Mental Health How do I stop Visual Static?

Lightning-Nl

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 11, 2012
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This is the best representation, I've ever seen, of my psychotic symptoms. This is why I question whether or not this can be classified as a psychotic illness when what I see are right on the border between illusions and hallucinations. This is the image.

jruddy_facesnow_small_en.gif


That's exactly what happens. Faces will pop out of nowhere, and look clear as day for half a second, in my visual static. Also, if I stare at one place for more than 3 seconds, the "static" will start clumping together and eventually, it will form a face. If I stare at it even longer - the face will appear to be moving.

So yeah? Is there any known way to cure this? Because I've had it my entire life and I'm done... I can't live with it - it's the worst thing in existence. But the weirdest part about it is, stimulants... seem to make it better. I know that probably sounds very weird, but I'm dead serious. A low dose of Adderall will negate 80% of my visual field defects. Pseudoephedrine seems to work about just as well as Adderall in terms of stopping visual snow. If I take anything higher than 60-80 milligrams, however, (which I've only done a couple times) it makes it a whole lot worse.

It's only in that 20 milligram window that it makes the symptoms better. So what the fuck? Why do I get a paradoxical reaction to Adderall at low dosages?
 
I got the same problem as you, I do not see faces however my visual static forms kaleidoscopic patterns that rotate around making me terribly dizzy every day and causing severe double/blurred vision because the visual input is so bad.

The are 2 medications that help me: gabapentin/pregabalin and benzos. They stop my vision from constantly changing and locks it in place (sort of). With these drugs I still get double/blurred vision but I get a picture that has input that makes sense (objects not shifting shape/form and no kaleidoscopic patterns). This saves me from the otherwise inevitable headaches I get after using my eyes for a few hours. Unfortunately it does not stop the static though but it won't be as annoying when it's not constantly changing intensity.

Ultimately though I haven't really found anything that has been completely satisfactory. The most usefull thing is avoiding recreational drugs and getting rest. I try to wear dark sunglasses most of the time also.

edit: I've read that dopamine agonists have seen success in treating HPPD. Maybe they could be used for this. It would be much better than gabapentin or benzos if so.
 
As with other HPPD symptoms (hallucinogens are not necessary to bring out these symptoms, sometimes they occur naturally) there is no cure as it's still poorly understood.

The faces could just be your brain trying to make sense out of the confusion and nothing more. As has been said benzos are particularly good at relieving the visual disturbances, but it is not a good idea to rely on them long term. Atypical antipsychotics have also helped me in the past, but again, they're not a permanent solution.
 
Visual disturbances are always odd yet unique. Not everyone experiences the same hallucinations in their vision.

I too see black and white dots everywhere, like static. Along with other disturbances like vertigo, as if everything in my visual field is dancing and will never be still. Specks of VERY bright white light in the most unconventional places: people's eyes, in a dark room and even on liquid.

The best strategy to combat these strange occurances is to obviously stop drug use, as well as practicing proper diet and health.

Just don't let these stress you out, doing so is only making them a problem. Learn to live with it.
 
Thanks for the edit. hadn't heard of that class specif being healthy. Time to pop a ropinirole- not really an option for the day though : D

I'll holla back with results. GL fellow varying degree HPPD'ers! Just talked to an old friend that said he doesn't mind them, but he's in a good place : )

Make sure you don't over do it. While Dopamine agonism may provide some relief of HPPV symptoms - Dopamine Agonists have a well documented history of causing psychotic symptoms.
 
As with other HPPD symptoms (hallucinogens are not necessary to bring out these symptoms, sometimes they occur naturally) there is no cure as it's still poorly understood.

The faces could just be your brain trying to make sense out of the confusion and nothing more. As has been said benzos are particularly good at relieving the visual disturbances, but it is not a good idea to rely on them long term. Atypical antipsychotics have also helped me in the past, but again, they're not a permanent solution.

Why shouldn't you rely on benzos long term? Will they stop working? I am seriously reconsidering getting back on either benzos or gabapentin to help with this problem because it is completely ruining my life. I am so dizzy and have terrible headaches everyday and I can't live like this. This is possibly not ever going to go away so I if I am going to reinstate either of these horrible meds it's going to be for the rest of my life. I am not going through another one of those withdrawals no way in hell that would be impossible, last one took years to resolve.
 
Why shouldn't you rely on benzos long term?

I only say this because of them being habit-forming and fairly addictive. Along with serious side effects from withdrawal (cold-turkey) I just don't see them as something that should be thought of as a long term solution.

But this is my personal bias from my experiences with them.
 
Thanks Swampy- I read about those hilarious and disturbing cases before I started on it, and I haven't taken a pill more then once a year almost. Got em for WD's.

I can't take a substance without researching the ins and outs of it. I've always been obsessed with research- and being in a medical field now, it's a lot of fun to be ahead of the curve in pharmacology- I dont have a lot to be proud of right now, so I don't feel showy saying it ^^

But again, I Always appreciate input and advice, thank you all. <3
 
My HPPD was caused by a reckless 240mg adderal overdose at the age of 14, I'm now 20 and my visual disturbances have gotten a hell of alot better, actually I wouldn't even refer to it as HPPD anymore, just residual visual disturbances. Anyways, besides all the flying dots and pretty bad static if I stare at a brightly covered wall it's like freeform eyefloaters merge together and form those transparent bugs and spiders that are common with amphetamines. They primarily occur at night and I'm actually scared of the dark, I feel that the "shadow people" will make their return. I can't be in a dark room unless at least a TV or dim light is on. I would also really like to move past this but the treatments are so scarce.

