The trip of a lifetime: hallucinogen persisting perceptual disorder
Australasian Psychiatry February 1, 2018 Lauren Anderson, Hannah Lake, Mark Walterfang
A young woman with a history of substance-induced hallucinatory symptoms and occipital lobe epilepsy experienced a resurgence of visual pseudo-hallucinations. She saw several emergency and specialist doctors and received stigmatising diagnoses, which led to anxiety and depressive symptoms. Her symptoms were finally recognised as hallucinogen persisting perceptual disorder (HPPD), and she was treated appropriately with lamotrigine. The case illustrates that the chronology and phenomenological nature of hallucinatory symptoms can provide clues towards alternative diagnoses beyond primary psychotic and affective disorders. Delayed or misdiagnosis of HPPD prolongs functional impairment and social decline and predisposes patients to anxiety, depression, and increased risk of suicide.