Abusing cough Medicine?

[Donna]

I have heard that some kids my son hangs with are abusing cough medicine.  Drinking bottles of it for a high?  What type of cough medicine would this be.  And what kind of signs would my child show if he were doing this?

[haaan123]

yessss.

[noodlesinmysoup]

I was addicted to dxm. I would do it even at school. I came to the point where I didnt want to be around people because I felt they were looking down on me. I loved being high. I would steal it from stores and soon developed a tolerance. Theres different kinds of medicine that its in, so I soon figured out which ones I liked and which ones I didnt. people noticed how empty I had become, and so did I.
I'm no proffesional on drugs, but I do know that the overall long term effects are similar to meth.. at least when you take the cordicn2  cough and cold

[marinafaerie]

I've never had an allergic reaction to any medication before this, so if I am allergic to something then it just developed recently. I feel fine now although I did have a migrane when I woke up this morning. I have them frequently in the evenings but I can't remember the last time I had one that early in the morning.

[bmdad]

If you took the recommended dose I wouldn't think it would have been an overdose but maybe. I would guess you had some sort of an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients. Are you allergic to anything else? Some allergic reactions can just hit us one day even if we weren't allergic to anything in the past so just be careful.
How are you feeling now?

[marinafaerie]

Wow, I suspected, and was just confirmed by the symptoms you listed that I accidentely overdosed on cough syrup the other night. I really didn't mean to, I hate cough syrup but I had a really bad cough so I gave in. I choked down the exact amount I was supposed to as instructed on the bottle and at first it was great and i fell asleep really fast; but then I woke up at 1 am nauseas and dizzy. I had a strange feeling that something wasn't right.

I was still going to try and go to school but as soon as I got up to go to the bathroom I vomited. Then I looked in the mirror and my pupils were HUGE. I've never seen them that big and it really freaked me out.

Drug companies need to be more careful with their instructions mannn.

[kim715]

Thankyou both for your congrats and you're right, all we can do is pray for Danny and hope that one day he chooses to join us on the other side.All the very best to both of you...Kim

[leeisgettingclean]

yes congrats kim...you are doin good....and you all are right, we should pray for this lost soul

[bmdad]

Very well said! I just couldn't find a positive answer in me to post to his comment! I guess we all have to start somewhere and your answer reminded me of that. Congrats on 600 days clean!

[kim715]

WOW I read your comment and I'm just sad for you.I gotta tell you though when I was active in my addiction I can remember thinking some of the same thoughts.I guess I owe you a bit of thanks today.Your comment was my daily reminder of just how far I've come.Much like the way you're thinking now,I once thought.However today 600 plus days clean,my head is no longer in a fog.I now see clearly right from wrong.I have a great life,a wonderful family,I remember what I did last Friday and the Friday before that.I no longer live in denial or try to convince myself or anyone else for that matter that my drug use isn't hurting anyone.I wish that for you one day and when you are ready to address your issues ,all us recovering addicts,will be right here ready to help.Goodluck to you....Peace...Kim

[bmdad]

Why are you even on this forum then reading people's stories? Why don't you go back to that 8x10 foot room and stay there? And for many people taking opiates for pain isn't really a choice but more for quality of life. Addiction will hit before you even saw it coming. And if you think you can just stop using without a support you don't know your @ss from your elbow.

[leeisgettingclean]

and by tha way kid...your ignorant comment will be deleted in a mater of mins anyways i am sure, so unfurtantly for you, your words of "retardness" will not be shared with tha world

[leeisgettingclean]

sorry not being 100% mean but to me you sound a lil slow...like maybe those two years in a shed with your friends killed many brain cells...I am not going to waste my time argueing with a "slow" person.

[DannyDuh]

i used very large amounts of DxM for about a month straight everysingle Day i would take a 4oz bottle and when that started to kick in, i would take another 4oz bottle. and i would mix xanax, vicodin, or soma's with this and it was the most unbelievable high you could every imagine. I didnt go home for the entire period i stayed in a 8 by 10 room with two other people and we would just trip all day and listen to music, and i let everything else in my life kindof of just slide along. I was only 17, and i had been through some of the ruffest **** of anybody i know.also during this time i went through about 2 thousand dollars on drugs and liquor.  I dont understand why all of these people in these forums are crying about there addictions, it was your choice. So live with it, drugs are a personal choice that many choose to do, and im tired of all the bull in these kindof forums, if you like drugs you like drugs. Why are you crying to all these random people. I wouldn't take back those times for the world.

