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This is an encouragement to have your genes tested. To familiarise yourself with the basics of genetics, you can watch this video playlist: The proposal is simple; get a sizeable amount of us to have our DNA tested and compare the results to see if we share any unusual mutations, compared to the population. Hopefully some patterns will emerge. Eventually, we hope this will lead to formal research. Visual and I have recently had our genes tested by 23andMe. Visual is in the process of creating a simple program that will read a list of SNP's (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) we are interested in (those that are implicated in certain brain disorders, for example) and compare the variations of each participant for these SNPs. We have already tested a basic version of this program which does this in a simple form. There are some more complicated stats things that need to be accounted for before it is useful. Also, it needs to work in correspondence with a survey, as HPPD symptomatology varies vastly between individuals. What we need to make this program more useful is more results: more people with HPPD having their genes tested. This is where you come in. If you can afford it, please consider joining us. The cost is only $99 + shipping to have your DNA tested and takes a few minutes of your time (swabbing your mouth). Once done, the data can be useful for centuries. For the sake of continuity, and I think it is the best value for money, please go with 23andMe. Irregardless of this initiative, it should hopefully be interesting for you to have your genes tested on a personal note.. looking at your ancestry, personality traits etc. We can obviously not guarantee that this will lead to anything official or produce anything conclusive, but it will certainly give us the ability to compare our genes and it is a step in the right direction of understanding the pathology of this disorder. Please let us know as soon as possible if you will be taking part. We hope to get at least 32 participants to make this statistically useful. 100 people would be great. Also, relatives/friends with similar/same drug experiences and do not have HPPD are also very useful. Am sure Visual will chime in to explain things better than I can. Thank you, PS: Credit for this initiative goes to Visual. I am helping get the ball rolling and some footwork.

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/study-reveals-new-approach-blocking-neuronal-damage-stress

Anyone one experience this kind of stuff?: Objects appear to be something else for a half a second and the brain reinterprets what it actually is (the most common example for me is seeing lightposts and trash cans out of my peripheral vision and thinking they're people standing there for a moment)? Hearing sounds and misinterpreting where they are coming from for a brief moment? Parts of the visual field jumping out more than others and attracting attention? Bits of skyline through trees or shadows in between buildings appearing to be solid objects like walls for a brief moment? Olfactory hallucinations like smelling smoke or food when it's another smell (again only briefly)? Can't think of too many more examples without it getting in the realm of no making any sense. I've been getting a lot more of this kind of stuff lately while I've been trying to get off of the Lexapro- some days like today it's pretty much constant. It's the most distressing thing I've ever been through in my life. Obviously I'm not schizophrenic because I know they aren't real and I can see that after a moment. It's almost more like symptoms of dementia- at 34 years old. I can take the visual symptoms but this shit is intolerable. It's ruining my life. Can anyone relate?

Hey there Syntheso, I have had one long ride with this transient episodic mind alteration to say the least.,. My hallucination are pretty devastating and constant not periodical.. I'm sure you have seen my list on here in that regard.. The hallucinations are so severe I literally throw up sometimes.. For some reason I can get very nauseous from tracers, elongated beams, static vision, afterimages and 3-d thick streamers.. (One day I might be able to make balloon animals out of them) Yuppie can't wait for that!!! I"m hopeful that there will be a true diagnostic criteria designated for Hppd not a fostered conventional pharmaceutical antidote from Multiple sclerosis, Autism, Alzheimer's, seizures, dementia, etc.. I do like the 23andme with the different variations and functions of cells pertaining to our gens.. The human Genome is quiet its own world made up of millions of S.N.P.s that make us the individuals we are.. Hopefully we can narrow down a few things with the results of our tests coming back soon.. Take good care of yourself Syntheso and others!!

Hello, sorry for my english, iam from the Netherlands. I have HPPD for about 5 years now, i get it from strong dutch XTC. It is getting better now so i want to try some drugs again. My question is, is it possible to take some GHB or cocaine when we still have HPPD? I know it sounds stupid to take drugs again but there must by something wat we can take. Thanks.

I looked at it a few months ago and it looked pretty dormant/defunct. Just what ARE the numbers, how much critical mass can be generated around this subject, one wonders ... ?

