Misc DXM addiction: long term side effects

[f33lg00d]

You guys catch the god complex many dissacioatives abusers get? I know I get a touch of it at times.

 

[BlueHues]

Seems like a lot of people have a lot to say about the long-term effects of their DXM use...

Technically, the OP is kind of a trip report, but it's a solid post that encourages good discussion...

Also, many people would categorize DXM as a psychedelic...so, this could potentially end up in the 'Psychedelic Drugs' forum eventually...

IMO, DXM is a unique drug that's difficult to put in one category...

I'm gonna leave this thread for now, as a discussion about the effects of the regular use of DXM....

-Blue

 

[3reeck]

The first time i tried DXM, i was 13 and drank a 4oz bottle of Robitussin. it was very unique, and out of the curiosity I settle out on doing it again, and like every other junky with internet acces I started to do some research. Ive tried CCCs Delsym Robitussin, in the United States these OTC meds are expensive spending over 10 dollars for 300+ mgs of DXM and almost all containing other ingredients. Dextromethorphan is MY favorite drug out of all, and ive done MANY drugs, ive probably experienced all the possible ¨Highs¨ your brain can experience from stuff from psychedelics like Mescaline 2cb Lsd Dmt to Ketamine Pcp NO2 Amphetamines Benzos Toluene products even butane gas leaving out alot of other crap in between. As i just mentioned ive experimented plenty with Ketamine and PCP (which i will write about later in a seperate forum) and DXM is alot more intense than Ketamine, PCP and DXM are very similar the only differnces are is that PCP completely immobilizes your body to a certain point and is less euphoric, visuals are very similar, but there is something VERY special about DXM that no other drug does which i will mention later. After my first experiance with DXM, my reincounters were occasional, due to many factors. When i was 15 I moved from Texas down to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Here in Mexico exists a pharmacy frachise called Farmacia de Similares, most are open 24 hours a day, They sell the generic DXM Cough syrup with the only active ingredient being the sacred DXM (360 mgs in 120 ml of Syrup) for only 14 pesos (1 US Dollar). On Mondays they have a 25 percent promotion so on Mondays it cost 10 pesos. Its really cheap and easy to get, so this is where I start to use the drug very frequently. At first i would use it for the obvious reason, getting fucked up. Id use it on and off a couple of times a month twice a week etc. I would try not to use it that frequently like 2-3 times in a week due to the health risks I knew this drug caused. Ive taken up to 1500 mgs, I have done dxm well over 300 times, I know this drug like the back of my hand. After a few years using the drug I made the theory that it can be used as a an antidepresent due to the mindtrip that makes you reflect on your problems during the drugs effects and the afterglow effect where your brain is saturized with seretonin making you feel happy with alot of energy and very common insomnia. DXM was very helpful when i had problems had needed a way to resolve them. Since i first moved here to Juarez i have been going to raves and afterparties binging on drugs drinking etc, but recently I started to have some problems, and I wont deny it i had a serious drug problem, and im very impulsive person. For about 6 months straight every weekend would be me eating 7-8 Ecstacy pills, binge drinking, and of course drinking my cough syrup, but i wouldnt reserve weekends for the cough syrup, since it was my ¨äntidepressant¨ I would use it any day of the week. My friends nicknamed me dextro because I always proclaimed my love and use for the drug while my friends questioned my use because to them, they dont think drinking nasty syrup is fun, but the few people who had taken it with me and along with my guidance have been very spiritual, every person having breakthough moment reflecting on themselves and their lives. But towards the end of the year I started to have really bad physical problems, trouble urinating, pain in my kidneys, i knew it was because all the shit i put inside my body, i had an adverse effect to a candyflip and that was the last day I ever took another ecstasy tab, and layed of the syrup for a couple of months, I took a while but my kidneys started functioning normal again. After that last scare i started to focus on important things like my music, school, family, paying bills, being responsible. Now what Im going to say next might sound ludacris to some, but i firmly beleive it to be true so bare with me. My next DXM trip was extremely spiritual to me. something devine. One could say, you were tripping balls, or the drugs are impairing your thinking. Like any other dxm trip it starts to come up, you feel the dissociation little by littke disconecting your body from your mind, I lay down on my bed peacefully in a dark room with some house music playing, (Never before have I really payed attention to the images of the CEV´s) I close my eyes and. I see an orb of light, i focus on this light and it enters what seems to be a vortex following by images of atomic structures star constellations, I keep focusing on the images, i notice my eyes are moving back and forth rapidly as one does when they dream. Soon i get to this place and I am received by an entity, an orb of pink light, as absurd as this may sound that being telepathicly transfered very valuable information to me. After that moment I knew everything. Every question religion tries to answer, i knew the answer to, From things to how the universe was created, how the universe actually works, what human beings actually are, what happens after death etc, I really wont get much into detail unless someone requests me to do so. So this is what I understand DXM to do, It antagonizes NMDA blocking your brain from sending or receiving messages from your body but uniquely Its the only dissociative that is also a seretogenic. With the use of frequencies (Music) and meditation which is very easy to accomplish if your mind is disconnected from your body you experience a different consious or dimensions. That orb of light i saw go inside that vortex is my Soul, the entity that passed on this information to me comes from a star constelation called Pleiades (5th dimension). there are 13 dimensions in total, we are only able to perceive 10 of them. Most people are only consious about 3rd Dimension (Space and Time) and the 4th Dimension (The Collective Mind), this is were your thoughts and everyone elses exist and are stored like a memory and all of them are interconnected like a web. anything beyond this is unknown to most people. I know im not the only person who thinks the way I do. Since that moment entering these realms have been very easy, and have done it several times, and everytime coming back a little bit more wiser. I used to be athiest now Im a strong beleiver in God, now that i know what ¨God¨is. I still dont endorse any religion as they all seem to be corrupt, even though they do try to send the right messege. Beleive me or not, it doesnt matter. DXM is not a recreational drug me anymore, its a spiritual medium and i use it with the highest respect. My brain funtions very well, I have very fast reflexes, I speak 4 different toungues, and am an acedemic studying biochemical engineering. I do not feel in that in all of these 6 years of using this drug impaired me in anyway. Only risk is the damage it does to your kidneys so try not to use it everyday of everyweek of every month, Im talking about preperation with onl DXM as the active ingredient any other preperation comes with different consequences due to the other chemicals.

