New here- addicted to cough medicine
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Brampton Ontario
Posts: 2
New here- addicted to cough medicine
Hi, my name is G; i am new here, and thats right I have an addiction to over the counter cough medicines... well its really the main ingredient found in a lot of them called DXM... I have been addicted ever since I tried it as a young adolescent and now I cant go a week without it without feeling horrible... Today is day 3 without it and any thing for that matter other then some weed but I feel so tempted to going to the drug store and getting some more
DXM is not the only drug on my list but I find it more addictive then anything I have done. I have had addictions to E, Oxycontin, Meth, Alcohol, and crack, and although I would not say I have completely beat those addictions I find it a lot easier then DXM... Its kind of an embarrasing addiction thats why I do not like detox or counselling for it, but I figured I'd try a forum, also to hear what other people addictions have put them through....
thats pretty much it take it easy
DXM is not the only drug on my list but I find it more addictive then anything I have done. I have had addictions to E, Oxycontin, Meth, Alcohol, and crack, and although I would not say I have completely beat those addictions I find it a lot easier then DXM... Its kind of an embarrasing addiction thats why I do not like detox or counselling for it, but I figured I'd try a forum, also to hear what other people addictions have put them through....
thats pretty much it take it easy
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Yokohama, Japan
Posts: 487
Originally Posted by dx4life68
Hi, my name is G; i am new here, and thats right I have an addiction to over the counter cough medicines... well its really the main ingredient found in a lot of them called DXM... I have been addicted ever since I tried it as a young adolescent and now I cant go a week without it without feeling horrible... Today is day 3 without it and any thing for that matter other then some weed but I feel so tempted to going to the drug store and getting some more
DXM is not the only drug on my list but I find it more addictive then anything I have done. I have had addictions to E, Oxycontin, Meth, Alcohol, and crack, and although I would not say I have completely beat those addictions I find it a lot easier then DXM... Its kind of an embarrasing addiction thats why I do not like detox or counselling for it, but I figured I'd try a forum, also to hear what other people addictions have put them through....
thats pretty much it take it easy
DXM is not the only drug on my list but I find it more addictive then anything I have done. I have had addictions to E, Oxycontin, Meth, Alcohol, and crack, and although I would not say I have completely beat those addictions I find it a lot easier then DXM... Its kind of an embarrasing addiction thats why I do not like detox or counselling for it, but I figured I'd try a forum, also to hear what other people addictions have put them through....
thats pretty much it take it easy
Welcome to the forums.
Take care.
Guest
Posts: n/a
Hi, "G"! Your post took me back to about 50 years ago when my alcoholic husband would send me to the pharmacy to get a cough/cold med called Terpanhydrate With Codeine (sp?)...so often, that I was embarrassed and refused to go anymore. Then, somebody must have wised up and, even though you had to sign a register for it, you had to actually have it prescribed by a doctor!!!
Of course, you know most cold meds also contain alcohol...I used to attend a discussion meeting where they actually kept a bottle of Niquil on the table to remind us of the hidden dangers and the importance of reading the labels on all over-the-counter drugs.
Could this be because the drug/cough med is legal and easy to get? No need to be embarrassed...if you attended AA and/or NA meetings, you'd be amazed at how many folks admit to having used cough meds, Lysterine, mouth wash, vanilla flavoring, etc. I was stunned to hear an old sailor describe how aboard ship during WWII they used to strain shoe polish through slices of bread, and drink it!!! Good Grief!!!
Good to see you here...keep coming to the forums!
Of course, you know most cold meds also contain alcohol...I used to attend a discussion meeting where they actually kept a bottle of Niquil on the table to remind us of the hidden dangers and the importance of reading the labels on all over-the-counter drugs.
DXM is not the only drug on my list but I find it more addictive then anything I have done.
Good to see you here...keep coming to the forums!
My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Western Canada
Posts: 338
Thanks for posting. Keep coming back. All addictions are devastating, we all need all the help we can get.
