# Dilated Pupils?



## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

Is having dilated pupils normal when having DP/DR?


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## Guest (Feb 7, 2005)

thats what i always thought i had, and blamed that for my fucked up vision i would like to know too


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## Homeskooled (Aug 10, 2004)

I think that about 5 percent of the population walks around with abnormally dilated pupils and never notices it. Nobody is quite sure why some people's eyes are that way. It can happen due to very serious things as well, such as a problem with the brainstem or cranial nerves, but you would probably have life-threatening symptoms. If your taking medication, Effexor has this effect on a LOT of patients.

Peace
Homeskooled


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

yeah people actually have told me that alot. but i was just wondering


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

yet another one of the lovely Xanax withdrawal symptoms you're going through. my pupils were always dialated, making my eyes hyper sensitive to light. it goes away in a few weeks. -ru


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## kenc127 (Aug 10, 2004)

Dilated pupils are a classic symptoms of anxiety. If you're in a state of fear or fight ir flight, your pupils will dilate.


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## danny (Sep 2, 2004)

Thats definately true, but I have always had dilated pupils. I remember being paranoid when i first noticed them, thought i had brain tumours and the works, but if you take notice of other peoples, alot of people have permenantely dilated pupils, its quite common


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

Thank God another Xanax withdrawal symptom...thats so relieving. Keep em comin'.


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

AHuseman said:


> Thank God another Xanax withdrawal symptom...thats so relieving. Keep em comin.


well, the sudden drop of benzos from your blood triggers the initial anxiety, fight or flight, etc...but you could end up staying anxious if you don't stop worrying about every detail, but that's hard...very.

read the Ashton list of symptoms, at least you can stay calm when they happen. btw, palpitations are a symptom too.

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

-rula


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

thanks. im not really anxious or worrying anymore, i just cant wait for it to end. ohh and like you said, that rebound anxiety from the sudden stop can or will last up to a few months?


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

AHuseman said:


> thanks. im not really anxious or worrying anymore, i just cant wait for it to end. ohh and like you said, that rebound anxiety from the sudden stop can or will last up to a few months?


lasted about 3 months for me cuz i WAS very anxious and obsessive the whole time  i carried a stop watch and took my pulse a million times a day to make sure my palpitations aren't killing me. lol.

if you're not anxious or worrying, you should recover much faster.


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## dakotajo (Aug 10, 2004)

I realize that benzos work on gaba but Im convinced their use messes up serotonin levels. Depression is common during benzo use and can last for many months after the drugs have left the body. When the brain is slowed the normal healthy output of serotonin is also slowed. When you come off them, your gaba isnt up to par so your excitatory nt's run unchecked plus we dont have enough serotonin to aid in the situation. Most people in this mess cannot sleep so it just adds more fuel to the fire. It can take a while for things to slowly right themselves. Nice thing is they eventually do. If I can recover from the mess I made of myself with benzos, anybody can.


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## Guest (Feb 7, 2005)

I dont know if this is dilated pupils or what not but when i first had a dp attack, like the very first time i was sittin in class in a brand new school and the teacher asked me a question then i got all nervous and anxious because she was sweating me, then after that she stopped, i looked down at my backpack and all of a sudden my vision zoomed in and out in and out rapidly like a digital camera zoomin in and out, except much quicker after that my derealization kicked in and everything went wacked out. A week later my derealization went away and i felt normal then i remember i had another joint of weed, after i smoked the joint i dont remember how but my derealization suddenly came back and all i remember is not remembering anything like i had the worst memory, I could barely remember my last name. I havent been the same since :roll:


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

> lasted about 3 months for me cuz i WAS very anxious and obsessive the whole time i carried a stop watch and took my pulse a million times a day to make sure my palpitations aren't killing me. lol.
> 
> if you're not anxious or worrying, you should recover much faster.


speaking of *freakin out *lol


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

rula, did you have floaters in your vision too? or any other visual distortions?


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

AHuseman said:


> rula, did you have floaters in your vision too? or any other visual distortions?


i got flashing lights, like stars type thing...i still get them if i look at anything form the corner of my eyes, but as bad as before. you got floaters too? anything you didn't get?? :wink:


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

yeah, I have floaters...they started like a week after I stopped the xanax. I also had flashes but they went away and one time I had sparks for a few minutes. and anything I didnt get?? lol uhhhh I dunno I prolly have most of the withdrawal symptoms or stuff from that hightened anxiety deal. the only thing I might not have gotten was DP but definitely DR. but I dunno tho, cuz sometimes my arms feel really light, like when I go to reach out for something ill reach out too far. but I dont know if thats considered DP...its hard to explain....but yeah


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

yea, i just almost had a full panic attack walking through Times Square...i dunno what i was thinking, that place used to drive me nuts when i was "normal"...any how, i got home and my pupils were SO dialated i almost had no green at all in my eyes. and just yesterday i was saying i didn't think i had much of a problem any more :roll:


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

lol yeah. that place always looked like it would make me go insane. and btw, in another post (not sure if it was you) but you say your not DP'd any more? or that it's fading?


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## [rula] (Jan 16, 2005)

AHuseman said:


> lol yeah. that place always looked like it would make me go insane. and btw, in another post (not sure if it was you) but you say your not DP'd any more? or that it's fading?


i'm not sure i posted that, but yea, i think my dp is definitely fading. i saw my 1st pyschiatrist ever today (woohoo! not), and he said i wasn't that bad at all (considering all the mess i just went through) and that i was actually making myself worse by coming to message boards like this one and feeding my head with mostly negative stories. well, i hope he's right, cuz i'm ready for this thing to be over. but i kinda like this place :?

u feeling any better yet? -ru


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## AHuseman (Jan 29, 2005)

Im feelin a little better here and there. but its basically the same. it's good to know yours is fading though. yea and btw, I find this place addicting too. cuz ppl tell me the same thing not to fill my head with stuff online but I dont care.


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