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Cannabis related hppd


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I started smoking cannabis at 15 years old. I smoked it for a year without any after effects. After a few hours all the effects would wear off. But after around a year of smoking it, I started to get permanent visual disturbances. (mainly visual snow). And it always felt like visually, I was always stoned. I did take some MDMA at the time when I was about 16. I took it quite often too. But the visual effects I got, and still get are exactly the same as cannabis causes. I've had Hppd for about 7 years now. I went to a doctor when I was 16 and she referred me to an eye specialist. And he gave me different eye tests. And looked into my eyes, and looked at my retina. But the tests showed my eyes were fine and I had 20/20 vision. So I began to believe it was something to do with my brain. But I haven't been back to the doctors since as I believed I was the only one in the world with symptoms like this. Because doctors didn't have a clue what it was. It was only recently I read online about hppd. Because even my medical dictionary didn't have hppd in it. And once I read that it was pro-longed drug related sensory disturbances I knew this is exactly what I have. I constantly have visual effects from cannabis even though I haven't probably got any trace of cannabis in my system now. I have smoked Cannabis since I've had hppd though. Trying to escape my reality. Thinking that it wouldn't effect my condition anymore as I didn't fully realise at the time that it was cannabis that caused all this. Even though deep down I knew as the effects were the same. And it did make the visual effects get worse. It's been 7 years now that I've had Hppd. And it's been about a year and a half since I've last smoked cannabis. (And that was only down to peer pressure) as I've only ever told my mum and doctors about this. I also suffer from derealisation. Nothing around me seems real anymore. It feels like I'm walking around in a dream. Hppd is really getting in the way of my work, my relationship, and my studying. I really need to find a good treatment, other than just staying off drugs. So I need to know is there anyone out there just like me? With my kind of hppd? If so are there any treatments that work for you? Thanks for taking the time to read all this and I hope I get some answers soon. As hppd has really destroyed my life for the past 7 years.

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Yeah weed basically caused mine, it's weird because I experienced what I didn't know at the time HPPD from smoking weed a few times and it only lasted during the duration of the high or until I went to sleep and it would be gone the next day. These few times it happened before I got HPPD for what I feel like is good now I got really bad headaches and my vision just got way to bright and everything looks too detailed and so real that it looks fake<? But  yea one day I was rolling and smoked weed and it all happened again and this time never went away, I am to freaking aware of everything now I notice every damn detail and got laggy ass vision and it really messes with my head mentally. As far as medicine, nope, only thing that worked for me was hydrocodones and you don't wan't to start that even though it worked like a charm dependency and w/ds blew and no doctor in the world would prescribe them to me even though they have a off-label use of anxiety, depression and adhd which all 3 effect me and my HPPD and opiates are really the only thing I can use for my adhd that helps it without making my HPPD get worse. Also when I would have these weed episodes I would get extreme anxiety, severe headaches, confusion, sometimes I couldn't make words for shit, couldn't remember a single thing and was thinking I was dieing........lol idk weed really jacked with my head after about a year to a year and a half of using idk why

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Well it's good to hear from someone with hppd from cannabis. Because it is so rare to get, compared to the other drugs. Even though your symptoms seem different from mine. And I never get headaches. But you still got permanent visuals from it. So I can relate to that mate.  It's just a scary situation when doctors are clueless. Since I've had hppd the longest I went without smoking weed or taking any other drugs was 2 years. And I didn't feel any different. It's currently been a year and a half since I last got stoned. Maybe it will take 5 years of being drug free. If it does then it's a shame I didn't know that to begin with. Just seems like there's been so many years of my life wasted. I sure hope it goes eventually though. Because my fear is that it doesn't.

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I would get some kpins or valiums. a lot of people on here like kpins I haven't tried them because I am satisfied with my valiums but the kpins work differently then other benzos or something in that department of helping dp/dr and anxiety of course. Not to sure haven't looked into kpins but it is worth a shot. Also I just recently found out about HPPD like a few weeks ago. When it first happened I searched on yahoo "weed changed my vision" lol and you will find out a lot of people get HPPD from weed by itself or mixing weed with other drugs. Im sure HPPD is a form of ptsd and a ton of other crap because not only do I still experience the weird visuals when I had bad weed trips I also see "shadow people" and my mind can get real imaginative at night and will form shadows into objects/beings from my old meth days. Had a ton of creepy trips on meth and they stuck around a bit too >.<

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Been on klonopin for five years. It's good just will make you feel like shut when you first start taking it. It has a long half-life so just do minimum dose.shuts addictive. Was 3mg a day and going down to .25 a day was hell

Should threw in some diazepam when cutting back, much weaker benzo but helps a lot when lowering dosage. A lot of doctors will start to put in a weaker benzo that is less addictive when coming off 

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Should threw in some diazepam when cutting back, much weaker benzo but helps a lot when lowering dosage. A lot of doctors will start to put in a weaker benzo that is less addictive when coming off 

Didn't want it.seemed counter productive to me. I don't care if its less addictive still addictive and would have to deal with that lol

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Hey. I got hppd from smoking weed once about two years ago, I posted my story on the introductions page about a month ago. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Since hppd from cannabis is less extreme than some of the others forms, I have heard several stories of full recovery between three and six years. Which I know sounds horrible, but as compared to the rest of your life... I think a turning point for me was when I accepted the fact that I see differently now, and that living was different from what it was like before, but that there where still things I could enjoy, and by hiding in my room I was only robbing myself of those good experiences.

