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653169 tn?1303446369

cough syrup

  My good friend has a son that keeps buying cough syrup and drinking it like water. He tells his mom, (my friend) that he has a cold, but she says he doesn't seem sick and wonders if he is drinking the stuff to get a high. Her son is 16 yrs. old.  She asked my advice, but I don't know much about it, so I told her I would do some research.

Therefore; my question is which cough syrup is it that people buy over the counter to get high, and what is it in the ingredients that makes them high? I would appreciate anyone's insite since I don't even take over the counter cough syrup even when I'm sick cause it always makes me very nauseated and I throw it up.

  Thanks in advance for your help. My friend is desperate to know if her child is in danger with all this cough syrup use. She says she knows he's getting atleast one new bottle a day, but when I asked her what kind exactly it was she couldn't tell me cause her son had cleaned up all the empty bottles and she couldn't find any in the garbage, which is also suspicious of why he would get rid of them somewhere besides the home trash can.

11 Responses
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1110177 tn?1268461548
Did it once in college and never did it again...thank God.  But, then again, that should have told me something.  We stole it from the Store because the small town my college was in had no good pot.  Jeeze, if only I had the guts to stop abusing then, I would not have risked my entire family and career for drugs.

If you can, try to let this person know that he is going down a very bad path.  Can be fast, can be slow...but it always ends the same.  Alone, with nothing.

My prayers to you...keep posting
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Oh that's right!!  I was completely off on the name on that one. Yep- Robo it is and it's NASTY!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
robo Is what we called it nick name for robotusin. Real bad stuff I use to abuse. Most likely that's not all he is abusing. They have drug centers for minors. People on drug do what ever they have to to get them . Please remember that because this may get tough and he may deny. Symptoms were feeling drunk and on speed at the same time real intense. Good luck
Helpful - 0
653169 tn?1303446369
The mom said she isn't gonna wait any longer to confront her son and help him now that she know's that it for sure is something very dangerous that he is doing to himself!!
  Thanks again everyone for the info. I really had no idea how common this kind of abuse was!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I agree with everyone else that posted above. I can tell you Nyquil DM (an entire bottle) consumed can cause hallucinations. I remember people years ago doing this to get "high". 'Mom' definitely needs to step in on this one and ASAP.
Helpful - 0
653169 tn?1303446369
Thank you all for the information and advice. I told my friend how important it is for her to intervene sooner than later and get those lines of communication open. I also told her about this site since it has so many supportive people here with loads of knowledge and experience.
  Grateful,
   Shanna
Helpful - 0
1047946 tn?1332608029
Here's a link that may help your friend. I just skimmed through it so not sure how much it will help. I just googles   cough syrup abuse signs
There's a lot of info out there.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/h1n1_center/h1n1_center_treatment/cough_cold_medicine_abuse.html
Helpful - 0
199177 tn?1490498534
Yes it can make him high he is going threw it fast because it takes alot to get the effect Its a big thing with the kids these days and it can be very dangerous she needs to get her son some help and get rid of all of the cough meds in the house. The problem is he can just buy more .Thats why the family is going to have to get him help.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello and welcome to the forum.. it is obvious your friends son is into something he needs to be called on for.. I mean honestly what does it matter the ingredients ? the very fact he is buying a bottle a day and hiding the empty one's speaks volumes.. I do not mean to sound harsh but if my son was guzzling cough syrup and I knew of it I would definitely be talking with him. Yes there is a problem. not only in a addictive sense but he is consuming way to much. it can have serious ramifications on his organs.. I would advise the mom to intervene right away as Yes there is a serious problem.. lesa
Helpful - 0
1047946 tn?1332608029
The main ingredient that are in otc cough syrups that can cause a high if taken in high amounts is dextromethorphan or DXM. I had a friend in the Marine Corps that would do this. He would drink a full bottle or more at a time and would get pretty messed up. I remember watching a intervention last year of someone who would take cold tablets. After he took them he could barely talk and would slur his speech big time!
I sure hope your friend's mom can help her son if he is abusing. It can be very dangerous and very habit forming from what I have heard.
Helpful - 0
222369 tn?1274474635
The ingredient you're looking for is Dextromethorphan or DMX for short.
Helpful - 0
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