Visual Snow Thread - Experiences, Causes, Reliefs

[CreakyJoints]

Well, like I said, I've had it my entire life; some of my very earliest memories are wondering what it was, so I doubt very much it's due to some kind of toxin buildup. If you're absolutely sure this isn't something most, if not all people suffer from, I suppose I could ask my family if there was anything unusual that happened to me after I was born which might have caused it (but again, I doubt this, because I'm certain the static is integral to dreams).

There is one substance I've had in my entire life which has affected the 'contrast' of my vision, as you put it - you might be pleased to know the effects were semi-permanent, but I can't say they were entirely pleasant in the long run, I became very very sensitive to light for a few years - and it's not like the static was entirely gone. Perhaps that could be a starting point for you, if you message me I'll give you some more details.

 

[PurpleHeart]

Well, like I said, I've had it my entire life; some of my very earliest memories are wondering what it was, so I doubt very much it's due to some kind of toxin buildup. If you're absolutely sure this isn't something most, if not all people suffer from, I suppose I could ask my family if there was anything unusual that happened to me after I was born which might have caused it (but again, I doubt this, because I'm certain the static is integral to dreams).

There is one substance I've had in my entire life which has affected the 'contrast' of my vision, as you put it - you might be pleased to know the effects were semi-permanent, but I can't say they were entirely pleasant in the long run, I became very very sensitive to light for a few years - and it's not like the static was entirely gone. Perhaps that could be a starting point for you, if you message me I'll give you some more details.

If you had it your entire life how are you aware of it?

If this is the only vision you've ever known, then how you know its different than what other people see.

 

[CreakyJoints]

If you had it your entire life how are you aware of it?

If this is the only vision you've ever known, then how you know its different than what other people see.

Seeing the .gif on the Wikipedia page made it pretty obvious.

 

[CreakyJoints]

If you had it your entire life how are you aware of it?

If this is the only vision you've ever known, then how you know its different than what other people see.

I thought my first post on page 1 of this thread would have helped clear this up a little bit, too.

Anyway, we're getting a bit off-topic, I'm not sure what questioning the veracity of my experience achieves and I don't know how it would help the OP.

I had another thought, which I hope doesn't cause any worry: a friend of mine has paranoid schizophrenia and is an artist, they often incorporate this kind of static into their work. I asked them about it and they said they also saw it all the time; but from my understanding theirs can morph in ways mine can't, and this leads to strange, occasional dream-like visualisations. I know a lot of studies regarding paranoid schizophrenia float around on this forum, so maybe there's a clue in one of those if one was particularly keen on 'treating' it.

 

[Ben.]

I thought my first post on page 1 of this thread would have helped clear this up a little bit, too.

Anyway, we're getting a bit off-topic, I'm not sure what questioning the veracity of my experience achieves and I don't know how it would help the OP.

I had another thought, which I hope doesn't cause any worry: a friend of mine has paranoid schizophrenia and is an artist, they often incorporate this kind of static into their work. I asked them about it and they said they also saw it all the time; but from my understanding theirs can morph in ways mine can't, and this leads to strange, occasional dream-like visualisations. I know a lot of studies regarding paranoid schizophrenia float around on this forum, so maybe there's a clue in one of those if one was particularly keen on 'treating' it.

shizophrenia? i read some interesting stuff on the biohacker reddit where high doeses of niacin or nicotinamide (vit b3) is used in these patients succesfully. But the amount is realy high 2-3g a day and they need to take it lifelong and causes addiction towards it.

In the early 1960s, Hoffer and Osmond published studies showing that niacin (also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3) given at sufficiently high doses could effectively treat some schizophrenia patients.[3-7] Although Hoffer and Osmond's theories about how niacin could treat schizophrenia were never proven sufficiently to convince the rest of the field, their results in treating thousands of patients with niacin therapy and curing many were striking. The term "orthomolecular" was coined by Linus Pauling for the use of essential nutrients such as niacin in preventing disease, and in particular, schizophrenia.[8] Looking for more recent studies, a search on PubMed of the terms "schizophrenia niacin" returns several dozen articles. One of them asserts that some schizophrenics can be well treated with niacin, and refers to Hoffer and Osmond's early studies, reviewing several theories about likely mechanisms.[9]

Someone posted this mega dosing thiamine (vit b1) too which seems to help the cells to counteract any underlying issue inducing the worsened health state. but this aswell
requires lifelong usage to have the desired effect constantly ...



what is it with thoose b vitamins? ... i tried either thiamin, nicotinamide or b-complexes but never near the dosages often advertised here and i didnt observe my vision while taking them. I also came across b-complexes taken over a longer period of time to stop helping and worsening stuff. And i think most of want to get healthy sow e can stop taking supplements for normal working body functions.