 

[lostinthespace]

Onleys lessions don't occur in humans.

That is totally speculative. Have you any evidence of this?

Even if we knew this for sure, we should be careful how we word this as it may suggest DXM does not cause brain damage; albeit temporary or permanent. That would be a horrible assumption to make.

 

[lostinthespace]

For those of you who haven't, you should really read this.

This is Your Brain on Dissociatives
The Bad News is Finally In

by William E. White
Version 0.1, 11/28/1998

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_health1.shtml

 

[treezy z]

wellbutrin has been a huge help in stopping dxm for me. it eases the withdrawal (depression, exhaustion) and it prevents me from taking dxm because of the nasty/dangerous experience of mixing.

i would not take ssri meds to stop dxm because if you give in to the craving you're going to get serotonin syndrome (at pretty much any dose) which can be fatal and has to be the most unpleasant experience known to man IMO. you can get serotonin syndrome if you give in on wellbutrin and it's also dangerous but not quite to the extent of ssris, and even a low dose like under 100mg is extremely unpleasant on wellbutrin so it keeps me from wanting to do dxm, especially since the effects of wellbutrin can make dxm feel completely awful for even 2-3 weeks after last dose.

keep in mind if you're addicted to the point you can't say no at all don't get on wellbutrin, it's not good or even safe to mix the two. if you go this route i would check in to psychiatrics to get through the first few days or week or whatever.

 

[treezy z]

also i should note my underlying depression was a factor in my dxm use (it may be in yours too even if you don't realize it) so the wellbutrin keeps me in less need to self medicate.

i should note i still get high on a variety of things, but not every day and nowhere near as bad as my dxm/pcp/ketamine addiction.

 

[f33lg00d]

That is totally speculative. Have you any evidence of this?

Even if we knew this for sure, we should be careful how we word this as it may suggest DXM does not cause brain damage; albeit temporary or permanent. That would be a horrible assumption to make.

I did not mean to suggest it isn't damaging just not olneys lessions. Ik something made me adamant of my few but I haven't researched the topic in a while and am current reconsidering my view. I'll get back to y'all... Maybe if I'm feelin scholarly nodding to hard to read boring ass journals atm

 

[treezy z]

^i agree olney's lesions last i read weren't proven.

but personally i've done it over 1000 times and definitely got a few screws loose and brain cells lost. i haven't gotten a cat scan or mri (whichever one is the brain) to prove it though.

 

[exists]

For those of you who haven't, you should really read this.

