gill

Yes, but it is more of an indirect help. Instead of reducing afterimages, trails, and what not, I just feel a reduced need to fixate on them. I seem to be able to shit my attention easier. In turn then things have gotten better.

OMG, I think I almost had a seizure, ha......

Judging by the many descriptions I've read, I'd say likely very similar yeah. I think the main difference is ours probably more visually distorted... I think it's a combo of things. You know, not everyone with anxiety goes into dp/dr, and not eveyone who takes a hallucinogen does either. For me I think it was the drug's direct effect, which is over-stimulation, also combined with stress, which could also be considered over-stimulation. You overstimulate certain nerves, they shut down. And they don't just turn back on after the stimulation is gone, they need the right environment and time to do so. I read some people say they're confused when they don't feel stressed yet still are dissociated. Well, there doesn't have to be some underlying stress to keep it going, it's just that there's physical changes that can take a lot of time to rewire.

I usually take 50mgs, sometimes an extra 50. It doesn't really effect trails, afterimages, snow, but it seems to help the DP/DR -type perceptions. And, when that is reduced, then the hppd symptoms are more in the background, then foreground of my perceptions, so I notice them less....

I also notice that I'm less of a douchebag lately, which I'm sure the people around me appreciate.... . hehe

Oh, btw, I take a small amount, because yeah, I am pretty sensitive to any med, I know, hppd can cause sensitivity, so if a doctor ever prescribes you some amount, you're probably best to take less then recommended.

Another thing I think I should stress is that, I avoided ssris for many years because of reading so many negative reports about them for hppd. But I come to realize that most of those people who had negative reactions never really took the drug long enough to experience the intended effects. If you only take an ssri for a few days, or even a few weeks, then you probably never experienced the intended effects. These drugs can take a couple months. It's not like taking a klonopin and then a couple hours later you're experiencing the full effects. It's like an indirect effect they have on the body. It's the bodies adaptation to the presence of the drug that causes the positive effect so it takes a lot of patience.....

I take zoloft. And yes, it has improved my perception. Initially, for the first couple months, things seemed worse, but I stuck with it and now things have cleared. Seems better for DP/DR type things than directly hppd. BUt, I obsess a lot less about hppd now, which is the prime reason I take it. The thing to is, there's the visual distortions themselves, and then there is the worry or obsession about them. If you spend too much time worrying about them, you're body probably wont heal since you'd just be stimulating the same pathways over and over by focusing on them, and stressing. So, I really find it just as important, probably actually more important these days to try to reduce my obsessions about my perception, and in turn, things have slowly gotten better....

I notice that NAC does clear up my perception somewhat. I read that NAC helps reduce abnormal glutamate. So I'm guessing a connection. More so when it comes to DR type things, blurry/foggy vision, then the more classic hppd things though.

If it weren't for suffering I don't think any of us would appreciate the good times.

I wouldn't buy the powder, it tastes like crap.

I think the whole process is more complex. Sure hallucinogens excite cells, but this whole process leads to gene expression changes. Who knows, maybe a bunch of cells just became all interconnected that weren't supposed to because lsd goes in there and tells the cell to grow out a branch that it shouldn't normally do.... Ugh, crazy stuff.....

Yes, this is good stuff. nutrabio.com

HPPD definitely won't show up in an MRI or CT. HPPD is disinhibition in the visual pathways. Anxiety is disinhibition in the emotional paths. Since everything is interconnected, sure anxiety can effect vision. That's why it's good to see HPPD not as just a visual problem, but also emotional....

I don't miss the old board much. I don't think it was a database of knowledge as much as it was a database of opinions. And well, opinions can change with time. Many of my opinions about hppd have evolved, so having a new board is kind of refreshing.

keppra slowed down my thinking a lot more than klonopin. klonopin has a worse withdrawal. keppra was better for dp/dr, klonopin better for hppd. keppra made me more depressed. Consider taking vitamin b6 while on keppra, I read somewhere it may deplete this vitamin, and when I took it, it relieved the side effects somewhat.

1. the old board, there would be people time to time who popped in, who came from that era, talking about hppd. Of course, they had no internet back then, so if they went to a doctor, the doctor probably just told them they had flashbacks, or were crazy.

I used to just combine all my perceptual problems into one, hppd. But then I realized the dissociation could be separated. And , I think the dp/dr is actually worse than hppd. But its less stubborn in my experience. So it can be dealt with , and when I get my dissociation down, the hppd is more in the background and not as big of a deal......

sometimes I'll get bad insomnia and, I have to force myself to sleep since I'm working the next day, and I'll take melatonin. works better than any stupid sleeping med.

To be serious though, yeah, you gotta be cautious of getting really irritable. That was my main problem when I tried it......

Advice? You may want to stay away from guns, knives, and other sharp objects.

Well anyways, after thinking about it, the gamma knife thing would be too hypothetical to think about , but I am interested in the OCD idea. Ok, so we have HPPD, but why do we care, why does it grab our attention so much? I'm not say HPPD = OCD, but what I am saying is that it wouldn't surprise me if it involved similar areas of the brain. You know, obsessions are intrusive thoughts. HPPD perceptions are intrusive perceptions. OCD is thought to involve serotonin. Psychedelics affect serotonin.....