Please note that many documents from the Hyperreal Drug Archives have not been fully reviewed by Erowid and may be included for historical or other reasons. Many of these documents are simple collections of posts to Usenet from the mid 1990s by individual authors and their comments have not been edited for accuracy or updated since.
Contac CoughCaps are a very good source of DM, they contain nothing but
30 mg DXM in each cap. Working dosage for me (6'1" 210-220 lbs) has been 900 mg
DXM or 30 tablets. This might be far more than you will need, I suggest
determining how much Robitussin you would normally take in order to achieve
the desired effects and convert across (100 ml Robo==300 mg DXM==10 CoughCaps).
Once you have figured out your dosage it is best to take the tablets over
the course of an hou. You do not want them to clump up and dissolve slowly
in one place, In fact it might even be better to take them with some food.
Just be careful with alcohol intake during this time, while it is true that
your alcohol levels will effect the intensity and depth of the stone (the
more alcohol in your system the higher you get {tres' synergistic}) higher
lavels of alcohol can also make you feel naseaus to the point of vomiting
(mind you this dosn't last all that long, but it is unpleasent [as is any
vomiting on psychedelics])
Smoking a joint or three will also have a synergistic effect, as will eating
mushrooms or chewing morning glory seeds (haven't found any acid in years :(
).
ahaigh@unixg.ubc.ca
=============================================================================
[erowid note: 300 mg is far from a 'light buzz' for most users and can
be extremely heavy and strong. Regular users require higher dose. See
Erowid's Dose Page.]
This is what I have found, your mileage will vary according to what
else you are taking at the time.
300 mg DXM == light buzz, similiar to 50-100yg lsd
600 mg DXM == stronger, similiar to 100-250 ug lsd
900 mg DXM == very strong, full spectrum of hallucinations
equvalent to 300-600yg lsd
These levels will have different effects on different people, and at different
times for the same person, depending on what other drugs you are taking at the
time. Personally I combine 900 mg DXM with alcohol, marijuana, and morning glory
seeds. This I don't recommend for everyone, especially people unexperienced with
psychedelics. Start off low and work your way up. And be careful, too much DXM as well as too much alcohol at the same time will make you barf.
ahaigh@unixg.ubc.ca
[erowid note: DXM by itself can and does cause nausea vomiting.]
=============================================================================
Okay, for anyone who wants to play around with dextromethorphan, this
might be of use to you. Maybe an FAQ is needed?
First, the biochemical side of things.
Dextromethorphan acts as a cough suppressant via its agonist (activating)
activity at mu-opioid receptors. Unlike codeine, it does not seem to
activate other opioid receptors, except for the sigma receptor (see below).
As far as its "other" effects, DXM is in the same class as ketamine, PCP,
MK-801, and several other NMDA open channel blockers / sigma opioid ligands.
The sigma opioid receptor's function is unknown but it may be implicated
in schizophrenia. Sigma opioid agonists produce both the positive and the
negative symptoms of schizophrenia, unlike dopaminergics which produce only
the positive symptoms.
The NMDA receptor is a fast ion-channel receptor which is normally activated
by the excitory amino acids and possibly potentiated by glycine. There is
a second NMDA receptor subtype in the cerebellum (this may account for DXM's
perceived effect on motion). NMDA receptors probably exist in several
different subtypes. DXM, ketamine, PCP, and other similar chemicals act as
"open channel blockers." Upon the opening of the NMDA channel, the chemicals
enter the channel and block ion transfer. DXM is a non-competitive blocker.
In addition to this, there is a second "PCP2" binding site (the PCP1 site
is the NMDA open channel block site). This may be a biogenic amine reuptake
complex. If so, then these class of chemicals may act as reuptake inhibitors.
The role of the PCP2 site is poorly understood.
I don't know offhand the binding of DXM to sigma, PCP1, and PCP2 in comparison
to ketamine, MK-801, and PCP.
All of these drugs are being studied for their effects in preventing damage
to the brain during siezure.
In terms of effects on humans, described effects include dissociative
anaesthesia, mild hallucinations, enhanced response to music (including
highly pleasurable responses), and disturbances in motion. Nausea can
occur. DXM has some stimulant effects.
