[ValleyGirl]

Hi Guys. I have had dp for 8 years now and started posting here in 2009 under the username Tinyfairypeople, then ValleyGirl and ValleyGirl<3. I am going to Chicago next week to have the SGB done by Dr. Lipov.

In reading the clinical trial information from NAMI, they have found that the effects of this block on symptoms like detachment from reality and emotional numbness don't show marked improvement until 2 to 4 months post injection so I would be very surprised for anyone to see immediate results. Also, one very important piece that people seem to be missing is that DP/DR are not simple conditions and there will not be a simple quick cure. There is a reason why the human brain feels the need to dissociate and that reason usually happens long before a person actually develops dp/dr. There is some sort of trauma that happens to the brain at some point in life that causes the brain to feel the need to use dissociation as a means of escape and after that point some kind of catalyst comes along, such as a medication or panic attack or drug trip that imbalances the brain just enough to send us into this permanent dissociated state. But it is never the catalyst alone that causes the dp. If you get dp from a panic attack during a drug trip, it wasn't the drugs or the panic attack that gave you dp. It was the unresolved trauma that happened in your life way before that, that caused your brain to want to dissociate in the first place. In order to actually fully recover we all have to be honest about our past traumas and seek counseling to process and heal from those traumas in order for DP to go away. The thinking behind the SBG working is that DP feeds off of a constantly activate fight or flight response that tells us that we are in danger and the brain needs to keep us disconnected in order to protect us. The SGB works by hard resetting the fight or flight area of the brain but I feel that you also have to resolve your trauma because it will always still be there subconsciously effecting your conscious mind. The SGB can help you feel safer but it isn't going to cure you when you still have wounds inside of your brain making you feel unsafe. I think that this will be an excellent treatment for DP when paired with therapy and I think that people will have a much higher likelyhood of recovering when using the two together.

 

[ValleyGirl]

I forgot to add my backstory to my post. My official diagnosis is Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Depersonalization. So basically I have c-ptsd and the dp is a side effect of the ptsd. I got dp 5 years into a 10 year long abusive relationship. At first I had one of the most severe cases of full blown DP and DR that I have seen on this site. I went to bed normal one night and the next morning woke up feeling like I had just been born on some alien planet that I didn't recognize. I could not tell at all if I was still asleep or awake. I couldn't feel my body at all. If I closed my eyes I was sure I was going to disappear because I was so numb physically and had to keep a fan on me at all times just to feel something against my skin so I knew I was still existing. I lost all emotions except fear and sadness. I lost all memories of my life. Everyone and everything looked and left like a complete stranger to me, even my children. I felt like I had absolutely no idea who I was or where I was. I felt like a ghost, like a tiny little person trapped inside of a big robot body. My voice didn't sound like it belonged to me. Everything felt so numb and scary that I was paralyzed with fear and all I could do was lay in bed in the dark for the first year I had dp. I stopped eating, stopped bathing, just stayed in bed having panic attacks and making trips to the ER because I was sure I was dying or going insane and desperately begged for help. I ended up suicidal very quickly and self admitted to the hospital twice in hopes of finding some medication or something that would help me feel better. I spent a year trying pretty much every supplement and medication known to man and nothing helped my dp at all and almost all of them made it 1000 times worse. The only thing that did help was klonopin to keep me calm and taking d3 and b12 to keep myself from getting really extremely depressed again.

I decided right from the beginning that I absolutely refuse to accept that I will have dp long term so I started the very hard journey of doing whatever it took to recover. I read dp books, I have gone to counseling, I attended support groups for abuse victims, I set healthy boundaries for myself and removed people from my life that were hurting me, I eventually ended the abusive relationship I was in, I made myself get up and leave the house as much as possible and go out and enjoy the things I knew I used to like doing and over the course of the first 3 years I recovered probably about 90%. I have made very minimal and slow progress in the last 5 years to where I now feel almost no DP at all and like moderate to mild DR. The symptoms that I still have are feeling like I am half asleep all of the time, the pane of glass between me and reality, flat 2-D vision that looks like colors are too saturated and things are slightly cartoon like, and extreme memory loss. I still cannot remember most of my life, particularly the last 15 years and my short term memory is almost non-existent for the most part.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Not according to those that have had it done in this thread. Only the OP recovered, so far nobody else has.

