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Azureazalea

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Posts posted by Azureazalea

  1. 54 minutes ago, K.B.Fante said:

     When I saw a neurologist this past winter he said he didn't know what happened to me but that I had symptoms of a stroke

    A resident neuro at USC told me that she thought I had been exposed to chemicals/toxic encephalopathy. Another disorder that occurs due to organic brain damage. 

    This is annecdotal, and there are plenty of other anecdotal accounts of this phenomena with people on MDMA, but after I had taken Eth-lad, I did lose my sense of smell, taste, and experienced aphasia, which are also symptoms found in people who have suffered strokes. The glutamate release and GABAergic inhibition also is an important mechanism of action in Ketamine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3883303/ , which is also known to induce HPPD. 

    And then there's all that research showing a link between brain inflammation and anxiety states/induction of schizophrenic states

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4612505/



    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181922/ - There's a section here that outlines excess glutamate in its relation to anxiety and depression. 

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604071/ - Impaired Olfactory and Taste function in Chronic stroke patients
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777265/ 

    But is it all glutamate mediated neurotoxicity? 5HT Receptors do have some pretty gnarly effects on temperature regulation as well. 

    I wonder if hyperthermia plays a role as well, in regards to inducing apoptosis in the cerebellum? If I recall, the purkinje cells are particularly susceptible to heat, and die off pretty rapidly when temperatures exceed 40 degrees Centigrade.

  2. There's enough evidence from the literature to suggest that SSRIs can induce the same visual disturbances in HPPD and Visual Snow, particularly upon discontinuation. Its been seen in Citalopram, Lexapro, Zoloft etc. Hallucinogens do modulate the same and similar types of receptors that were bound with and desentisized.

    That being said we dont understand how the Visual cortex works, nor do we understand the long term implications of SSRI use. Our modalities that we have in imaging these areas in vivo at the resolution that we will need to elucidate a coherent understanding and intricacies of their long term effects is non existent and wont be for at least a couple of years. 

    SSRIs like any medical treatment are not without risks (something that I wished I had the wherewithal to understand before going to hospital), and when you start talking about long term use, that is when things become rather nebulous. (Ie David Foster Wallace at the end of his life).

    When you bombard your brain with exogenous chemicals, you're bound to create a form of dysfunction or another. I mean we're all living proof of that. And as medical practitioners love to say, its all about risk reward. Are you willing to create disruption snd alterations to your brain in order to palliatively treat the symptoms of some underlying disorder? Sometimes the answer is yes, but we must all be cognizant of the ramifications our decisions will have on our long term health. And we stand at a period of time when disruptive therapies are looking to replace the old regieme of complacency and when medical knowledge is doubling in 73 days. It may prove prudent to wait untik we have a better understanding, instead of throwing darts and hroping in the dark for that magic bullet that will bring sweet reprieve to our afflictions.

    I hate to be that guy, and I do not wish to attack you, but isnt your argument similar to those guys on Shroomery and Reddit that state LSD is harmless cause theyve tripped plenty of times without any adverse effects and that HPPD is just anxiety or a psychotic disorder manifesting itself? If it works for you, fantastic, but that doesn't mean SSRIs are innocuous.

     

  3. When I was going through my trip and for a few weeks after, I did have some pretty gnarly bruxtism going on. Magnesium helped attenuate it whenever it flared up. Also ativan helped somewhat.

    Occasionally I'll get episodic bouts of rigors when its cold outside, like exagerated whole body shivering. Then there's also like this weird brain zap thing that goes on and makes my jaw spaz out and gets my heart racing.

    Tremors tend to be a part of anxiety, which tends to be part of the whole hppd package. They'll manifest themselves in different ways. I know when my anxiety was particularly awful, Id be shaking all over.

  4. Your doctor will probably tell you not to drive, but they can't take away your licence. Should they have ample reason to believe that you are a threat to others and yourself, they do have the ability to notify the DMV, and recommend that your driving privileges be temporarily suspended. 

