AntoCVSS

He told me: As Clonazepam has a live longer than Lorazepam you will suffer too much less abstinence syndrome because you will have a small dose of benzo on your body, and then Clonazepam is easier to tape down on small doses as it’s a larger life benzo (short life Benzos are the ones who creates a really strong hard abstinence syndrome, like Lorazepam)

1 hour ago, Jay1 said:

But Clonazepam is roughly around 4 times stronger, per mg, than lorazepam. This is what confuses me a bit.

Were you getting any relief from the lorazepam?

No relief from Lorazepam. He introduced the Clonazepam just for making the Lorazepam + Sertraline tape down less dangerous you know... And when Lorazepam + Sertraline are done then will tape down Clonazepam slowly too to get free meds

7 hours ago, Jay1 said:

Seems more likely a reaction to tapering off the other meds. Moving from 0.5mg lorazepam to 0.2mg of clonazepam seems a strange titration step to me, tbh. 

Oh yes, I will be on max 0,5mg of Clonazepam, he is like taping down the Lorazepam and introducing Clonazepam for a maximum of 0,5mg

Hey guys,

I started taking Clonazepam in a really small dose (0,2mg per day) 3 days ago, and yesterday evening I started getting possitive palinopsia and hard afterimages.
Is it possible that Clonazepam induced me this?
My psychiatrist prescribed it to me for Sertraline and Lorazepam withadrawl, for not getting too much abstinence (I am currently on Sertraline 50mg and Lorazepam 0,5mg and going down every week step by step)

11 minutes ago, jackk10 said:

What a stressful time! Youre stressed and your  brain is tired, you need a break. Try to focus on the positives in your life and accept that you can’t control everything. You sound alot like me on a bad day! Everything is going to be alright, you’re going to be fine. I know you need reassurance but reassurance feeds your anxiety, try some relaxation therapy. 

Thank you so much man. I am on meditation but I am not getting big results. Would you recommend me some?

29 minutes ago, jackk10 said:

Your symptoms are not getting worse, your anxiety levels are higher thus making already experienced phenomenon appear worse. Try to relax. 

Maybe it could be, my grandmom is dying and I am doing antidepressants + benzos withadrawl slowly, so maybe it’s a mix between all. But how much time can the anxiety and panic make the symptoms worse?? Because it’s been 2 days since the post and symptoms keep worsening🥺

Hello guys,

During the last 3 months my symptoms increased a lot and I still thinking it’s because Sertraline. I’ve been taking Sertraline 100mg for 3 years now, same with Lorazepam 1g, every day during 3 years.

I talked to my med and he wants to take me off the Sertraline and change Lorazepam for Clonazepam some weeks / months. I am super afraid of withadrawl and also of still using benzodiazepines. My symptoms nowadays are: Severe VS, severe ghosting and palinopsia with afterimages, photophobia, photopsias, nyctalopia, flashes, color problems, apparent movement in objects, kind of bugs in vision, and really mild shaking vision (just on my periphery).

What I can do? Please I need help because my symptoms are so severe nowadays and I don’t want to get them worse, actually I would like they come back at least to last year were they weren’t so noticeable. 
I get intrusive thoughts everyday and I need help. I’m 21 years old.

3 minutes ago, hope1 said:

And is that damage revesible? I only smoked like once full hashish cigarette? And just a hit from 2 or 3 friend’s hashish cigarettes, I didn’t abuse about it!

Also I am thinking about my HPPD could be because Sertraline.

Anyways, is it reversible?

9 minutes ago, VisualDude said:

Since you got it from a "bad trip with visual hallucinogens", that is defining point of HPPD that is not VSS.

But really, the diagnosing belongs to doctors who understand the disorder(s) --- good luck finding one.

Also, to some degree the point is mute because there is no established medical protocol to treat either.  You just have to try things with doctor(s) who are willing to help.

Finally, people don't become schizophrenic or die from HPPD or VSS.  It can just be very unpleasant and for some, interfere with work.

The visual problems are 'illusions' not hallucinations.  The anxiety (which most, but not all, have) can be reduced both medically and psychologically.

 

As you already know, this picture produces the illusion of movement.

If you are interested in understanding how this picture works, it relies on the brain's calculating dimension and distance.  Most are familiar with the fact that having 2 eyes allows 'binocular' vision - understanding distance.  A lesser know process is that the brain relies on contrast and shading to do the same function.

