Update after almost 3 years.

[windscar]

Hello, updating after 3 years of HPPD. Things are a little worse health-wise, but so slightly it could be just me. In general, I'm very stable. I have, though, a few solar retinopathy spots from accidentally looking directly at the sun (for a millisecond) in two different occasions. Those are dark spots on my vision that I can see when I blink. Seems like either HPPD for some reason made myself much more sensible to that kind of problem, or I just got unlucky. In general, my symptoms are: photosensitivity (I simply can not stand looking outside without a sunglass), ghosted images (classic example: three moons), prolonged afterimages (I can see a burnt shade of anything I look at, even when I don't look at it). I'm keeping my occupation as a programmer and engineering student, great grades in some courses, average in others, in general I don't think it has affected much my academic performance other than the obvious daily HPPD issues I have to deal with.

 

I've ended up my relationship back when I got HPPD... it wasn't the same, I was really depressed in the beginning and didn't want to see her anymore and after 6 months it just wasn't. I'm with someone else now and we're doing great. Relationship with family is fine too. Of everything I've done so far, the single thing that helped me the most was buying personalized, extra-darkened sunglasses, and wearing them all the time. When I'm not with one of those, I actually use two sunglasses to drive in daylight, it seriously helps a lot. Also, I've not touched a single drug since HPPD. I really mean it - even caffeine is completely cut from my life (and I didn't drink anyway). I'm kinda afraid of meds after LSD - after all, it was claimed to be "one of the most inoffensive drugs" and look what happened. I didn't really expect to improve much, just hoped things wouldn't get much worse so... that is pretty much exactly what happened. All in all, I'm fine.

Well, that is it. Just wanted to share this little report here, since that kind of thing helped me enormously when everything started. Stay strong guys, see ya.

Edit: also, I haven't been following the news since a few years, so, if anyone could update me with what happened in the last 3 years, I'd be thankful!

[VisualDude]

Good to hear for you after all that time.  Sunglasses can be very helpful - a simple, non-drug aide.  One often ignored.

 

Funny that LSD would be proclaimed "one of the most inoffensive drugs".  Just goes to show what agendas and/or desire-of-the-heart can do to logical reasoning...  Just love how wiki says it can't cause damage, lol.

 

While there are quirky problems (either from fatigue or very specific oddities), I don't find HPPD destroys cognition.  Only when people are locked into hyper-vigilance (anxiety) does it interfere.

 

Glad you are able to pursue life.  Wish you success ...