New here

[morgenstrn]

Hi there,

I am a 16 year-old student and diagnosed myself with hppd. I had a bad trip after smoking pot 6 months ago, and since this day I noticed floaters in my vision. I didn't know about the existence of hppd so I drank a couple of beers 4 months ago and since this day I have anxiety, tinnitus, insomnia, dp/dr, and see movement of static objects (it looks like the leaves of trees are shaking themselves). I also have this moments of not being able to do anything. But my main problem at this point is, I constantly have songs in my head. It's like my brain is replaying every song I've heard for the last couple of years. I have a psychiatrist who first diagnosed me with a form of psychosis, and prescribed me on Seroquel. I didn't take them until yet because I'm afraid it might mess things up more. I have noticed some symptoms like found in Parkinsons (a little bit stiff face and lack of focus) and that makes me think my problem is mainly dopamine-related. Any advice if I should take Seroquel? I noticed all my symptoms diminish a lot if I have good sleep, but this is rarely the case though. I take Melatonin now but it doesn't seem to help much.

Things have gotten better since the beginning (Depression is gone) but still the lack of sleep is a problem. And the good thing is, my psychiatrist is now on my side and would prescribe me anything I want to make me feel better. What medications would some of you recommend for the symptoms I've got?

It's sad that there is so much lack of understanding from the medical world for this condition..luckily there are sites like this to help people. Keep up the good work! (sorry if my english is bad)

[se7ven]

stay away from the seraquel. made things way worse for me!

[myrslingerbult]

Welcome to the forum! Your story is actually pretty similar to mine. I also got HPPD from marijuana (probably some synthetic version though), and i've been on Seroquel for 6 months because my psychiatrist thought I had a psychosis. I've also taken Circadin (melatonin) to sleep sometimes. However, I would not recommend that you take Seroquel if you're 100% sure that you have HPPD, since anti-psychotic drugs tend to worsen HPPD symptoms. You're description of all the symptoms sounds very much like HPPD to me however.

Good luck in the future, keep your head up!

[morgenstrn]

Thanks! It's hard though..and so unfair. I feel like I've ruined my life in one night, an it's not like I did it on purpose you know I just thought it was weed. I had great plans for the future and stuff..now I can hardly read a book and that makes me sad. Did things get any better for you, with the cognitive issues?

[myrslingerbult]

We're pretty much in the same situation then, and I feel really sorry for you. :/ I also had big plans for my life and now i'm just at home without any plans expect to recover from this. I've been forced to drop out of school because of HPPD and I hardly see friends anymore. My worst symptoms are dp/dr and cognitive dysfunction. However, I see a lot of movies and that have helped me to forget about HPPD for a minute or two, maybe you should try that as well.

Unfortunately my symptoms haven't improved over time, but I continue to hope for the best.

Are you still in school?

Here are some tips that may help you to live with HPPD:

- Stay away from drugs

- Don't panic

- Never look directly into a light source

- Eat healthy

- Get enough sleep

- Keep yourself occupied, whether it's talking to a friend or checking out things on YouTube.

- Don't stare at things

- Don't over-analyze your symptoms

- Keep in mind that no one has died from HPPD.

[morgenstrn]

Thanks a lot for your tips. It sucks for you too.. Yes I'm still in school, and I have very bad amnesia my marks have dropped significantly because of this. But I'm very determined to finish it, I have 1 1/2 years left and maybe with hard work it is possible. Dp/dr is a living hell though, I know how you feel.

When I'm feeling down I always remember that there are people with way worse illnesses out there and they're still making the best out of their lives.

I'm also considering joining peace corps (volunteering) after college, I think this can be a good solution.

I hope things will get better for you, and I'm sure they will the brain adapts itself to pretty much anything I guess. I know a girl in Boston who has it since 2 years with dp/dr, and she has almost recovered from her cognitive problems. There is definitely hope. Never give up!

I noticed that drawing helps a lot. But learning to focus on it is difficult in the beginning. Maybe it can help you, too