# DP/DR cured what worked/what didn't



## Tenken

Hi I am someone who has completely conquered their DP/DR and thought I would try to help you guys by telling you which medications worked and which didn't for myself. I got the condition through smoking marijuana and suffered with it for 5 long years but now it has been completely gone for 3 years. While I was going through it I pretty much made myself a complete guinie pig to various meds because I didnt care what happened I just wanted out of that feeling no matter what anyway heres is what helped and what didnt.


Lexapro - No help at all
Luvox - No help at all
Anafranil - Helped a lot but it only ever brought me to about 75% cured
Lamictal - Felt like it may have been helping slightly but very mildly
Klonopin - Helped in the moment but the problems always returned
Xanax - Similar to Klonopin
Depakote - No help at all
Abilify - No help at all
Risperdal - No help at all
Effexor - No help at all, made me feel terrible
Wellbutrin - No help at all
Buspar - No help at all
Prozac - No help at all
Remeron - No help made me feel like a zombie
Elavil - No help at all
Seroquel - No help made me feel like a zombie
Provigil - Never got the chance to try it but it sounded promising
Ritalin - Helped a lot
Adderal - The Med that ended my DP/DR

So in the end Adderal is what ended my condition. Obviously this same story wont work for everyone but I thought I would share it. The reason I think Adderal ended it is because it allowed me to focus on things that I needed to do in my life instead of the DP/DR all day every day. So eventually the feeling faded completely and even though I dont take Adderal anymore it hasnt been back. Anyway I hope you all find some peace from this terrible condition. Im free to talk if anyone needs help or advice.


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## Guest

Hi Tenken, that's great news. How long did you take Adderal and how much did you take?


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## Tenken

goldy said:


> Hi Tenken, that's great news. How long did you take Adderal and how much did you take?


I only had to take the adderal for about 4 months and i took 15mg of the extended release a day.


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## Guest

Thank you for that. Mine seems to go then its still there, confusing.


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## alnadine20

So the medication took the visual fog and numbness and everything away?


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## Tenken

alnadine20 said:


> So the medication took the visual fog and numbness and everything away?


Yep


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## Tanith

Was there much overlap between these medications? Presumably you wouldn't just decide to stop the ones which helped a little or a lot?


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## sunshinita

Do you remember what dp symptoms you had?


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## <AGENT>teh345

Interesting that a stimulant is what ultimately ended your DP/DR.

A lot of people with DP/DR experience an exacerbation of symptoms a a result of stimulant use. Perhaps in a therapeutic dose it could be beneficial? I'll give it some thought.

I'm on Klonopin right now though, and I'm pretty sure that might have some significant interactions with a amphetamine like that. I'll see what a doc has to say.

Anyways, thanks for sharing.


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## Florena

That sounds great you found the right one.

would you guess that it helped with interaction of the other meds?

And have you been in therapy in this time?


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## Jurgen

That's crazy how many pills you went through

I have nothing against people who take medication because I understand that DP is very very hard but if you can just hang in there and truly dissassemble what's going on you can just save the medical treatment as a last resort


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## danjohnbig

How is conquering your dp with meds, conquered? I would say conquering Dp without meds is the truth, not with meds which screw your brain.


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## danjohnbig

mindfulness would be the natural adderall for me, it allows me to focus without monkey mind which dp, anxiety produces, mindfulness is the only thing which provides, and gives me clarity, there is no dp with there is mindfulness, my mind brings up all sorts of stuff, but I return to body, dp has no power, nor does anxiety when I am doing mindfulness.

This must mean that if there is no dp when I am being mindful, then dp must be obsessions, and looking out for danger..because when I am doing mindfulness I get things pop up in my mind, ie dp, whats wrong with me, I am going mad, why cant I find my way out of this? why can I see past this tunnel vision?

but when my attention is totally focused on my body, there is no dp, there is nothing. the only thing I notice is if I am very tired.


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## Tenken

danjohnbig said:


> How is conquering your dp with meds, conquered? I would say conquering Dp without meds is the truth, not with meds which screw your brain.


Well because its gone now and i dont have to deal with it anymore. I dont really care how i ended it. Id rather have it be gone then worrying about whether i ended it the right way and still having it. Being depersonalized for 5 years screwed with my brain more then any medication ever has.


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## Tenken

Tanith said:


> Was there much overlap between these medications? Presumably you wouldn't just decide to stop the ones which helped a little or a lot?


Some of the ones like Anafranil and Klonopin i took for a long time before they were definetely helping but it never helped enough. i gave all of the meds a good length of time and had breaks in between.


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## Tanith

Did you do anything else alongside medication like psychological therapy etc?


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## Tenken

Tanith said:


> Did you do anything else alongside medication like psychological therapy etc?


I went through therapy for a long time too.


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## Andre

I talked to my doc about this topic, and he said Adderall is similar to Ritalin, and that those wouldnt help me. Also, he said there is a difference between high anxiety and ADHD disorder, these would be two distinct situations. I don't know if DP symptoms could occur in opposite situations (since Adderall and Ritalin are stimulants, and meds for anxiety have an opposite effect). So, maybe you have/had ADHD, not DP?


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## Epsilon

I took stimulants (Ritalin) without a prescription and while I was "up" my DP would disappear but the comedown was horrible causing DP like states worse than the original condition.

