WuWei

Not to sound like a broken record here- Magnesium has been a tremendous success for me. 90% reduction in perceptual "glitches"... 25-50% reduction in visual symptoms. Great effect on my mood and cognition and brain fog. No more DP/DR. Better sleep. It's dramatically improving my quality of life. Please watch this video- I hope it will help people: Get a high absorption formulation and give it a try. What do you have to lose?

I'm sure it's a good one. Pretty much anything other than magnesium oxide will be good. I'm planning on upping my dose to 600mg soon and getting some of the skin spray (magnesium can also be absorbed transdermally). This magnesium is saving my life, man. Literally.

http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Absorption-Magnesium-Elemental/dp/B000BD0RT0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435167632&sr=8-1&keywords=magnesium+doctors+best

Straight L-theanine is a good sleep aid. I drink sencha (Japanese green tea) most mornings. Had to cut back on the amount of leaf I put in lately as I'm having heart palpitation issues but I haven't noticed any increase in anything from tea or theanine supplements. For max health benefit it should be loose leaf green tea from Japan (you'll need a teapot called a kyusu). The most antioxidants and theanine are found in the powdered green tea called matcha. You mix the powder with a whisk in a bowl so you're actually ingesting the leaf itself. It's a little "too" potent for me though- it washes the meds right out of my system after a few days of it. No joke. I like www.o-cha.com

High absorption magnesium has helped me a lot as of late. Highly recommended.

I've been smoking a little here and there for a couple of years now. No increase in symptoms. Sometimes I feel like more CBD heavy strains make me feel better the next day. I only take a couple of tokes on the weekends with a few drinks to lubricate the experience. I like fresh homegrown or body heavy medical. The high THC strains not so much.

Have you tried magnesium yet? I've been taking 200mg twice a day of a high absorption magnesium and I'm feeling better I think.

Sorry to hear of your trouble . Pdocs are usually pretty useless with this stuff- at least from my experience. The first doc I had told me I had probably "done some permanent damage to my brain" and that I should probably take a multivitamin and stop doing drugs. Pretty much falls under the "no shit" category. Maybe you could have your doc refer you to a neurologist? I'm on my second psychiatrist/neurologist. The guy I see now hadn't heard of HPPD but was open to it and had some helpful advice regarding possible treatment. He wants to put me on an anti epileptic (Lamical) but I wanted to switch SSRI's first to see if that would take care of some of it. Unfortunately it stopped being effective and I might have to take him up on the Lamictal offer . May I ask your experience with it? A neurologist might be more helpful to you in getting your Wellbutrin considering it works for you. Doctors can write orders for the name brand of a med specifically so I don't know why they couldn't write an order that stated you needed the drug and have it shipped in for you or something. There's a lot of red tape around meds nowadays. General practitioners don't understand med sensitivity and would probably just want to switch you to something else to make their money/treat their patients. I can't imagine it wouldn't be available at all to you considering they use it for a lot of different things. You could try getting on Zyban (which is buproprion- same as welbutrin) for "quitting smoking", but it's the SR version not the XL. Hang in there!

Pretty cool!!

Bumping the thread to see if anyone has any more input on Mg- I finally broke down and decided to give magnesium a serious try (other than the occasional half tab here and there) I ordered some Mag glycinate/lysinate chelate... supposed to absorb a lot better than the mag oxide I have in the cupboard which doctors say is garbage in terms of absorption. I've been having some heart palpitations and numbness in my left arm (probably stress induced)... it's supposed to be good for that stuff. Going to give it a try for a few weeks before I break down and go pay money for an EKG and/or a heart monitor that will probably show nothing... I'm also interested to see what if any effect it will have on my perceptual symptoms/ memory/ brain fog issues. Maybe I'm way deficient or I could at least benefit from a boost? Apparently if you stay away from Mag citrate you don't run into the problem of possibly shitting yourself at an inopportune moment.

Lamictal is supposed to have anti-depressant effects according to my neuro/psych doc. I look forward to hearing updates on this... Lamictal is probably going to be the next one I try if I feel like I can't deal. Best wishes Jay! I hope it helps a lot.

