H.P.P.D syndrome. PLEASE READ!!!

[j-smoker]

if youre a user of shrooms, 2cb, lsd, mescaline or other common "tripping" agents then you must be made aware of HPPT (hallucinogenic persisting perception disorder)

here is a link to wiki with some very basic (and quite possibly wrong) info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinog ... n_disorder

also erowid

http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/hea ... _faq.shtml

and shroomery

http://www.shroomery.org/6297/Psilocybe ... nformation

in case you cant be bother to read that- HPPD is a dehabilitating syndrome which effectively leaves you stuck with trip like visuals far long after the drugs have left your system. It seems to range from mild symtoms (like flashbacks) to full on acid visuals for life. diagnosis (by the few doctors who understand this) is based upon symtoms for which all other causes other than drug use are rulled out. From reading some posts on forums such as the shoomery it would seem that hppd is prevelant and worse than death in its extreme cases. there is no cure and even less medical help as most doctors have no clue about it and even less smpathy.

i have been a regular user of shrooms for years and over the past year i have began to notice symptoms which until i read about this i thought were not much to worry about (i occasionally see shroom like complex geometrical patterns when not tripping, particually at night- mainly after smoking a fair bit of weed). Sometimes i can even feel like im tripping when im not, again mainly late at night. I think these effects have become more prenounced each time i trip. for example on my last trip i felt fine the next day until later at night when it really felt like trip was comming on strong again, this lasted for near on an hour. I am otherwise in perfect mental health in case you think im some kind of basket case.

i have always believed mushrooms to be among the safest of drugs, abiet extremely powerful. however recent research (not fully puplished yet) suggests otherwise. risks of developing hppd from mushrooms seem to be less than lsd but have been put from 0.0016% way up to 15%, with a genetic element to your risk suggested. it also appears that experienced users are no less likely to develop it than first time users. the difference being that 1st time users tend to experience strong hppd effects straight away, while experienced users can have dozens of trips before symptoms start to appear and gradually worsen.

from my own futher research i have found that there seems to be a great number of people who claim to suffer prolonged dehabilitating effects from hppd. one help forum has over 32,000 people on it who claim to be suffers.

I am wondering is this the tip of the iceberg, or is it a collection of hypercondriacts? there has been far too little research into this subject to say. i have found that more and more drug information sites are warning about hppd. which makes me think there is something to this.

im not trying to worry people, and except for the mild symtoms i have mentioned above i strongly feel that the 50-60 trips iv had have benefited me greatly. The reason i have posted this is to see if others are aware of this (i wasnt) and if anyone else has had effects of hppd. I am going to do a bit more research before i decide if i am going to retire from tripping. something i never thought i would consider. i love a good trip, but the thought that it is possible that it wont actually ever end is not a good one.

i

[Lamont]

It's precisely because of possible issues like this that I stopped taking LSD years ago. In my opinion the real "mind opening" effects of psychedelics are achieved in the first few trips and after that you are just chasing that first trip....

[Cisco]

Mm that's interesting , Iv noticed sometimes some kind of images , it's hard to explain but I never saw these before take hallucigens (I'm sure we first noticed these on blotters) optician cant explain it either , don't get me wrong it's not distressing or particularly present at all times , just something Iv wondered , is it a side effect ?!

[j-smoker]

the research is very limited but so far the hypothesesis is that it may be due to nerve damage caused by seratonin release in brain (to toxic levels) or alterations in brain storage of seratonin rather than damage directly caused by drugs themselves. This is just a guess though and doesnt seem to be based on much except all the drugs implicated effect seratonin receptors and alterations in seratonin levels in brain are associated with halucinations caused by psycosis. Genetic risk is also hypothesised.

the more i look in to this im pretty sure it effects most trippers to some degree. although for most it is just mild after image effects or patterns (tv like static at night seems most common complaint), and not something thats going to cause much of a problem unless you obsess about it. I supose once you notice it you can get hypersensitive to it.

having said that there do seem some very unluck people stuck with full on trip visuals for long periods (some for 5 years+). not something anyone would want.

i supose its all about risks. everything you do is a risk, even if you do nothing.

[DjShaggy]

this is something im only just hearing about but it really hits home, i used to trip quite abit, more lsd than shrooms but still lost count of both, also done alot of "E" (whatever that means these days) back then. i notice alot when im reading or on the laptop the tv static like effect and when i look over at things they will appear to change shape, it comes and goes happens alot at night and when im stoned. havent tripped for at least 2 years, used E maybe 3 times last year, smoke everyday tho.

things get blurry alot aswell but when i get my eyes tested i only get weak glasses that dont seem to help, it doesnt really bother me tho, i allways kinda guessed i had fucked myself up with drugs!

[Cisco]

Yeah that's a better way to describe it like static , or my wee dots sometimes spin about !!! It's not really noticeable most of the time , but if I look into a blue/dark sky I see them

Thank fuck it is a known phenomenon , yeah bit like yerself Shaggy (well we started on the mushies) then followed that with blotters , then E (MDMA, MDA,MDEA the whole cornucopia) then the marching powder !!


Damn no wonder I'm fucked !!!!!

[DjShaggy]

maybe they should build a facility in the dam for all of us to go n be fucked in for the rest of our days

[DjShaggy]

im reading that its also brought on by benzodiazepine's so yes all those dodgy E's are allmost definatly the cause!

[j-smoker]

i like the idea of a facility in the dam. be a great place to finish the job off.

[Prestoned]

After taking many Es (cut with many other things Im sure) for a while I noticed something similar. Cleared up a few years after I stopped taking anything too naughty

[Quazer]

Great topic! Maybe thats why some people totally break down after strong psychedelic trips. My own experience: The syndrome with LSD and mushrooms faded away with absence after awhile. I never had it in a bad way, just some problems focusing when looking at certain patterns - little bit like those weird 3D pics where one would have to stare at the center for awhile before the objects appeared. Only tripped a couple of times in my life though. Last time was 13 years ago on Hawaiian shrooms.

[PecosTheCat]

Interesting reading. I think that the number for shrooms at 15% sounds extraordinarily high. I think the real number would be well below 1% given the number of people I know who have had mushroom trips. I don't know anybody who had these kind of issues from shrooms or acid. Not to say that it can't happen, but putting the stats so high just doesn't sound right.

[Svstoned]

Hah a permanent trip down shroomdoom for life, could be fun haha or maybe not XD

[ZBeebs]

It's been 15 or 20 years since I've tripped regularly (mostly shrooms but some blotter lsd as well) and I remember the static vision and geometric shapes, especially when really baked. Can't say it happens anymore, in fact it's been so long I can't remember the last time. Never thought much of it at the time.

[Adamster]

My brain gone fucked on them things to the point ppl made fun of me...
i was in constant flash backs and it effect to speak also i moved in slow motion for me everything was in slow motion..my Cid firend went totaly crazy even has i speak hes probably freaking out in the corner of he room looking back on i feel stupid but again was the time of my life and wouldnt change one thing of it me an other Cid friend call it bast from the pass ...by the end he was eating a lot of shrooms to the point i also got stomach problem from all the acid...