themagain

As mentioned above, HPPD is very much a long-term thing. An important thing to remember is that, especially within the first few months, symptoms will be fluctuating a lot. More symptoms may very well arise during this time period, and though it may seem unlikely that you will ever get used to it (startbursting), it will eventually become commonplace, and you will teach yourself to ignore it. I have starbursting just as severe (if not more) than you have described, as well as a slew of other symptoms that I consider to be much worse (ghosting, afterimages, trails, visual snow, extreme photophobia, double vision) and I have learned to live with it. It does get better.

1) 19

2) Cannabis (1000+ times), alcohol (100+), mushrooms (10+), LSD (2), MDMA/ecstasy (20+), 4-AcO-DMT (2), DMT (2), Spice (50+)

3) MDMA in combination with cannabis, 4-AcO-DMT 

4) no

Sure wish I read this thread earlier.  I found that weed made my symptoms, which I think are HPPD, worse for a day or two after, but then I was at my "normal" level of DR and visuals.  I figured it didn't hurt if it was temporary and it dramatically helped with my depression, so I smoked a lot.  Now I'm hoping that didn't make this last longer!

I've found that nearly every time that I've smoked weed since i got HPPD, it has made things worse. For example my trails started after taking one hit of dank, and then got much worse after smoking again after that. Sometimes I get peer-pressured into smoking at a party, and I find that when I'm drunk it's a lot harder to turn down the pot. But interestingly enough, I've found that if I smoke weed when I'm really drunk already, it has much less of an effect (long-term) than if I were to just smoke weed and nothing else. I think that has something to do with being less anxious about it when I'm drunk, idk.

For me DP and DR go hand in hand, with one comes the other. I am not a constant sufferer of this condition,but when i get it, it feels like i am watching myself live, or experiencing my life, from a third-person point of view. A good way to describe it for me is always feeling like i'm hearing myself talk and it is very depersonalizing/derealizing for me.

I have to agree with Visual on the symptoms getting worse before they get better. As long as your symptoms are changing I think you can regard that as a good thing. I started out with a few symptoms. That were then replaced with others, these stayed calm for a while, but suddenly began to worsen. They got worse and worse and worse. A few days ago I noticed my symptoms were acting up. These last few days I have been waking up clearer and clearer. Reality is within my grasp at this point. I feel like any day I'll have that final breakthrough. I had many of the symptoms you had for almost a year now. On tough days I like to remember John Lennon singing "Nothings gonna change my world." As long as you stay sober, in one way or another it can only get better. As for trails being the worst, its hard to say. For me it's starbursting, that one really gets under my nails. When my trails were worse than they are now, which is to say practically non existent, I got over the anxiety of them by having fun with them. I would shine a light in the air and write my name and shit. You really need to adopt a sense of light hearted humor and humility to get through these tough times. That's my advice to you. Best of luck.

Interesting. Most of my visual symptoms, especially the VS, ghosting and afterimages, I have come to accept as reality. Ironically, it seems like it would be weird for them to go away, because I have become so used to them. And yes starbursting can be difficult to live with sometimes, I agree with you on that. It is good to see that your trails have improved, as that is the ultimate goal and aspiration.

Out of curiosity, as ghosting is concerned, do any of you guys see multiple images (even 4+ copies) scattered around when looking through multiple panes of glass? This is one of my more annoying symptoms for sure.

Hey all,

I am new to the forum and I am a 6-month veteran of visual HPPD, with occasional DP/DR. My current symptoms include heavy visual snow, strong afterimages, severe ghosting, geometric patterns, CEV's, double vision, vertigo, so AKA pretty much everything in the HPPD repetoire. But within the past couple days my afterimages have evolved into trails. These trails are by far the most annoying and anxiety-inducing symptom I have developed. The trails appear on pretty much everything, in any lighting situation, that I am not immediately focusing on, not just tail lights on cars at night like I read about a lot on forums like these.

I was wondering if anyone suffers from trails as bad as this and if it is equally as annoying. I have not seriously considered getting on anxiety medication until this latest symptom developed, and now I am certain I will need it to function without severe anxiety all the time. I had grown fairly used to the other symptoms of HPPD but this one seems like it will be the hardest to overcome and ignore.

Thanks.