pennyarcade

Its all good Larry I expected to get a worse reaction from people, on the old board I would have been accused of being a troll eaten alive and burned at the stake (I exaggerate). Hi ludwig if people are interested I will continue to post and update this thread, I will not be participating in other threads related to HPPD for the time being. As far as Keppra is concerned I got really ill while taking it, I believe it made my condition worse it could be coincidental though. There is a guy on the other HPPD forum that Duro started who had a bad time and hospitilization on Keppra I have no idea if he had candida or whatever but it was a definite bad time for him. You have to make your own mind up about Keppra, ive said what I believe happened to me but look at the other side of the coin Merkan is having the time of his life somewhere (no doubt). As far as antifungals I believe this is essential... if I was doing this on a tight budget this would be my regime. A daily hot bath as hot as you can handle, this will relieve some pressure off your liver by releasing toxins through your skin, add some epsom salts if you can. A sauna would be another option ) 2000mg Vitamin C Daily (Increase if you having bad die offs be careful though this can give you diarrhoea) Calcium 800mg (Spread this out over the day due to absorption) Magnesium 300mg I recommend citrate as it works a hell of alot better but it is more expensive, my dose is based on citrate. Vitamin B6 100mg daily Bayberry Formula (As needed) Goldenseal Formula start with one daily for a week then increase to two (if you can handle it) and all the way upto 4 or 6 in your own time Drink LOTS of water especialy if you are having bad die off symptoms Once you start getting things under control a bit add a multistrain probiotic like BioKult... I would add this straight away if you can afford it... again build up slowly. Even when i'm better and have stopped the other treatments I think I will continue to take probiotics in some capacity. I worry this is still to expensive for some. The bayberry and goldenseal formula are exclusive to that retailer I can post the ingredients but it does not have the amounts. There are other supplements but Ive used these and they work very well for me. Let me know how it goes if you decide to up the ante Recovering from severe candida is not a placebo its a fucking battle.

Yes I had this, it can be painful in my case it was candida related. Its still crops up when my eyes get wet and they are red like that it stings like a bitch. I believe its a salt issue when ever I had it my phlegm also tasted really salty try drinking more water. And thats officially the last I thing I will say on the matter.

Of course you are right Larry, it just feels great to be getting better and I genuinely want to help others I know people will have to take there own paths I won't go on about this any more. I know ive only just started posting here but I think i may give it a break for a while I had a really good day today, i'm super happy and having someone like me around is just going to be super annoying. I just want to get my life in order and start enjoying it again I don't know what more I can say or do here. If anyone wants to contact me just PM and I will get back. All the best everyone.

Hey Dukkha, Ive heard about a restaurant like that, was that in the UK by any chance, sounds like an experience... How the hell do you know what you are eating?

I would agree in some cases but with clonazepam I think mask is a more appropriate term... we may have to agree to disagree . In so far as Kratom that Merkan took I have read on a couple of reports stating that it has natural antibiotic/antibacterial properties and in Japan they use it for cleaning dishes. I can't find any serious studies but again it interesting.

You to dukkha, I see youve been traveling I take it you are still doing well?

I totally understand, the only reason I went down the candida route is because I had nowhere else to turn, as I was doing the diet I was thinking to myself wtf are you doing this is retarded, the only reason I did do it was because I was desperate all out of ideas. Its hard for me to advise you I don't know your history. If you wrote down everything that happened to you before and after HPPD it might give you some clues you may see some correlations that you missed because in your mind (im guessing) as it was in mine drugs were the be all and end all of your problems.