This is Your Brain on Dissociatives
The Bad News is Finally In

by William E. White
Version 0.1, 11/28/1998

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_health1.shtml

And while you're at it, check out these articles as well:

The Bad News Isn't In
A Look at the Evidence for Specific Mechanisms of
Dissociative-Induced Brain Damage and Cognitive Impairment
by Cliff Anderson
Version 2.2, June 2003
Edited, HTML, Published by Erowid.org

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_health2.shtml

~~~

Carliss RD, Radovsky A, Chengelis CP, O'neill TP, Shuey DL.
“Oral administration of dextromethorphan does not produce neuronal vacuolation in the rat brain”.
Neurotoxicology. 2007 Apr 6;.

http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?ID=7030

~~~

Belief is a powerful thing, and if you believe you are brain damaged then you might actually show signs of damage that aren't necessarily physically-based.

Which isn't to say that some people don't suffer cognitive deficits from DXM (ab)use. But it would appear that it's more an issue of altered brain chemistry & altered thinking, rather than real organic damage.

 

[treezy z]

Which isn't to say that some people don't suffer cognitive deficits from DXM (ab)use. But it would appear that it's more an issue of altered brain chemistry & altered thinking, rather than real organic damage.

regardless of mechanism i do have cognitive side effects from abusing dxm.

 

[exists]

regardless of mechanism i do have cognitive side effects from abusing dxm.

Sorry to hear about it, TZ. It doesn't happen to everyone, just some people, I guess. I've probably tripped over 50 times, and have taken DXM in smaller amounts well over 100 times, but still don't feel that I'm any less intelligent than I was before I ever took DXM.

If the damage isn't physical, there's more hope for a successful recovery, right? Organic brain damage sounds so final.

 

[treezy z]

^ya i'm not sitting here worrying about brain damage.

i used it differently though. i did it over 1000 times and the last time i used it i was doing 1-2 grams a day.

 

[willjerauld]

Thanks all for the replies. Almost 2 weeks clean from dex and I'm starting to feel 'alright' which means not great.. but definitely way better than the first few days. I'll check in again soon

Peace out

 

[omnipresenthuman]

respect it [dxm] very carefully, as with any drug, damage can be avoided, but only if you're careful

 

[willjerauld]

respect it [dxm] very carefully, as with any drug, damage can be avoided, but only if you're careful

this is very true. i am now 3 weeks clean from dxm or any substance at all. I'm starting to feel happy again, my only problem is that most days i dont seem to have much energy.. I'll get check in soon at the 1 month mark to see if anythings changed.

Adios

 

[Thewhirerabbit333]

My name is DX malachi I've been doing dxm since I was 12 I am 28. My longest time off it was a prison bid for drugs when I was 20 till 23. I still did it in there doing muccinex tho.
I have no ill effects and still do dxm sometimes as high as 1500- 2000 a day some months. But usualy daily dose at 450. The doctors say im healthy. And aside from being completely and hilariously crazy im mentally sound and with an is of 165 documented so...i guess dxm effects all differently...
That is all for now .
Open to questions.
Dxm out ?

 

[willjerauld]

Well, well... I stumbled upon this forum post on the afternoon of January 21st, 2024, as I was stumbling down the very first emails I received with my email address I made back in 2013.
So, I read through this post, and realized that I never checked back in. So I'd like to detail some of my life that would occur after this post.
In 2014, I was 19 years old, and struggling with Dextromethorphan addiction. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay clean for that long, hence why I probably did not follow up with this forum post and completely forgot it existed. I ended up lapsing I think in April of 2014, and continued to use until September 2014 where I got sober for about 6 months until April of 2015, where I relapsed on alcohol, and then eventually I got sucked into the rabbit hole of DXM yet again. Except for, this time, at 20 years old and nearing 3 years of abuse, I realized my tolerance was shot and the amounts I was using to sustain the addiction was far outweighing any high I was achieving. I would use very heavily in 2015, except this time, I was mixing it with alcohol. Things took a turn for the worse, I got in trouble with the law again, this time for a petty destruction of property misdemeanor.. I was still living life in the fast lane at this point in time, driving a car with fake plates and no driver's license, and just overall being pretty reckless, and I was anything but copacetic and ambitious about any life goals I had due to my addictions..

I finished my 6 course probation that I was given due to getting in trouble, and luckily, that was the last time I'd ever get in trouble. Towards the end of summer 2015, I lost my job (more like left to try to go to rehab), but I never did. I used the opportunity being unemployed to get high all day, day drink, and quite frankly abuse my body.

However, I'm happy to report that the fall of 2015 through to early 2016 marked the last times I would ever use Dextromethorphan again. Sometime in February 2016, weeks before my 21st birthday, I used DXM for my last time, and got a full time job that was stable. This helped me stay sober from DXM, but like another user here had warned me about, I simply replaced the addiction to Dextromethorphan with Alcohol. I got severely addicted, mentally and physically, and had another monkey to battle. The whole year of 2016 I spent getting drunk, blacking out in various places, partying as often as I could. Hell, I'm surprised that I kept that job and showed up as frequently as I did. That year of 2016 was CRAZY..