Benzos... yes they work, but they just aren't a viable treament option even if it will take care of my anxiety as well for a while, I have to agree with BRoI. Everyone I know who has been on benzos long term always warns me not to hop on that bus. Benzos benefits at first are borderline miraculous however it's a sliding scale, the longer you take them the less effective they become and the dependance worsens until you left with the opposite of what you signed up for, a rediculous, potentially deadly dependance and no positives to show for. If benzos are to be used they should be used in a cycle that allows you to continue to recieve the benefits whilst not building dependance.

Antipsychotics are another option however this should be a last resort to those who have severe visual static that interferes with your life, I'm not at this point. In fact I believe that with abstinance and a shitload of time I will be able to make a recovery. The side-effects of AP are pretty unbearable for me... no emotion, constantly fatigued, massive brain fog, and a very somber dull outlook on life. For some their HPPD is so bad that these side-effects are a good trade off for their constant bombardment of visuals. Some don't even get these side-effects from AP's but it's very likely there will be some sort of negatives for those who choose this treatment.

Then there's the Adderall which has ben mentioned not only here but on other forums, some dedicated just to HPPD. For me, Adderall was the cause of my static so I would never touch Adderall again whether it be for recreation or therapeutic use, however, this seems to be the sanest option, at least when compared to AP's and Benzos. Adderall seems to keep it's efficacy for a really long time while not leaving you with an extreme dependance issue. IMO if Adderall works for you then this may be what you want to look into, just stick to low doses. Like you said high doses of Adderall will make your HPPD a hell of alot worse, this goes for any stimulants really.

I know I didn't really add anything that hasn't been said but I just wanted to share my story and opinions on what treatment options are available. There's a forum dedicated to HPPD so if you want some support and other peoples wisdom check it out, I'll link it at the bottom of this post. I do have one question though, does my case count as a drug induced mental illness? I know everyone has static to an extent but the average person doesn't see static form transparent bugs and spiders so I'm not sure what my condition is. Today, I wouldn't call it HPPD as it affects my life VERY slightly, however it wasn't always like that. Would it be fair to classify what I have as just mere excess static? Please excuse any grammatical errors, I'm typing this from my phone which makes proofreading stupidly time consuming and difficult.

There are other options I didn't cover like Gaba-ergics and opioids but I don't have the time or experience in the case of gaba-ergics as a treatment option. Things that make my static worse are DPH/DMH, Z-drugs, stimulants, psychedelics, weed, dissociatives, and I'm sure a few others I can't remember. In reality it's best to abstain from ALL drugs but let's be frank, not everyone is willing to give up their drug use.

Here's the HPPD message board: http://hppdonline.com/
 
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Hmm well Im certainly no Dr so I'm in no way shape or form able to evaluate you professionally. Do you have any mental illness besides this? Bi-polar, schizophrenia, or other psychotic symptoms? If so an antipsychotic may provide relief to all of your mental health symptoms. If all you have are the static hallucinations then I would honestly give the low-dose Adderal a shot. I mean Gaba-ergics are dangerously addictive and don't work long term, opioids work okay but again, you don't want an opioid addiction for HPPD not to mention no sane Dr would even prescribe them for that purpose, antipsychotics cause some nasty side-effects and I wouldn't use them unless your HPPD is really affecting your life, you have other mental illness issues, or other treatments haven't proven effective. Your gonna have to do some experimenting but I think the Adderall would be a good place to start.
 
I highly recommend not using 5 Hour Energy if you have visual static/HPPV. It made mine much worse and just precipitated a panic attack.
 
yeah I too have visual snow even though it's pretty mild and it gets bad only when I'm in complete darkness. I also have a shitload of floaters
and
Is there any known way to cure this?
no there is not. i researched the hell out of it when i noticed my visual snow but i learned that there's nothing I can do but to accept it and learn to live with it in the hope that eventually some day it will go away but i already know it won't
 
^ You may not be able to cure it but there are quite a few treatments available for this condition that can definately provide some sort of relief. Check out hppdonline.com, there are some success stories and patient reviews on what treatments have helped.
 
So I've come to learn that the 'shadow people' I see... aren't actually shadow people. At least, that's not how people classify them. What I see are real, actual, shadows that I stare at for a while until a face forms, or they start looking like they're moving or something. 'Real' shadow people actually look like an entire person is standing in front of you that's entirely black.

I've only ever had that happen once and it was the scariest experience of my life. Other than that, I no longer have any symptoms that I can classify as psychotic... I feel really good about that. Delusions still exist... maybe... but I'm about to find out if I'm delusional or right so I guess it will depend on what my therapist tells me. Also, I know that I could be delusional - which just makes it more likely that I'm not. Delusional people never have a doubt about their delusions - I have doubts that I'm going to let my therapist decided (since he's a third party in the situation.)

Now I just wish I could get that diagnosis of Psychosis removed from my hospitalization. I said that I saw shadow people, but I misunderstood the definition of shadow people...

The only things I see are illusions, and visual static. I don't hear voices, I don't see people - all I see is static, and the occasional clumping of said static. Does this still constitute a diagnosis of psychosis?
 
My HPPD was caused by a reckless 240mg adderal overdose at the age of 14

How the hell did you manage that? I mean first of all 14? And second what exactly happened? Very curious.

OT: Why don't you just take 20mgs of Adderall then if it really does help? 20mgs is 'fairly' safe.
 
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