Guys it takes a couple of months for this to take full effect. Its unrealistic to expect people to instantly recover.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Then I rest my case i guess.
We need some more help from the medical world. I don't care about the money or shots in my neck. It's not enough anymore now

I just got home from Chicago from having the SGB done by Dr. Lipov and within 30 minutes of the 2nd injection I noticed a change in my level of Derealization. Everything started looking sharper and more real. I also felt like a part of me that has been gone for a long time is waking up. The next day (yesterday) everything looked *almost* real and it felt like the DR was going to go away at any second. It kept coming and going through the day. My vision would switch between the dull/flat Dr vision and things looking real. It also feels like my experience of reality is changing and like a part of me that has been asleep a long time is waking up. I am not fully in reality yet but I just had the injections 2 days ago and I feel like this is very promising.

I had 2 injections, one at c6, which did absolutely nothing, and one at c3, which started working within 5 minutes. I will come back and write a full post on my experience in the next few days.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Does dr Lipov says that or where did you got that from? BTW nice to hear you got much quicker results.

I'd like to know if the others who received the SGB shot(s) : what type did they receive because I just read someone's review claiming that:

I continue to be amazed by how much better the dual pulse radiofrequency SGB injection to the C3 and C6 was in comparison to the previous five standard (Clonidine mix) SGB injections to the C6. The pulseradiofrequency, I'm told,anesthetizes the region for three months as opposed to the eight hours that the standard provides. In the past, that standard SGB to the C6 had provided anywhere from 6 to 15 months of relief with two blocks (September '12 and June '14) failing to hold up to post-treatment re-triggering events within 30 days of the SGB. I've seen remarkable results with the new one and have no idea when I will need another. full review here

I read it in a paper published from a clinical trial of the SGB. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27612365/

"Patients reported greatest improvement in the first week after SGB for the following symptoms: irritability or angry outbursts, difficulty concentrating, and sleep disturbance. 2 to 4 months later, patients reported greatest improvement in the following: feeling distant or cut off, feeling emotionally numb, irritability or angry outbursts, and difficulty concentrating".

 

[ValleyGirl]

The OP recovered alomost immediately, & so does pretty much everyone with PTSD, so no.

Seems to have been fairly instant for you as well. Glad it's working out for you, & please keep us all updated,

Right, if they have ptsd. And probably only ptsd. Clinical trials have shown that emotional numbness and detachment from reality start showing marked improvement between 2 and 4 months post injection. See above.

Also thank you. I really hope it keeps up.

 

[ValleyGirl]

I'm going for final sgb shots tomorrow. Did come hugely into reality today but was such a fucking scary experience having been 24\7 fp for 17 years...

Have you been getting c3 and c6? That is wonderful to hear that you experienced reality and I think very understandable it be freaked out. I have had one instance where my dp went away for like 5 minutes (about 2 years ago) and I started to panic because it felt like waking up from being asleep for a long time. Also the day after my SGB I was in the airport and everything looked so real that I was sure my Dr was going to go away at any second and I felt scared.
Reality is very different than the experience of dp and just like we were used to reality and dp was terrifying to adjust to, reality is terrifying to adjust to after having dp for so many years. Just try to calm yourself when it happens and tell yourself that this is what you wanted in getting these shots, that you are safe, and everything is going to be ok.

 

[ValleyGirl]

To anyone;

How many shots do you need totally?
And in how many days?
I have to travel from Europe to Chicago for this. Hope someone can give me details of the total treatment.

