Experience:250mg DXM (oral) - Fun but Underwhelming

Experience reports - DXM

  • Date: 24/04/2019
  • Age: 20
  • Sex: Male
  • Height: 6'0" / 182 cm
  • Weight: 100 kg / 220 lbs
  • Substance: DXM was taken in the form of an over-the-counter cough syrup containing 30 mg DXM HBr and 12.5 mg doxylamine succinate / 20 mL.
  • Etc: Simultaneously prescribed 150 mg quetiapine, 2.5 mg aripiprazole, and 70 mg lisdexamfetamine (as vyvanse) daily. Took the quetiapine and aripiprazole the previous night (~8:00 PM), took vyvanse at around 8:45 AM day of.

Report

All times are pretty broad estimates, but I did the best I can to be accurate.

7:15 PM - I chew up 1/4 of a 10mg dextroamphetamine pill to stave off the impending tiredness from the high dose of antihistamine. My roommate and I both drink 100mL (150mg DXM) each. I like sloe gin, so the taste wasn't too unpleasant for me.

7:45 PM - I think about my (~30lb) greater body weight and decide I probably need more to achieve similar effects to my roommate. I drink another 20mL

8:00 PM - Maybe starting to feel a little something. A sort of mental fog. Go for another 20mL because why not. I think it was around this point that I took my 2.5mg aripiprazole, around the same time as every night. I hold off on taking my quetiapine because I know it acts (frequently in a blocking fashion) on both the serotonin and NMDA systems, and I don't want it to interfere with my experience just yet.

8:45 PM - Definitely starting to feel it. Hard to describe. Music does seem to sound better. I go to the bathroom to clean out the cough syrup measuring cup. Walking is not all that difficult. I startle myself by looking up into the mirror. It was a sort of "Oh shit, who is that?" reaction, before I realized that it was just my reflection.

9:00 PM - Figure an even 250mg is where I want to be, so I go for another 20mL. My roommate, seeing me go for more, says he could go for another. He takes another 20mL. The bottle is essentially finished, so I polish off the small remainder. I would say this ended me up at around 250mg or slightly under, and my roommate at slightly over 150mg. Around this point my roommate says he is definitely starting to feel weird.

9:30 PM - Roommate says he is definitely feeling it. I am, too. The fog has transitioned into a sort of introspective, out-of-place vibe with a bit of light, warm body high. Neither of us seem to be experiencing the sedation characteristic of the doxylamine—likely counteracted by the DXM's stimulant effects. I turn to notice that my roommate is sitting with his eyes closed. "You getting anything?", he asks me. I close my eyes and a long hallway stretching into infinity manifests itself. Vaguely defined, but definitely a closed-eye visual. I briefly go outside to grab something and notice a touch of LSD-like geometric effect when looking at repeated patterns like trees or brick walls. It feels as if, when I first look at the pattern, it is infinitely repeated; my eyes/brain momentarily adjust, and it's gone.

10:00 PM - I go to the bathroom and notice that my balance and general coordination are definitely affected. Standing in front of the toilet, I feel as if there is a slight force from behind trying to push me over. I grab some toilet paper and notice it does not feel normal—definite tactile suppression. My roommate discovers that jumping is a lot of fun.

10:30 PM - Enhancement of music seems to have subsided, unfortunately. We both seem to be getting bored, but I am definitely not tired. My roommate seems to be getting more agitated than usual by our loud neighbors. We decide we want to go hang out with some friends, so I arrange for a ride. Feeling that I have just about reached the peak of what I am going to experience, I finally take my quetiapine.

11:00 PM - Our ride shows up. We walk outside. Walking feels strange, but stairs come easily for some reason. Once we're out the door, I realize I've left my wallet behind. I express this, and my roommate notes that I am unusually distraught by the prospect, despite the fact that I can simply go back in and get it. I do. The slightly crisp spring air feels good on my skin. I feel like this is an experience which would really shine outdoors. We get in the car and our ride admonishes us for drinking cough syrup. We all laugh about it. My roommate and I both remark that the acceleration of the car has an interesting, delayed feeling.

11:15 PM - It seems like my roommate and I are both more sociable. We find it easier to talk to people and are more outgoing. A slight degree of disinhibition, I'd say. We do, however, find that people who normally get on our nerves do so to an even greater degree. We make sure to avoid them. It feels as if any visuals I was experiencing have now subsided (maybe the quetiapine's doing). Weighing the risks, I have a beer. I begin to notice more clearly the "lag" when walking that my roommate had earlier mentioned; it's as if you're always a step behind yourself and you're constantly catching up. Very strange, but not unpleasant.

11:45 PM - My roommate expresses the desire to leave, so I organize a ride back. Someone remarks that he is red in the face. We both comment that "it makes you feel warmer inside". We both feel as if we are on the comedown by this point, I think. Myself maybe slightly more than my roommate.

12:00 PM - We get back and my roommate says he is hungry. I'm not particularly hungry, but I go with him to get food. I see a slice of cheese pizza and suddenly I'm hungry. I get pizza and fries. We don't seem to be acting unusually, and no one is any the wiser to our intoxicated state. I thought DXM was supposed to be an appetite suppressant, but we are both fully able to finish our meals. The food was very hot, but the heat seemed to affect my ability to eat it less than usual.

12:30 PM - I'm not particularly tired, but my roommate seems ready for bed. I take a trazodone, perform the usual nightly rituals, and by the time I'm in bed, I'm fairly tired. I have little trouble getting to sleep.

Next day, 10:30 AM - I wake up to my last alarm (not unusual), feeling fine. No noticeable hangover or residual effects that either of us can tell.

I honestly wish I'd taken more. It felt as if I was on the cusp of a truly phenomenal experience, but just didn't quite make it. The experience was still enjoyable for me. Like others have noted, I feel as if quetiapine did sort of "kill" the trip, or at least weaken it a great degree. If I try it again I may consider skipping a dose so as to not interfere with the effects. My roommate says it's something he might consider doing again, just to see what a higher dose is like, but it didn't seem like he got a great deal of enjoyment from it. I plan to experiment further, with higher doses, probably with a pure DXM formula (without the antihistamine additives).

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