Do I have HPPD?

[Kable457]

Hello.

 

I've done quite a wide spectrum of psychedelics the last year including the following: LSD (500ug at most), Shrooms (Cubensis 3g, and truffles from Amsterdam, 22g of the strongest truffles available called High Hawaiians), DMT (not certain of dose, but I did get breakthrough on first attempt), DOC (2mg the one and only time I did it), 2C-E (40mg the one and only time I did it) and MDMA (0.3g at most, have also combined this with LSD). I've also smoked weed every day for about 4 years

 

I'm worried that I might have gotten HPPD now. But I'm not quite sure what might have caused it. It took some time before I really noticed it and thought that I might have gotten the disorder. I have not taken any psychedelics since new year, which was when I did the very high dose of truffles in Amsterdam, and I quit smoking weed entirely 3 weeks ago.

 

My symptoms are seing squiggly see-through lines floating around, and what I think you guys refer to as "snow". Additionally every time I am in my bathroom and look at the tiles on the floor, I see another pattern on top of the existing ones. Theres alot of small tiles (about 1,5cmx1,5cm) which are going in a grid like +, but my mind makes up another grid on top of that, which looks like an x grid crossing the existing + grid. I see this basically every time I'm in the bathroom. I remember first noticing this pattern when I was on 2C-E, but I can't remember if it was still there the time between my 2C.E trip and my truffle-trip in amsterdam.

 

The snow isn't really that noticable unless I willingly try to make notice of it, but if I do try I can see it quite vividly. The squiggly lines are more apparent than the snow. I do not suffer from dp/dr at all, and feel quite normal psychologically, besides from the visual distortions

 

Anyone that can help me determine wether I have HPPD or not? I'm planning on not doing any drugs until, and if, my symptoms go away, but I'm also wondering if it might come back if I experiment with psychedelics again? I have done quite large doses, and I think this is what might have caused it, will it be safe to do smaller doses if I get rid of these visual distortions?

[StateOfRegret]

That sounds like mild HPPD. I remember having symptoms similar to those you describe years ago. I ignored them and continued to do psychedelics (and lots of them ) and it developed into the full-blown variety. My advice would be to stay clear of psychedelics for the future, since you're probably susceptible to HPPD.

 

Many people get HPPD after a single trip (or a few), but you may have the "slowly developing variety", like I do. I tripped 100s of times on LSD, psilocin, 4-HO-MET, 4-HO-MiPT, 2C-C, 2C-E, 2C-B, aMT, 25C-NBOMe (to name a few) before it got to this level. 

[Kable457]

Is HPPD something some people are sustainable for and others aren't? If so do I have to stay away from psychedelics for the rest of my life if I'm going to stay clear of the disorder?

[StateOfRegret]

I assume you're asking if some people are more susceptible to HPPD than others?

The answer would be "it seems to be the case". The DSM-V states that it is believed that some people are genetically predisposed to develop HPPD.

[Kable457]

Alright. How long did it take from you noticed the mild symptoms until you developed it fully? And what do you think about tripping more after the symptoms are gone?

[StateOfRegret]

It was gradual. I first noticed the symptoms 3-4 years ago. 

Personally I would advice against it. While my trips have been enjoyable and memorable, they were by no means worth it. In short; stop taking psychedelics. It's simply not worth it. No question about it.

 

Here is the definition of HPPD in the DSM-V if you're interested. It is by no means definitive or exhaustive, but it's a starting point.

http://hppdonline.com/index.php?/files/file/72-%7B?%7D/

[brake]

I had mild hppd (similar symptoms to what you are having now) for a week after my sixth trip until my 7th and final trip the following weekend. I advise you stay clear of psychedelics and mdma to not get the full blown thing. The full blown thing comes with a whole array of psychological and cognitive problems. With that comes a greater risk for physical problems in my opinion. It is totally not worth it and if I could go back I would have never touched a psychedelic in my life.