Pseudoephedrine Causes Pupils to Constrict?

[shakirashakira]

This week I took Pseudoephedrine hydrochlorid for sinus congestion. I'm pretty sure I've never used this drug before and I was surprised by the effects. I felt calm and a bit sedated, like I was on a small dosage of Valium. I had more patience and my general body aches (from depression) were gone. I took up to 240 mg in one day and had no adverse side effects that I assumed would happen with a stimulant like that. The odd thing that I'm wondering about, however, is my pupils. Instead of dilating, which is the norm for Pseudoephedrine, they were constricted. Any idea why this would happen? It's freakin me out a bit.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

Not sure. Stimulants (of which pseudoephedrine is one, but a very very weak one) usually cause pupil dilation, as you mentioned.

Could be due to something else....light maybe? Your pupils are going to react normally to changes in light conditions even if you have pseudoephedrine in your system.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

Welcome to bluelight.

Have you been screened for a attention deficit disorder (ADD)? Another reason is you could just be overdosing on you decongestant. I super high doses, any amphetamine type drug can cause paradoxical sedation.

Please be careful and check your blood pressure and heart-rate while you are doing this... Get a baseline while you are not on the drug.

 

[shakirashakira]

Thanks so much for the responses.

I wasn't completely sure if it was causing constriction or not at first. The second time I took it, I intentionally looked at my eyes before taking the dose. Then about an hour later, in the same light/room/mirror, I looked at my eyes again and the pupils were noticeable much smaller. I actually did check my blood pressure one day while I was at the store and it was in the general range that it always is.

I've not been screened for ADD. I was kind of wondering if there were any underlying medical issues that may cause the opposite effect when taking a stimulant. I've googled and searched this forum and found nothing. The paradoxical sedation idea does sound very possible, although I didn't take more than the directions said to in 24 hours.

 

[nAON]

I'm pretty sure pupil response is via SNS, so not sure if the paradoxical depression applies. From personal experience, it can often take pretty high doses to have effects on pupils, and there are plenty of factors like light etc. that come into play, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

^Agreed that you probably shouldn't be too concerned about it.

Even with more CNS-active stimulants like ephedrine and dextroamphetamine, you usually have to still take pretty high doses before your pupils just stay dilated...