Duster

I have had very real and psychedelic dreams all of my life but since the onset, I've seen much more nightmares. Probably every second night. I take no medication but when I took clonatzepam, I felt more relaxed when waking up.

Thanks for the answer, Shadow! Temporal lobe abnormalities... I've read / heard something about that. That sounds like a huge improve. Thumbs up for your success with that, maybe you will get all the DP/DR go away. I'm going into the tropics soon to get a little color on my face, good mood and enjoy the sun. All that have helped me so far. Long, dark winter times are not something I love. Not pre-HPPD and even less now.

Shadowplay, sounds great! Can't wait to hear what kind of anomalies the scan result shows. I will do the same when I have more time to concentrate on this issue. (y)

Haha, yes. Things could be so much worse then if it's visible 24/7.. What a terrible thought that is! I've experienced stripes, especially with a big contrast quite disturbing as long as I can remember when they are on a large surface. For example when I'm walking down a, let me say, cobblestone street, the street stones start to swirl at some point in the peripheral vision. When I look at the swirling directly, it's not there anymore. Maybe the same happens with the thick night visual snow too, it does form things that are not there.. Probably it's all about the same "processing unit" that could work better..? That's very interesting!

I get only that black and white checkerboard pattern right before falling asleep. When I notice it starts to form, I really must immediately open my eyes because in that way it goes away. It freaks me out, especially because I cannot rationally say what it really is, where it comes from or why is it there.. A checkerboard from another dimension? Maybe it's only a tip I should start playing chess. I'm getting it probably 3-5 times a week. Lights already off... Good night!

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article19789025.ab That newspaper is Sweden's one of the most read medias, quite similar to Daily Mail in the UK. The article tells about a 22 old man who was killed by smoking too much spice or synthetic cannabis earlier this week. There were other guys who checked in a hospital because they were feeling "unreal" and were still seeing visual hallucinations when all the effects of the drug should have already faded out. The doctor Kaj Knudsen says it is like a visual tinnitus and it may never go away and is probably permanent. That was quoted in the Finnish media as well and in the both countries it's still popular news, especially when you look at the like and share bar! For me that sounds definitely like HPPD and it's good the disorder is becoming hopefully a little bit more widely known now. You guys with better Swedish skills can translate more if needed

Thanks a lot for that! Yes, I read it and found other interesting speculation as well that was written in the past. Do the rats have the same kind of cerebral cortex with all these human fragilities? If so, could they get HPPD too? Pumping hallucinogens into them could show some evidence after, let me say, 10000 rats. I'm an animal lover but theoretically speaking.

I've been thinking this one lately and hopefully somebody can give his/her opinion. Well, how probable is it - after all this we know so far about, that drugs have kind of "blown up" our receptors by overloading serotonin into them, so they cannot function properly anymore at all? Are those receptors like dead now? If it is the chemical imbalance of the brain, why is it so difficult to fix? I just cannot understand that. Why can't we just eat a single pill that rebalances the brain, could it ever be so simple? My 3 year mark will be in the next month and not a single symptom has faded so far. All the best to you!

Thanks for the answers. Yes, there are surely different forms of this and alcohol or caffeine is not for everyone. I got a terrible migraine attack yesterday night. I was hanging out with my friend on a local rock drinking a few beers and watching sunset. We decided then to hit a bar and drink one more, but on the way it started. Got partially blind and couldn't stand or walk a metre. Had to call a taxi to get me back home. Happens approximately every 5 years to me and it is correlated with stress... I'm a masters student in my University and there's a lot going on right now. Ok, probably got a little sidetracked now. I still don't believe there is a sort of damage that cannot be fixed. There must be a way. The day will come but before that let's live... Let's fight.

Makes sense. After a cup of coffee or a bottle of energy drink, I don't feel really stabile for a while. But... When I drink a pint of beer, I start to feel better! Probably alcohol balances the waves?

That's some interesting news! Did the doc say anything about the possibility to recover or getting chemicals back in order somehow?

Definitely worked! I could even see the red led clock of my microwave oven very sharply, which is 8 ft away and usually its pretty much blurred. Afterimages were reduced too.

My mum is having migraines too and she had a 2 years DP-period right after my birth. Migraines are still there, the aura form. I had only two migraine aura attacks before getting HPPD. The correlation between these two disorders should be researched properly, I strongly believe there's a predisposition.

