It is assumed that lamotrigine’s excitotoxic destruction of inhibitory interneurons may be responsible for at least some of the visual symptoms of HPPD 11. HPPD is a chronic condition characterized by persistent visual disturbances, while flashbacks are typically brief and spontaneous re-experiences of past hallucinogenic effects. Flashback phenomena can occur without the persistent symptoms that define HPPD. HPPD is a neurological condition that occurs after using hallucinogenic drugs like LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA. Individuals with HPPD experience recurring visual disturbances long after their drug use has stopped.
Patient Characteristics
- Both substance-induced psychotic disorder and hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD) can involve visual disturbances and hallucinations.
- In conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they can be particularly intense.
- Hallucinogen-Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) is a condition characterized by persistent visual disturbances and flashbacks that occur after the use of hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD.
- With regards to this point, neither HPPD I nor HPPD II can really be considered as persisting in a narrow sense of the word.
In addition, visual problems can be caused by brain infections or lesions, epilepsy, and a number of mental disorders (e.g., anxiety, delirium, dementia, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease). For an individual to be diagnosed with HPPD, these other potential causes must be ruled out. The mechanisms behind HPPD are still not well understood, and there is a lack of clear explanation regarding its causes. One of the current hypotheses suggests that anxiety may not only amplify existing visual disturbances but could also potentially trigger these visual phenomena. Many individuals with HPPD report that their visual distortions become more pronounced or even emerge during periods of heightened anxiety or stress. This indicates that anxiety may play a role in both the hppd symptoms onset and intensification of these symptoms, making them more noticeable or cognitively magnifying the perception of such disturbances.
Complications of Visual Snow
HPPD Sobriety is primarily linked to the use of hallucinogenic substances, particularly LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide). However, other hallucinogens, including psilocybin (magic mushrooms), MDMA (ecstasy), mescaline, and cannabis, have also been reported to trigger HPPD symptoms. We describe 13 cases of HPPD with the inclusion of visual assessments demonstrating that visual acuity, visual fields and OCT are typically normal in this patient group.
What is visual snow? Symptoms and treatments
- Previous treatment with antidepressants and risperidone failed to ameliorate these symptoms.
- After coming out to my friends and loved ones, it took another few months to ‘go public’.
- On the fourth day, the patient stated, “Objects appear and disappear from my site, and I see shadows” in his peripheral vision.
- On the seventh day, the same regimen continued, and the patient reported improvements in having fewer intrusive thoughts and flashbacks.
- Another case reported a similar instance describing two LSD-abusing schizophrenia patients who experienced brief episodes of transitory visual disturbances shortly after starting their risperidone treatment.
Around half of those who suffer from visual snow syndrome also battle migraines. The aura can be a set of visual symptoms similar to that experienced with visual snow. However, the ‘success’ of pharmacotherapy for HPPD should be treated with caution as this disorder appears to have a high propensity for spontaneous remissions – up to 50% of cases within a few months Abraham, 2001. In this context, the rarely ever documented occurrence of flashbacks in controlled studies of hallucinogen action should be mentioned. Apparently a favourable protective ‘setting’ may prevent the development of anxiety and psychotic decompensation as well as the loss of self control. In our case, a spontaneous remission coinciding with lamotrigine treatment appeared unlikely after a 13-year duration of unrelenting symptoms.
Perceptual Distortions
Some people experience these visual disturbances only once after using hallucinogenic drugs. For others, the disturbances may occur frequently but not be very bothersome. The course of inpatient management started with the administration of 3 milligrams of Invega and 10 milligrams of Zolpidem. On day three, he reported feeling depressed and complained of other patients “messing with him psychologically.” He insisted that the medication is not working for him as he continues to have symptoms with little to no sleep. It was then decided to increase his dose of Invega to 6 grams and add 2 milligrams of lorazepam as needed (PRN) and 50 milligrams of trazodone. Later that night, the patient became moderately agitated, and 2 milligrams of lorazepam https://ecosoberhouse.com/ were administered.