Parents: BEWARE

[furluvcats]

I have had a pretty traumatic week, and want to share some info with you parents of teens, and young adults out there...

We discovered some red pills, marked CCC in our sons room, and did a quick net search, and discovered these pills are being abused by teens, to "trip out"...and its killing teens...I really didn't think I'd be dealing with drugs with my kids...their natutral father is an addict and alcoholic, and I thought that seeing him fall into the gutter over the years, would be pretty preventative to them...I was wrong. My son was given these pills by a girl at school, and took the oppurtunity while my husband and I were in Chi for his daughters graduation, to take these pills at school...luckily, it made him very sick, and he vomitted, his body rejected them, rather than overdose, or whatever may happen...He took 6 pills, many kids are taking even more at a time...its extremely dangerous, and deadly.

Its an over the counter cold and cough med, and can be legally purchased by youth here in our state.

I went to the school counselor, "hypotheically" told her the story, and she said it is running rampant in Jr. Highs locally, and acrosss the country.
How sad, how scary...how tragic...

I wanted to share this, in hopes of making parents, even unsuspecting parents, like myself, AWARE....

The following is an excerpt from an online article about this form of teen drug abuse.

[b][b]One major way teens are getting their DXM fixes is by taking "triple C" - Coricidin HBP Cough and Cold, which contains 30 mg of DXM in little red tablets. Users taking large volumes of triple C run additional health risks because triple C contains an antihistamine as well. The list of other ingredients - decongestants, expectorants, and pain relievers - contained in other Coricidin products and OTC cough and cold preparations compound the risks associated with DXM and could lead to a serious drug overdose.

In addition to Triple C, other street names for DXM include: Candy, C-C-C, Dex, DM, Drex, Red Devils, Robo, Rojo, Skittles, Tussin, Velvet, and Vitamin D. Users are sometimes called "syrup heads," and the act of abusing DXM is often called "dexing," "robotripping," or "robodosing" (because users chug Robitussin or another cough syrup to achieve their desired high).

What Happens When Teens Abuse DXM?
Although DXM can be safely taken in 15- to 30-milligram doses to effectively suppress a cough, users tend to consume as much as 360 milligrams or more. Taking mass quantities of products containing DXM can cause hallucinations, loss of motor control, and "out-of-body" (disassociative) sensations.

Other possible side effects of DXM abuse include: confusion, impaired judgment, blurred vision, dizziness, paranoia, excessive sweating, slurred speech, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, headache, lethargy, numbness of fingers and toes, redness of face, dry and itchy skin, loss of consciousness, seizures, brain damage, and even death.

When consumed in large quantities, DXM can also cause hyperthermia, or high fever. This is a real concern for teens who take DXM while in a hot environment or while exerting themselves at a rave or dance club, where DXM is often sold and passed off as similar-looking drugs like PCP.

Being on the Lookout
If you suspect that your child may be abusing over-the-counter medicines or if your teen often attends raves or dance clubs where DXM can likely be found in abundance, it might be a good idea to:

Lock your medicine cabinet, or keep those OTC medicines that could potentially be abused in a less accessible place.
Avoid stockpiling OTC medicines. Having too many OTC medications at your teen's disposal could make abusing them more tempting.
Keep track of how much is in each bottle or container in your medicine cabinet.
Keep an eye out for not only traditional-looking cough and cold remedies in your teen's room, but also strange-looking tablets (DXM is often sold on the Internet and at raves in its pure form in various shapes and colors).
Look for possible warning signs of DXM abuse listed above.
Monitor your child's Internet usage. Be on the lookout for suspicious websites and emails that seem to be promoting the abuse of DXM or other drugs, both legal and illegal.
Above all, talk to your kids about drug abuse and explain that even though taking lots of a cough or cold medicine seems harmless, it's not. Whether it comes from inside the family medicine cabinet or the corner drugstore, when taken in large amounts dextromethorphan is still a drug that can be just as deadly as those sold by drug dealers on a seedy street corner. And even if you don't think your teen is doing it, chances are they know someone who is.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: February 2004[/b][/b]

[Janice]

I am so sorry. This is all peer pressure. I hope you had a good talk together. But, remember, you found these pills, he did not bring them forward to you. Be careful.
Stay on top of these things. Your children will not tell you what they are doing, just the same as we would have never let our parents know what we were doing. If you had your talk, you took the first step. Just watch for signs and symptoms.

[O Town]

Wow, sorry to hear that furry. Good thing you found them now and can start talking to him about it now before it gets out of control. Hopefully he hasn't been using alot, and you may never know because he will not tell you if he has. This is also a sign that he may be up to other things as well. Time to pay close attention to his behavior. Thanks for passing along the information, I am sure it will be useful for some parents who may not have a clue about this. Hope things work out with your son and does not progress or evolve. I am so not looking foward to these years with my 3. Good luck.

[Stephanie]

Wow Furry! Hopefully he has learned the "hard way" about what drugs can do to a person. I'm glad that you were able to find out about these pills early enough.

Good luck!!