Guess everyone's chemical composition and mental states are different.

Like stated previously, I think it's extremely interesting that stimulants are what helped you most when most people say to stay away from stimulants while in a depersonalized sate.

As far as the argument goes about curing depersonalization with medication, it could be that the medication simply helped his mind focus on the thoughts less and change his thinking patterns, so I'd see the drugs more as tools rather than the cure.

I don't know, that's the way I see it.

Think this kind of shows as well how depersonalization really is different for everyone.

Sorry for the long post.


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## masksacrafice

Did you have a lack of emotion too? That's my biggest problem. Will bring this up with my psychiatrist and therapist for some opinions or stories if they have any.


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## YoungKidWithDP

Ho


danjohnbig said:


> How is conquering your dp with meds, conquered? I would say conquering Dp without meds is the truth, not with meds which screw your brain.


 What do thou mean with meds that screw your brain?


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## lostlark

Vyvanse definitely helps me out a lot.

The only way I can possibly work a (part-time) job.

Focus is HUGE

however it doesn't help with the emotional blunting .... could something like xanax aid that? SSRIs were awful for me.


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## luctor et emergo

Xanax is a benzodiazepine, they make you even more emotionally numb in the long run.

They are very addictive and are known for their withdrawal symptons.

5 months ago I quit Klonopin and I'm still having PAWS...


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## TDX

Did the clonazepam reduce your depersonalization?


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## luctor et emergo

No, Clonazepam helped against (social) anxiety.

The dp, dr, > feeling unreal, living in a dream, playing in my own movie, my hand is my hand but doesn't feel like it's mine <

in whatever way you'd like to explain this state of non connectivity with myself and my surroundings has been present from

the moment I woke up each day until I fell asleep for the past 12+ years, the 7 years on Clonazepam included.

I started with Clonazepam, because of the buzz on this board in 2006, 2007.

edit: and because the "doctors" literally said to me "we can't do anything for you, get busy living", which I tried.


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## luctor et emergo

So now Brintellix, there is one postive video on youtube:


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## Omega369

Epsilon said:


> I took stimulants (Ritalin) without a prescription and while I was "up" my DP would disappear but the comedown was horrible causing DP like states worse than the original condition.
> 
> Guess everyone's chemical composition and mental states are different.
> 
> Like stated previously, I think it's extremely interesting that stimulants are what helped you most when most people say to stay away from stimulants while in a depersonalized sate.
> 
> As far as the argument goes about curing depersonalization with medication, it could be that the medication simply helped his mind focus on the thoughts less and change his thinking patterns, so I'd see the drugs more as tools rather than the cure.
> 
> I don't know, that's the way I see it.
> 
> Think this kind of shows as well how depersonalization really is different for everyone.
> 
> Sorry for the long post.


That's exactly what happened to me. My up after taking vyvanse was fantastic, DP almost gone completely. My comedown which happened around noon was horrible, about 5x DP


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## devin44

'How is conquering your dp with meds, conquered? I would say conquering Dp without meds is the truth, not with meds which screw your brain.'

I used to think like this - everyone is different. People who say that medications make you 'not yourself'...my brain has done that to me of its own accord and I can't function day to day. If you get to somewhere you're happy with without the help of meds, more power to you! Please don't look down on people who need them, though. They're just one tool.


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## jenndp

Any updates on this thread? I have been wondering about a stimulant to try myself for a while.... For the comedown effect from adder all or Ritalin what would be beneficial?


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## XBrave

Tenken said:


> Hi I am someone who has completely conquered their DP/DR and thought I would try to help you guys by telling you which medications worked and which didn't for myself. I got the condition through smoking marijuana and suffered with it for 5 long years but now it has been completely gone for 3 years. While I was going through it I pretty much made myself a complete guinie pig to various meds because I didnt care what happened I just wanted out of that feeling no matter what anyway heres is what helped and what didnt.
> 
> 
> Lexapro - No help at all
> Luvox - No help at all
> Anafranil - Helped a lot but it only ever brought me to about 75% cured
> Lamictal - Felt like it may have been helping slightly but very mildly
> Klonopin - Helped in the moment but the problems always returned
> Xanax - Similar to Klonopin
> Depakote - No help at all
> Abilify - No help at all
> Risperdal - No help at all
> Effexor - No help at all, made me feel terrible
> Wellbutrin - No help at all
> Buspar - No help at all
> Prozac - No help at all
> Remeron - No help made me feel like a zombie
> Elavil - No help at all
> Seroquel - No help made me feel like a zombie
> Provigil - Never got the chance to try it but it sounded promising
> Ritalin - Helped a lot
> Adderal - The Med that ended my DP/DR
> 
> So in the end Adderal is what ended my condition. Obviously this same story wont work for everyone but I thought I would share it. The reason I think Adderal ended it is because it allowed me to focus on things that I needed to do in my life instead of the DP/DR all day every day. So eventually the feeling faded completely and even though I dont take Adderal anymore it hasnt been back. Anyway I hope you all find some peace from this terrible condition. Im free to talk if anyone needs help or advice.


this community needs more stories like this!


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## 707

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## Betts17

Does anyone feel better on benzos but finds the dpdr comes back worse the next day? Like a benzo hangover.


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