Trazodon(possible cure) antidepressant

[Kris]

Hey guys i had problems with visual snow DP/DR  and a flickering like someone is turning the whole world off.Auras and light sensitivity. I felt the neurons misfiring in my visual cortex as this was happening.Tried 300 mg Lions mane and Taurine 1500.No effect felt like i was just masking the problem.Went to the doc after i saw this post 

 Then i choose to be prescribed Trazodon(tritiko) .It targets 5HT2a receptors as well as androgenic ones. Helps relocate the serotonin to the inter neural space instead of having an influx of neurons misfiring.Anyway its been 3 days since then and everyday is better. World is more tangible feel alive and the flicker has almost faded.Auras are reduced and i feel hope. I take 150mg at night time near 6pm. Anyway thanks to this forum and i hope this helps you guys. Being on this feels like a reverse trip in a way,but if you are out of options i highly recommend this.

[VisualDude]

Glad it is helping you

Trazodone affects so many receptors, its hard to know what is helping (other than it overall 'quiets' many circuits)  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trazodone#Pharmacology

It states in this publication http://www.facesofhppd.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10884075/hallucinogen_persisting_perception_disorder_and_flashbacks_2013.pdf

• "Abraham & Duffy (1996) hypothesized that HPPD is a disinhibition of visual processing related to a loss of 5-HT-receptors on inhibitory interneurons."

The 5-HT receptors that are inhibitory are the 5-HT1 and 5-HT5 receptor types.  If there is a loss of these inhibitory receptors, how can antagonizing (reducing the effect of) the remaining ones help? ... since there would be even less inhibition.  Would not agonizing (increasing) them increase the inhibitory effect and thus problem?

 

This publication (which was primary to the thread you attached) attributes the effects to 5-HT2a receptors which are excitatory:  https://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/pharmacology/risperidone.palinopsia.html

Risperidone strongly reduces all serotonin and dopamine actions.  Yet while there have been the occasional member here that does well, most complain strongly about this med.

The patient they report having visual illusions with resperidone was also taking trazodone and clonazepam

 

One of his last works before retiring, Dr Abraham tested increasing dopamine activity without altering serotonin activity and had 30-50% success.  But no long term trials have been done.  (Before learning about Dr A, I started using dopamine agonists with consistent improvement (though not 'cured') for over a decade.)

 

Unfortunately, HPPD is complex to resolve.  But it is good to know someone else has got help.  Please keep us informed in the future as to how you do and if you need to stay on Trazodone.  

Thanks

[Kris]

Experts aren't sure exactly how trazodone works but suggest it improves the symptoms of depression by inhibiting the uptake of serotonin by nerves in the brain. This increases levels of serotonin in the nerve synapse (the space between two nerves).

This increases the serotonin available to be used in the system. I think that my having a serotonin deficiency(it stays in the cell). The body goes into a survival mode and starts hallucinating. It would make sense that after substance abuse targeting the receptor the reuptake is higher and the available serotonin is less overall as it just stays stored in the cell.I think this was the case with me as this 5ht2a agonists can both be inhibiting as well as increasing synaptic activity. I want to use the medication until my body reaches a sort of homeostasis.Then i will discontinue it. Most people report the changes stay afterwards which gives me hope.

This is because trazodon alters the serotonin transporter and in time this change stays.

World feels solid again im glad to be back to normal(as much as possible).Forgot to mention also helped with the brain fog.Cheers and may we win this battle.

[Jay1]

I tried it, sadly didn't help me and gave me incredibly bad restless leg syndrome, so had to discontinue after a month or so.

[Kris]

23 hours ago, Jay1 said:

I tried it, sadly didn't help me and gave me incredibly bad restless leg syndrome, so had to discontinue after a month or so.

Sorry to hear that well i don't plan to use it more than 6 weeks it does take some time for it to kick,the changes coming out of it should be more or less permanent as it does change the transporter gene expression and makes it so that there are less transporters active overall reducing serotonin uptake. After i feel i'm more or less better i will taper down and get off it.

[Kris]

Update: i took 3000 mg Taurine and now i feel almost cured. I will taper off Trazodone in the next couple of days and stop it. Gaba and overexcited neurons seem to be the most prevalent hypothesis and now i see why. I have visual improvement and dont feel light sensitivity which was a big thing for me.

[Kris]

Update:i was wrong symptoms come back with a painful migraine upon trying to stop trazodon. Maybe i do have some kind of serotonin deficiency.. I could see auras before psychedelics. Back to the original plan of raising serotonin.

[Kris]

After using it for two weeks i quit it cold turkey. i think it did upregulate or downregulate them,however currently it does more harm than good as when i stopped my symptoms improved I also stopped because of this recent finding:

Downregulation of post-synaptic 5-HT_2A receptor is an adaptive process provoked by chronic administration of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and classical antipsychotics.

I am looking into cbd now and other solutions. I think it helped but my hppd was more mild compared to full blown hallucination cases.

[Entheologist]

You should try a lower dose and see if that works equally well. Less side effects with a lower dose and you won't build a tolerance so quick. 

Mirtazapine is real similar to trazodone, it blocks 5-HT2A also I think. Blocks a lot of other receptors too though

[Entheologist]

On 2/11/2020 at 1:00 AM, Kris said:

Update: i took 3000 mg Taurine and now i feel almost cured. I will taper off Trazodone in the next couple of days and stop it. Gaba and overexcited neurons seem to be the most prevalent hypothesis and now i see why. I have visual improvement and dont feel light sensitivity which was a big thing for me.

Have you tried magnesium taurate? It stopped me having seizures and losing my mind with psychosis coming off huge doses of Xanax a few years ago. 

[Aangtheairbender]

Taurine and lions mane are both bad for HPPD. Taurine especially because it’s an upper. I think it’s much more likely that those supplements made your hppd worse, not the trazodone. It sounds like you were getting better and then stopped taking the trazodone and started taking high doses of supplements. I took 500 mg of Taurine once and felt like I was gonna have a heart attack my heart rate went up so freaking quick. Taurine has a similar effect like caffeine that’s why they put taurine in Red Bull. Caffeine makes my hppd a lot worse. 1500mg Is a ton that could have caused your hppd relapse. 

[Onemorestep]

Afaik taurine is not an upper and is used in conjunction with caffeine to make it smoother because it provides inhibitory action. That doesn’t negate your bad reaction—ppl with hppd can react all sorts of funny ways.

[Kimciolly]

Depression is an urgent problem, and the number of doctor visits is growing yearly. It can be solved by contacting a psychotherapist and taking antidepressants. These medicines regulate the production of hormones and biochemical processes in the body, and they can be bought even online at https://www.pillpal.to/anti-depressant-1801. It is strictly forbidden to prescribe them yourself since these are complex drugs with certain restrictions and side effects. The doctor must authorize their appointment and monitor the reception.   Therefore, you should find a doctor to pick up quality medicine.

Edited October 10, 2022 by Kimciolly