DOSE: T+ 0:00 1 shot oral Caffeine (liquid) T+ 1:00 300 mg oral DXM (liquid)
BODY WEIGHT:
240 lb
Midlife Crisis - First Trip on DXM
I am 38 and have been interested in trying DXM since college. Don't know why I never did because I pretty much tried everything else. Last night was my first and last experience with DXM in non-therapeutic doses. It wasn't a bad experience; I just didn't like how I felt for the most part. So whether intended effect, known side effect, or adverse reaction...here is how I felt.
Other meds: hypothyroid med once a day, an ACE inhibitor and thiazide diuretic for hypertension once a day. All taken regularly. Last taken 8 AM of the day of experience.
Setting: Home alone with two my two dogs (family is out of town). I'm excited to try DXM. Figuring on an eight hour experience, I'm fine with going to bed at 2 AM. But I'm a bit tired, so I take one of those 5 hour energy drinks and start hydrating and eat some crackers at 5 PM. At 6PM, I take 300 mg of DXM in the form of Vicks Dry Cough (DXM is the only active ingredient). I'm in good spirits and shooting for a low dose level second plateau. It's horrible tasting in large quantities. I cut it with Sprite, but it didn't seem to help palette the sickly substance. I've put together a playlist of excellent music loaded it on my MP3 player and hang out until I start to feel something.
The experience: I enjoyed the desired effects, but not enough to ever do it again. I'm not a kid anymore, and for me, the cost doesn't outweigh the benefits of the good parts of the experience.
Times listed are approximate. Time wasn't so constant while under the influence.
6:45 PM - I start to feel patchy heat on my body and a bit of vertigo when I moved my head. I finished some stuff I was doing and readied for whatever may be next.
7:30 PM - TV is of no interest to me. I'm nauseous. I want to puke. I get up to get a puke bucket and the floor is apparently not level anymore and the vertigo isn't helping. I assume the wide based walk one does when on a rocking boat, lumbered to the kitchen, got what I needed, and head back to the couch. I did some deep nose/mouth breathing to try to stave off the nausea. I then experienced a very pleasurable sensation that I can only explain of my mind opening. I felt no longer in the room, but part if it, if that makes sense.
8:00 - 10:30 PM - I hobble up to my bedroom like someone with a bad case of Parkinson's. I'm mindful of potentially falling, really concentrate, and am able to get up the stairs. At this point, I feel mostly like I've drank waaaay to much and should have left the bar and hour ago. The floor upstairs is mostly crooked as well. I lay in bed, put on my headphones, and tune out. Moving still makes me horribly nauseous. I close my eyes and listen to the tunes. Again, I have that very cool feeling of becoming one. A thin sheen of something lightly pops, falls away and the music is my guide. I find finding just the right way to lay is difficult. A wrinkle in the sheet, the headphone cord, the pillow, if not EXACTLY right became a real focal point. I had tactile hypersensitivity, but when all was right, it didn't seem to matter that my body was there. My legs felt nonexistent. They were there. I could touch, feel, and move them, but left alone and given no thought, they mind as well not been there. Very nice feeling. I had some really cool closed eye visuals. I didn't know if they were really CEVs or just my mind's freedom. Made a mental note that right now, that didn't matter. Enjoy. When I opened my eyes, the regular world was still there. Ceiling fan spinning overhead, walls, windows, whatever. Reality remained and I was happy. I found myself singing (horribly, reality can't melt away that much) or making noises along with the music. It felt good to move my fingers as they felt full of stress. I watched some TV with the sound down while listening to my music. No matter. Whatever was on, my soundtrack worked for. Eventually the TV was too bright for my eyes. I turned it off and concentrated on the music. The beauty and solemmness of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes brought tears to my eyes. They were rolling down my face. I didn't feel bad, nor really sad, but it moved me in some good way. It was joyous.
11:00-11:30 PM - Took the headphones off and went to sleep. Coming down or just unable to get comfortable, comfort took precedence over fun.
1:something AM - Woke up to use bathroom. Nausea not as strong. Floors leveled out. Still feeling like a drank too much with my head still swimming with a bit of vertigo.
7:30AM - Woke up feeling fine. No lingering effects. With 3-4 DXM half lives past since ingestion, whatever is still coursing through me is in therapeutic range. I closed my eyes and imagined some scenes I saw last night. My mind's eye could not create this morning, what I saw last night. Thus, I'd say I was having excellent CEVs last night. Drank a ton of water, then came down to write this up for Erowid.
In summary:
Desired effects: I have to say I really enjoyed the desired effects. I had a sense of oneness or belonging with my surroundings. Nifty CEVs. Auditory sensory enhancement??? I didn't have super hearing or anything, but I felt like I was hearing music the way it was meant to be heard. And while obviously having some dissociation, I was always able to bring my mind back to here and now if I wanted to. That was reassuring. And this morning, no hangover.
Undesired effects: I was overwhelmed by nausea and vertigo. I know this a known effect, but I just have very little tolerance of it. It's my number one reason for not doing it again. I also didn't enjoy the sense of being unable to get my body to correctly conform with whatever it was touching. I felt like a spent a lot of time making sure my body was just right. Lastly, there is no possible way I could have been in public after taking this stuff. For me, being taken to a bar or having to be with others while in the state I was in, would have been bad news. I would have probably ended up yakking on the curtains and stumbling into and knocking over treasured keepsakes.
In closing, I'd like to say how import I've found it having the resources available from reliable sources online so I can make an informed decision about what I ingest.Hopefully this write up can help someone else formulate an informed decision of their own.
Exp Year: 2008ExpID: 76336 Gender: Male Age at time of experience: 38 Published: Jul 13, 2023Views: Not Supported [ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
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