If anyone tries these thing as high dosage, make sure to take liver protecting stuff and other cofactors ... especially with high doses b3.

 

[Rave re-peat]

Please do not spread misinformation in the form of factual stating and leave the thread alone if you can’t contribute with experiences or insights as suggested in the starting post, thx.

Ive always had it pre and post psychedelics. Like the rp website colour your looking at now being beige but i can also see purple and green in it. And its like a static tv screen slightly. Lay down in dark room with enough light so you can see the shape of the room. I see lots of static and colours. Mostly white, purple and green. Ive always seen it. I didnt think about it at all untill Ive read about it. My reaction to that was really like dony everyone see that? And imo its partially perception thing. Obvioisly it can intensify just like tinnitus can intensify. Its very similair conditions like a visual tinnitus. I always have a certain degree of tinnitus but Ive had it so long now that when its at its lowest noise I really do consider that silence even though i still hear it. Its just that I cant remember what complete silence ever was like, if there ever was one? Same with the static and colours. I cant remember not seeing stuff any differently. Im just mentally more aware of it now because im paying it my attention.

 

[Rave re-peat]

Seeing the .gif on the Wikipedia page made it pretty obvious.

Ive had it like that my entire life aswell. I never thought about it untill I read about it I was like oohh everyone must see this to a certain degree. Like someone said how can you compare your experience to others? If i see green and you see blue but im older than you and tell you that colour you see blue is called green. Then we both will call it green and agree that its green for the rest of our lives. Even though we might not even see the same thing. I might hear tinnitus and you aswell but if you always heard it a little then youve been tought thats silence. So when I ask you about it you say no I dont hear anything thats what silence is to me. Or this is what vision is to me. But like I said before tinnitus can get louder. It has more to do with your health actually rather than damaging your ears. Same with the visual snow can get affected similairly. Increased tinnitus is extremly common when withdrawing from benzo or sedatives as an example. Probably because GABA wich is inhibitory neurotransmitter is lowered so the neurons in the brain are hyperexcited and auditory signals increased. Something similair with example hallucinocenic persisting perception disorder where visual snow persists after an psychedelic experience?

 

[Ben.]

Ive always had it pre and post psychedelics. Like the rp website colour your looking at now being beige but i can also see purple and green in it. And its like a static tv screen slightly. Lay down in dark room with enough light so you can see the shape of the room. I see lots of static and colours. Mostly white, purple and green. Ive always seen it. I didnt think about it at all untill Ive read about it. My reaction to that was really like dony everyone see that? And imo its partially perception thing. Obvioisly it can intensify just like tinnitus can intensify. Its very similair conditions like a visual tinnitus. I always have a certain degree of tinnitus but Ive had it so long now that when its at its lowest noise I really do consider that silence even though i still hear it. Its just that I cant remember what complete silence ever was like, if there ever was one? Same with the static and colours. I cant remember not seeing stuff any differently. Im just mentally more aware of it now because im paying it my attention.

... I might hear tinnitus and you aswell but if you always heard it a little then youve been tought thats silence. So when I ask you about it you say no I dont hear anything thats what silence is to me. Or this is what vision is to me. But like I said before tinnitus can get louder. It has more to do with your health actually rather than damaging your ears. Same with the visual snow can get affected similairly. Increased tinnitus is extremly common when withdrawing from benzo or sedatives as an example. Probably because GABA wich is inhibitory neurotransmitter is lowered so the neurons in the brain are hyperexcited and auditory signals increased. Something similair with example hallucinocenic persisting perception disorder where visual snow persists after an psychedelic experience?