In the case of this picture, the artist simply does shading deliberately inconsistent.  So as the brain tries to figure things out, because it is inconsistent, the results are inconsistent, switching to one perspective then another.  This creates the illusion of movement.

As for HPPD, movement of 'static' objects is cause by the brain being uncertain as to what it is seeing so perspective again switches around creating the illusion of movement.  Likely you will find the magnitude of effect depends both on what you are looking at and also the overall brightness.

With HPPD, slight uncertainties can also affect attention/focus.  Uncertainty drives one to vigilance which can increase anxiety.

Explaining this (and hopefully people understanding this) can help one understand what is going on and thus help reduce anxiety about it - though it can still be annoying.

 

Thank you so much for your answer man, helps a lot for real.

So then anxiety exacerbates my symptoms too much because I am looking to them at everytime.

This condition can be really annoying omg. I hope I can recover from it soon, or at least learn how to live with it.

It’s also so interesting how the brain works on that kind of cases and why it can cause movement at static objects.

I hope all of you have a great day guys!

10 minutes ago, Jay1 said:

Why is it that every thread that has some problems, you are involved?

Here's some advice... Stop stating your opinion as fact. Stop belittling people who actually have hppd. You have your theory and we've allowed that opinion to stay on the forum in your threads... I don't want to see any more of it on other threads. 

On the OP... I think weed can give you hppd, and that is without thinking about laced weed or synthetics. The good news is that most everyone who has arrived here with hppd from weed has recovered quickly.

Wow I’m relieved to hear that! Then I have to wait a bit more? Maybe some months or a year? 
also will try to do my best for healthy life condition.

Are you also know if CBD helps for recovering? I heard really cool opinions from that.

25 minutes ago, TryingToHelp said:

And here we go. @dasitmane dragging someone else into his web of despair. Guy just needs to deal with his mental health issues and here you go trying to convince him he has 'hppd'. Nothing could be less helpful.

Thank you too man!

Just now, AntoCVSS said:

Hey man, thank you so much for real.

I was diagnosed with Depressive-Anxious Disease 3 years ago, because before my HPPD started I had some anxiety and panic attacks so I started taking antidepressants. I thinl nowadays I evolved it to a OCD (Obsesive Compulsive Disease) because these intrusive thoughts are always getting me super anxious and non stop.

Will try to stop Sertraline and maybe change Lorazepam for Clonazepam?

Do you think I‘m going to recover?

Yes I did a magnetic resonance and all was alright, no “physical” problems on my brain.

Thanks for all the help!

Do you have some other natural tips for reduce the symptoms?

And yes man I have also another symptom non visual: Tinnitus, and also cramps and tingling sensation on hands and arms.

 

Ando also not sure about weed, a friend told me “it’s a really good hash, you are going to smoke quality”. I smoked with 3 more friends, they were cool, and I had hallucinations (they smoked more than me though, I took like 5-6 puffs)

1 hour ago, dasitmane said:

TryingToHelp is most certainly wrong here, as he is usually about just about everything he says.

Marijuana in very rare cases has caused HPPD and we have had a couple members claim that to be the case with them. So hash also could cause HPPD, being that it has a variably higher occurrence of THC. It is however extremely rare to have have hallucinations on Mari/Hash, are you sure that it wasn't some hybrid knockoff form of weed? The legal substitute compounds for related highs similar to weed have been known to cause various effects, including HPPD, and are highly untested compounds.

IMO since you have anxiety coupled with visual snow and did in fact hallucinate, you likely have HPPD. It is concerning that your symptoms have been getting worse, I would highly recommend that you ask to discontinue Sertraline as it is an SSRI and it is commonly known to exasperate symptoms of HPPD, but also i would recommend the continuation of Lorazepam, as benzodiazapines appear to be the most current and best treatment known for severe HPPD. If any other members wouldn't mind pitching in here about their symptoms getting worse on SSRIs please do share as I know I have seen quite a lot. Also there are plenty of case studies on NCBI that show the same result so you can look there also.

