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I Am A 40 Year Old Dxm Addict


Posts: 2
Joined: January 23, 2014


Posted: January 23, 2014, 11:19 PM
I have been addicted to DXM for the last 6 months. I was a daily user, taking 30-40 a day, totaling 600-800 mgs. This last 6 months I have watched my body suffer from the abuse. My hands would be tingly when I woke up. I had bad muscle aches. My vision was getting progressively worse. And my mental and emotional health suffered greatly. I was forgetting what I was saying mid-sentence. And I never recall what we were talking about. Someone had to remind me. I was beginning to see that my cognitive abilities were taking a beating. I was once sharp and witty. Now I felt like my IQ was lowering daily. I had to ask my boyfriend many time, "What are we doing right now?". I've read a lot of literature on DXM addiction and withdrawal and I learned that the reason DXM addicts forget what they are saying and forgetting what they are doing is caused by legions growing on my brain! That is a sobering thought.

I tried cutting down and telling my sister and bf (they are the only two about my addiction besides my stepdaughter and my best friend. I'd tell people I was tapering off even though I started taking even more.

I am bipolar and my cycles have been all over the place. And I suffer from panic attacks. I've had 4 just this week. I attribute the gradual increase to the DXM.

Just this past Saturday I wept and said allow that I need help to quit. This is going to kill me if I continue as I have.

I was addicted for one year back in 2012 and quit for a few several months but then I relapsed in July 2013.

I took my last pills Saturday, January 18th. I flushed about 300 pills down the toilet. I finally had enough wanting to quit but not even trying to. When I quit the first time, I had severe facial edema for about a week. I had a friend who was a chiropractor who helped stimulate my adrenal glands. Apparently when the adrenal glands are in peril, one may start retaining water in the face and mainly around the eyes. So after I threw the pills down the toilet I had to keep telling myself that it doesn't matter if I get puffy. The rest of my organs, my mind and bipolar are suffering greatly. I may even lose my relationship or even worse, I may lose my mind and have to live in an insane asylum. This may sound drastic but it is not. There is plenty of research and examples of people losing their mind due to years of DXM abuse.

I haven't had any since Saturday evening. That means that I am 5 days without cough pills. At this point, that realization is the only thing good thing going on right now. I have never withdrew from any other substance despite being addicted to alcohol, pain pills and Benadryl. When I quit those substances, I felt fine. I didn't feel a physical dependence.

Not so with DXM. My body aches all over, I am emotionally unstable (I cried at work 3 times), my anxiety and agitation is through the roof. I've cycled about 6 times today from my bipolar. My heart beats irregular and every time I turn my head, I get dizzy. I am paranoid. I slept 14 hours straight yesterday. There are moments when I stand up too quickly that I swear I am going to faint.

I've read that all the symptoms I am experiencing are completely normal and I should expect to feel this way for about two weeks. What I did read sounds optimistic that the body can repair itself after long abstinence.

I am embarrassed that at 40 years old, I am addicted to cough pills.

Thank you for listening.
Anonymous






Posted: July 20, 2015, 4:21 PM
Thank you so much for this post. Your story is the reason I quit using DXM pills. I had the same symptoms as you. On top of that, I went from someone fairly attractive, to someone who looked tired all the time and who I barely recognized. I tried quitting six months ago, but started using again a week later. Since then I have wanted to quit but couldn't. I came across your post a couple weeks ago, and your story is the reason I quit.
It's only been 2 weeks but your story hit so hard that every time I have the urge to buy (or steal) another bottle, I read your post again.
I can't thank you enough.
I wish you the best of luck with staying clean.


Posts: 271
Joined: June 27, 2015


Posted: August 23, 2015, 12:30 AM
Anonymous I applaud you on your sobriety and building the courage to take on this milestone in your life by reading someone else's post just to battle your own addiction. I w ish you all the luck in the world. God bless you.
eric






Posted: September 21, 2018, 2:22 PM
i am severely addicted dxm i take about 40,30 milligram pills a day i also inject 6 milligrams buprenorphine per day,i am out of control and i do not know what to do, i also think i have schizophrenia so yes my life is a f***ing mess

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