As for the keppra you would have to read the chat logs (i dont know if that is possible) but we both described the sensations almost identically we had similar dreams and concerns as our conditions were improving I don't know I just really felt that I was sharing that experience with him, other peoples accounts of keppra were less similar to mine.

when I say mask I men the underlying problem is still there but yeah im just saying what you are in a slightly different way... But i don't believe you are cured if you have to take a drug everyday to feel normal, don't get me wrong its great but you still have HPPD. Boogres if you have no problem with fish oil and you think you are having benefit please don't stop because of what I said. As Larry said we are all different. I believe I had that reaction because it was attacking the candida and the candida replied in kind. I'm at odds now on this forum I don't want to keep bringing up candida and I wont outside of this post unless someone asks, I know its a sketchy diagnosis and I dont want to bring any more doubt to this condition as its starting to become more credible. I really don't know where i fit in with all this now... am I in a position to advise people if I had something different

In relation to clonazepam and keppra I believe this is just masking the symptoms but you are right about different people having sensitivities to things... I was all good on clonazepam for a time. Does merkan still have to take both drugs?

My rule of thumb was I could drink but I would have intensified everything for a couple of days afterwards.

Perhaps HPPD is just a symptom part of numerous conditions... thats very interesting that momof2 could not take antibiotics I wonder how many other sufferers have that if more people used this site I would do a poll.

Larry here is my treatment from start to now... Threelac with no diet change) Unbearable I cut out sugar aimed to allow myself no more than 20g a day at this point starchy food is a no no, so no white rice or potato. My average meal was fish, sweet potato and veg... chicken, sweet potato, pork and veg you get the idea, really boring but you have to be really strict at the start and I didn't have the energy to cook anything extravagant. I now have a more varied selection of dishes I cook myself fried rice dishes from time to time but with brown rice. Ive reintroduced potato in small quantity so I can eat chips again now which is awesome. I can pretty much eat anything now that doesn't contain sugar. I found a natural sugar replacement called stevia which i use for sweetening drinks and making yummy chocolate brownies. After a month of the diet I introduced Grapefruit seed extract I believe the product was called citricidal, you put a few drops in liquid and gulp it down gradually increasing your dose. This is alot gentler than threelac but it tastes nasty I found adding it to tea made it more acceptable. The things i noticed while taking this was I started to get Hot Flushes it could be literally freezing but i would be burning up these came and went and were really not nice. I started to get pimply rashes on my chest I believe this is the yeast being pushed out through the sweat glands it started to get quite painful so I watered down the GSE and used it externally on the rashes and they cleared up. At this time any benefits seen from the initial diet were gone the detox is brutal.... I began to get insane anxiety and visuals this carried on for god knows how long I was basically bed bound I very nearly gave up at this point. But one evening almost everything cleared up colours were no longer dull everything looked beautiful like a huge weight had been lifted the VS cleared up greatly to but this only lasted for an evening but it was the moral boost I needed. I then added a herb called Pau d Arco this to gave me the clear headed normal feeling for a couple of days but then the dieoff symptoms came and I literally could not tolerate it. I stopped the GSE to see if I could tolerate the Pau D Arco by itself but I could not and to top it of I was developing IBS irritable bowel syndrome (look it up) which is horrible I found a product called collostrum which was recommended this cleared up The IBS over a period of about a month this was when I started to notice new hair growth at the front of my scalp this was all very cool but the clear headed HPPD free felling was eluding me I still had really bad DP/DR and the regime was intensifying it I had brain fog so bad I couldnt remember passwords for email and forum accounts. Thats when I stared taking the bayberry formula and the brain fog is none existent now. I was so impressed with it I bought the companies goldenseal formula which is ace. I started taking one pill a day im now on two and working up to 4 or 6. Its getting to the point now where I feel HPPD free alot of the time it comes on like a wave the tinnitus in my left ear goes between insane and almost inaudible (hopefully that will sort itself out) then its the colours i notice really vivid then the static becomes really refined to a point that its not bothersome at all its a really euphoric feeling of being free no worries in the world like the best drug ever. As I continue this is becoming more and more frequent. My biggest problem at the moment is tiredness, extreme chills and the anxiety between the calm. I have recently added a probiotic called Bio-Kult I take one in the morning and one at night im trying to tolerate it twice daily but im not ready yet. Throughout I have been adding vitamins to help support detox Vitamin C 2-3000mg daily Calcium 400mg twice daily Magnesium Citrate 300mg Daily Biotin 2000ug Daily Vitamin D3 1000 iu Daily B6 150mg daily Evening primrose oil 2600mg Daily Flaxseed Oil 4000mg daily (1800mg omega 3) I was taking fish oil before but this was on special This is expensive but in my view completely worth it. Im sure you don't need all these things but they help and im just pushing things as fast as I can 10 years of this shit has been plenty.