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Hey. I got hppd from smoking weed once about two years ago, I posted my story on the introductions page about a month ago. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Since hppd from cannabis is less extreme than some of the others forms, I have heard several stories of full recovery between three and six years. Which I know sounds horrible, but as compared to the rest of your life... I think a turning point for me was when I accepted the fact that I see differently now, and that living was different from what it was like before, but that there where still things I could enjoy, and by hiding in my room I was only robbing myself of those good experiences.

What do you experience? For me when weed caused my HPPD, everything just got really bright, if I am not on some sort of medication I can't even walk outside. Also I get a ton of eye floaters when I drive and a feeling or sensation that things around me aren't real nor do they look real, objects such as houses can turn into 2d and feels like I am in a pop up book. On the other hand it can change nowhere and things seem to real and when objects weather it is a car, building or person seems to real it really throws me off, like how the hell can something look to real? And it is due to everything being so damn bright like the sharpness has been cranked up. My depth perception is just thrown off real bad too and my eyes are constantly dilated and makes it hard to drive in both night and day. Also my vision is what I call laggy, idk if this is positive afterimage or what but it just feels like I am real slow and everything is fast(just visually) and my vision can't keep up so things seem kind of laggy? I guess lol. Sometimes I wonder if all this shit is just in my head and everyone is seeing things the same way I am just my perception has changed or if something is really going on upstairs in my head. I got a ton more symptoms but they are more related to meth, like I see objects such as shadows and my imagination runs wild at night and I can see things that aren't there but I really have to focus and let it happen. One night at my girlfriends apartment we got in a argument, at night time the bedroom door was open and there was a shadow coming off the door from some lighting in the living room and that shadow formed into her and was stomping around violently, creeped me out so I went to sleep in the living room lol. That was the most intense object I have seen since quitting meth and other drugs other then that I see simple shapes to what can somewhat resemble a person or a hand or whatever just something random but nothing has extreme as seeing meth monsters that right that is what kept me from snorting and smoking the shit ever again.

 

Most of those symptoms I experienced my first 2 to 3 months some have gone away but the sharpness or brightness and the realistic or non realistic part of it has stayed and it has been around 2 years give or take.

 

Could some other people explain their symptoms from weed related HPPD

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So as far as my cannabis high goes, my vision felt like it was twisting and warping. Kind of like when you where a kid and would look at those videos of warping circles, and then look away and for a couple seconds things look weird. Now I have a variety of symptoms, but it is my belief that most of it is caused by one or two real issues. For example, things stay in my vision longer than they should, which directly cause after images, trails, and that general sense of "laggy vision" you described. However this also causes other things, like if I look at a single light in the dark it appears to jump, and move. This is because your eye normally twitches in small random motions. Normally, you wouldn't notice this, but because things stay in my vision longer, the light seems to move or jump around. This affect is what I think causes the sense that things are shifting when you are out walking around. Also something like a floater, which in a normal person is usually noticed when looking around, and the floater is seen moving across the field of view, is accentuated by the laggyness, and what would only be noticeable for a fraction of a second is much more prominent. I have never done meth, but I have had issues with seeing things that aren't really there, in shadows and such. Since your brain is having to sort through piles of extra stuff that shouldn't be there, it is constantly having to piece things together, it does this in regular people as well and it's what most optical illusions are based on, just to a lesser extent. It's like when you see a face or horse in clouds or in a odd clump of cheese; your mind is quite good and making things out with limited information. At night, especially if I am alone and paranoid, I will sometimes think I see people hiding in wait for me in ditches. My depth perception is weird, but not horrible, I have a slight astigmatism, so I am not entirely sure how that contributes. For example I see a slight ghost image of things slightly below them, but it's pretty minor. I wear glasses for this. I really only need them for reading, but if I am freaking out I put them on and helps me focus my vision, and calm me down. They have a antiglare coating as well, so it helps with driving at night. I don't have that much issue with things being too bright, but I have prescription sunglasses and I think they might cut down on lag time, but I am not sure, mostly just nice for really sunny day's.

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  • 3 years later...

Cannabis gives me panic attacks, racing heartbeat, racing thoughts, and my visuals go out of control.  I've consumed it perhaps 10 (12?) times since I stopped dosing and always have the same reaction.  For me, there is a strong connection with hppd and cannabis though it's not the cause.  It's been said the weed today isn't your Dad's weed (or something like that).  It used to be mild and mellow.  Now, Yikes!

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