DXM - Alcatraz in a Bottle

by TRJ

For those of you who just skim articles, I will make my message clear. Do not use DXM. You have been warned. If you’ve done research on it, you know many people have horrible experiences with it, and the euphoric highs that are so exalted are rare. Stick to booze and weed, they’re safer.

With the cursory paragraph out of the way, let me begin. I first found out about DXM from totse.com, while looking through the drug section. It was very interesting to know you could get “high” from cough syrup. I checked my medicine cabinet and (thank God) I didn’t have any of the right kinds. For the next two months I off and on researched DXM, going through Erowid, totse, and other internet sources. I knew the risks, and thought I would have fun. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

At about 8:30 PM I pulled my truck into the local Walgreen’s parking lot, and walked inside. I found Robotussin Extra Strength, paid, and left. I came home and put it into a drawer, then proceeded with other activities. At around 11:20 PM, my journey began.

11:20: Drank approximately 3 to 3 and a half ounces of ‘Tussin.

11:30: I felt buzzed, and thought that if this was how the trip would be, DXM was great.

11:40: Holy shit. It felt like I just did 14 shots. Kind of fun, kind of annoying.

11:44: I started to get a burning/prickling sensation in my arms, then my shoulders, then my neck and ears. I didn’t know what to do, so I got up out of my bed and stumbled towards the kitchen for some water. Bad idea, before I even got into the kitchen I headed into the bathroom and puked for the first time in almost 8 years. Nice, red puke. Smelled and looked like the ‘Tussin. Thank God I hadn’t eaten for a few hours, because cough syrup and soda was all that it was.

11:55: All cleaned up, back into bed. The burning sensation and the throw up were the single worst things, but what happened from then on was horrible in its own right.

From about 12 AM to 2 AM, I was trapped in my own head. I couldn’t move at all or I got really sick and dizzy. It all felt like a dream. I put on some Royksopp (good trippy music) and left my TV on mute, because without some sort of light I felt lost, I can’t describe it. For two hours I stared at my ceiling and listened to music. I didn’t feel real, and the time past more slowly and quickly than I thought possible. At about 2 AM, I don’t know what happened. The next thing I knew it was 4 AM and it felt like I woke up from a bad dream. I think some of the DXM was out of my system. I still felt drunk, but at least I knew it was reality. I tried to sleep but it didn’t work. Then *whoosh* I time traveled again and it was 5 AM, and I was almost back to normal. I still felt a little drunk, and I could really walk because my legs were so weak.

At around 6:30 AM I decided I needed to get some food in me. I went and got a bowl of Special K (hoping some vitamins would help) and put on a movie. At around 8 AM, with the movie done, cereal gone and myself back to normal, I got in the shower. Cleaned up, shaved, brushed my teeth, and came to the computer to write this.

As I think about it, the more and more it feels like a dream. The more the hours pass by the less I remember, but when I think about Robotussin I want to puke.

Stay away from this stuff, really. It isn’t worth it at all. Becoming a prisoner in your bed to a small amount of red liquid is about as far away from fun as I can imagine. There are some who find it enjoyable, but they don’t know unless they try. I would much rather not know and have my night back, to have my time that DXM stole from me.