Almost feel stupid for asking, are these flashbacks?

[Thomas Davie]

Background; I'm 52 , 6ft tall, 176 lbs and have my health monitored fairly closely by 2 doctors. Smoke weed daily from 2-20x (medical). From Feb/2012 until March 16th this year I consumed mushrooms at least once a week. If on holidays it was more like 2-4 times a week. I felt I was consuming too much. Wasn't too hard to stop, I just ate more and more until I ran out.

Definite psychological readjustment, the worst of which was minor depression and the persistent feeling that I should be tripping. No physical withdrawl effects that I know of.

Anyways, about 3 times since quitting (temporarily stopping), I've had experiences that seem to me to be like flashbacks. Typically I become very aware of my visual field, start to feel mildly like I am coming up on mushrooms (a bit of stomach discomfort) and can start to see what I call fractal snowflakes When this happens, I have about 10 minutes to put myself away safely. The fractals grow into rotating shapes and come closer and closer, eventually obscuring my vision. It's very hard to walk at this point (or do anything really), so I lie down and just try to go with the flow. It's over in 20 minutes give or take. Blood pressure is not increased, but there is a small increase in pulse rate which I attribute to mild panic.

It feels like a mushroom trip, but is much more visual.

Not sure, but these 'episodes' or spells as my grandmother would have termed them, might be associated with unintentional periods of fasting.

Last thing I can think of is that they never happened during my period of active use.

thanks for any ideas.

Tom

 

[RobotRipping]

if you're fasting then yes that's what's causing it. How long do you go without eating? how is your sleep?

i take psychedelics quite often (once a week for the last 4-5 months and usually do a run like that once a year, for the last 9 years) and other than HPPD, i don't have flashbacks or anything. I do have derealization and depersonalization but who knows if constant psych use caused that or my benzo abuse.

When i caused myself a psychotic break due to psych use, i'd feel like i was tripping all the time and would have flashbacks of DMT trips, but i was also psychotic, well almost psychotic, i was still somewhat lucid (from time to time) but certainly not normal and seeing things constantly.

 

[zn13bt]

It could be a scintillating scotoma. Check out these videos, are they like what you're experiencing? If so, you should probably see an eye doctor. They have a connection with migraine headaches and are unlikely to have been triggered by your drug usage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV_37cao38U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo139jYAFzA

 

[Toucan]

huh good alternate z, I hadn't heard of that before
OP, yes it does sound like HPPD/flashbacks

 

[Thomas Davie]

huh good alternate z, I hadn't heard of that before
OP, yes it does sound like HPPD/flashbacks

I've had my eyes checked recently. In 2001 I had a hemorrhage in my left eye (complications from kidney disease of all things). I get checked for glaucoma, retinopathy, macular degeneration (pardon me for my spelling it seems today as if I can't) and other oddities. I will mention the above possibility next time I go in.

I'm aware of HPPD, but never thought of that as a possibility.

Diet wise? Pretty shitty to be honest. I take medications in the morning, and that pretty much kills my appetite until the afternoon. I work in a lab, and consumption of food/drink is forbidden, so nothing to eat. I do have a good meal after I get home ~ 5pm, and light snacking until 11:30 pm or so. These episodes/events have always happened in the afternoon when it's been about 14+ hours since last eating. If I eat before taking meds in the morning, it's a russian roulette game as to whether or not I'll puke at work

thanks for the ideas

Tom

(I know my food habits are bad, and I am seeing a dietitian in a few weeks).

 

[Morninggloryseed]

Ok, taking a little issue with the overuse of the term "HPPD"

Folks..if you going to throw the term around...please be aware of what are the criteria for a HPPD diagnosis...

Medically, there are three conditions which define HPPD:

* Subjects experience drug-like sensory disturbances while not under the influence of any drugs.

* The disturbances interfere with work, school, social settings, or other areas.

* There are no other physical or mental conditions that account for the disturbances (lesions, visual epilepsy, schizophrenia, dementia, etc.)

If one chooses to label a brain as 'damaged by HPPD" or throw that label around as a 'danger' of 'hallucinogen use' then at least be aware of what is required for HPPD to be present according to the DSM-IV.

 

[Solipsis]

Yes, for HPPD or any other D(isorder) it needs to be a problem interfering with aspects of your life.

@Thomas: We have a Flashbacks Thread and HPPD Thread, it might be useful for you to check those out. To try and point out some of my ideas about the difference, there is an announcement in the opening post of one of those threads (or both).
Very briefly put: flashbacks are when you relive a memory, typically one that is extremely strong and emotional/traumatic and it is not exclusively related to psychedelics. More broadly it is rather in the direction of PTSD.
If you get psychedelic effects without having taken a psychedelic, if it not qualifies as a flashback (if you do not relive anything, or feel like when you did during a specific time in the past), it can be HPPD, psychosis (and related psychiatric conditions) or a type of hallucination from a neurological issue, there are very likely other possibilities that I am not thinking of.

HPPD symptoms are usually related to sensory disturbances in general and not because of a memory being recalled. Again, be careful calling it a disorder if it does not structurally interfere with your life. I am not sure if these episodes you are getting qualify, I am not a psychiatrist.
It certainly sounds the most like HPPD type symptoms but from what I know those are usually continually there in the background and not strong and transient like you describe. So it is unusual but I certainly wouldn't say impossible (clearly: you are having them). Any idea what triggers these episodes?
(Not sure if I need to point this out but this case doesn't sound like psychosis at all, that involves difficulties separating your ideas, fantasies, delusions, etc. from reality.)

Because this is unusual for HPPD, it may be of use to you to read the book "Hallucinations" by Oliver Sacks, even if it is not because of your spells it is a great interesting book to read, a fascinating writer. He describes a lot of peculiar medical cases of people getting all sorts of extraordinary experiences that are not because of a mental illness. Maybe you luck out and read something that sounds like what you experience, you could always seek help from a neurologist if it gets worse... but if you are only curious about what is happening to you, that may be overdoing it. Of course that is your call.

For now, try not to worry about it too much and read more about the different causes of effects / symptoms you describe. Hopefully the other people on this forum and I helped point you in the right direction.