dopamine production in the striatum is associated with a higher rate of spontaneous eye blinking.[4][5] Conditions in which there is reduced dopamine availability such as Parkinson's disease have reduced eye blink rate,[6] while conditions in which it is raised such as schizophrenia have an increased rate Though blinking may not relieve dry eyes, im probably sure they are very related. Another supporting factor of that low dopamine = hppd. check. Mostly likely controlled by the: The globus pallidus is a structure in the brain involved in the regulation of voluntary movement. It is part of the basal ganglia, which, among many other things, regulate movements that occur on the subconscious level. If the globus pallidus is damaged, it can cause movement disorders, as its regulatory function will be impaired. There may be cases in which damage is deliberately induced, as in a procedure known as a pallidotomy, in which a lesion is created to reduce involuntary muscle tremors. When it comes to regulation of movement, the globus pallidus has a primarily inhibitory action that balances the excitatory action of the cerebellum. These two systems are designed to work in harmony with each other to allow people to move smoothly, with even, controlled movements. Imbalances can result in tremors, jerks, and other movement problems, as seen in some people with progressive neurological disorders characterized by symptoms like tremors. The basal ganglia act on a subconscious level, requiring no conscious effort to function. When someone makes a decision to engage in an activity such as petting a cat, for example, these structures help to regulate the movement to make it as smooth as possible, and to respond to sensory feedback. Likewise, the globus pallidus is involved in the constant subtle regulation of movement that allows people to walk, talk, and engage in a wide variety of other activities with a minimal level of disruption. tremor, jerks, and (not me but) talking problem experienced by hppders.

Yea i take it right after i had my last spoon of dinner. I think it was just my 'first bad day' with hppd. Who knows. I stopped for now since I didnt really notice any effects except for neon piss lol. But im noticing a mild headpressure/migraine the past couple days. I didnt have it before but im wondering if the vitamin B complex had anything to do with it. Kind of like a withdrawal if you will. Ive only taken it about 4-7days but i didnt really have noticeable head/migraine before starting it. It could also be just from school. who knows.

Just replying since nobody has yet. (im not from LA nor US) I dont think there are too many doctors out there that are knowledgeable about hppd. Sure they couldve heard of it but I bet the knowledge from reading the material on this forum is probably the best there is. Unless you bring the science into it, like cerebral dis-inhibition and the like and talk to neurologists or something. Even then, if they dont know about HPPD and its studies, they wont know that an anti-psychotic like Risperdal can commonly worsen symptoms. Your best bet is to try looking for drug-induced disorder doctor/psychiatrist of some sort or just finding a doctor who will look at the information you bring and listen and work with you. Im sure if there was a hppd research going on somewhere, we wouldve heard of it? :\ I hope someone from LA can help you out.

I was driving at night yesterday and took a picture. It was a good reminder that lights dont have starbursts and halos and webs around them. :\ Since most of my visual effects relate to light, taking a picture and looking at it through a screen shows me whats normal. I've come to learn that if I find that something is off but can't pinpoint it, its probably hppd. Like, when I had a blackened vision, i couldnt really tell what was wrong but after a while i realized my vision had blackened a bit.

I guess I did tell them in a way that I am 'damaged/ill' right now but told them I'm getting better and didnt mention any drugs. That way I can rely on them to a good degree at the same time not worry them too much. I do avoid some things though. My moms staying with me for the month to take care of me (she thinks its bad general health) so im holding off on my visit to the opto and possibly a future visit to a psychiatrist. it would devastate them if they found it its something they cant not even begin to help with let alone the medical community. they are not stupid, they are going to be thinking about how this effects me mentally/psychologically/future-wise and worry till no end.

Many posts make it to 100+ views with little or no reply. Would most of these users be lurkers that have hppd? Do we have stats on unique visits? Im curious why people would refrain from speaking out. Even just talking about it is therapeutic in a way imo. I mean if you're visiting the site and reading the posts, join the community and share experiences and get some support.

Ban this guy too please. I volunteer to be a mod for the role of banning spammers, if possible.

Thanks for the reply but I would like hear first hand experiences only or links to. Also, did the visual relief encompass all symptoms or were some more than others. Could you be specific in which benzo and which symptom? Thanks. My intense visual symptoms are more to do with light vs. Movement and such.

Does it? or is it mostly for anxiety/dp/dr related relief? Has anyone actually experienced some relief of starbursting/halo/double vision/glaring light/text moving from the use of xanax? These are my main hppd symptoms so Im curious about these. TY

I wish there was an example of 100% recovery. Not the usual, "im successful but I can still notice some symptoms." Although this is not an HPPD success story, I do have a brain success story. There was a time, after a heavy night of drinking, I developed mild vertigo. (Havent tried mdma/lsd at this point. only weed. anyways,) It took me about 6 month to recover from it. As one of the other post mentioned, our brain does count in months and years so try to not to worry about it on a daily basis.