Mild HPPD or “expected and will pass?”

[Ian]

- I ingested 3.5g of Golden Teachers, my first ever dose. I had some visual distortions followed by waves of laugher for about 4 hours. Then 100% back to normal.

- A few weeks later I ingested almost 5g. Trying to get to that “psychedelic healing” place to help with depression. Had the usual visuals and then allowed myself to have some introspection. Helped a great deal. A bit overwhelming but not scary. No real hallucinations. 100% back to normal.

- 2 weeks later tried 3.5g in tea - heard it was stronger that way, so I was hoping to have more of an experience. Just had some distorted visuals. Quite boring. 

It’s day 4, and although I’m not really feeling high, I still have a bit of distortion - wavy patterns if there is high contrast - pavement has waves, spots in poured concrete ceiling giggle like jello. For the first few days everything seemed very saturated and I was sensitive to light. Saturation seems to have resolved (or maybe I’m used to it). The wavy patterns and light sensitivity seem to be subsiding, VERY slowly. 

I’m new to shrooms, so is this common? I’ve read that about 50% of people go through this after psychedelics. Will this likely resolve in a week or 2, or is this something that may be ongoing? Seems like it’s different for everyone. And finally, should I try ingesting another dose in a month or so, or is that just a REALLY bad idea and I should consider myself lucky this wasn’t worse?

I would appreciate any advice. Honestly kind of disappointed/angry because all the research I did on psilocybin and depression talked about how safe and magical shrooms were. I didn’t even know this was a risk until I had to start Googling about what was going on with me long after the high wore off.

Edited October 12, 2022 by Ian
Added more detail

[Jay1]

4 days is way too soon for any of us to be able to say, i'm afraid. Just try to de-stress, don't take any drugs etc for a while and see what is going on. 

One thing I can say with certainty though is that doing another dose any time soon is a huge gamble. Having lingering visuals is a big indicator that you could get HPPD. Adding any fuel to the fire, right now, is the worst possible idea. 

Keep us up to date as the days/weeks go on. Hopefully it is something that will go away soon. 

[cosmiccharlie]

From my experience, frequency can impact whether one gets HPPD or not.  That was one of my many mistakes which gifted me this disorder.  Personally, I would wait a few months at least and see if things return to baseline.  I know it can be tempting to test the waters but this condition is not something anyone wants (I think).  If the lingering effects go away and you trip again and things are fine I would still recommend spacing your doses by 2-3 months to be on the safe side.  Listen to Jay, he has a lot of experience and has helped a lot of people.  

[Ian]

11 hours ago, Jay1 said:

4 days is way too soon for any of us to be able to say, i'm afraid. Just try to de-stress, don't take any drugs etc for a while and see what is going on. 

One thing I can say with certainty though is that doing another dose any time soon is a huge gamble. Having lingering visuals is a big indicator that you could get HPPD. Adding any fuel to the fire, right now, is the worst possible idea. 

Keep us up to date as the days/weeks go on. Hopefully it is something that will go away soon. 

Thanks for your reply and advice. I wasn't sure if this was common or not. I'm remarkably not stressed given the situation. I don't mind the mild visuals - I just wish the light sensitivity wasn't a thing. It seems to be getting very slightly better each day. I'm also taking Lion's Mane. And I think my shroom experimenting days are over. I'll keep you updated.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Ian
Typos

[Ian]

4 hours ago, cosmiccharlie said:

From my experience, frequency can impact whether one gets HPPD or not.  That was one of my many mistakes which gifted me this disorder.  Personally, I would wait a few months at least and see if things return to baseline.  I know it can be tempting to test the waters but this condition is not something anyone wants (I think).  If the lingering effects go away and you trip again and things are fine I would still recommend spacing your doses by 2-3 months to be on the safe side.  Listen to Jay, he has a lot of experience and has helped a lot of people.  

Good to know. How long have you had HPPD?

[ShaolinBomber-2]

Stop all hallucinogen use. In fact stop all drug use that agonizes any part of your visual cortex. That includes drugs that work on serotonin networks (ecstasy) 

 

give your body a month or 2 to recover. See where you stand after that. 

[Ian]

Thanks. It’s been about 5 weeks and the symptoms are very mild. The light sensitivity improved after about 2 weeks, but I still see faint halos. I notice that the intensity of the visuals fluctuate, usually with food.  Carbs affect serotonin apparently. 

[Beefol]

Hey @Ian, how are you doing right now? Are there any symptoms left?

[Ian]

1 hour ago, Beefol said:

Hey @Ian, how are you doing right now? Are there any symptoms left?

Just passed the 3 month mark and nothing has improved much. Thankfully it’s not worse and doesn’t interfere with day-to-day stuff

[Ian]

Still looking for something to help (now and then), so just stopping by to say that nothing has changed after 5 months, if anyone's curious.

[Jay1]

If you need something for occasional relief, there's nothing better than clonazepam, for me. If you are confident you can stick to only taking them as and when, then i'd chat to your doctor about it.

[Ian]

Thanks! I’ve learned about that. I don’t think it’s bad enough to take meds. So Clonazepam isn’t a “cure” but something to take as needed? Wasn’t sure based on what I read. 

[AF44]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:55 AM, Ian said:

Thanks! I’ve learned about that. I don’t think it’s bad enough to take meds. So Clonazepam isn’t a “cure” but something to take as needed? Wasn’t sure based on what I read. 

Hi!

I have been on clonazepam every day for over a decade. It’s a blessing and a curse. I’m an oldie, lol, I got HPPD back in August of 1998 from taking LSD. Back then I don’t think anyone had ever heard of it. I hadn’t, just figured I had brain damage from taking drugs. Years later my symptoms were SO bad I was kind of looking stuff up on Google. Back in the day I never googled anything but it was a thing so I typed in some of my symptoms. I had been chugging Red Bull like a maniac. I looked up symptoms of caffeine overdose or what happens if you drink too many energy drinks and of all the things…I saw a page on HPPD!! I couldn’t believe it!! The page said that clonazepam was supposed to really help the symptoms. I was able to get it from a neurologist. He was very skeptical of HPPD, but after looking it up he figured there might be something to it and said, sure, here’s clonazepam, now you can just get it through your regular doctor. I would get a 6 month refill, then have an appointment with my dr. to see how I was doing, then she would give me another 6 month refill. I was required to see a second neurologist, and this neurologist said yes, it’s fine, she can be on it. Back then the laws on scheduled substances were a lot more lax. Nowadays you practically have to be dying to even get a pain pill, and Drs. are very cautious about prescribing benzodiazepines. But anyway, I’m still on it to this day, probably only because I’ve been on it for so long maybe they think the benefits outweigh the risks. I would do what Jay does. He’s very smart in how he uses his clonazepam, and he has his own schedule of doing it (he’s just plain smart anyway!!! ) So it could be worth looking into, but I would not take it every day, even if a dr was willing to prescribe it for every day use.