[corricidincoco]

and its DXM not DMX dmx is a rapper man!!

[corricidincoco]

yea its dxm ...thats the feel good drug in the cough and cold ****...I am addicted to this REAL BAD..and it sux ..I have stage 1 hypertension now and I am only 23 years old...its not good stuff I can tell you that much ..robo is better than corricidin but its still not good ...

Yea but signs to look out for are dialated pupils...walkin like a ****** robot ...slurred speach ...talkin more than usual ....

[epitoky]

I really appreciate the encouragement...  That was so well said.  It can be an opportunity for all of us to grow in ways we never imagined.  Addicts & their loved ones.  Thank you.  :)

[kim715]

Great post.Very informative.I'm sure a lot here will be able to benefit for the information you forwarded.

I'm so glad that you went to a meeting and that you're taking such an active role in your recovery as well as your neices.It's the addict thats addicted to the drugs but often times the loved ones become addicted to the addict.They become consumed with worry and fear and anger.Just like as addicts the drug is constantly on our minds ,consuming our every thought,and being placed in front of everything else in our lives.Sometimes our loved ones feel and act the same way about us as we do about the drug.

Thanks so much for sharing and I hope you will continue to post...All the best....Kim

[epitoky]

Thanks so much Kim.   I hadn't honestly thought to repeatedly visit this site or to refer it to her, but that is a terrific suggestion.  I've never been part of an online community before, but this support group really put a fire in me to take action after reading what my niece is dealing with here, and therefore what her entire family is dealing with as well.  I mean, the day after I saw this forum, I found the nearest Al-Anon meeting & went.  In those meetings, there's sharing for whoever would like to share something, but no "crosstalk", basically no discussion or conversation, or suggestions made.  Anything like that that's saved for after the meeting.  And so afterwards, I was greeted by people who really did have empathy for the situation and offered there support & experience through this process for us.  They strongly suggest you go to several in a row, and I can see why.  One night energy of the meeting may be off, or you just don't get anything out of it, but you just keep coming back. Dedicate yourself and it starts to sink in to you slowly and you can find hope & peace of mind there.   So Here's one of the websites I went to to find a meeting for myself & my niece's family, who lives an hour away:  www.al-anon.org
I also looked up Cocaine Anonymous, which, as I said before is a group that actually helps anyone who's addicted to ANY mind-altering substance...here's where I found their information:
http://www.ca-online.org/index_files/ContactInfo.htm
and I called their number to help find support in my area:
International Referral Line     1-800-347-8998
I've got a lot to learn, but one thing I've gotten out of Al-Anon was that families of addicts of any sort are also in recovery themselves, partly because being around an illness makes everyone ill.  unhealthy patterns and dynamics form & so we all have healing and growing to do around it, not just the addict.  And when we as their family & friends grow and learn healthier behaviors, the dynamic begins to change & creates an environment where addiction has a harder time surviving in the person.  So it's not just a commitment to helping the addict, it's a commitment to helping & empowering yourself.  I appreciate this venue to share with each other what we have learned that may help others in some way work through this, one step at a time.

[kim715]

I'm sorry for your situation,but glad to see that you have people in your life that have experience and can direct you on where to go for help and how to help your niece.This forum is also a great place for help and support,along with the other things you have mentioned above{AA and NA}.Perhaps you could also suggest to your niece to come here.We can all relate to whats going on in her life and theres no judgement here,only help and support.Theres help and support for you here as well.Thank you for sharing your situation and for all the great advice in helping a loved one who is suffering from addiction.I hope you'll stick around.All the best to you and your family.....Kim

[epitoky]