In terms of sources, DXM is available over-the-counter in many countries
in tablet form. Robitussin Maximum Strength Cough (not Robitussin DM)
contains DXM with nothing else (except a little alcohol). Robitussin DM
also contains an expectorant which should not be taken in high doses.
Dose of Robitussin Maximum Strength Cough is two to five full "shots"
using the shot glass that comes with the bottle.
[erowid note: a 'shot glass' is an ill-defined measurement and should not
be used without knowing the exact volume. A single dose of cough syrup is
often 1-2 teaspoons (5-10 ml). Doses should always be measured carefully.]
The usual warnings apply. Additionally, prolonged use of DXM can and has
led to psychosis similar to PCP-induced psychosis. Individual differences
in NMDA receptors may be at work here, but you're still potentially at
risk. I personally wouldn't mix DXM with anything.
--
| Bill White +1-614-594-3434 | bwhite@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu |
| 31 Curran Dr., Athens OH 45701 | bwhite@bigbird.cs.ohiou.edu (alternate) |
| SCA: Erasmus Marwick, Dernehealde Pursuivant, Dernehealde, Middle Kingdom |
=============================================================================
From: Nathan.Bowen@mixcom.mixcom.com (Nathan.Bowen)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: Robitussin
Message-ID: <1993Apr13.170256.10562@mixcom.com>
Date: 13 Apr 93 17:02:56 GMT
In jroberts@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu (jroberts@ux4) writes:
>This may seem like a question that has been dragged through the mud, but
>actually I have not seen too much information on Robitussin. When it is
>mentioned, it is not made clear exactly what type of trip it gives, just that
>it gives a trip. Is it hallucinogenic? Euphoric? Alcohol-like? How long
>does it last? Any side effects? And what ever came of the evaporating
>everything but the Dextromethorphan? What is the usual dosage (6-8 oz.'s?)?
>Well, any responses would be appreciated.
The trip is more of a buzz to my experience, and to that of my
friends. I have been told that high dosages
produce hallucinogenic effects similar to 'shrooms and LSD. I cannot
deny this, because my highest dosage was 360, and most people who use it
regularly have done 240 to the best of my knowledge. The usual dosage,
then, is nonexistant - everyone has their own idea of how much is
enough. Anything less than 240 will probably not do much more than make
you a bit dizzy, groggy, and tired. 240 mg would be a 4 ounce bottle of
Robitussin-DM, but I would recommend avoiding this, because of the
Guaifenesin it contains. You may want to go straight to 360 mg, which is
found in most "Maximum Strength" cough medicines, such as a certain
formula of Vicks and Robitussin Maximum Strength. These also contain no
guaifenesin, but usually do contain alcohol. If you can get to Canada,
or have friends there who can mail things to you, you may want to
consider Contac CoughCaps. They are, to my knowledge, little pills
containing nothing but 30 mg of DXM HBr that are sold just about
everywhere - with the exception of the USA.
The experiences are quite unlike other mild drugs at the mild dosages. No one has
recently reported here any visual hallucinations at the standard 4oz
maximum strength cough syrup 360 mg DXM doses. On the other hand, most of
us agree that our thought patterns are shifted noticeably, and there is a
distinct difference to the sounds of music. Another effect that has
been confirmed by several people , is the sensation that you're slurring your speech. I have
actually carried on conversations with people while on heavy DXM buzzes,
and felt that I was slurring my speech uncontrollably, but I've been
told that, in fact, the only thing that might have given me away was the
"Pleasant Tasting Syrup" on my breath.
Speaking for myself, I've noticed some really neat balance
sensations/time distortions. A friend of mine who was kind of hanging out
around my house while I was buzzing on DXM suggested that I jump up and down.
He's always been rather drug-free, and I wasn't preapred to take such a
silly suggestion without some experience to back it up, but I finally gave
in. It was great, and I kept it up for a few minutes. It's hard to explain,
but I found that I landed a few seconds after I hit the ground. I also took a
ball-like object and tossed it into the air to myself repeatedly. It,
too, took its time about landing. Kind of novel, really.
