# Please don't laugh... DP induced by cold meds?



## DysLexie (Nov 8, 2006)

No, really, stop laughing. I know how ridicolous this sounds.

This is my very first post, as I just figured out what is wrong with me 20 minutes ago.

I've had MDD for decades - fairly well managed after a 3-month hospitalization at 16 in the 80's - and had to taper off my meds to try to conceive after 11 years of marriage. I've been trying for a year and lost a pregnancy 9 months ago. (I would have had the baby 2 weeks ago.) I'd been on Zoloft for the last year, anywhere from 150-300 mg. I felt I wasn't safe (and I completely lost my sex drive, which makes it REALLY HARD to get pregnant!) so I went to my GP and started Wellbutrin 2 weeks ago exactly. I started on 150mg and went up to 300 last Tuesday.

The same evening, though, I took (probably) too much cold medicine for a severe sinus infection (probably double the normal adult dosage) and had what I now understand to be my first major (MAJOR!) DP episode.

I am relieved to know I'm not going crazy (although I'm not completely convinced that any of this is even real) but I am wondering if I "did" anything to bring this on. Does Wellbutrin cause it or make it worse? I've been on it before but can't remember. Would cold medicine (NyQuil, benadryl, etc) play any part in it? I can't imagine it would, but it happened about an hour after I took it. I can't tell if it was causal or coincidental.

Wow, this totally sucks. I hate being so deep inside my head. I wish I could stop thinking. Any thoughts?


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2006)

First of all, no one is gonna laugh at you, cuz dp is not a laughing matter. And i've said it once and i'll say it again, i think just about anything can trigger DP. I've been reading Dr. Simeons book and it says about half of all adults experience some form of dp at one point or another in their lives. So yes i do believe too much cough medicine could do that.


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## DysLexie (Nov 8, 2006)

What about Wellbutrin? It started on the same day I upped my dosage and I'm not sure what to think about that. Any thoughts?


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2006)

Not too many people are all that fond of wellbutrin, are you taking it for anxiety or depression because if your taking it for anxiety it wont do anything, it could even make it worse, Upping the dosage of wellbutrin could deff start some dp, but it's really hard to tell. It was deff one of the two


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

The anti-histamine in nyquil and benadryl which is diphenhydramine (i think some brand's of nyquil have doxylamine which is similar to diphenhydramine) are big trigger's for dp/dr.

These drug's are dp/dr in a bottle for me. They almost always bring out dp/dr, brain fog and anxiety in me. They turn me into a zombie yet im still anxious.

So ya the cold med's definatly played a part in your dp/dr. Id bet money on it especially if you took double the dose.

The wellbutrin probley is playing a part as well. Wellbutrin is a stimulating anti-depressant made for the type of depression where people oversleep and have no energy. One of it's main side effect's is increased anxiety.

Also wellbutrin can mix bad with cold medicines especially if either one of them had pseudoephedrine as a decongestant. Pseudoephedrine is also a stimulant and can give some people horrible anxiety. I cant tolerate it at all.


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## peacedove (Aug 15, 2004)

Yes cold medicine can trigger DP. As a matter of fact, there's people out there who take a lot of it on purpose just for that "high".


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## DysLexie (Nov 8, 2006)

Thank you so much for that info... I think I will be cleaning out my medicine cabinet today!

It boggles my mind that people would TRY to feel like that. It's a hell I wouldn't wish on anyone. Thankfully, my episode seems to have passed for the time being, but I can't seem to shake the thoughts I had during. VERY disconcerting. I don't think I'm ever going to be the same.


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## none (Dec 29, 2005)

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## Paideuo (Nov 2, 2006)

DysLexie-

Did you take Robitussin or something else containing dextromethorphan hydrobromide? http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm.shtml



Erowid said:


> it is a strong dissociative used primarily by teens.





Wikipedia said:


> The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition considers symptoms such as depersonalization, derealization, and psychogenic amnesia to be core features of dissociative disorders.


People take DXM in high quantities all of the time to bring about hallucinations and dissociative experiences. Any hallucinogen can cause Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD). People with HPPD experience pretty much the very same things that people with DP/DR experience. They are extremely closely related. It is highly likely that a fair number of people here on this forum have taken some kind of hallucinogen in the past and owe their current state to that fact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinog ... n_disorder

Diphenhydramine can also cause hallucinations in high doses. Diphenhydramine is a anticholinergic and those are a huge no-no for anyone who is likely to experience this illness or anyone who currently has the illness.

As for Wellbutrin, it is contraindicated for those who have anxiety disorders. That is, it exacerbates them. And, as anyone here can tell you, Depersonalization and Derealization are very commonly caused and worsened by anxiety. If you told your doctor that you had anxiety and he prescribed Wellbutrin for you anyways, he is an incompetent idiot whom you should dump by the wayside sooner rather than later.

Edit: Did some research. NyQuil has several ingredients that could exacerbate or cause DP/DR and those are Doxylamine Succinate, a potent anticholinergic, Dextromethorphan, and alcohol. Benadryl's active ingredient, as someone already said, is Diphenhydramine, which, as I said, is an anticholinergic.

It is fairly common for psychiatrists/GPs/NPs/doctors to prescribe an atypical antipsychotic in conjunction with an antidepressant in order to increase the efficacy of the antidepressant. However, antipsychotics are well known for causing and worsening DP/DR. Therefore, you should absolutely never take one.


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## flowingly (Aug 28, 2005)

my husband and i have been married for almost a year, and i've been thinking about kids and how my meds would affect pregnancy. i've been on some rough meds over the years, and i wonder if they've done damange to my uterus and other organs that are not reversable. and, if it is, how long would i have to be off meds. what if my dr will make me be less of a good parent. what if i "pass it on" to my kids? i love kids, and i've always wanted to be a mother, but i wonder if it would be selfish of me to bring a child into the world? i don't know...just rambling...


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Unknown said:


> People OD on cough syrup to experience dissociation. It just shows this will be the downfall of the world and humans.


 Actually your underdosing on a dissociative to treat a cough.

Dextromethorphan is a dissociative anesthetic similar in effect to ketamine or pcp. Although it has qualities unlike either. I have a fair bit of experience with this drug (about 50 trip's or so) and i had mixed result's with it. It's somewhat unpredictable.

I guess cough suppressant doses (15-30mg's) could trigger dp/dr in susceptible individuals especially if you doubled up on the dose.

Generally the dissociative effect's start at about 100mg's.


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## brujita_linda (Jun 12, 2011)

I had about 75 mg of DXM last night. (A little over double the recommended adult dose.) Felt fine at the time, just pleasant & drowsy. Slept like Rumpelstiltskin & have had a pretty nasty dissociative hangover all day (though that could just be from over-sleeping).

Cough syrup also contained doxylamine, but I don't think that's what made me feel wonky, as I've never had dissociative symptoms with diphenhydramine (benadryl) before.

As someone with DP/DR susceptibility, I think I will avoid DXM from now on.


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## vince21298 (Dec 27, 2013)

I think so. I took sold Nyquil for my cold nd i am stuck with this DP.


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