Larry I don't believe everyone here has Candida and I certainly couldn't prove it, there were a few people on the old board for instance Merkan and Me had almost identical reactions to everything I seem to remember him having very similar sensitivities to me our Keppra experience was eeeriliy similar compared to some other peoples accounts i seem to recall Momof2 had similar reactions to mundane herbs as well as others I started a thread about it on the old board many others weighed in. In my head I just think if we had the same reactions theres a good possibility we have the same illness and the solution is a pretty healthy one I'd just like some people to try and report back on there progress if any. Ludwig if you are having problems with your liver, you should get it checked out but if it is candida related I started taking a Bayberry formula this one http://www.thefinchleyclinic.com/shop/bayberry-formula-p-12.html it helps support the liver and negate some of the candida toxins, this was a huge turning point for me it provided huge relief to alot of my symptoms its expensive so if you want the ingredients let me know you could put something similar together yourself. They also do a goldenseal formula which is now my main candida med. You certainly have the signs of candida perhaps its time to go all out, you could be drinking gain in 6 - 9 months even if it doesnt cure your HPPD the benefits are still numerous. Boogres fish oil was recomended on the old forum on numerous posts so I doubt it makes HPPD worse but a few members literally tripped balls while taking including myself... and now I take it daily as part of my anti-candida regime.

I should say that when I drink it comes back with a-vengeance, Ive only done this on my birthday I was worried I really set myself back but it cleared up again.

Well the body naturally attacks candida hence excessive antibodies found in sufferers, so your body can fight it if your immune system is healthy. I believe some drugs (legal & illegal) and even environmental factors like mold and damp / pollution or even stress can take its toll on the immune system and the adrenals and this is when Candida takes hold but if factors change the situation can reverse quickly I doubt an unaided immune system could defeat a severe infection but it could improve it so your HPPD could go or improve but all the time you were on the edge one step away from it coming back and something as simple as an alcohol binge could push you back over the threshold. I'm not saying you or these others have it but this could be a explanation if you did. All I know is that mine is going by treating for candida as well as numerous other problems, my gums no longer bleed when I brush, my receding hairline is growing back everyone is asking what i did but people just look at me funny when I talk about candida I almost dont want to say anything. There must be other people who have the same as me even if its just a small number of HPPD sufferers.

Sorry Larry i said hi to you in the other post im glad you are here you and others helped me through some dark times. You can read my thread in the general discussion area things are going very well.

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Hey U E ! Good to see some familiar faces here I hope you are well, I was hoping there would be more old faces to, hopefully more people will check in... it took me long enough.

Still you could try something like Grape Fruit Seed extract and see if it affects your symptoms... if they worsen from from something like GSE that has no psychoactive ingredients I believe that is a sign that you may have candida... There really isnt enough data for me to say for sure im the only person i know who has treated HPPD with candida protocols though I have read reports of Visual Snow sufferers getting better by attacking candida. Edit.. More sensible advice cut out sugar for a while and see how you feel, I did get die off symptoms from diet change but it was no where near as bad as when antifungals are in the mix honestly it is worse than benzo withdrawal.

Yeah it is pretty crazy looking back... You can't catch candida it is everywhere I believe everyone has it in there guts, it when it gets out of balance with friendly flora its starts rampaging and causing problems. My advice to you from a candida standpoint would be if your going to smoke then take a probiotic supplement everyday a proper multistrained supplement like Bio-Kult and if you can't afford that look into probiotic drinks/yoghurts. But from an HPPD standpoint I would reccomend you don't smoke especially without evidence that candida was causing your problems. I feel your pain man ive been dieing to enjoy some mary jane but think hard don't blow your second chance.