Dr Lipov gives 1 injection at c6 first and gives it an hour to see if you feel any different. If you don't, you can get the 2nd injection at c3. Once that is done you have to leave and come back later if you choose to get more injections. He has said that he sees the most results with the combination of c6 and c3.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Consultation in Bristol is £295, & C3 is £895. C6 is an extra £595, but they usually do it at a later date (you could ask them to do it on the same day).

When I saw Dr. Lipov for the procedure he told me that the two injections at c6 and c3 need to be done within 2 hours of each other for the treatment to be effective. So having it done two separate times would not end up giving you the results you want. Also, Dr. Lipov does not charge a consultation fee. He charges $900 us dollars for the first injection and will do the 2nd for free the same day. The surgery center fee is $390 and the anesthesia fee is $210. So all together you pay $1500. Dr. Lipov requires you pay the $900 the week before the treatment and then you pay the other two fees at the surgery center the day of your treatment.

 

[ValleyGirl]

I wanted to give you guys a little update on how I am feeling 5 days after the SGB at c6 and c3.
For the past few days my vision, which has been flat 2d and fake looking for 8 years has been changing to everything looking real. It comes and goes but it is so cool. I am also having periods where the world feels more real to me. Emotionally I have found that I am actually experiencing strong emotions instead of feeling numb. For instance I have never really been able to feel anything thinking about my grandma who I lost years ago and today I drove past where she used to work and thought about how much I miss her and started crying. Last night my husband said something that normally would have triggered my ptsd and sent me into a totally shut down mindset but I just instantly cried instead. That is a very big deal. These shots really are working.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Oh you go Eugine, you rape them there wallets! Two grand for a couple of injections? FUCK YOU!!!

He actually only charges $900 to do the procedure. It is the surgery center fee and the anesthesia fee that cost more. The surgery center was almost $400 and the anesthesia fee was over $200.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Just to make things really clear, I have seen an extremely low success rate with people who only had the injection at c6. It works for pain relief but just doesn't seem to work for helping with ptsd symptoms or dp symptoms. If you are going to get it done, you need to get c6 and c3 done within 2 hours of each other. This is the protocol Dr.Lipov has established and from my own personal experience, this is what works. I had the first SGB at c6 and felt nothing. I had the 2nd at c3 and felt the effects within 2 minutes. I am about 9 days post SGB and I feel amazing. I am calm, happy, relaxed. Everything looks more real and my mind is clearer and more awake. I am definitely functioning at a higher level of awareness than I was before. I feel more awake. My Dr always made me feel like I was 75% asleep all the time. I also have noticed that the severity of my mental state/how dp effects me is getting a lot better. Before the SGB I never knew how bad I was going to be mentally from day to day. I usually woke up extremely full of panic and disorientation and the level of my dp symptoms varied wildly from day to day. All of that has gone away since getting the SGB. I feel good every day. I haven't had a bad day mentally yet.

As far as getting the SGB with Dr. Lipov, you have to fill out some paperwork before he will agree to treat you because he only takes people with PTSD. So, if you want to be treated by him, write that you have ptsd. He never asked to see proof from my doctor or counselor or anything. Once he reviews your answers they call you to let you know if he can treat you or not.

If you are going to use your insurance, it won't pay for an SGB for ptsd. They only pay for pain. I would speak with whatever doctor they refer you to to see if they only inject c6 and if they do, either ask them to inject c3 as well or don't waste your money because c6 alone just doesn't work.

Hope this clears things up.

 

[ValleyGirl]

teh345" data-cid="527146" data-time="1511846129">

Yeah I think its kind of messed up that people don't report back on something that has the potential to be so revolutionary for DP/DR sufferers.

Even if the results were negative, and its not as exciting to post about or pleasant, at least do others the courtesy before they shell out thousands to possibly have the same experience.

Are you just completely ignoring the fact that I keep coming back here every few days and updating my progress?

 

[ValleyGirl]

teh345" data-cid="527770" data-time="1511986566">

I wasn't specifically referring to you. Don't become so defensive.

