This list does not contain all drugs that may interact with dextromethorphan. If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, ask your doctor or pharmacist. Call your doctor right away if you have an allergic reaction to dextromethorphan, as the reaction could become severe. Call 911 or your local emergency number if your symptoms feel life threatening or if you think you’re having a medical emergency. Below is a partial list of mild side effects of dextromethorphan. If you’re interested in taking Delsym instead of dextromethorphan, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.
Things To Consider When Taking Dextromethorphan

Put to its intended use as a cough suppressant, DXM should be used in directed doses only for the period recommended on the label or by a doctor. Within those parameters, this medicine is perfectly safe to use for most people provided they’re not allergic to it. DXM’s progressively severe psychiatric symptoms have been grouped into four dose-dependent presentations. At lower levels (1.5–2.5 mg/kg), MDMA-like perceptual alterations occur. The next level (2.5–7.5 mg/kg) results in impairment of motor, cognitive, and perceptual functioning that is comparable to the combined use of alcohol and cannabis. A higher level (7.5–15 mg/kg) induces intense hallucinations, dissociative symptoms, and agitation similar to low-dose ketamine use.
What Should I Expect During Treatment For DXM?

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Whether or not you have health insurance, cost may be a factor when you’re considering dextromethorphan. Most insurance plans do not cover over-the-counter medications like dextromethorphan. If you’re concerned about misuse or dependence while taking dextromethorphan, talk with your doctor. Long-term misuse of dextromethorphan may lead to psychological dependence. This means you feel like you need the drug to function as usual.
Recommended Dosages
Those who do this will typically take very high doses of the drug, and they may take it alongside alcohol or other substances. They may experience effects like euphoria and disorientation. This is a dangerous practice that can lead to both short and long-term health consequences, overdose, addiction, and death. Users describe the higher plateaus as akin to being in other realms or alternate universes. Commonly, users feel an out-of-body sensation, like being transported to another dimension. It is common for users to post videos or blogs about their experiences, including what they felt like and what they saw while high.
This could include symptoms like a boost in energy, a sense of euphoria, and an increase in heart rate. Unfortunately, many people misuse DXM for recreational purposes to try to get high. The effects that this can lead to are often considered similar to the effects of the drug ketamine.
As a result of this, users who had previously been cautious about mixing DXM with other substances can lose that caution. Most fatalities from DXM abuse involve both overdosing and mixing it with alcohol or other drugs, with antidepressants being especially dangerous. In other cases, users may find themselves doing things they would not normally do — long-term DXM abuse can be linked to disordered behavior and paranoia. After oral dosing, DXM is absorbed into the bloodstream within the GI tract and readily crosses the blood-brain barrier, reaching peak serum levels a few hours later. The mechanisms of action of DXM aren’t completely understood, but five receptor systems are known to be involved. It binds to the same site on the NMDA receptor as PCP and ketamine.
Side Effects Of DXM

You may have a raised risk of these side effects if you drink alcohol with dextromethorphan. It’s not known whether dextromethorphan should be taken while breastfeeding. If you’re currently breastfeeding or planning to do so, talk with your doctor before taking this medication. It’s not known whether dextromethorphan should be taken during pregnancy.
DXM Vs Alcohol
In some places, teens can purchase these medications from their local convenience stores. Furthermore, most stores have these medications out on the shelf where they are easy to steal. However, since the DXM in cough syrup is attached to a HBr molecule, we can use the Acid-Base method to separate the DXM from the undesirable bits. We agitate the mixture, then immediately add our non-polar solvent Naphtha to the mix and agitate. Since the DXM is now in the non-polar Naphtha, we titrate the bottom red layer away and keep the clear naphtha.
It is unknown if drinking alcohol will affect dextromethorphan. The risk of dizziness, drowsiness, or confusion may be increased if you drink alcohol while taking dextromethorphan. It is not known if dextromethorphan passes into breast milk. Tell your healthcare provider if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if or how dextromethorphan could affect pregnancy or harm an unborn baby.
Does Dextromethorphan Have A Risk Of Misuse Or Dependence?
The information below is from the instructions on the product labels. Taking a medication with certain vaccines, foods, and other things can affect how the medication works. If a person has concerns that someone they know is misusing DXM, they can look out for certain signs. A person may be able to help prevent their child from taking DXM by speaking with them about its dangerous effects. However, in large quantities, DXM can produce serious and possibly dangerous side effects. Robotripping is a slang term for misusing the drug DXM for the purpose of getting high.

In 2009, the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Monitoring the Future Survey found that 6% of high school seniors had abused DXM. DXM abuse leads to approximately 6000 emergency room visits each year with half due to abuse by those aged 12 to 25 years. Many manufacturers of cough and cold products containing DXM have included warnings and information on their product websites to increase awareness about the dangers of DXM abuse. It may sound harmless, given that DXM is legal and readily available. However, robotripping usually involves higher than recommended doses, which can be dangerous.

Pink Cocaine: What Is Tusi & Is It Dangerous
If you take DXM alongside certain other medications, the risk of it affecting your heart is going to be higher. This is particularly likely if you use it with ADHD meds, decongestants, and antidepressants. The side effects you might experience while taking DXM as intended are usually pretty mild and don’t last long.
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- Although it is not an illegal substance, at least 12 states have legislation that prohibits the sale of medication containing DXM to people under the age of 17 years.
- The message we want parents and counselors to hear is that DXM is one of the most popular drugs for teens, and despite it being legal and easy to get, it is not safe when misused.
- Simple steps, such as hiding medications and taking inventory, can also be effective.
If You Experience Any Of The Following Symptoms, Call Your Doctor Immediately:
Here’s a rundown of some common terms for cough medicine abuse. If you take that much and then get very active, your body can overheat, and you might get a dangerously high fever. This is especially a problem for teens who go to dance clubs, where they can be sold DXM which looks like illegal club drugs such as PCP.
Agent Lemon Extraction
In their inebriated state, it’s common to experience strong dissociative hallucinations very similar to ketamine. Some people misuse dextromethorphan by taking it in amounts higher than the recommended dosage to try to get high or hallucinate. People sometimes also misuse dextromethorphan by combining it with alcohol or other substances. These risks may be particularly high in teens or adolescents whose brains are still developing.
Over a four-month period, his father and mother took him to the emergency room four times. It wasn’t until he attempted suicide that they really got him the help he needed and found out the full extent of his addiction. In the 4 months prior to her presentation, the patient reports she used DXM once a month at her “average dose” of 1080–1620 mg/day. Ms. J described her last ingestion as a “dirty high” due to her consuming 3 beers along with the DXM, a combination which she believes further precipitated her psychiatric decompensation. Beating Addiction with DMTPsychedelics have been studied for their help overcoming addiction.