I have a collection of relevant articles on Robitussin/DM use
around here somewhere, I'll clean it up and post it this week.
-Nathan nathan.bowen@mixcom.com
=============================================================================
From: pearl@crl.com (Peter Helyar)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: Tussin can be BAD!
Date: 27 Sep 1993 19:33:24 -0700
Lamont Granquist writes:
>jane@unislc.slc.unisys.com (Jane Ellis) writes:
>
(long description of bad Tuss experience deleted)
>i'm wondering to myself how much this whole reaction was related to
>simply set and setting.
My take on this one is that there is the potential for some significant
adverse effect in some people. My own experience (posted a week or so ago)
included what I interpret as a fairly severe histamine reaction. It might be
interesting to find out if Jane Ellis has other problems with histamines -
for instance hay fever.
A friend of mine who happens to be a nurse is the one who first proposed this
theory. I would very much appreciate anything anyone here has to offer in the
way of more educated viewpoints on the subject. If it gets posted soon enough,
I might even get to read it before I experiment with the combination of 540 mg
DXM and 50 mg Benadryl which my nurse friend suggested.
In the meantime, it might be wise for any sufferers of hay fever to move very
carefully with this stuff, in case there is a corelation.
[erowid note: the connection between other allergies and allergic reactions
to DXM is very speculative and care should be taken combining antihistamines
with DXM. io July 2001.]
--
/^v^\ |There are no rehearsals - live like you mean it already.
( 0 0 ) |
uuuu U uuuu | pearl@crl.com (this is more reliable)
Pearlie was here | pearl@cyberden.sf.ca.us
=============================================================================
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
From: an45874@anon.penet.fi
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 00:45:56 UTC
Subject: Dextromethorphan Experience
[text deleted -cak]
I've included a few references, Read and Learn. The products I took
contained dextromethorphan as an exclusive active ingredient. I included
the info in guaifenesin because you're likely to come across it in reading
labels. Note what Merk has to say about its efficacy.
Drug Interaction: One of the packages boldly warns about combining
dextromethorphan and any MAO inhibitor. Pay attention to it.
From _The Merk Manual_ 16th ed. [My comments/edits in brackets[]]
Dextromethorphan: a cogener of the narcotic analgesic levorphanol,
possesses no significant analgesic or sedative properties, does not repress
respiration in usual doses, and is nonaddictive. No evidencs of tolerance
has been found during long-term use. The average dosage for adults is 15
to 30 mg. t to 4 times/day. given as a tablet or syrup; for children 1
mg/kg/day is given in divided doses. Extremely high doses may depress
respiration [I have no idea (and it didn't indicate) what 'extremely high'
means]. [It acts to] inhibit or supress the cough reflex by depressing the
medullary cough center or associated higher centers.
Guaifenesin: is the most commonly used expectorant in OTC cough remedies.
It has no serious side effects, but there is no clear evidence for its
efficacy.
From _Dorland's Pocket Medical Dictionary_ (23rd ed.):
analgesic: ... an agent that relieves pain ...
cogenor: congenor
congenor: ... a chemical compound closely related to another in composition
and exerting similar or antagonistic effects, or something derived from
the same source of stock.
dextromethorphan: a synthetic morphine derivative (C18H25NO) used as an
antitussive (cough supressant) in the form of the hydrobromide salt.
guaifenesin: the glyceryl ester of guaiacol (C10H14O4), used as an
expectorant.
levorphanol: a narcotic analgesic (C17H23NO).
morphine: the principal and most active alkaloid of opium (C17H19NO2),
its hydrochloride and sulfate salts are used as narcotic analgesics.
narcotic: a drug that produces insensibility or stupor, especially an opioid.
8 teaspoons = 1 ounce approx. (For while you're standing there reading labels)
Information taken from references is included without permission.
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Newsgroups: alt.drugs
From: ez029006@othello.ucdavis.edu (Jon )
Subject: Harpers Robo article
Date: Thu, 3 Feb 1994 02:57:05 GMT
The June 1993 Harper's magazine has a cool little article about
robo-ing. I believe they got it from the Spring issue
of Pills-a-go-go, whatever that is. The article is by Jim Hogshire,
and it is pretty acurate. He tells of his adventures following
drinking eight ounces of the magic elixir. I especially liked the
part about being a reptile.
