HPPD + haloperidol treatment.

[kamigoroshi]

So i went to my psychologist and told her that i'm hallucinating from drug use, she didn't mention HPPD or seems to know much about it, she prescriped me first zyprexa, which had many after effects and we stopped. And now she prescriped me haloperidol( haldol or haloxen ) some vitamins called no-flush-niacin, and antiparkinsonics akineton. I see no difference at all with this treatment, ive been doing it for a month, do you think haloperidol is actually useful for hppd? 
also i've been smoking a lot of tobacco, should i quit tobacco if i expect to be healed?

[tlehmbecker]

I think there was one case study awhile back on some Army prisoners about treating LSD 'flashbacks' with haloperidol. Since I have a developing psychotic disorder, my psychiatrist suggested haloperidol as well saying that it would either have a positive effect on the psychotic symptoms and potentially HPPD symptoms, or be completely benign and only treat the psychotic symptoms without touching the HPPD in a positive or negative way. I think this stems mostly from the fact that haloperidol acts primarily on the dopamine receptors at low doses (doses used primarily to treat positive psychotic symptoms like hearing voices, delusions, etc.) rather than the serotonin receptors, which seem to be at the root of HPPD hence why SSRIs and most other APs are a no go for us. However, for some people though, their HPPD seems to be linked primarily to their dopamine receptors and a potential lack of sufficient dopamine levels, as is apparently the case for a prominent member of this forum, Visual (a few others as well, but for the majority affecting dopamine levels through the use of pharms doesn't seem to help). If it's linked to dopamine, than any AP and non-SSRI AD is a definite no go, but that doesn't seem to be the case for you.

[kamigoroshi]

I think there was one case study awhile back on some Army prisoners about treating LSD 'flashbacks' with haloperidol. Since I have a developing psychotic disorder, my psychiatrist suggested haloperidol as well saying that it would either have a positive effect on the psychotic symptoms and potentially HPPD symptoms, or be completely benign and only treat the psychotic symptoms without touching the HPPD in a positive or negative way. I think this stems mostly from the fact that haloperidol acts primarily on the dopamine receptors at low doses (doses used primarily to treat positive psychotic symptoms like hearing voices, delusions, etc.) rather than the serotonin receptors, which seem to be at the root of HPPD hence why SSRIs and most other APs are a no go for us. However, for some people though, their HPPD seems to be linked primarily to their dopamine receptors and a potential lack of sufficient dopamine levels, as is apparently the case for a prominent member of this forum, Visual (a few others as well, but for the majority affecting dopamine levels through the use of pharms doesn't seem to help). If it's linked to dopamine, than any AP and non-SSRI AD is a definite no go, but that doesn't seem to be the case for you.

Did it help your hppd at all?

Now i'm on lamictal as well if you know about it and clonazepam, do those help if you know?

[tlehmbecker]

Did it help your hppd at all?

Now i'm on lamictal as well if you know about it and clonazepam, do those help if you know?

I have yet to be put on haloperidol, but I likely will be within the next few months depending on how the psychotic symptoms develop/evolve (presently they're at a very minor state, hearing voices a few times a week, mostly just gibberish/non-sensical statements).

 

I'm on lamotrigine (generic lamictal) and clonazepam right now. Doses I'm taking currently are 100mg lamotrigine, tapering up 25mg each week to a target dose of 200mg, and 2mg clonazepam in split doses. Been on the lamotrigine for about a month and the clonazepam for about 2 months per the Lerner study. 

 

As far as lamotrigine goes, I'm still dosing in and it takes weeks to months for lamotrigine to start working. The studies showing it working for HPPD show a timeline of 6-12 months with some improvement during the dosing in phase, which is about 2 months on average. I've noticed some minor, though hopeful improvements and I'm really hoping this med works out. If not, the next on my list is clonidine followed by naltrexone and then levetiracetam (levodopa is a no go because of the underlying psychotic disorder). One of the most significant is it has certainly improved my depression, which although has been present since my early teenage years got worse when I got HPPD, which of course improved my outlook on this shit situation to be quite frank. 

 

Clonazepam didn't do much for HPPD, but it improved my anxiety about it a lot, almost to the point that I don't care/worry about it anymore, which I think is sort of the point of the medication, make the person not care about their disease and let their body do the healing while they do other things. It basically made me functional again. Before, I could barely get through the day without breaking down or hiding away somewhere. Afterwards though, everything became sort of alright. The symptoms were still there, but I just didn't worry about them as much anymore. 

[kamigoroshi]

I have yet to be put on haloperidol, but I likely will be within the next few months depending on how the psychotic symptoms develop/evolve (presently they're at a very minor state, hearing voices a few times a week, mostly just gibberish/non-sensical statements).

 

I'm on lamotrigine (generic lamictal) and clonazepam right now. Doses I'm taking currently are 100mg lamotrigine, tapering up 25mg each week to a target dose of 200mg, and 2mg clonazepam in split doses. Been on the lamotrigine for about a month and the clonazepam for about 2 months per the Lerner study. 

 

As far as lamotrigine goes, I'm still dosing in and it takes weeks to months for lamotrigine to start working. The studies showing it working for HPPD show a timeline of 6-12 months with some improvement during the dosing in phase, which is about 2 months on average. I've noticed some minor, though hopeful improvements and I'm really hoping this med works out. If not, the next on my list is clonidine followed by naltrexone and then levetiracetam (levodopa is a no go because of the underlying psychotic disorder). One of the most significant is it has certainly improved my depression, which although has been present since my early teenage years got worse when I got HPPD, which of course improved my outlook on this shit situation to be quite frank. 

 

Clonazepam didn't do much for HPPD, but it improved my anxiety about it a lot, almost to the point that I don't care/worry about it anymore, which I think is sort of the point of the medication, make the person not care about their disease and let their body do the healing while they do other things. It basically made me functional again. Before, I could barely get through the day without breaking down or hiding away somewhere. Afterwards though, everything became sort of alright. The symptoms were still there, but I just didn't worry about them as much anymore. 

Yeah clonazepam helped me a lot to sleep, haloperidol + hppd is a horrible combo for sleep

Lamictal seems to help stabilize my moods and slighly helps with hppd, i hope it goes well. I will double my dosage in 3 days.