Dextromethorphan for fibromyalgia is helping me

Status
Not open for further replies.

katief

New member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
3
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
01/2013
Country
US
State
Nevada
Hi, I'm new to the forum, my name is Katie. I feel I need to let someone with fibro issues know about the possibility of using Dextromethorphan for pain.

I've had FM for 6 years, diagnosed only a year ago. I previously tried combos of Tylenol and ibuprofen (one is processed by the liver, the other by the kidneys), which helped about 50%. After being laid off and losing my health insurance, I finally got Medicaid in 2014. My doctor prescribed 30 mg. of duluxotine (generic of Cymbalta) which worked very well for me, although I felt a bit numbed mentally. I would have continued taking it. The problem was that Medicaid will not pay for it, and even as a generic, it is over $200 per 30 tabs where I live. I had to give up the Rx, and the pain came roaring back.

I recently came across articles about trials of dextromethorphan, a common OTC cough suppressant, being used for the pain of fibro. After doing a lot of research online, I decided to try it for myself; I had nothing to lose.

While the literature mentions doses of up to 90 ml (six times the single dose for cough), I was too scared to try that much. I tried 45 ml (3x dose) and I slept for 15 hours. This was not compatible for having any kind of life, as far as I was concerned, and I chalked it up to another dead end.

However, a couple of days ago, I just had such unrelenting back muscle pain, that I decided to try the cough suppressant again - this time, with only a single recommended dose for cough, of 15 ml. I didn't really expect it to work, and soon forgot about it.

That is, until I realized, about 40 minutes later while turning in bed, that my back did not hurt at all. I got up, walked around - no pain. Hours later, no pain. It lasted about 7 hours.

Since then I have been taking one 15 ml dose in the morning, then the same at night before bed. I feel so much better. The lower dose doesn't make me overly sleepy (fibro seemed to make me sleepy anyway) or foggy.

I don't know if this is a placebo effect, but I doubt it. The relief was profound. I am so surprised that this happened at such a low dose. Check it out for yourself, I've listed links below. Apparently the mechanism of the cough syrup does something to the nerves that make one want to cough. This same mechanism may help fibro, according to researchers.

Evidently it is important to use cough syrup that contains ONLY dextromethorphan, and not other ingredients like acetomenophin or decongestants. The brand I am using is Safeway Tussin Cough Long-Acting.

IMPORTANT! If you decide to try this, keep it away from children and teens. This medication is abused by some to experience hallucinatory trips at very high dosages (300 ml., or 20x a single dose - called Dexing, Orange Crush, diagnosedM). Kids these days know all about such things, so keep it in a safe place.


I hope this helps someone, and I hope that this medication doesn't wear off over time. It has really helped me. I just had to share.

Effects of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagoni... [J Pain. 2005] - PubMed - NCBI
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top