Diphenhydramine permanently damaged my vision even after months of abstinence.

[phew]

I regret my past more with each passing day. The effects can no longer be ignored: my vision is impaired to the point of disability. I cannot drive. Traffic lights and street lights look like pom-poms or fireworks. I cannot see home addresses from a few feet away during the night. I had to ask a woman to assist me in finding the right address. I cannot read text on my monitor without magnifying the page. Using the computer is frustrating, I feel old. This means that I can't properly do my job (nothing made this more obvious than this evening).

Fucking diphenhydramine has ruined my vision. It won't go away. I can't see normally!

 

[bben]

it could go back in time , you never know. Im pretty sure high dose diphenhydramine can affect serotonin and serotonin receptors are involved in vision. My vision was blurry from mdma but it went back after a few years.

 

[rollingstoned!]

Hmm benadryl is a very dark chemical. Off the top of my head it leads to downregulation of NaChR. Nicotine can upregulate this. It might be worth a try to get some nicotine gum. Don't get addicted.

 

[sekio]

Get your eyes checked by an optometrist. You may have astigmatism or some other eye condition.

 

[burn out]

a few months is far too early to call it permanent damage. i recommend seeing an eye doctor and perhaps a neurologist. also, how much diphehydramine did you take?

 

[phew]

a few months is far too early to call it permanent damage. i recommend seeing an eye doctor and perhaps a neurologist. also, how much diphehydramine did you take?

I'm ashamed to admit that I was taking doses close to one gram (lower and higher) day after day at times. I combined it with DXM too. No moderation whatsoever.

 

[PhrostByte]

Why would you do that? No weed or heroin around?

 

[phew]

Why would you do that? No weed or heroin around?

It was cheap, and I was broke.

 

[Lolie]

Definitely consult an optometrist and an ophthalmologist. Whether or not any damage is permanent may well depend on whether you get treatment early. At the very least they can correct some of the deficiencies in your vision.

Rapid deterioration in your eyesight always needs professional assessment irrespective of what you believe caused it - it can be the first symptom of some fairly nasty things which are totally unrelated to drug use.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Phew, I am so sorry that this is happening to you! Have you gone to a doctor to try to figure out why this is happening to you?

Was it something that progressively got worse, or did you only notice this after quitting?

Most of all, stay hopeful that there might be something to be done about this.

 

[cabron123]

When starting threads like this, please put how often you did it, what dose etcetera.

Like, is this after one trip, or a yeah or constant abuse? As it is, it's impossible to leave any sensible response other than 'omg that sucks'

Oh, sympathy by the way, that sounds terrible- don't mean to sound harsh

 

[blahman8000]

I'm sure there's some kind of treatment appropriate for your symptoms. Like everyone else has said, definitely see an eye doctor and have this checked out.

 

[Lord]

I had the same feeling for months... regret.
I still get slight visual snow here and there... my dreams had completely changed into nightmares and I heard voices when I went to bed (main after-effects 6-8 weeks).

 

[phew]

Phew, I am so sorry that this is happening to you! Have you gone to a doctor to try to figure out why this is happening to you?

Was it something that progressively got worse, or did you only notice this after quitting?

Most of all, stay hopeful that there might be something to be done about this.

It progressively got worse. My vision used to go back to normal after a trip. I thought the blurriness was short term. Soon enough, I began to notice that I'd have bad eyesight even 2 days after tripping. I kept abusing. After leaving it alone for good, I still can't see well from a reasonable distance or in dim light.

When starting threads like this, please put how often you did it, what dose etcetera.

Like, is this after one trip, or a yeah or constant abuse? As it is, it's impossible to leave any sensible response other than 'omg that sucks'

Oh, sympathy by the way, that sounds terrible- don't mean to sound harsh

This is after constant abuse, on/off over the course of many months. Perhaps a year or more. I'd have binges, I'd have periods of sobriety and then relapsing. It was the worst. Diphenhydramine can be addictive if you take little doses and work your way up.

I had the same feeling for months... regret.
I still get slight visual snow here and there... my dreams had completely changed into nightmares and I heard voices when I went to bed (main after-effects 6-8 weeks).

Yes, I've noticed that dreams become unfathomably intense after binging on diphenhydramine to the point of being trips in and of themselves. No dreams are more realistic than diphenhydramine dreams.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Its possible that an underlying condition was set off by the benedryl or even that the vision issue is unrelated to benedryl. You need to see an eye doctor. If it is an underlying condition like glacoma or something you need to be seen and treated to retain the vision you still have and possibly regain some that you have lost.

 

[InsightfulOD]

Are you still having this issue?

I regret my past more with each passing day. The effects can no longer be ignored: my vision is impaired to the point of disability. I cannot drive. Traffic lights and street lights look like pom-poms or fireworks. I cannot see home addresses from a few feet away during the night. I had to ask a woman to assist me in finding the right address. I cannot read text on my monitor without magnifying the page. Using the computer is frustrating, I feel old. This means that I can't properly do my job (nothing made this more obvious than this evening).

Fucking diphenhydramine has ruined my vision. It won't go away. I can't see normally!

I found your post while researching this after I met someone who's issue resolved unexpectedly with a treatment. what is your status now?