How bad is the drug DXM? (Dextromethorphan)?

Question

How bad is the drug DXM? It's found in cough suppressants. Please no biased answers, I'd like some facts on how dangerous it is because I am thinking about trying it and cough syrup doesn't seem that bad as long as there's a low concentration of other chemicals besides DXM, but perhaps I am wrong.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Dextromethorphan is a dissociative hallucinogenic drug.  The most common side effects are sweating, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

The trip might be enjoyable for a while, but eventually the unpleasant side effects will catch up to you.

If you are taking MAOIs or SSRIs, you should avoid DXM, as there could be a fatal drug interaction.  If you're not allergic to the drug and aren't taking these, it's highly unlikely to do any permanent damage to you.

Answer 2

Doses high enough to cause the abuse seeking effect kill off brain cells, so whatever plans you have in life that require intelligence will need to be scaled down.  

Answer 3

If you're trying it for a cough associated with a brief illness like a cold, it's hardly worth the bother. It is mildy effective in chronic cough from some causes.  It's also popular as a drug of abuse among adolescents, but requires huge doses compared to the recommended ones to obtain its hallucinogenic effect.

Answer 4

It's usually very safe for weekly use if you take no more than say 6mg/kg, though the smart thing to use to start is no more than 3mg/kg since you don't know if you'll metabolize it normally.  A life threatening dose is usually above 20mg/kg and most people never take more than 10mg/kg.  Almost all injuries and fatalities are from acetaminophen and chlorphenamine.  Plenty of very smart people have used it for years on end with no ill effects, so if you know what you're doing it can be pretty safe even with the very high dosages.

If you want to be safe and have a good time, you should read over White's DXM faq (especially sections 5 and 6):

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/faq/

Answer 5

I assume you mean overdosing on it. At the strength it's present in cough syrups, it's relatively harmless. Overdosed, it's quite a different story. It is a direct glutamate-acting hallucinogen, which gives it a higher damage potential than most others. While not as bad as the other major drug that shares this mechanism - PCP, it's pretty bad. Abusers of this commonly come up with cognitive problems later in life, and when they severely abuse it these become profound and we start seeing mood disturbances too.

Answer 6

its horrible

the feeling is absolutely horrible

it makes you really really sick

and delusional

i really wouldnt do it if i were you

you can get a wayyy better high out of smoking weed

ferreal.

but whatever you wanna do.