I think I've been on it for something like 2 months altogether. I'm having the same issues with it that I had with the Lexapro... just not tolerating it well. It makes the visuals worse... but after over 10 years of this shit the visuals don't bother me anymore. The cognitive issues and the "hallucinations" are what really make me feel bad. I'm still monkeying around with the dose. I take a tiny amount (half of a 25 mg tab). I've been taking one half every other day to see how I do on it. I think my depression is worsening. I'm noticing I'm only doing the bare minimum of chores, etc. and having some pretty negative thinking. Usually a sign I'm sinking into depression again. I think I'm going to move up to a half tab for two days, then one day off, then two days again... etc. I need to find a good baseline for it. The half tab every day is too much for me and makes me feel very strange and agitated, but none at all leaves me almost nonfunctional. It's a real shit sandwich I have to keep taking nibbles off of. Good luck to you. I hope we can all find some peace.

Unfortunately we get screwed when we mention HPPD to our primary physicians... Never mention your past "substance abuse" to a pdoc. They will automatically assume you are drug seeking and not prescribe anything worth a shit (as you are experiencing now). Mention anxiety and you'll get a lifetime script for klonopin or whatever you want. They will probably push xanax which you want to stay away from (short acting and not great for HPPD symptoms... good for panic attacks or severe anxiety attacks though... I keep a few "emergency" ones in the cupboard). Suggest klonopin because you've heard it's "less addictive" and they'll probably be all over it. I'll play devil's advocate here and recommend you push for a klonopin script. See a different doctor... better yet get referred to a neurologist... it's all about how you take them. Yes there is abuse potential there but unless benzo's were your "thing" back when you were doing drugs (probably not or you wouldn't have gotten HPPD) you should be OK as long as you get on a reasonable dose and use them as needed, not scheduled, and don't increase your dose. A good starting dose is 0.5mg every 6-8 hours as needed and start with 0.25mg. Clonazepam is the only truly across the board helpful medication to treat HPPD thus far and is a first line treatment for the disorder. You are not psychotic. I've been in inpatient mental health for almost 15 years and I can tell you if you can say you think you might be psychotic you aren't. Do NOT take antipsychotics. Other alternatives: you could try L-theanine if you want to go the holistic route (also good for inducing good sleep) which you could try first (also upping your magnesium intake might help but don't take so much you shit yourself), but I honestly think at least a short course of Klonopin along with some talk therapy would be good for you. SSRI's can lead to a rollercoaster of pain like I'm currently going through. From your previous post I see the condition is a new one to you. I would suggest you get your anxiety under control and I think you will come out alright. You only had one episode that caused the HPPD and your symptoms seems quite mild. Get on some klonopin for the short term and I believe you have a good chance to heal. If nothing else it hopefully won't get worse and you'll learn to ignore it. You just drew the short straw genetically (anyone else in your family have "perceptual issues" from "trippy" drug use?) and stop all drug use for good (marijuana included). Those "sub-LSD drugs" in particular seem to be a motherfucker for giving people HPPD. I personally know a kid who got HPPD from DMT and it went away completely. If it were me in hindsight I would stay off anything psychoactive med wise except klonopin as needed. Keep us posted.

I think people in general (especially Americans) eat way too many carbs- ie drinking sodas and eating candy, chips, white potatoes and lots of super processed grains. When I eat mostly whole grains and fruit for my carbs I feel much better.

I didn't notice an increase in visuals with the Lexapro but I do a bit with the Zoloft. It depends on what you mean by "visuals". "Ghosting" and trailers and such get worse (the traditional HPPD stuff), but my other "visual" symptoms (hallucinations- like my brain misinterprets what it's seeing for a split second and sees something different) get 99% better with the right balance of an SSRI. Too much and they get worse. I think it's from being on SSRI's so long (was on Lex when I got HPPD) that my brain is wired for them but the HPPD causes them to make my symptoms worse, so it's a constant balancing act I'm still trying to fine tune.

I currently smoke the non additive cigs, about a half a pack a day. I've gotten into vaping and I'm planning to cut way back soon. With the vaporizer I can get down to about 5 a day on my days off from work and three a day on the days I work without too much trouble. The less I smoke the better I feel in general. My wallet feels better too!

SSRI's cause the visuals to get worse in my experience, but if you need the antidepressant effect it can be worth the trade off. Your visuals may diminish over time as your brain gets used to it. You have to give them a couple of weeks to a month to see if they're helping (some require more or less time to kick in). I can only tolerate tiny doses of SSRI's since developing HPPD. But those tiny doses make the difference between living a hellish existence and a semi-normal one. What dose were you taking? I would suggest Lexapro over Celexa. It's the same isotope but mirrored on itself. It's a much cleaner SSRI. Start at the lowest dose they make and work your way up as needed/tolerated. PM me if you want my observations on this topic. I've had a lot of experience with taking SSRI's with HPPD.