I do. Let me tell you a short story from my life. A few months before doing LSD, I was in a really good shape and was running in a forest. It was a hot summer night, the Sun was just setting and sky was clear. Smell of the growing flora was in the air. Then I reached the top of the hill and saw those sunrays coming behind blooming branches. I really felt like I was living! At that moment everything looked and felt so beautiful. Then months passed.. I thought I had destroyed all my life by a stupid, one night mistake and never see the world like I did. I was wrong. Since the worst times, I've had several moments when I'm able to get myself mentally in such a high state and feel the beauty of being present and enjoy my senses. Never give up. Ups and downs in life will come with or without HPPD. You really can get better.

I feel you! Weird things, but life is weird sometimes. Let's just ignore those people. Take care!

I have this. Even before I got HPPD and beer definitely makes them even wider. Almost got in a trouble in London a year ago, when I got back from a nightclub and while having a cigarette in front of the hotel, the security man points at my eyes and starts asking: "hey man, your eyes look interesting. what's happened?" I told him I just drank few beers and it always makes them so big. That's all. Then he smiled in a way, I didn't like at all. Wasn't the first time, not the last. Happens everywhere.

Yup, don't make things worse! No drugs anymore, never again.

1. Prior to HPPD did you ever suffer from migraines? No 2. Prior to HPPD did you ever suffer from migraines with aura? 2 times 3. Does anyone in your imediate family suffer from Migraines? My younger sister has the classic migraine 4. Does anyone in your imediate family suffer from migraines with aura? Mum, and it's a sort of severe type. She even has the "pulsating sky" effect (visual snow?) especially when she's doing something physical. 5. Does anyone in your extended family suffer from migraines? Who? Not sure 6. Does anyone in your extended family suffer from migraines with aura? Who? Not sure either... 7. Do you have any other relevent information? I believe that there's some sort of connection in the mechanisms of these disorders. Probably, if my migraine aura was never triggered, I wouldn't pay too much attention on this. I think the same part in our brain is responsible for these things. Especially with the aura form...

1. At what age did you first develop HPPD? 23 2. What drugs had you used prior to it, and how often? About 10 times of weed and 50µg of LSD 3. Which substance most likely triggered your HPPD? That small piece of LSD blotter 4. Had you experienced any mental health, cognitive or visual issues prior? Which? Nothing abnormal mentally but always been an anxious person. Migraine aura with the visuals. OT: Got this about 1.5 years ago and now occasionally I've been feeling myself like I felt before all this. Unfortunately the feeling lasts like 30 seconds maximum... Going to cut down booze like 100% now and see does it affect in any way.

Right after the onset I seeked for medical help a lot. After a so called top-specialist and several doctors I really gave up on it. I realized it's only waste of energy to tell the same story over and over again and nobody takes you seriously enough. How about you guys, do you have problems with your night vision? In my case it's difficult to see details when the place is lit badly or there's not any light at all. Adapting to the darkness pisses me off sometimes. If I was a rich man, I would donate million dollars for the researching study. You never know what could happen if M. Zuckerberg got this.. Back to the reality. Let's concentrate on the things we can control somehow and those that make us feel better. What ever it takes.

Thanks for those honest posts Jay! I really appreciate.

Yeah.. I can really believe that. How about your situation Jay: has it been always the same or did it get really worse at some turn? You told somewhere here that you tried acid during this, how did it affect to your symptoms? Edit: I drank lots of alcohol last spring and summer. It didn't affect to HPPD-visuals at all, but the anxiety and depressed feeling kicked back really hard the days after. Like we all know, that's what it does without any kind of neurological disorders. Nowadays I don't drink so often, but about twice a month it feels so great to reset the counter. I know it's not recommended, but I just love it too much. Just making sure never ending up to the "experimental situations" again...

So, I´ve had this for a year so far and having all the symptoms you describe here. Last spring was quite a hard time but I started to get better this fall. My DP/DR level has dropped a lot and visual snow feels to be lower than it used to be. I´m not on any meds. Active lifestyle may be the key. I was enjoying it before this and feeling no reason to downshift it. I think there are a lot worse things in life than this and believe in the fact that world changes all the time and people go with it and there will be more or less damage during the years Experimental test with half a blotter of acid triggered it. No previous drug history. Take care!!

I've had exactly the same symptom two times 2 months ago. It happened at the moment when I was waking up. I just checked at the wall of my cupboard and got a little confused - about dozen laser pointer look-a-like dots on it. They disappeared in minutes though. Luckily there shouldn't be any snipers targeting us.