Celebrate your honesty! The first step in solving a problem is admitting it.
Celebrate your three days! It's a long time and a good start.
My drug of choice is alcohol. I just celebrated seventeen years of sobriety.
Celebrate your honesty! The first step in solving a problem is admitting it.
Celebrate your three days! It's a long time and a good start.
My drug of choice is alcohol. I just celebrated seventeen years of sobriety.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Brampton Ontario
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by raerob
Could this be because the drug/cough med is legal and easy to get?
I used to buy it, but as time went on and the binges became longer with higher doses I couldnt afford it so I would steal it... I have been caught doing this many times and still find that I havent quit stealing it.. I find the stealing rush is also partially addictive
I went to detox before for this.. and when I mentioned an addiction to cough syrup to the other inpatients they found it pretty unusual... I have seeked counselling and been to AA meets since there is no NA in my city, but still after 2 weeks without it i dont feel like myself, i get nightmares, wakeup in cold sweats, feel anti-social and so I go back to the store steal some more and the cycle continues...
today is day 4 without it and the days seem to be going by slower, especially because I was expelled from school recently and have too much free time on my hands, atleast I work tonight hope I dont get tempted to steal some dxm on my break,
anyways thanks for reading my post, peace
I'm an addict.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Hyde Park, NY
Posts: 1,201
Hey G,
I almost died b/c of ******* around with cough syrup.
I used to do anything I could to get loaded and although I had my particular favorite ways to get loaded, when in a jam I'd take anything. We used to huff freon and drink robotussin when we were broke. I hated the taste of robotussin so one day I decided that I was going to just buy pills and eat the whole box. I looked around the cold medicine isle and found the pills with the largest amount of DXM in them and bought them. They were diamatap brand cold/cough pills and the idiot that I was just saw the DXM on the lable.
I ate the whole box and about 30 minutes later I realized something wasn't right. My head started pounding along with my heart beat which was very rappid then I started vomiting uncontrolably. My friend freaked out and brought me to the hospital, they had to bring a streacher out to the car b/c I couldn't move. They got me to the back and pumped my stomach, My blood pressure was 230/205. They had to put several nitro patches on me so I didn't have a stroke or heart attack. What I didn't know back then was that the pills also had a lot of suddafed in them too and the dose of suddafed I took should have been fatal. That was why my head was hurting so bad, I almost had a stroke.
I am very lucky to have surrvived that, but even after all that, I didn't think I had a "real" drug problem. I had to overdose 2 other times on different substances and blow a 2nd mortgage on heroin before I decided "I may have a problem"
Looking back at it, I was no less of an addict back then than I am today. A drug is a drug is a drug.
I think what you are going through right now is a detox period. It takes a while (sometimes a long while) for our bodies to adjust to life without the chemical in our bodies. It will pass though, it just takes time.
Keep going to meetings and posting here, I have been clean for 10 months now and I couldn't have done it without NA and this website.
Good luck dude, you never have to get loaded again if you don't want to.
Blake
I almost died b/c of ******* around with cough syrup.
I used to do anything I could to get loaded and although I had my particular favorite ways to get loaded, when in a jam I'd take anything. We used to huff freon and drink robotussin when we were broke. I hated the taste of robotussin so one day I decided that I was going to just buy pills and eat the whole box. I looked around the cold medicine isle and found the pills with the largest amount of DXM in them and bought them. They were diamatap brand cold/cough pills and the idiot that I was just saw the DXM on the lable.
I ate the whole box and about 30 minutes later I realized something wasn't right. My head started pounding along with my heart beat which was very rappid then I started vomiting uncontrolably. My friend freaked out and brought me to the hospital, they had to bring a streacher out to the car b/c I couldn't move. They got me to the back and pumped my stomach, My blood pressure was 230/205. They had to put several nitro patches on me so I didn't have a stroke or heart attack. What I didn't know back then was that the pills also had a lot of suddafed in them too and the dose of suddafed I took should have been fatal. That was why my head was hurting so bad, I almost had a stroke.
