Understanding Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD)

[brake]

Understanding Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD)

[brake]

[yarkadin]

Have you reached out to the author, David Blackbourn? [email protected] is his email address.

I'm glad you found this resource and the more attention HPPD gets the better, but his text needs to be cleaned up.  He obviously doesn't have the disorder and knows very little about it.

"A study published in the Journal of Addiction Disorders that examined 26 HPPD patients from North America, Europe, and South America discovered that the majority of HPPD patients were male (73%) and white (92%), with a median age of 24.5 years. The duration of HPPD varied from less than one year to over 10 years. "

This is because most people who report taking hallucinogens for the first time and are more likely to react to your study are white young men.  This statistic is skewed and is misleading.  Someone ought to direct him to hppdonline.com.  The problem occurs in men and women and people of all ages.

"All patients reported a history of preexisting mood disorders, and previous use of hallucinogenic drugs, including lysergic acid, was also noted."

Earlier above in his article he claims, correctly, that the disorder can arise in anyone, with a single exposure.  So I don't know the relevance of this sentence.  At best, it only skews more the microscopic study he cites.

"For example, benzodiazepines may be prescribed to alleviate anxiety or help with sleep disturbances."

Well, he at least got it right in his copy and paste that they do little for HPPD itself.

"Anticonvulsants, such as lamotrigine, have also shown some promise in reducing visual symptoms in HPPD."

Oh yeah, where is the objective proof of this?  Another copy and paste from browsing other sites.

"Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be considered if co-occurring anxiety or depression is present." 

SSRIs do nothing for HPPD and are only a stitch on a gaping chest wound.  They help with non-HPPD comorbidities.  I don't know why he adds this to his list.

"Research has indicated a potential correlation between HPPD and other mental health conditions. Conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, and substance use disorders may co-occur with HPPD. "

This may be true for some but there seems to be no weight given to the fact that HPPD can cause anxiety disorders, depression or use of other substances.

 

Seriously, I don't understand these people... they claim that this only occurs to between "0.12 to 4.2 percent" of people.  This statistic is a copy of a copy of something the DSM listed back in 2013.  (The link, by the way, has an exhaustive and excellent list of HPPD symptoms, exhaustive because no specialists authored it but it was rather compiled from peoples' actual experiences). 

We talked about this before: If someone decides to voluntarily take a gun to their head knowing that even 99, let alone 96, out of 100 bullet chambers are empty, would they do it?  From my point of view all of these hallucinogen-enthusiast sites should have a large disclaimer on their front pages in huge red block letters warning of the 1%-4% risk (provided it's accurate, which it almost certainly isn't).  I would mandate it, like cigarette laws... as far as the internet can be mandated. Suicidal people and those with serious mental conditions may reasonably require overlooking that, but casual users?  Who wants to risk 1 out of 100 to fuck up their lives?  I don't get it.

 

Edited October 26, 2024 by yarkadin

[brake]

On 10/26/2024 at 11:19 AM, yarkadin said:

Have you reached out to the author, David Blackbourn? [email protected] is his email address.

I'm glad you found this resource and the more attention HPPD gets the better, but his text needs to be cleaned up.  He obviously doesn't have the disorder and knows very little about it.

"A study published in the Journal of Addiction Disorders that examined 26 HPPD patients from North America, Europe, and South America discovered that the majority of HPPD patients were male (73%) and white (92%), with a median age of 24.5 years. The duration of HPPD varied from less than one year to over 10 years. "

This is because most people who report taking hallucinogens for the first time and are more likely to react to your study are white young men.  This statistic is skewed and is misleading.  Someone ought to direct him to hppdonline.com.  The problem occurs in men and women and people of all ages.

"All patients reported a history of preexisting mood disorders, and previous use of hallucinogenic drugs, including lysergic acid, was also noted."

Earlier above in his article he claims, correctly, that the disorder can arise in anyone, with a single exposure.  So I don't know the relevance of this sentence.  At best, it only skews more the microscopic study he cites.

"For example, benzodiazepines may be prescribed to alleviate anxiety or help with sleep disturbances."

Well, he at least got it right in his copy and paste that they do little for HPPD itself.

"Anticonvulsants, such as lamotrigine, have also shown some promise in reducing visual symptoms in HPPD."

Oh yeah, where is the objective proof of this?  Another copy and paste from browsing other sites.

"Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be considered if co-occurring anxiety or depression is present." 

SSRIs do nothing for HPPD and are only a stitch on a gaping chest wound.  They help with non-HPPD comorbidities.  I don't know why he adds this to his list.

"Research has indicated a potential correlation between HPPD and other mental health conditions. Conditions such as anxiety disorders, depression, and substance use disorders may co-occur with HPPD. "

This may be true for some but there seems to be no weight given to the fact that HPPD can cause anxiety disorders, depression or use of other substances.

 

Seriously, I don't understand these people... they claim that this only occurs to between "0.12 to 4.2 percent" of people.  This statistic is a copy of a copy of something the DSM listed back in 2013.  (The link, by the way, has an exhaustive and excellent list of HPPD symptoms, exhaustive because no specialists authored it but it was rather compiled from peoples' actual experiences). 

We talked about this before: If someone decides to voluntarily take a gun to their head knowing that even 99, let alone 96, out of 100 bullet chambers are empty, would they do it?  From my point of view all of these hallucinogen-enthusiast sites should have a large disclaimer on their front pages in huge red block letters warning of the 1%-4% risk (provided it's accurate, which it almost certainly isn't).  I would mandate it, like cigarette laws... as far as the internet can be mandated. Suicidal people and those with serious mental conditions may reasonably require overlooking that, but casual users?  Who wants to risk 1 out of 100 to fuck up their lives?  I don't get it.

 

I agree all psychedelics should come with a warning label like cigarettes. Something like "5% of users might develop serious mental health and neurological conditions such as visual snow syndrome, HPPD and chronic anxiety. It might severely affect your vision." Etc

It's been 12 years and my vision and perception is still severely altered. I tried like 9 different medications and I tried a completely sober, pure and a healthy lifestyle as well. Different diets and a bunch of different supplements as well. It's a big deal.

Edited October 28, 2024 by brake