StateOfRegret

every time I was administered preg. my working memory, cued attention, and reaction times all increased, along with a very noticeable increase in mood. In fact, I felt as though I smoked weed, haha.

[ ...] sometimes i drink 3 or 4 beers, then i dont have problems the next day. And drive a bit in my car

Anyway, I don't have any coping strategies. My HPPD is mostly constant, though, so it doesn't actually "go through the roof". I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, though, and I don't have a coping strategy for that either.

edit: Oh, well, perhaps I do, if smoking cigarettes count

My GP has stated that she is willing to prescribe Keppra as well, after my psychiatric evaluation (if the psychiatrist doesn't prescribe it, that is)

LarryC has mentioned a couple of times that Dr. Abraham says that beta blockers are contraindicated in HPPD.

Does anybody know more about this?

I'd like to hear from people who either

a ) Know if beta blockers are indeed to be avoided

or

b ) have first-hand experience using beta blockers with HPPD.

Thanks in advance,

State.

I think he means that nobody knows, as nobody keeps statistics on that.

I should also add in regards to low-fee therapy that I live in the U.S.  Not sure how it works in other countries.

It's often a question of intensity (and of desensitization as well, I guess). I had moderate HPPD for a few years, the visuals didn't bother me significantly either. Once it got worse (continued drug use) it started bothering me somewhat.

Coexisting disorders (anxiety, panic disorder, DP/DR etc) make it harder to deal with the feeling of "unreality" that the visuals often create.

There is a term (which don't remember right now) for seeing faces in places.

Which general anesthetic(s) are they offering? I had it done under nitrous oxide, but that was pre-HPPD.

By the way, have a look here, if you haven't already .

Yep, sounds like a bit of a trip!

What you're describing sounds like heightened pareidolia. Is it disturbing to you nowadays or have you become accustomed to it?

All the best,

State

Kudos to you for dealing with your situation, SeingStars

It's hard to tell if what you're going through is pathophysiologically similar to HPPD - the speculated mechanism of action of chloroform certainly differs drastically from the usual drugs which cause HPPD (the "psychedelics", the 5HT_2A-agonists). However, some people are known to suffer HPPD-like symptoms induced by a plethora of drug and non-drug factors - and they sometimes benefit from "HPPD medication" anyway. Look at Visual, his symptoms were caused by environmental toxins, but he still benefits from some medications otherwise used for HPPD.

hppd24years: I couldn't understand half of what you wrote and, frankly, I don't want to get dragged into another pointless discussion with you. You asked why I always stand up for Chris? I don't. In fact, here's a post where I call him "exceedingly negative and critical without any discernible reason" and tell him that "It's fine to be skeptical, but plain negativity leads nowhere". Anyway, let's not turn this thread into another deranged rant-a-thon.

I always end up downplaying the severity of it when explaining it to people, so as to not freak them out. I sort of wish I wouldn't.

Yeah, that is almost equally tiresome. All the people saying "I see slight patterns in the dark, too - HPPD is nothing!"

I find it pretty hard to understand. Could you draw it, perhaps?

The real goal of this forum should be to provide moral support and share possible ways to address HPPD issues.  The rest belongs on Facebook.

Very motivational Thanks! (even though it wasn't directed at me)

What do you suggest be done when a mod 'looses it'?

I'd say;

First "offence": If the mod/admin apologizes, he should perhaps be encouraged (by other mods) to take a short break, couple of weeks.

Repeat offence/lack of apology: the mod/admin should probably be encouraged to take an extended break or perhaps step down completely. Being a mod of a forum which has actual disputes is damn hard. It's very hard not to get "drawn into the fray"!

And he did so privately as well.

I'm not apologising to this guy. So strip me of my admin duties... Let this place turn into the cesspit that Chris craves.

Sorry to hear that. You deserve thanks for doing the admining for as long as you have, anyway

Well, I don't see much physical violence here besides "knock spark out" ... guess it is a matter of how one executes the last suggestion.

It says "You're a cunt, just a mean spirited pseudo intellectual prick that I would knock completely unconscious if I ever met". That is pretty clear!

Chris, I haven't combed through the site to see if there are any is anything objectionable in your posts ... so can't much comment as to whether you have "warrants abuse".  But has there been conflict mediated by Jay that might be the seed of his post?  What occured before this PM ... or did it spontaniously occur?

So what are you saying? That it's not a problem that administrators/moderators threaten members if it is warranted? Is it ever really warranted? Shouldn't mods/admins hold the "moral high ground" so to speak?

What the... 

When an admin or moderator behaves like that, that should be a clear indication the he needs to, at the very least, take a break from his duties. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that someone does the job of administrating the site - but behaviour like that is completely unacceptable - for everyone, but especially for an admin.

You're better than that, Jay, surely . 

Thanks for sharing, Chris, that's the only sensible way to deal with threats like that, IMO.

Do it, I say. I think you'll be surprised what psychological therapy can do for you However, I can't tell you which type of therapy will work for you. CBT is known to work for a lot of anxiety sufferers, some people swear by psychoanalysis or narrative methods etc.

StateOfRegret: Is snus still being sold in Denmark? 

I believe it is, but only the "loose" variety, not the one in portion-sized bags. Silly EU regulations. I was never a big fan of snus, but I used chewing tobacco for a while. I must admit, though, that I prefer the "ritual" of sitting down and smoking a pipe or smoking a cigarette while chatting.

Well, as you said, I don't know where to start. You try to point out things such as use of "inverted commas" and laziness, yet spell skeptic/skeptical wrong. Additionally I didn't mean my comment to be directed towards you, but just to be put out into the open, similar to how you say your skepticism (or should I say scepticism?) was for other 'vulnerable' people.

Please, not the grammar nazi game. "Sceptic" is completely acceptable, especially in the UK.

There's a lot of pseudoscience around, no question about it. If we forget about the downright fraudulent (of which there is a lot) we're left with the ones which just don't live up to reasonable scientific standards. There is, of course, also unintentionally faulty science, like the now infamous superluminal neutrinos. My point here, is that there are no surefire indicators of "good science"[1], but there are indicators of bad science.

[1] Sometimes even well-thought out experiments just go wrong, just look at Nobel laureate R. Milikan and his ingenious attempts at showing that charge is a quantized quantity. They were well thought out, but in practice he ended up publishing some fairly reprehensible articles. Won him a Nobel prize nonetheless, primarily because he was right.