DXM and a manic episode

[JadeOrbit]

Hello,

I am normally a reader and not a poster- but I had an interesting experience that might be helpful to someone. I was experimenting with DXM and had been trying various doses for about 8 months. I usually did 350mg (a 4oz bottle) and occasionally did 700mg when I didn't have work/engagements the following day. Well I have struggled with migraines my whole life and during a visit my doctor decided to try Buproprion (Wellbutrin) 300mg daily to see if that helped the migraines.

I had been taking Buproprion for about a week when I took a dose of DXM... and wow. I had the most powerful trip/event I can imagine. The world was vibrant, my emotions were akin to being on ecstasy, and it didn't stop... This went on for days. This might sound like fun, but I felt like I was empowered to take on the world. After a couple of days I had told myself that I had simply uncovered truths about myself and this wasn't connected with anything that I had taken. And I started making major changes. I quit grad school and took a job as a computer programmer. (Crazy story there) It wasn't until I was sharing my life with a friend a few weeks later who was studying psychology who said- "I think you were manic during that time." I looked it up and did some studying and I think she was right. I was in a mania for about 2 weeks.

I am lucky I didn't do anything too stupid. But I did make some major life decisions while totally incapable of making them intelligently.

Lesson- mixing drugs can cause crazy effects. For me DXM and bupropion sent my brain into la-la land for way too long.

 

[Dondante]

Interesting...there are a number of reports of negative reactions on Erowid from the DXM/bupropion combination, including multiple reports of severe urinary retention and/or unexpected potentiation. There's also one report of persistently elevated mood from a combination of low dose DXM/GABA/bupropion. From the TR, "...this may not work for you, or may have negative side affects for some individuals. It made my girlfriend nauseous-to the point of being stuck in bed all day- while on the other hand, it has and continues to make my life wonderful to the point of extacy all day long-with no hangover effect."

Both DXM and bupropion are metabolized by the CYP2D6 enzyme and bupropion (or more accurately its metabolites) is known to be a strong inhibitor of the enzyme. This means that the combination would lead to significantly increased levels of both drugs (one study predicts that with 300 mg bupropion, blood levels of DXM would be increased to 1000% of normal). The drastically different outcomes could be due to differences in baseline enzyme activity. In Caucasian populations, 10% are poor metabolizers, which would mean even higher levels of DXM as well as poor conversion to DXO, the active metabolite. DXM is primarily a very potent SSRI, while DXO has NMDA antagonism, and thus is responsible for the dissociative effects.

 

[sekio]

DXM is primarily a very potent SSRI

DXM is actually a pretty potent norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor too, so it's really more of a SNRI.

As a result DXM doesn't really play too well with any sort of monoamine releasers or reuptake inhibitors. Mixing norepinephrine/dopamine reuptake inhibitors (Ritalin, amphetamines, Wellbutrin) can cause panic attacks, hypertension, mania. Mixing serotonergics (MDxx, SSRIs) can cause serotonin syndrome or just outright bad trips.

Just watch your dose and remember that lots of chems will block the metabolism of DXM and make your trip longer/stronger.

 

[alexvolume2]

This happened to me once, except for I wasn't taking bupropion at the time. I experienced a 1-1 1/2 month long manic episode after dosing about a gram of DXM daily, sometimes more, for about 2-3 months-it's a little hazy. I thought I was psychic and was feeling like Carl Jung's writings held some cosmically deep insights. It culminated in me sending a crazed email to MAPS/Alexander Shulgin about DXM being a magical antidepressant. It ended in a spectacular life fail.

 

[SteamboatBillJr]

Hello,

I am normally a reader and not a poster- but I had an interesting experience that might be helpful to someone. I was experimenting with DXM and had been trying various doses for about 8 months. I usually did 350mg (a 4oz bottle) and occasionally did 700mg when I didn't have work/engagements the following day. Well I have struggled with migraines my whole life and during a visit my doctor decided to try Buproprion (Wellbutrin) 300mg daily to see if that helped the migraines.

I had been taking Buproprion for about a week when I took a dose of DXM... and wow. I had the most powerful trip/event I can imagine. The world was vibrant, my emotions were akin to being on ecstasy, and it didn't stop... This went on for days. This might sound like fun, but I felt like I was empowered to take on the world. After a couple of days I had told myself that I had simply uncovered truths about myself and this wasn't connected with anything that I had taken. And I started making major changes. I quit grad school and took a job as a computer programmer. (Crazy story there) It wasn't until I was sharing my life with a friend a few weeks later who was studying psychology who said- "I think you were manic during that time." I looked it up and did some studying and I think she was right. I was in a mania for about 2 weeks.

I am lucky I didn't do anything too stupid. But I did make some major life decisions while totally incapable of making them intelligently.

Lesson- mixing drugs can cause crazy effects. For me DXM and bupropion sent my brain into la-la land for way too long.

I know this is old. I'm curious how this manic episode ended. In my past the combination of drugs, bad timing, and bad influences resulted in, in general, out of control mania. The consequences were disastrous and I haven't recovered from the economic and social consequences even though this was a long time back.

I wish a person had warned me excessive optimism isn't healthy. It makes you vulnerable to bad decisions and manipulation.