My Accidental Adventures With Cough Syrup

As someone who hates most prescription pain killers, I've worked with my doctors to ease my pain with alternative routes. One of the most common involves taking more over-the-counter pills than is the recommended dose. Yes, this is safe. I have a variety of pills that will give me the comfort I seek without taking away my coherency.

Unfortunately, this has given me a lax view on recommended doses. Last night, I reached the end of my line with a nasty cough I've been suffering. After taking two little plastic cups of Robitussin to no effect, I took two more. And then another for good measure. Nearly the whole bottle, once I took a look.

I wasn't too worried. I checked the chemicals in the bottle and checked the dangerous doses. I was still safe, I hadn't overdosed. And I had never believed any of those silly stories about getting ridiculously stoned off of cough syrup. I remember thinking about that, clearly.

Two hours later, I wasn't thinking about that. Two hours later I wasn't thinking about much of anything, other than how absolutely brilliant Beck's music was and wondering if I *really* had to be sick or if the spinning room just made me feel like I did. I don't remember actually being sick, and found no evidence this morning that I had been, so I think it was just the sensation of motion.

I stretched out on my bed, the music pounding in my ears, feeling as though I were floating. I couldn't feel my bed. My sense of space and distance was nothing. I kept hitting my hand on the wall, not realizing it was there. Patterns of light flashed across my closed eyelids. My heart felt like it was beating so hard it would burst. I was terrified and jubilant at the same time.

I don't quite remember what I did after the music stopped. I have vague memories of watching some Adult Swim and feeling like I was on a boat. I know sometime after that I went to sleep, and somewhere before I fell asleep I hallucinated. That in itself isn't anything strange or remarkable. As an insomniac, I suffer from hypnagogic hallucinations - my subconscious mind begins dreaming before I'm asleep. But I am certain that the intensity of the hallucinations were aided by the DMX that was coursing through my system.


I do know that I woke up this morning curled in a ball at the foot of my bed, naked except for my undies and my winter coat. And I felt miserable. I spent the morning at the altar of the porcelain god, the expectorant doing its job well. It was worse than a hangover. It was worse than the flu. It was like gorging on day old sushi.

And all I could think was 'there are people who do this on purpose?'

I think I'll be sticking to lemon and honey to soothe my throat from now on. I have an aversion to cough syrup that I won't easily get over.

I'll admit that I've done my share of experimenting with the darker side of altering my state of consciousness, but it never held much appeal to me. The risks an after effects never seemed to be worth the high. My one experience with acid was scarring, my one experience with ecstasy embarrassing, and the only time I got drunk I'm told I hogged the karaoke machine. I can't sing. Then I threw up. I'll stick with my blhang tea and a beer on the weekends and leave the rest to those who don't mind waking up without clothes and the taste of dead cat in their mouths.

But Beck's music really is brilliant.