Here are a couple of links to candida studies ive read more and will try to find them. Elevation of Candida IgG Antibodies in Patients with Medically Unexplained Symptoms http://www.encognitive.com/files/Elevation%20of%20Candida%20IgG%20Antibodies%20in%20Patients%20with%20Medically%20Unexplained%20Symptoms.Full%20Text%20Available.pdf Effect of cannabis use on oral candidal carriage http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2231436

Hi everyone, many will remember me from the old forum I was a reasonably long time contributor there. I hope everyone is well. What i'm going to talk about to today is two seemingly controversial diagnosis's... HPPD and Candida and how I believe for some people the two may be inextricably linked. I don't want to write a massive post here but I feel I may have to in order to make you see why I have come to this conclusion its like starting all over again on this new forum.... sigh First a briefish history there maybe things here I haven't mentioned before but in retrospect I feel they are important. 90's) I started to notice a faint visual snow when I looked at the sky I also had an increase in floaters which I remember asking my father about because it was bothering me so much. Around this period I became depressed/distant something that seemed to be a sign of things to come 2000/2001) My Visual Snow cleared up or I forgot about it around the time I was attending college. This was when I started smoking Marijuana quite heavily I was self medicating my anxiety and depression and things were seemingly good. I had a recurrent problem with an ingrown toenail for which I was prescribed Antibiotics... It was after this I started getting heavily depressed and lethargic to the point that I couldn't make it into to college most mornings, I remember one morning my lecturer came to my house to wake me up and take me to college he had threatened to kick me off the course but he admitted to me that he to had battled with depression himself and he was somewhat lenient of my situation. 2001) My lethargy had reached new heights I would sleep all day if I could, My mum became worried and purchased this High strength vitamin C formula (cant remember its name but me and my mates used to call them Energon Cubes yeah we are geeks) it gave me a bit of energy but seemed to cause me bad liver pain I had this problem with all vitamin C formulations. August 2001 (Judgement Day) I got drunk of my face at a music festival, A friend kept pestering me to do an LSD microdot with him because he didn't want to do it alone I caved and what followed can only be described as pure Hell. The visuals were not the worst part of that trip though it was intense it was the Pain I experienced and the longevity. After the other people had stopped tripping I was still going i had a massive pain in my liver area and my head at this point and I was becoming increasingly distressed I kept coming back up and even when I was down things were not normal and this was to be my life for the foreseeable future where I wore the brunt of HPPD Things I noticed Post HPPD Messed up vision/perception (I dont think i need to explain this) Auditory Hallucinations (I would hear the door bell or phone ringing and sometimes familiar voice speaking DP/DR Head Pressure My urination was completely clear and remained that way for weeks after the trip my liver pain continued to persist my doctor said it was normal for urine to be clear he basically saw me as an anxious hypochondriac as most doctors do he told me to stop worrying. Increased anxiety Intense depression Inflamed itchy scalp (I thought this was stress related) I imagine I have PTSD as well it was a harrowing experience and the fact it was relentless for years to come made thing worse with time An increased sensitivity to herbal supplements from MJ to Fish Oil I would hallucinate and have muscle spasms from hell Adverse response from prescribed meds SSRI's etc Things That Helped Alcohol but the next day things would be twice as bad unless I drank again when I drank 3 days in a row things would get so bad that the alcohol didn't provide relief and I would be in for a week of hell to get back to base line. Clonazepam like the alcohol but without the worsening of symptoms it was a lifesaver but while I was taking it I started noticing new symptoms which I thought were completely unrelated to HPPD. Such as recurring Eye infections for which I was prescribed antibiotics which made my HPPD insane I switched to Fucithalmic acid which did'nt seem to aggravate so much butit didnt help. Keppra) I was so sure this was the one my vision and DP/DR cleared up significantly but It was not consistent and I stopped taking it when I started developing physical symptoms... joint pains, numbness I was even hospitalised when I woke up one morning and couldn't move my right hand, I was in constant pain when ever I was awake which wasn't that often. I could barely walk most days and I became more and more withdrawn and