dejavuwife

I am asking because my AH in recovery is now abusing DX, and I HATE this rollercoaster ride. I am detaching as much as I can for now, and he is mad at me for it, but I cannot stand his behavior, and he is up and down and all over the place. This one seems harder bc I can't smell it like I could when he was using alcohol.

He claims he stopped using a few days ago, but his behavior is similar (won't let anyone get a word in; very domineering; agitated easily; mood goes back up; etc.) . He claims he is fine, and the rest of us just are trying to find something.

Right.

Dee74

Hi dejavuwife - no experience myself but I wanted to welcome you to the forum.

I can't really better the advice you've been getting in your other thread on the Family and Friends side.

D

rojogonzo

DXM was one of my choices during my use, and it does sound like he might be using.

You could investigate: one of the realities of DXM is that tolerance builds up incredibly fast, faster than most other psychoactives. I started with 12oz bottles and towards the end I was chugging 24oz and taking liquigels to get the same effect. Naturally there should be evidence if they're still consuming it for recreation. Syrup bottles, capsule vials, etc. Many DXM medicines also other ingredients such as guafisien (?) that can make people vomit, or diarrhea if they manage to keep it down.

BAC015

Rojogonzo has great advice. It is hard to really sniff out the signs and abuse of dxm, but there are still many tell-tales. I started with otc drugs such as dxm in my teenage years. I can't believe I used to chug bottles of this stuff. It's garbage for the body, mind and soul.

vinepest

Yes, dxm was, for a year or two, my so-called drug of choice. My tolerance level became so increased that I had to take three bottles of RCG at a time to feel *anything*, and at least five bottles if I wanted to have a decent trip.

For several months, I was ingesting approximately 1800mg of dxm per day (that is, about six bottles per day).

It never struck me as all that harmful from a physical standpoint. However, the long-term experience reminded me a lot of stoners who smoke marijuana on a daily basis, and that's not a good thing. Obviously, a marijuana high is very different from a dxm high. But what I mean is that stoners sit around all day and do nothing. Likewise, I was sitting around all day doing nothing. I didn't bother anyone and I just kept to myself, in my own little world. However, I lost my jobs because of it.

Nevertheless, it was helpful for me to stay away from other, much worse drugs. For instance, I successfully quit smoking crack for over four months by using dxm as a substitute. Likewise, by using dxm instead, I was able to stay away from alcohol (which I regard as much worse than dxm due to its tendency to turn people into violent, loud, obnoxious, unruly, and/or self-absorbed jerks).

As for the irritability and quick-temperedness, that is not surprising. In fact, that is almost certain proof that he is *not* using dxm, since dxm users are extremely mellow, slow to anger, and slothful. Whether he might be using something else, I cannot say, but it sounds like he's telling the truth about the dxm, at least.

My fiance used to tell me that she felt bad because she liked me better when I was high on dxm. When I was off it, I was often quite irritable. But after a while my irritability subsided. Thank goodness, right?

EDIT: After re-reading your post, I realized you said he was also being irritable and domineering prior to his reported cessation of dxm use. But as I said above, that's just the opposite of what we should expect from a dxm user. So, maybe he was lying about it---maybe he never was using dxm at all, but something else entirely. It's hard to say from such a brief description, though.

Limber2929

I do not have personal experience with dxm, however I used to know someone who abused it. Their case was an extreme one, started out using it as a party thing. Then they used it all the time. Irritability and idiotic tendancies became a norm when this person was around. They strangled their SO over a game of boggle, and ended up driving around town in a banana suit brandishing a shotgun, flashing people, and screaming out racial slurs. Needless to say, the police and Court system put an abrupt halt to this persons ability to use dxm anymore. The last I heard, they were no longer using it, smoked pot and played D&D and were much more relaxed and easy going than anyone could ever remember.

Ariesagain

This is some scary stuff, if this guy is telling the truth...

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...b00f08619ed389

khendal46

Yes, nasty nasty stuff. I really wonder if I gave myself brain damage from it, I was chugging two bottles of cough syrup twice a weekend every weekend. Would stay up for days on end. It didn't make me domineering like you described at all, it made me feel empty and depressed when I wasn't hallucinating. How do you know it is DXM?

Cleansing

Haven't used it in years, but all i remember was mood swinging rapidly and to extremes for about two weeks after putting it down, and as soon as I get stable, i'd go right back. Rationalized and justified that I must drink during those two weeks to stay safe.

I think with any drug it takes like 90 days to 6 months to clear up, and in recovery they talk about withdrawal distorting thought and behavior and newcomers running on self-will, so it's hard in some cases to tell if someone is still using. Some people thought I was still using who didn't know me well.

But wow, reading the other post brings back so many memories. Those were some dangerous times.

dejavuwife

I moved out with the kids because none of us could stand being around him, and that pastor news story just fueled it more. I told him that even though he had never laid a hand on me, he can't choose what hallucination he gets when he takes it so I was not taking any chances. Not even mentioning the fact that we could not have a coherent discussion about anything anymore.

We were gone for a few weeks, and I told him that unless he got treatment, I had to move on. I even had the papers written up already (and I will keep the document on my computer for a while, I am sure). He agreed to go to inpatient so that is where he is. He told me he is doing it to get his family back--not just me, but all of his kids (older) and family were ignoring him because they could not deal with him anymore. I think prior to him agreeing to go, he was trying to withdraw on his own, but he was finding the withdrawal symptoms too intolerable.

I talked with him some today, and he is glad that the doctors there are helping him through the withdrawal. And even better, he actually made sense when he was talking.

Just having him out of the house and knowing he is being taken care of is a huge weight off my shoulders.