You were ranting about how no one was coming back and updating. I've been updating every few days.

 

[ValleyGirl]

This is the best most definitve post Ive read on here for a long time if ever....Fair play Valley Girl.....We are all delighted for you....And thanks so much for the updates...Your experience and info is invaluable to the rest of us (Especially those with either CPTSD or PTSD) It may not work for us with the illegal drug induced DP but I can see amazing potetntial for those whos DP came about as a result of abuse etc.....In fact I can see where this would be very very useful for girls who have been either physically emotionally or sexually abused...

Well done miss!!!!!!!!!

Thank you. Well we hope that the SGB can help anyone with dp, not matter the cause, because dp feeds off of the same sources as ptsd which basically comes down to the sympathetic nervous system being constantly activated. Once that is reset and all of those extra sympathetic nerve fibers die off, the body goes back into a normal sympathetic state and the signals that feed dp should be gone, resulting in recovery. It should work. The problem is that people are either only getting c6 injections, readers are expecting an instant cure like the op had, and not enough people are updating progress so members on here think it doesn't work and is a waste of time and money. It will take a few months. I also feel that therapy in combination with the SGB is the best route to go as people who dissociate do so due to psychological wounds from the past and those will still be present unless properly dealt with.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Both of those ideas are merely theoretical, stating them as if they are proven facts is misleading imho. There are plenty of recovery stories of people getting better which have nothing to do with psychology or nerve blocks.

How the SGB works is proven fact. I was stating that it SHOULD WORK for dp because the way dp functions in the brain and the way ptsd function in the brain are very similar.

Why are you so negative and argumentative? If you think this won't work, cool, leave this thread and stop trying to piss on everything people post that is positive about this treatment. It makes no sense to come on here and constantly argue with people. We are trying to do something positive and find some relief and hope for people. If you think it won't work/its too expensive/there are better therapies we get that. You've made that clear. Go and get whatever treatment you think is better. It hope it helps. Just stop trying to crap all over the people who are trying to help. Its really annoying.

 

[ValleyGirl]

This is a really interesting read. A lady just posted an article in the dp community the other day that talks about all of the regions of the brain that contribute to dp symptoms and says that it is a right brain disorder. According to this, so is ptsd and that would explain why the SGB should work for dp.

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prt/2010/963948/

 

[ValleyGirl]

davinizi

I know we all want to work this out, but seriously, the hard work on this has been done by experts such as Dr Lipov, who i am sure have tried every which way and he knows the science. C6 and C3 are both needed, it's that simple if you want to maximise your chances, from everything i've read, if anyone including you is doing this, don't cheap out and get just C6... what's the point, as we say in Ireland 'half a loaf and no bread'.

ValleyGirl2.0: My thoughts are very much aligned with you on this. This has worked for many PTSD and already people here with DP, with time it might even prove to be the most effective thing we have seen, I certainly haven't seen something with people like Dr Lipov quoting 50% overnight, so I don't get why people who haven't tried it have so much to say...

March is when I aim for, even if it just clears some anxiety and depression 50%, worth it to me

Thank you.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Wanted to give another progress update. I am now 2 weeks post SGB and in the past few days I have noticed that I am starting to have control over bringing myself more into reality. If I meditate on the things around me being real, they become more real looking and the veil of dp starts to lift. My vision is trying to go back to 3d and last night I came almost fully into reality. The longer the treatment has to work, the better the results are getting.

 

[ValleyGirl]

Do you have to come back to Dr Lipov for more consults?

No. You don't ever actually have a consult with Dr.Lipov. If you are interested in treatment you email them and they send you paperwork to fill out to determine if you qualify for the procedure. (You can download it here http://globalptsifoundation.org/online-forms ) If you do, they call you within 3 weeks to set up your appointment for the injection. I just got a follow up call from his office today post procedure. You see Dr. Lipov for the injection and that is it. You don't have any other consultation appointments with him.