    Your symptoms seem consistent with HPPD. (I am not a medical professional) 

    There have been annecdotal reports of mushrooms bringing relief to people, as well as exacerbating some cases of HPPD. 

    What's your relationship with your doctor like? Just be truthful and mention that you're having alterations in your visions. That'll usually be enough to get authorization to get an MRI. The MRI won't find anything related to HPPD, as no actual structural damage had occurred, but it can help put your mind at rest by ruling out any immediate life altering diseases. CT scans won't show anything either (kind of regret getting one, but somehow managed to delude myself into thinking I suffered a stroke due to the whole Panic attack out of fucking no where, aphasia, head pressure, adrenaline induced shaking, stiff neck, and giant black sperm floating across my central vision, still waiting for those radiation powers to kick in/). ""

    Is your doctor aware of your history of substance-use? Moreover, do you have any reason to think that your doctor will discriminate against you should you divulge your substance use? If you just describe your symptoms, you may be able to get an MRI, but your doctor may also go down the rabbit-hole and order a whole bunch of tests as well to exclude any other treatable disease that display similar symptoms.  Don't downplay the severity of your symptoms, you'll just end up being frustrated (and there will be plenty of that to go around as you try to get treatment for a disease that is an orphan disease/not many doctors and even some mental health professionals are not aware of). You may also have to be a bit more proactive in your advocacy, and look to find those open minded and intelligent doctors who would be willing to help you in your journey of recovery. I certainly had to change my PCP.  And after all that you may find that a lot of people on these forums will probably be better informed on HPPD than most doctors are.


     

     

  5. Has anyone tried Ibudilast?

    It's an anti-inflammatory, used in Japan and South Korea, which acts as a PDE4 and TLR4 antagonist to help patients recovering with stroke (vasodilator) and also as a bronchodilator with a relatively benign safety profile. 

    It has some unique CNS activity, and suppresses glial cell activation, UCLA is conducting a research, using it to help Methamphetamine users with the whole neuro-inflammatory cascade they get, and to keep them off of the drug. It's also being investigated for use in MS to help deal with Neuropathic pain, and even has its own painkilling effect, it also potentiates and helps reduce the development of tolerance of Opiod receptors. In brain cancer research, they found that when combo'd with temozolomide in the treatment of GBM, they found it to increase survival of patients while reducing the expression of genes associated with aggressive growth and malignancy of cancerous cells. 

    Given the changes in cerebral blood flow that have been observed in HPPD patients, I thought it may be something to give a look over. I ordered some from a trustworthy research-chem vendor, and will be looking to see if it will help with anything, although there is something in the back of my mind telling me to bite the bullet and get the pharma grade stuff. In the nootropics community people have looked at it for its anti-inflammatory properties, for its suppression of cytokine production. 

    In the United States there are clinical trials looking to bring the drug to market under the MN-166, but it could be a few years before the FDA decides to approve it, and insurance companies will probably be unlikely to cover it due to the whole "Medically necessary" clause when it comes to coverage. 

    It's simplistic to think of this as a panacea for all the symptoms, but it could be used as an adjunct to deal with bloodflow issues/any lingering case of chronic inflammation? 

  6. Unfortunately.. It doesn't work like that. 

    There's just too many negatives with Benzos use to justify it, except as a measure of last resort in emergent/very severe cases of panic disorder and anxiety. 

    The US Army Medical Command has issued a moratorium against the use of benzos in cases of PTSD, which incorporates an element, namely the whole depression/derealization/anxiety portion of HPPD, as patient outcomes with the use of chronic benzos unequivocally resulted in adverse outcomes/did more harm than good. In the case of HPPD, it will put a damper on things, but when your GABA receptors are desensitized, and you lose more inhibitory function on your already impaired inhibitory function, you will be left with a worse case of HPPD upon discontinuation. There is a good reason why GPs are so hesitant these days to give out these prescriptions. 

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