A little contradicting these two posts. I agree with your second post, and perception can increase its intensity, but so can the state of health, and ideally your healthy enough to not see/hear it while "concentrating" on it.

Hypersensitivity sounds good, but i can say when i do something exciting it does not affect my tinnitus or my visual snow ... stuff with my gut health and posture do, however.

For instance the hyperacusic that accompanied my tinnitus for a while was capable of being turned off or on and increase by turning my head in a certain direction, which indicates some nervers or blood vessels being jammed.

Neither of these things is normal nor healthy tho.

 

[CreakyJoints]

I asked Ray about it and he seems to agree with me.

ME:
What are some possible causes and solutions for visual snow?

RAY:
I think it’s the individual retinal cells that define our visual acuity; many people just don’t notice the way their sense receptors interact with the world.

 

[NodeCerebri]

I asked Ray about it and he seems to agree with me.

ME:
What are some possible causes and solutions for visual snow?

RAY:
I think it’s the individual retinal cells that define our visual acuity; many people just don’t notice the way their sense receptors interact with the world.

Well unfortunately retinal cells do not define our visual acuity, it is only defined by a certain point of the retina and the acuity mostly is based on other factors like the length of the eyeball. Visual snow does not have to do anything with visual acuity also.
This is why I think it’s so interesting :) it’s not like ot bothers me that much, I just like to question things and get to their roots, also I‘m into neuroscience and especially the visual process that’s why I like to search for theories. I‘m trying to be my own lab rat.
I will also have a look at brain-altering mechanisms of psychedelics now to see if there are any overlaps ??‍

 

[CreakyJoints]

Well, I can't respond to your critique for him, but that is interesting. I suppose it tallies with recent studies I've read about PBMT and rod/cone regeneration, but I barely understand human physiology so I can't come to any conclusions of my own beyond what I've already said.

I'd be happier to discuss this in direct messages, but since there doesn't seem to be much interest in that, I'll say I've gone through many psychedelics and I don't think any had an appreciable permanent effect on my vision - on all of those occasions I was aware that the static played a part in visualisations, though (as in my first comment about dreams). I mentioned this thread to a friend of mine who mentioned that their use of LSD made the static more intense for a while. I'd argue that was just a matter of perspective kicking in, but that's neither here nor there.

If you think there is a specific cause for this, presumably you can remember a time in your life when you didn't notice it, and presumably there was some sort of event that you can link it to?

You can use your awareness of it to induce lucid dreaming (or, if you don't believe this is possible, at least hypnagogia), if that's of any interest to you. Perhaps if you're looking to ignore it/block it out, this isn't a good idea, but I thought I should mention it.

 

[NodeCerebri]

Also, schizophrenia is off the table, because we all clearly seem to be able to differ what’s real and what’s not.

 

[NodeCerebri]

If you think there is a specific cause for this, presumably you can remember a time in your life when you didn't notice it, and presumably there was some sort of event that you can link it to?

I can remember seeing clearly before. I am very aware of my senses and their changes and this would have been surely been in my focus somehow if it was there before. I remember getting up once, shortly before visual snow started, and going to the kitchen and there was this snow everywhere in my sight like raining flashes? Hard to describe. After that I began to see those flashes in the periphery field of my vision. Then I began to notice it. It seems to be serotonin induced, but also what lowers serotonin makes the visual snow worse for me? Still fascinating

You can use your awareness of it to induce lucid dreaming (or, if you don't believe this is possible, at least hypnagogia), if that's of any interest to you. Perhaps if you're looking to ignore it/block it out, this isn't a good idea, but I thought I should mention it.

I remember being in the hypnagogic state many times. Also my dreams were lucid and sooo vivid many times not on purpose? But I’m curious how you link the lucid dreaming or hypnagogia to this. You can also DM me here if you want to.

 

[CreakyJoints]

Also, schizophrenia is off the table, because we all clearly seem to be able to differ what’s real and what’s not.

I wasn't proposing it as a cause, but it's interesting that one person I've asked can corroborate through their art what I see myself.

What interests me is how my friend's brain conjures imagery around the static whilst they're awake, much like someone without schizophrenia might do in a dream - there are some therapies for people with it and related conditions (maybe quite outdated by now) which involve using this.