I believe I feel better the day after smoking more "body" or CBD heavy strains of pot... but there are so many factors going into it it's hard to tell. I'd like to try some harlequin or something very low THC and high CBD for a week or two but I'd have to get my medical card probably. Low THC pot isn't a big seller I'm sure. Lol.

FWIW I've been on Klonopin for about 15 years and my dose hasn't gotten any higher. It's actually decreased. I don't like taking it though. I only use it as needed for anxiety and/or HPPD symptoms. I usually take .25mg at a time. I also take .25mg a night for sleep. On rare occasions I take a "full" .5mgs but usually only if I'm in really bad shape or having an anxiety attack (which are fairly uncommon for me). I've never much cared for the benzo buzz though so I don't really feel an urge to abuse them. You just have to be careful. Especially when drinking on larger doses of it. Everyone is different.

I think the most impact you can have is to eat a healthy low carb (whole grain) diet with lots of leafy greens, veggies and lean meats in small portions. Something like the Mediterranean diet. And get plenty of exercise, fresh air, sunshine, clean water and good quality sleep. Meditation is also very good for HPPD symptoms. No drugs (obviously) and keep the smoking and drinking to a reasonable level. I'm terrible about doing all of those things.

The only ones I've found helpful are a B complex for energy and to combat DP/DR and brain fog (also a good one to take if you smoke/drink), and L-theanine for sleep quality and overall brain health. Adding some extra magnesium to your daily intake is probably good too although I haven't noticed much of a difference (maybe I haven't taken enough). I take it at night... it's supposed to improve sleep. I believe maintaining a good blood level of vitamin D is good for your mood and overall health (and most people that don't live near the equator are very deficient). I take 5000mg a day all fall and winter and around 1000mg the rest of the year unless I'm out in the sun all day. I also take 2000 mg of fish oil a day and a multivitamin about 3 times a week or more depending on how I've been eating. And I drink high quality loose leaf tea most days (Japanese green tea is the most healthy). I've found the only one that directly helps with HPPD symptoms is the B complex. I'm going to up my magnesium and see if it helps. If I had to pick 5 it would be the B, fish oil, tea, theanine and D. Just my own impressions...

The Xanax is causing your inhibition filter to fall off. But drinking+any benzo is a bad idea. I never do it. Xanax is more notorious than any other benzo for disinhibiting effects, especially when coupled with alcohol. You might want to try something different for your social anxiety. Xanax is more for panic disorder. Not to mention it's the most addicting with the possible exception of valium. I would suggest trying klonopin (although you don't want to take that with alcohol either). I don't think the weed is your problem, IMHO.

You're not schizophrenic. You have severe HPPD. It's also very new, and the symptoms very well might get better or go away completely. If I were you I would use no psychoactive substances for about a year (including medications, except maybe some Klonopin if shit gets too hard to deal with). Meditate... let your frontal lobe rest. Hang in there brother! Things will get better.

I personally drink till I'm good and drunk about twice a week. And the occasional 3 beer night during the week. Often with a puff or two of pot. I like to get intoxicated. Probably always will. You just have to keep it in check. Life's tough... especially for us. My days of getting completely bombed and waking up in a world of hurt are over, however. It causes me too much anxiety and fatigue the next day.

I take Zoloft now after finally getting off of a Lexapro hellride when it stopped working for me and I actually had adverse reactions to the Lex (to say the least). After a couple of weeks on the Zoloft I felt like god himself had put his hand on me and healed me. I felt 90% healed. Then I started feeling crappy again. I've been adjusting the dose and 25mg was just too much for me. I've settled on splitting one in half a day (12.5 mg- a tiny dose but no unheard of to take) and I'm maintaining pretty well. I'm extremely med sensitive thanks to HPPD. I'm doing a LOT better. My life is no longer a psychological hell state of varying degrees. My brain is now wired for SSRI's but I can't take too much because of the HPPD. 12.5mg seems to hit that sweet spot between too much and too little. One thing about Zoloft I can say is the side effects are rough for some people in the beginning. If you can push through them and come out the other end a lot of people have good luck with it. Also it's one of the least hard to get off of should you have to or want to after a time. Shoot me a PM if you want any of my personal experience with it. Good luck to you!