Wow, you got genetic testing done for this? Great, you still might net a COMT inhibitor. But if you get a chance, try Sinemet alone.

OK.. I know I said I was intending on giving things a clean try and all.. well I'm working towards it at least, albeit slowly. Anyway: I took Damiana today again. Without a doubt: It works! I absolutely love Damiana! Made my day so much more tolerable, especially the people I spent it with. I noticed it started wearing off when I started getting irritated by the empty, ignorant, repetitive conversation that was taking place. However, I was very silent as I just became increasingly bored with my company. I realized I can't stand them, even when I'm relaxed. But I've yet to find a way to implement some kind of smooth separation of relation.. Whatever, that's not a concern now. The great thing was is that I was totally comfortable with not saying anything. The longer I was silent, the more I noticed the people I was with weren't paying attention to each other whatsoever, and were ignorantly enveloped in their own world. Initially I wasn't annoyed by them cutting me of mid-sentence etc. for I thought: "Well, it's a lame conversation anyway" and just started paying more attention to the world around me, and in particular to nature. Had they not had stuff at my house, I would have simply walked away and probably would've ended up lying down in the park. However I believe some irritability started returning after it started wearing off, and I noticed a recurrence of anxiety when entering a restaurant. I guess the company partially fueled my anxiety, as they were saying some really dumb shit out loud, to put it bluntly, and were just being fools, which made me feel uncomfortable and quite possibly ashamed to be among them. Because I was disengaged from the conversation, it was surmised/half-asked whether I was absent-minded, to which I replied "Are you?", upon which the subject was conveniently changed to ranting about the police for the 7th time in an hour. An anxiolysis quite unlike any other. Pretty profound stuff. I'm very grateful for this, as I spent a large amount of my day feeling at ease, and also somewhat.. normal? Though now I'm feeling somewhat sad, for I'm fully surrounded by delusional fools and ignorance in general (my neighbor just yelled at his child to "Shut the fuck up", which happens roughly 20 times a day). I don't like this place, nor its people, which becomes exponentially evident the more normal I feel. I don't feel at home here. Despite noticing all these depressing issues more clearly, I can say without reserve that today was the best day I had in a year. Furthermore I think my memory (and other cognitive functions) may have been improved even, though now that I'm tired it's slipping away. Also, I noticed that I was walking at a comfortable slow pace, which made me wonder if it was some kind of subconscious attempt to hint that I was becoming bored with my company, as they didn't adjust to my pace, but merely kept walking fast with no actual destination in mind, and each time it took them a good 5 minutes to realize I was walking behind them. Another note is that my vision may have even been improved, though I'm tired now and it has worn off, so it's not that apparent. But I remember thinking that it seemed to be improved. I also noticed that I miss my friends from which I've alienated myself. N.B. All this was from 2 x 1 ml, from which I took the second dose 1 hour after the first. I just have to look further into the pharmacology of Damiana, sustainability etc. I have read of people who've taken it daily for years though, but of course that doesn't suffice to confirm safety. As for tonight, I might take another ml, I might not. In any case, I hold Damiana in high regards, and it's most certainly preferable over Passiflora.