So if you are at all interested in robo, go to the library and
give it a read.
--Jon
=============================================================================
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1993 14:45:30 +1000
From: Stuart McLean (S.McLean@PHARM.UTAS.EDU.AU)
Subject: Re: Cough Medicine abuse
Sender: Drug Abuse Education Information and Research (DRUGABUS@UMAB.BITNET)
Another important aspect of dextromethorphan is that about one in ten
people have an inherited deficiency in the enzyme which metabolises this
drug (by O-demethylation). This proportion may be different for
non-European ethnic groups.
The consequence is that the effects of dextromethorphan are likely to be
more intense and more prolonged in these individuals than in the rest of
the population. Each individual's capacity to metabolise dextromethorphan
can only be determined by chemical analysis.
Ref. Schmid et al. Clin Pharmacol Ther 1985; 38(6): 618-624.
[Erowid Note:
Here's a very technical article about DXM metabolisis that may be of use.(Smith, Vaiderhaug, & Wedlund)]
___________________________________________________________________
Stuart McLean Telephone (002) 202 199
School of Pharmacy Facsimile (002) 202 870
University of Tasmania International callers:
GPO Box 252C, Hobart 7001 please use 61 02 in place of 002
Australia Email (S.McLean@pharm.utas.edu.au)
=============================================================================
AUTHOR: Schmid B; Bircher J; Preisig R; Kupfer A
TITLE: Polymorphic dextromethorphan metabolism: co-segregation of
oxidative O-demethylation with debrisoquin hydroxylation.
SOURCE: Clin Pharmacol Ther (DHR), 1985 Dec; 38 (6): 618-24
LANGUAGE: English
COUNTRY PUB.: UNITED STATES
ANNOUNCEMENT: 8603
PUB. TYPE: JOURNAL ARTICLE
ABSTRACT: Dextromethorphan hydrobromide, 25 mg po, was given to 268
unrelated Swiss subjects to study urinary drug and
metabolite profiles. Rates of O-demethylation yielding the
main metabolite dextrorphan were expressed by the urinary
dextromethorphan/dextrorphan metabolic ratio. We found a
bimodal distribution of this parameter in our population
study, which indicates that there are two phenotypes for
dextromethorphan O-demethylation. The antimode at a
metabolic ratio of 0.3 separated the poor metabolizer (PM; n
= 23; prevalence of 9%) from extensive metabolizer (EM)
phenotypes. Urinary output of dextrorphan was less than 6%
of the dose in all PMs and was 50% in the 245 EMs. Pedigree
analysis of 14 family studies revealed an autosomal-
recessive transmission of deficient dextromethorphan O-
demethylation. In these families, 37 heterozygous genotypes
could be identified; however, through use of the urinary
drug and metabolite analysis it was not possible to identify
the heterozygous genotypes within the EM phenotype group. Co-
segregation of dextromethorphan O-demethylation with
debrisoquin 4-hydroxylation was also studied. Complete
concordance of the two phenotypic assignments was obtained,
with a Spearman rank correlation coefficient of rs = 0.78 (n
= 62; P less than 0.0001) for dextromethorphan and
debrisoquin metabolic ratios. Presumably the two drug
oxidation polymorphisms are under the same genetic control.
Thus the innocuousness and ubiquitous availability of
dextromethorphan render it attractive for worldwide
pharmacogenetic investigations in man.
MESH HEADINGS: Dextromethorphan--urine (UR)/metabolism (*ME); Dextrorphan--
urine (*UR); Levorphanol--analogs & derivatives (*AA);
Morphinans--urine (*UR); Administration, Oral; Adult; Aged;
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Hydroxylation; Middle
Age; Pedigree; Phenotype; Female; Human; Male; Support, Non-
U.S. Gov't
CHEMICAL SUBS: 0 (Morphinans); 125-71-3 (Dextromethorphan); 125-73-5
(Dextrorphan); 77-07-6 (Levorphanol)
STANDARD NO.: 0009-9236