wow. Well, I found out my 27 yr old niece is addicted to cold&cough pills. She is a single mother to her 6 yr old daughter and is now on welfare and living in the garage with her daughter of her Mom's house (who is my sister).  We have been wondering for several years now why she seems like she's in a stupor so often, just staring, or asking what was said when no one said anything at all, or staring at us with a blank, dumb look or a weird, distant smile...  I thought she must have a brain injury the way she was acting, but then she broke down and told me what she was doing.  She had seen it on a 20/20 special about the effects of these over-the-counter drugs and so she was feeling down and tried them out and has since become very addicted to them.  I didn't know what to say to her, so I called a good friend for advice who speaks now at Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and is in recovery himself and has now been a sponsor to many, many people.  He said this:  "when an addict calls you in a breakdown--and there will be a breakdown and a call to someone for help--it is very important to be ready with information for them. Cocaine Anonymous actually serves everyone who is taking any mind-altering drugs and they almost called themselves 'Whatever Anonymous' because they don't care what you're addicted to.  Whoever they're likely to call needs to know their hotline number and where they're located so when the user calls in desperation, probably feeling embarrassed, ashamed and scared, you say to them only:  "OK listen, it's gonna be ok... just hang up and call this number right now and tell them exactly what you just told me".  When you get a call like that, it is a window of opportunity that is very small, since they are calling at a very low spot, which could change in minutes to hours... Nobody asks for help when they're feeling good. "   Another thing my friend said is that if, like me, you already received 'The Call' and didn't know how to help that person but now have that information, then go to them and say "Hey I was remembering that conversation when you were really worried about this, and I was got some information that, y'know, when you're really sick of this thing, please call me first.  I love you, you know, so please just call me if you ever need any help".  He said it's very important to be very vague and just be short and sweet and not give any more of an explanation... you just  can't give much info because they'll fill in the blanks, decide how it will go if they know what number you're giving them and then they'll never want to go.  Finally, he said for people dealing with users, they should find Al-anon or Nar-anon meetings to attend in their area or online help or communities through these groups because it will REALLY help them to feel connected to others working through the same helpless feelings and learn ways to get through this the best way possible.  This is serious.  I am very afraid for my niece and her daughter--it's become a veeeery unhealthy relationship where it looks like Child Protection Services should be called if she doesn't pull herself together, reach out for help and not look back.

[chewypanadol]

I am addicted to dhasedy ( the commerical name) which contains codeine.It is very hard to stop. When I try to stop, my hands start shaking, my body starts trembling, I get irritated easily, and just somehow the body does not feel good, I keep squirming in bed almost as if ants are running up and down the bones in my body, and there's no way to take away that feeling. Even so, when I tolerated it for 4 days, I start to not be able to fuction properly at school, now work. It's hard to explain, but you just don't feel comfortable, like you need to always constantly move every part of the body. I am trying so hard to quit. Like many others, my family does not know about it, and i am working as a staff nurse, so if ever anybody found out, I will get fired. I really wish I never touched that stuff! I thought, take it for a while, and I ended up taking it for 5 years, No joke. No when I type about it I even surprised myself. Oh god, help me!

[Jordand93]

I currently abuse triple c's ( coriceden) The feeling of it is like being on clouds. The visuals are insane. Its like the feeling of falling off a cliff blindfolded. It is possible to have a bad trip. I remember i took 16 of those f***ers and time went so slow. I would close my eyes and visualize people dying. The one i realy remember was a little boy playing baseball then a moments later drowning in water. Like a lake. The most horrific part about this ordeal was the next morning i rememberd that i play baseball and have my whole life. And i currently live on a beautifull lake. I just hope i get help. I really need it. And i hope that people stop this. Its sad

[DexMonster]

I'm 17 years old and I am addicted to Dextromethorphan. Its more serious than most of you probably think. I started out taking 300mg (gel capsules) A whole bottle (20 pills 15mg each) I would down the bottle. Then i started upping the dosgae to 600 750 800... My friends described one of my trips with me as a 'walking coma'. I dind't beleive the severity of the situation until they showed me pictures, and i did indeed look like I was in a coma. I don't have much recolection from this day (which was yesterday actually) The pictures scarred me, and it was a slap in the face.. Its hard to admit even on the internet that i am an addict.
Talk to your kids about DXM. This stuff is very serious, and im very disapointed in myself... I don't know what I would do if my Mother found out.

[Anaxis]

I started taking DXM through Corricidin cough-and-cold back in the mid-90s, we called it "fizzing".  At the time, my friends and I thought it was great, harmless fun.  Hell, at the same time, we thought that exstacy was safe. DXM is a powerful disassociative (accounting for the "robo" walk, hallucination, etc).  By itself, DXM isn't well understood (except by the manufacturers probably) as far as addiction and health-risks go because it can effect each user so very differently. The prior information here from others is good, but I have to add a warning about Corricidin C&C.  It also contains an antihistamine, CPM, which is DANGEROUS in overdose.  It can and has killed.  At least Robitussin only has a little alcohol in it.  :rolleyes:  Check out Erowid.org about Corricidin C&C.