Progressive symptoms in HPPD for even up to two years is not consistent with typical HPPD, it could have been accelerated by Sertraline, and not noticed because of the Lorazepam helping the symptoms. People have even gotten palinopsia and HPPD related symptoms from only SSRI use. Anyways symptoms for the first year or so tend to get better in typical HPPD, so your symptoms are not entirely consistent. I do not feel that you have only visual snow syndrome however. Also obsessive and intrusive thoughts are not always consistent with HPPD, have you had any other related medical diagnostics done like EEGs or MRIs? Do you have any other symptoms at all that you can think of? I would recommend returning to your doctor for further diagnostics to make sure to rule out any other disorders, and/or start out by asking to discontinue SSRI use, and see where it goes from there. If you start to have any motor control issues make sure to report those to your doctor.

The night blindness is also very interesting as well, as that can be simply caused by deficiencies in vitamin A. I don't know if that either is very much associated with HPPD. Basically not all your symptoms in my opinion are consistent with HPPD, but some definitely are, especially after following hallucinations from drugs use, even if it was only hash.

Good luck! And give it time.

Also TryingToHelp is literally learning disabled. He cant help is so just be nice to him and smile. 

Hey man, thank you so much for real.

I was diagnosed with Depressive-Anxious Disease 3 years ago, because before my HPPD started I had some anxiety and panic attacks so I started taking antidepressants. I thinl nowadays I evolved it to a OCD (Obsesive Compulsive Disease) because these intrusive thoughts are always getting me super anxious and non stop.

Will try to stop Sertraline and maybe change Lorazepam for Clonazepam?

Do you think I‘m going to recover?

Yes I did a magnetic resonance and all was alright, no “physical” problems on my brain.

Thanks for all the help!

Do you have some other natural tips for reduce the symptoms?

And yes man I have also another symptom non visual: Tinnitus, and also cramps and tingling sensation on hands and arms.

13 hours ago, TryingToHelp said:

You do not get hppd from just marijuana. It sounds like you have developed visual snow syndrome. You also have what sounds like a pretty serious anxiety condition. This is making you super conscious of the visual snow that you can see and reading and worrying about hppd is combining with your anxiety to exacerbate the visual things into you talking yourself into having hppd.

Treatment: do what is the only proven treatment to combat this affliction. Sort your mental health out.

Thank you so much man for real
I am afraid because I have a symptom that VSS hasn’t at his list. I can see aparent movement on static objects, like I am looking to a book and I can see the book is like moving slowly.

I have an example with an image (this effect is normal on this image, but not on every single objects)

Hey guys,

I’ve been suffering VSS for 2 years into mild and not too symptomatic way, but last month it became so several worse and I want to ask you something about my symptoms because I am super confused and afraid.

Let me explain my case.
About 2 - 3 years ago I tried hashis cigarette from some friends, I had a really bad trip with visual hallucinogens (something that got me super anxious and depressed, I didn’t like the effect).
After some weeks I got panic attacks and much anxiety, so my doctors prescribed me Sertraline 100mg and Lorazepam 1g per day. After some months of getting alright I started getting VS symptom, static dots in my vision like a TV. I went to the doctor but my vision was alright and my brain too, so as it didn’t bother me too much I lived with it for 2 years.

On Summer 2019 I felt so good so I stopped the medication gradually, I stopped the full medication on December 2019. Last month I got too anxious because a medical test. So my VS got worse and I started with flashes in the eyes, palinopsia and severe nyctalopia. I also had a kind of bad tinnitus so I went to the doctor and got treated with Dacortin (corticosteroids).
and also I had to start again with my psychiatrist medication because anxiety and obsessive compulsive intrusive thoughts.
Nowadays my VSS is super severe but I also have some weird, uncomfortable symptoms, and I get something new everyday, I am super afraid.
I have really severe symptoms: VS, palinopsia, nyctalopia, afterimages, really hard flashes at the edge of my vision, spontaneous and random black and bright dots that appear and disappear from the vision quickly, and also I have the perception of looking and object and the object moves so lengt but it only have a seconds duration.
Everyday from 1 month symptoms get worse and worse, I had to stop working because my world is so distorted.

Do you think it’s VSS, or HPPD??
What I can do and how I can be threated? I need help.

I saw a lot of success on Clonazepam and Clonidine or Lamotrigine. Should I go to the doctor to get a prescription of those? I am super afraid, anxious and desesperated.

I also have obsesive and intrusive thoughts about becoming schizophrenic, or suffering it for all the life. I can’t live with that, I feel like living into a psichedelic trip, and I NEVER tried LSD, cocaine, MDMA, or something like that, I have been always fear of these kind of drugs. So what do you think?

Looking for your answer, thanks for your time and attention.