I remember being in the hypnagogic state many times. Also my dreams were lucid and sooo vivid many times not on purpose? But I’m curious how you link the lucid dreaming or hypnagogia to this. You can also DM me here if you want to.

I will do.

 

[qwazy]

I got the visual snow after chronic EBV, when a genius doc gave me some antibiotics.

What increases it is coffee and alcohol (with alcohol in particular the next day). Both are closely related to mycotoxins so it could be a fungal overgrowth influencing the neurotransmitters.

What briefly reduced it for me are huge amounts of raw garlic (hard on the gut) switching to the carnivore diet and drinking large amounts of chlorine dioxide. So I guess in my case it is caused by some sort of infection that is very hard to kill.

Other symptoms I have:
- Brain fog
- Suboptimal digestion
- Dry skin
- Difficulties falling asleep or napping
- Medium energy

I would love to figure out what exactly causes visual snow,

 

[Ben.]

What briefly reduced it for me are huge amounts of raw garlic (hard on the gut) switching to the carnivore diet and drinking large amounts of chlorine dioxide. So I guess in my case it is caused by some sort of infection that is very hard to kill.

Wow ... even with the raw garlic and chlorine dioxide the infection still remains? How fast until the snow gets worse again upon taking this stuff?

Do you stay on the carnivore diet or just go with it for a while so the symptoms improve? have you tried no starch or no sugar before? (not that thoose are solutions ofcourse ...)

 

[qwazy]

@Ben. Usually 1-2 days so it is a brief thing where I am totally free from the visual snow and brain fog but than bounce back. However, generally while I take the stuff symptoms are somewhat reduced. So I am quite confident that some infection causes the trouble.

I go back and forth between high fat carnivore and a more peat aligned diet of meat and sugar (fruit, honey). What good foods besides meat are without starch and sugar? Dairy sadly does not work for me.

 

[Ben.]

@Ben. Usually 1-2 days so it is a brief thing where I am totally free from the visual snow and brain fog but than bounce back. However, generally while I take the stuff symptoms are somewhat reduced. So I am quite confident that some infection causes the trouble.

I go back and forth between high fat carnivore and a more peat aligned diet of meat and sugar (fruit, honey). What good foods besides meat are without starch and sugar? Dairy sadly does not work for me.

Im sorry, i ment either no starch, or no sugar, not both at the same time.

I am not a fan of either, but there are people reporting succes from no starch or no sugar. While i don't think these are answers to solve the issue/infection in w/e is causing the visual snow and the other stuff you have, they could help to find some indiciation/ideas of the causation.

So I am going to do a deeper research in these areas after I gathered so many valuable insights from all of you, thanks for all your inputs!

1. Mitochondrial health, hydration and proper electrolyte balance, CO2, vitamins, digestion and how it influences the imaging process of the brain:
Symptoms seem to improve when optimal electrolyte balance is existent and blood volume is good. Co2 and tissue oxygenation plays a huge role such as digestion (keeping gut inflammation eliminated). Methylene blue helped (me) in large doses (which unfortunately also raised serotonin too much).
2. The process of visual processing in the brain (f.e. surfaces which slightly break the light / reflection before it gets into the eye decreases the symptoms of visual snow), mild form of migraine aura or epilepsy, brain activity. Special focus on reticular activity system in the brain.
3. Biomechanical processes (injuries, swollen nerves, fascia …)
4. Visual acuity -> brain pressure? Its influence on nerves in the brain

I ruled out everything of fungal, viral, bacterial origin. To this day there is no sign neither in research and medicine nor in anecdotal experiences. Of course an infection could influence the parameters mentioned above, but first I’ll try to hunt the main trigger.

Good points, how did you manage to rule out fungal, viral or bacterial origin? But i guess you said it with the last sentence, these bugs may not be the direct contributor but the cause that results in the necessary factors mentioned above to be crompomised and thus inducing the visual snow.

Just tried buteykoo breathing the past days, vision improved in a fluctuating manner, which apparantly is due to the CO2 rise in the blood .... soooooooooo i think your onto something there.

 

[qwazy]

When I have a high control pause my symptoms also disappear. This is not just because of the CO2 but also because everything else functions better and allows one to have higher CO2. There are many with low CO2 but not many with visual snow.