cold medicine report

[jwgh]

Knowing that I was going to be doing a lot this evening -- in particular, that I would be playing a three-hour show with Chris Monti at Nick-a-Nees -- I got some heavy duty cold medicine. This generic-brand cold medicine has:

Active Ingredients (in each softgel)
Acetaminophen 250 mg (pain reliever/fever reducer)
Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide 10 mg (cough suppressant)
Gualfenesin 100 mg (expectorant)
Pseudoephedrine HCl 30 mg (nasal decongestant)

This last stuff the government would really prefer that you not buy, I believe because it can be used to make crystal meth. It also acts as a stimulant on its own, so between that and a steady stream of Diet Coke I wasn't really in any danger of falling asleep -- but I also definitely had that 'the only reason I'm awake is because I'm chock full of chemicals' feeling.

You're supposed to take two capsules every four hours, so I took mine a little after 4:30 pm and just before 9 pm.

I found in both cases that at right around the third hour the pseudoephedrine started to wear off and I got jittery and emotional. This made for an interesting third set.

My voice was very weird and I could hit some really stupidly low notes. If I am in this situation again I will try to take advantage of this in the set lists.

Will I go to work tomorrow? The jury is out. Right now I am not feeling so much sick as jittery and very tired. I will set my alarm and see how things look in the morning.

Comments

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Note that you can only make meth from PE pills. A PE gelcap won't work.

PE plus Excedrin knocks out any sinus headache for me.

[jwgh]

Hmm, maybe that's why the clerk didn't make me sign for it, even though the signs around the cold remedy area of the drug store seemed to indicate that I was going to have to.

[mskala.livejournal.com]

Dextromethorphan is hallucinogenic, too - and notwithstanding the purposes stated on the label, the main reason for the acetaminophen and guaifenesin is to make it difficult for you to safely consume a recreational dose of the other two. My sister, who has a low threshold for such things, has gotten hallucinations from a standard anti-cough dose of dextromethorphan cough syrup.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

Right. Too much guaifenesin can make your heart go bananas, as my wife found out.

[sanspoof.livejournal.com]

IWPTA "I took nine a little after 4:30 pm". Man! I was alarmed for a second.