suicidal this was why I disappeared from the old forum in the midst of my keppra trial I completely lost the plot. I discontinued Keppra and saw no improvement and then came off clonazepam and switched to diazpepam which reduced my symptoms slightly so I concluded it must be the benzos and came of completely... my symptoms did not improve and i had withdrawals thrown into the mix.. eugh Ok im gonna try an be more concise but this is all relevant ... Thrown between many different doctors/consultants the only possibilty was Sjrogrens Syndrome for which I was treated but that made things twice as bad i shit you not.. no else could find anything wrong that could explain my symptoms... bang whallop I no longer have HPPD my Psych changes his diagnosis in a letter that my reg doc showed me out of the blue saying that is is likely I am Hypochondriac and a diagnosis of schizophrenia is more fitting even though my regular doctor had confirmed I had numb patches on my body and I looked like I was the living dead. This was a brick wall no more help from the medical community unless I was willing to take meds and I couldn't pretend to take them they were going to inject apparently once a week... fuck that imagine being stuck on an SSRI for a week even if you wanted to discontinue. Realised I had to save myself or I was going to end up in a hospital with antipsychotics forced down my throat. I ruled out everything I could and I was left with i'm either crazy or I have Candida (yeah I know i thought it was BS to). There is a wealth of info about Candida online alot of it is bullshit from both sides of the coin. Candida Treatment I initially tried Threelac... immense worsening of HPPD and physical symptoms and slept for days I didn't touch it again but a reaction is a reaction. And later I read that as candida dies it releases even more toxins so if you have a severe infection you have to go gradually otherwise you will be in for a world of hurt. I cut out sugar and most simple carbs/starchy foods including alcohol as its a sugar I often wondered why alcohol made things much worse when benzos did not I believe in my case this is the answer. I did this for a month and to my amazement my physical symptoms started clearing up as well as my fatigue. Herbal fungicides After a month of the diet I added grapefruit seed extract... worsening of ALL symptoms HPPD.... everything so I lowered the dose and stuck with it, I started to get hot sensations around my body especially in the left side of my head where my head pressure was but this cleared up as did my head pressure I started to get breaks in my DP/DR this is when everything fell into place and I realised the connection maybe candida toxins were causing my HPPD. I continued on with new supplements with every new improvement came an even greater low the kind where you lose all hope but I just stuck with it and overtime im seeing INCREDIBLE differences this is my fourth month of fighting candida and my head pressure has barely made an appearance my vision has periods where it is clearer than it ever was on Keppra or Clonazepam it is in these periods that my depression and anxiety completely goes its like waking from a BAD nightmare I made a video the first time it happened cos I wanted a memory of how amazing it was I may post it at some point. I actually believe im going to make a full recovery now its just a matter of time. My explanation I had candida which was causing my VS growing up, Cannabis made it worse, Antibiotics made it much worse. LSD made it insane... i don't no why I have read it puts immense pressure on the liver and that candida can go out of control in periods of stress I can't say for sure. My advice to you is give this a try... If you have HPPD... DP/DR Especially if you are sensitive to supplements which may have detoxing or fungicidal properties or If you believe you got HPPD from marijuana (i have read a study where candida is present in greater number in cannabis smokers) infact many natural practitioners recommend pot smokers take probiotic supplements. I know this sounds way to good to be true and if I was reading this a couple of years ago I probably wouldn't make it to the end I don't want to spread false hope, Im not selling anything I just want to help and anyway what have you got to lose by trying? there are loads of crap products out there and what works for me may not work for you but if people want more info or help (I feel like an expert on candida now) just ask. bracing for barrage of insults Peace PS here is candida it looks strangely like a floater... http://www.doctorfun...img/candida.jpg probably a coincidence but interesting none the less. Opps just want to make it clear im not saying you have Candida im saying you might and even if its just a chance...

Hey Larry... Long time mate. How are things? Ive been put off posting here mainly because of the drastic changes... it seems like a totally different site Good/Bad I dunno it just didn't seem the same I guess...