I am very lucky to have surrvived that, but even after all that, I didn't think I had a "real" drug problem. I had to overdose 2 other times on different substances and blow a 2nd mortgage on heroin before I decided "I may have a problem"
Looking back at it, I was no less of an addict back then than I am today. A drug is a drug is a drug.
I think what you are going through right now is a detox period. It takes a while (sometimes a long while) for our bodies to adjust to life without the chemical in our bodies. It will pass though, it just takes time.
Keep going to meetings and posting here, I have been clean for 10 months now and I couldn't have done it without NA and this website.
Good luck dude, you never have to get loaded again if you don't want to.
Blake
Little Girl Found
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: North Andover, MA
Posts: 567
Hi and Welcome!
I just wanted to say that I know exactly how you feel. I am an alcoholic through and through, but I found out in the past couple of months how to "treat" my alcoholism...and it wasn't going to all the meetings that I was going to, trying to do 12-step work, talking with my sponsor etc, etc...it was by using OTC cold pills--the kind with 30mg of DXM in each one. Oh yes--I know all about reading the back of the boxes to make sure I was getting what I was paying for! I started taking this stuff about 4 years ago when I heard that it was almost like an acid trip and I wanted to know what that "felt like". I was still drinking at that time too, so I would alternate between the two--but when I finally took my last drink in May of this year, I couldn't stay clean for very long because I hadn't fully surrendered to my alcoholism.
As Blake said--a drug is a drug is a drug. You shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed about asking for help in dealing with your addiction. There is a solution out of all this madness--I have personally beared witness to it even if I haven't fully experienced it myself. Some people may not understand. I know that I get the "weird looks" from the hard-core crack addicts, but deep down I'm sure they all understand. I hope that you decide to stay around here and look through these posts and see how much we as addicts have in common.
Danielle
I just wanted to say that I know exactly how you feel. I am an alcoholic through and through, but I found out in the past couple of months how to "treat" my alcoholism...and it wasn't going to all the meetings that I was going to, trying to do 12-step work, talking with my sponsor etc, etc...it was by using OTC cold pills--the kind with 30mg of DXM in each one. Oh yes--I know all about reading the back of the boxes to make sure I was getting what I was paying for! I started taking this stuff about 4 years ago when I heard that it was almost like an acid trip and I wanted to know what that "felt like". I was still drinking at that time too, so I would alternate between the two--but when I finally took my last drink in May of this year, I couldn't stay clean for very long because I hadn't fully surrendered to my alcoholism.
As Blake said--a drug is a drug is a drug. You shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed about asking for help in dealing with your addiction. There is a solution out of all this madness--I have personally beared witness to it even if I haven't fully experienced it myself. Some people may not understand. I know that I get the "weird looks" from the hard-core crack addicts, but deep down I'm sure they all understand. I hope that you decide to stay around here and look through these posts and see how much we as addicts have in common.
Danielle
alwayzhopeful
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: new life, mi
Posts: 10
wow
ive heard of dex but never new so many people had tried it. my nephew takes cold pills all the time i never knew why until now. thanks for the info. ive been clean off oxys for 52 days and that was an extremly horrible withdrawl so if its harder than that i cant even imagion it. good luck to you and keep coming here it is great i dont like meetings but i love this site it has got me through some rough days. if you need to ever get through a day that you feel you cant do by yourself come here and tell some one they we would gladly try to get you through it there are wonderfull people here
ive heard of dex but never new so many people had tried it. my nephew takes cold pills all the time i never knew why until now. thanks for the info. ive been clean off oxys for 52 days and that was an extremly horrible withdrawl so if its harder than that i cant even imagion it. good luck to you and keep coming here it is great i dont like meetings but i love this site it has got me through some rough days. if you need to ever get through a day that you feel you cant do by yourself come here and tell some one they we would gladly try to get you through it there are wonderfull people here
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