In early 2017, I put myself through detox, and got clean from Alcohol. The withdrawal was so powerful I was incredulous in nature to the experience. I learned my lesson then, got clean, and for most of 2017 I was completely sober from anything at all for the first time. No weed, no adderall, no booze, no DXM, I had done it. But, I quickly noticed the effects of it all. Little would I know, my cognitive abilities, at least in my opinion, would continue to weaken later on down the line. But being off of DXM was a huge help to any intellect that I still had. I was very slow on DXM and my speech was greatly affected.

I would relapse again in the beginning of 2018, but this time I was able to control my use and not get severely addicted to anything. I was 23 years old here, and still having a pretty good time in life, 2 years off of DXM. But, I would use various substances like Phenibut (GABA-B Agonist similar to GHB), and Kratom (Opioid subtype agonist, 5HT receptors and D2) and resumed drinking beer in relative moderation. Like I said, I was able to moderate my use somehow, this was oxymoronic though considering I was a full blown addict still, but my health anxiety and past experiences with drug withdrawal made me aware enough of the consequences by this time.

The summer of 2019 I had a big binge with LSD. During this time, I attempted to use DXM one time, while I was on a trip in the Florida Keys. Stupid, I know, but I wanted to figure out if it still had any value to me (if my NMDA receptors had recovered from the constant 4-year abuse). To my dismay, but not my surprise, a strong 5oz dose of delsym that was cold-water-extracted had nearly no effects on me. This was over 3 years since stopping, and it just wasn't the same. This would officially be the last time I ever dosed, but I don't count it because it barely did anything to me. I was taking an antipsychotic medication called Seroquel for sleep, which blocks numerous dopamine receptors and histamine receptors, so it is quite possible that it was because of this medication that I didn't really get an effect. But I'm willing to place my bets on the consistent abuse...

September 2019, I quit alcohol for the final time. I was 24 years old, and still moderating my use by not drinking hard liquor. September 27th was the final time I drank nearly 4 and a half years ago. Also, I would attempt getting off of Seroquel in January 2020, only to be faced with the harsh realities of ADS (Antipsychotic Discontinuation Syndrome), which nearly crushed me. I would spend all of 2020, 2021, and half of 2022 still on this medication. I finally quit Seroquel completely in August of 2022.

So, if anyone sees this post, or this thread, which is probably buried by now, I hope this update helps anyone at all. I was not active in this forum any time after my posts in 2014, but I couldn't leave this hanging without letting some people who may read this know of how I'm doing. Life, eh, it's okay, I have a lot of other issues that may be a result of using so heavily early on in my life. If there's one thing I can say for sure, if you're reading this and still early in the stages of DXM abuse (less than 1 year), quit while you're ahead. You may save yourself a lot of cognitive processing power that you may otherwise degrade if you keep on using.

Hope this update helped anyone, next month I'll be 8 years clean from DXM abuse, nearly twice as long as I abused it for.

Peace and love,
Will

 

[vikingkong]

Interesting the way people talk about DXM withdrawal. Has anyone ever experienced like a serious withdrawal with like sweat and brain zaps and major anxiety? Not so much craving for the drug but just these physical symptoms that are really intense and distracting? So rough you gotta take a little just to relieve the symptoms? I kinda have to take around 100 mgs a day or I'm a wreck, rarely 200-500 milligrams for intense "recreational" experience. Usually with Kratom and cannabis, maybe phenibut once in a while.

I saw that it was combined with Wellbutrin (also potentiator) in a antidepressant formulation that was like 60 mgs twice a day if I remember, so I started taking that amount (without the welbutrin) daily. Seemed great and just double the dose for a buzz from time to time.

After a couple of months like that I decided to stop for a while to compare how I felt without it. About 24 hours later or so I'm getting brain zaps like crazy and I took a little like 100 mgs and it gave relief but after getting through that day I was like shit this a withdrawal symptom, so a few days later I tried again and went about 48 hours and it got real bad and sweating and even puke a fews times feeling like my blood sugar is low (I'm diabetic and it's a terrible sort of feeling all agitated and clammy, sweating hard, cognitive impairment) but it wasn't. It would subside a little at times, especially if I just lay in bed, and finally i was like fuck this and took some and was fine in a couple of hours.

But yes I've never had a withdrawal like that from anything before, especially the intense frequent brain-zapping. I figure I'll have to do some kind of long taper, but it's very annoying. For years I had used it on and off with no problem, and I really didn't think it could be addictive in that strongly physical way, I always felt really safe with it, but now it's a huge inconvenience.