Here is my success story. I really hope this helps people because when I first got HPPD almost 4 years ago at age 23 I was a total train wreck and thought I would never get my life back. I am certain that this forum played a huge role in saving my life because for a long time I was seriously worried that I would have no other way out than to take my own life. This was definitely my darkest time and it makes me a little sick to think about it but I feel like I owe it to all the kids out there who are suffering. I'll get to the point. I took mushrooms for the first time ever and I flipped out. There seems to be a pretty standard story to this...total fear, a feeling that the trip will never end, it was a feeling I had never felt before. In my mind, I went to hell if it does exist. I woke up the next day feeling wierd, just off, sort of empty. I didnt think it anything serious until a week later, on new years day, I woke up after a night of partying in Las Vegas, and I knew something was wrong, I was sick, I was throwing up, and I was terrified, my vision was changing before my very eyes, everything was moving, and I knew something was wrong, the first thing I thought when I got up...the mushrooms were coming back to get me. I tried to tell myself it would be ok, that I was just sick from drinking, but it didn't stop. I didn't eat for almost a week, and I went to the hospital to get an I.V. to rehydrate me. In the ER, there was a true psychotic woman having an episode, It terrified me, because I felt I could somehow relate to her. I thought I had really lost it and I would never be the same. I'd heard of people "freaking out" and stories from the 60s, musicians like Brian Wilson going nuts on acid ect. and I starting thinking I was one of them now. I went home and felt so empty, but I couldn't even cry. My parents came back from a trip they were on, and it was like I didn't even know them, I was in my own little world. Things that were familiar were foreign to me, nothing was the same. As I worried more, things got worse, I started having panic attacks daily, I couldn't sleep, and my visual symptoms got worse. I had horrible headaches, nausea, paranoia, depression, visuals, the whole nine yards. At this point I think i was pre depersonalized, the panic was very strong, and it drove me deeper into a state of numbness. I was having terrible nightmares when I did sleep, finally, I think my mental anguish drove me into a state of numbness, where I couldn't feel anything around me, just like a zombie. I would say this was about 4-6 months into it. I started seeing therapists, and it helped a bit to have someone I could talk to because I didnt have anyone. None of my friends got it, and I was scared to tell my parents. At that point I wasn't even sure if they were real. I started reading on the forums, and this was a real game changer. I started to learn about some of the things that were happening, like the depersonalization/derealization, anxiety, ect. But more than that, I learned that there were people just like me, that I could talk to and would understand me, and even better that some people had survived it. This gave me what I needed, a little hope. Something to AIM for, a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course I was unsure and skeptical that I would get better, but at this point, in what seems like a rather odd reasoning, I decided that I couldn't be any worse off, and that the only choice I had was to get better, I really had nothing to lose. I knew it wouldn't happen soon but I thought, hell, I've survived this long (it was probably a year in) I can keep going, so I kinda just put my life on autopilot. I bought myself some time, I said, hey I'm just gonna deal with this day to day, not try to push myself too hard, and maybe in a few years I'll at least be able to function. That was a big deal, I accepted my situation, that it was gonna suck now, and that it would be a long time before I got better. During this time I had a lot of bad days, I also had some good ones. But every time that I had a good day, I kinda put that in my mental bank. Like saving pennies at a time. They add up. I made habit of doing things that would promote overall well being. That meant regular exercise programs, eating better, meditation, and yoga. I began to make steady improvements, I started having more good days, and things looked better for me. Someone once described HPPD as sort of like throwing a stone into the water, a huge splash, then lots of waves, ups and downs, and the slowly get less and less intense and I would totally agree. There was a long period of about 1 1/2- 3 years into HPPD that I began to get frustrated because I would feel great and think I finally beat it, then relapse again, I just wanted to be better, but again, time heals. This coming New Years day will be my 4 year anniversary of the day HPPD and I can say that this is behind me. In fact, I look back on it and I almost don't believe myself. It's almost like it was just a terrible nightmare. Which is how I had hoped I would look back on it some day. I want to put it behind me and never look back. But at the same time I want to help the kids that are on here because I know how terrible they feel and they need help just like I did. I owe it to someone because I survived and I want people to know that you can beat it but it takes work and commitment. I still feel a little lost, like I'm not sure who I am as a person, but I at least feel like I know where I am (haha). I just spent 4 years in a nightmare and now I'm awake. So I will try to offer some advice. The forums are great for helping you out, but don't spend too much time here. Don't spend hours on hours reading about peoples problems, about mental disorders. Education is good but at some point it will only make you more obsessive. Also, there is a lot of negativity here that will bring you down, because people that are on here are mostly here because they are having problems, not because they are doing great. For every 1 success story you will read about 20 horror stories. It's like watching the news, they only report on the bad stuff, you will never turn it on and have the reporter say "hey, everything is great." Again, do stuff that promotes good health, a healthy body is a healthy mind. Get outside and enjoy nature. I found it easier to connect with natural objects. Try to feel the sun, or the breeze on your face, little things like that. They can help you feel alive. Stop doing drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or limit your intake if you can. Smoking weed really made things worse for me. Talk to someone that can offer something positive and will understand your situation. If anyone ever wants to talk, on the phone, email, whatever, hit me up. Believe you can get better.

thanks for posting the report David, so where does the study go from here? Timeframe wise will the placebo tests take place soon? Is there any further areas of study that you are looking into?

Also the qEEG results are something definetly of note.