Ingredient in Cough Syrup Could Work as an Antidepressant: Works Like Ketamine
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There are a few clinical trials underway [1]
Before anyone gets any ideas, OTC this stuff is often mixed with acetaminophen which is can be very bad for the liver, and DMX itself may have adverse impacts on the kidneys. Don't go gulping this stuff down.
But if the trials pan out it would be incredible to have a rapid efficacy drug along the lines of ketamine that is safe enough that it's put in OTC meds. Ketamine unfortunately has both a stigma and lower safety profile.
It hits so many receptor sites and interacts with so many other drugs in the brain/liver, ketamine is not a dirty drug in that regard. I think this puts restrictions on its comparative therapeutic use. [1]
Ketamine however is pretty hard on the kidneys, and its LD50 is significantly closer to therapeutic levels than DXM. Some quick searching shows it to be about 20x the dose used for depression while DXM, near as I can tell checking out a few sources that didn't always agree, has an LD50 roughly 100x higher than therapeutic doses. That doesn't mean it can't do other bad things to you (it can) but it's got a much more forgiving margin of error on acute toxicity. Most literature on severe overdoses mentions polydrug usage.
In the spirit of harm reduction - you have to be very careful if you decide you're going to (ab)use this stuff OTC to make sure you're not getting any other drugs along with it like acetaminophen, Guaifenesin, chlorpheniramine, pseudoephedrine, or any other active ingredients. They can do permanent damage to various organs or cause very unpleasant effects.
I'm adamant people who have bad times really just haven't understood what they're messing with and/or haven't dosed it correctly. I've heard the same story from people during my highschool time in fact. To do DXM for quick, legal high is doing it 'wrong' IMO and people don't expect it to have the effect that it does.
You need to work up your doses to find the right one for you.
Dosage is based of body weight which you can calculate online - though, looking around it seems none of the websites I used to use to calculate my doses are still around, sadly.
I mentioned it in another comment, but "The DXM FAQ" is essential reading for anyone who wants to experience DXM.
DXM is not what I'd call a "safe" drug, it can be dangerous when abused so I'd recommend at least reading a lot about it before trying it out.
Edit: http://www.dexcalc.com/ - Calculates DXM dosage based on bodyweight + amount of DXM in your syrup
Another nifty property of it is that it reduces tolerance to other substances, like caffeine. Something about calcium ions that are usually released in response to neurotransmitters, as a mechanism to cause downregulation for homeostasis -- and DXM + other NDMA antagonists blocking them.
IANAD though.
Would this help at all with withdrawal symptoms as well? I don't know anything about biochemistry so that may be a very stupid question.
If you're withdrawing from opiates for example, your best (legal) bet is to buy some Kratom online, or pick up Immodium from your local drugstore. Immodium is a weak opiate that doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier -- so it'll alleviate withdrawal symptoms, but doesn't have psychoactive effects.
If you're withdrawing from stimulants, the best thing you could get is probably Clonidine or Gabapentin, but neither of those are OTC unfortunately.
It certainly won't hurt to take DXM if you're having WD/s, regardless of the substance though.
Context: I've used a large amount of DXM as well as numerous ACH dissociatives.
For more info on this definitely check "The DXM FAQ" which you can find online. Incredibly interesting read and definitely essential for anyone who wants to dabble in DXM recreationally. However, definitely take note of the warnings written in it - DXM is not something you want to abuse frequently, or at all if you want to be totally safe.
OTOH a lot of people complain about intense nausea and itching which I never got no matter the dose.
I think that hot feeling is part of the same itch reaction, so antihistamines might have helped. But yeah I can attest to feeling foggy days after.
Once it clicks, it is just as pleasurable as Ketamine, Methoxetamine, and other related ACHs.
One major difference between DXM and K is that DXM is quite stimulating whereas K is rather subdued and relaxing. If you don't have dissociative experience besides Ketamine, I'm not surprised that trying DXM after K would lead to an unpleasant experience.
> Once it clicks, it is just as pleasurable as Ketamine, Methoxetamine, and other related ACHs.
If that was the case recreational users would move exclusively to research chemicals. There is a clear preference. But in some places DXM is much easier to access so that's what people do.
Unfortunately there will probably never be one single silver bullet solution here, but another tool in the tool belt is always useful.
If anyone that has any pull is reading this, do trials with MXE. It's Ketamine on steroids.
Last I heard online everybody in the RC scene was super bummed that they couldn't get it anymore. And there were a lot of sellers around selling other chemicals as MXE.