[furluvcats]

Yeah, its tough...we've had the "talks", they may never end...lol...sent him to his youth pastor at church to talk to him as well...BUT none of this means he's gonna walk the straight line, or "straight edge" as the kids call it...he's made all those promises, "I'll never do it again"..yada yada yada...In most cases, it only escalates, once you've tried something for the first time, like a drug, there is nothing to prevent you from going further, or doing it again...you've already crossed that forbidden line...He has admitted to getting high with friends during that time as well...gosh, we were only gone for 5 days, and he rocked his own world!!! So, its escalating...his behavior has been wacked...he ran away from us while at a church function on sat...we had to call the police to find him...it was the most terrifying hour of my life...he's been very angry....that all leads me to believe theres more substance usage then what hes admitting to...And it IS the friends, the skater crowd he chose to hang with...kids will do any dumb thing their peers are doing...14 is a TOUGH age...

We hoped our kids had a strong enough foundation, Biblically, morally...but every kid is susceptable, no matter of what class, religion, etc...Y'all know I'm a pretty tough cookie, and take my job of being Mom, extremely seriously...I watch them like a hawk...yet still allow them to have fun...So, it CAN happen to anyone...All it took in this case was for the parents to leave town...granted they were left in good Christian homes...they knew Mommy wasn't there to nail them...how sad for my son, to think this way...

We have booked him a ticket to FL for most of the summer, to stay with my grandparents...they love him to death, are very active, and are looking forward to having him for a while...hoping he'll refind the good, sweet, smart choice making boy again while he is there. Its one of the hardest things I've ever done tho...booking him for a 5 week break from home...I just think its a safer envirement, with no bad outside influences....when he gets home from that, he leaves 2 days later for a mission trip with church, then football camp, and school starts...if they're busy, they are more likely to stay out of trouble, right??? I hope so! Please pray for us, as we pray for all of you too...and parents, please please, don't be afraid to be extremely nosy and on the ball, when it comes to your kids....

[Audrey2Katrina]

Good to know... all the educators out there as well as parents need to keep abreast of these kinds of potential dangers to the kids.

A2K

[feederband]

Finally a explanation...I used to run a grocery store and this was a high theft item...I ask the pharmacist why are the stealing this stuff because I've taking it because I have high blood pressure and they do nothing for me...She looked at the ingredients and said that there was barely anything in the pills she said they would have to take the whole box...I guess thats what they are doing....Its like 8 buck for a 30 ct, they would wipe the shelf out every week but we could never catch them...

[Janice]

Yes, but it is not just these pills. Kids will mix everything these day. And, mixing different drugs is what can really hurt you. There are so many things over the counter that can get kids high, like cough syrup, etc. These kids are smart. And, they as a group, can be expected to have lots of different drugs. And mix with alcohol too.....

Check out his friends. Evidently, it is his group playing around with these. If not, then he has some bad friends on the side.

Yes, it is scary....And remember he needs to take responsibility and not blame other kids for giving them to him.

[SouthFloridawx]

Ok furluv.. Back in 97 when I was a teenager this was popular on the streets then. I think it was just hitting then but, either way I have done it a couple of times but, that was when I was 17 and I was hanging out with these kids who did drugs. Not thinking about how dangerous it could be to my health to my body but, not only to my brain. I think it did some long term affects to me such as now I have a real problem with my short term memory. Those pills coupled with marijuana and alchohol put me in a real mess and depressed state. I went for counseling but, never really told them the extent to which I was taking these things.

The advice I have for you coming from that side and actually doing it is... that you need to help your son find something more productive cause obviously there is something that is not right in his life or he is really trying to branch out and make friends. These are not the kind of friends that he needs though. Granted I did learn a lot coming from the hard and rough side but, if I could go back I would have hung out with my "goodie/goodie" friends cause they didn't waist a few years doing drugs and abusing alcohol in thier life.

I am finally on track now and have been for the past 4 years and being 27 now I realize the things that I did were not smart and were NOT good memories to look back on. I am no longer friends with any of those people and have no contact with them for a few years.

Just let your son know that those OTC drugs he is doing is not good for him at all. NOT ONE BIT. Tell him it is coming from a pro.

BTW I hope no one judges me because the circumstances which led my life in that direction were not good ones either. I have had an really rough life in most terms and I turned to those things I think in comfort and for a change.

EDIT: I did CCC more than a couple of times but, i'm not sure how many.

[Janice]

I am judging you. No brownies for the rest of the week.....

Good post and good advice.

Just to add something. These kids taking these drugs can also come from the best homes and have good family bonds. I have known kids really close to their parents who were closet druggies.

[furluvcats]

SouthFloridaWX: Thank you, Thank you, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. It takes a person with good integrity to say what you've said, in hopes of helping those you do not even know. I am going to share your post with my son, when he gets home from school.

Janice, you're right...my kids are privledged kids...lucky by most standards...solid stable home, involved in a great solid church, living out the American dream...upscale neighborhood...very little crime...attending the best in public schools...mom has never worked, always been able to be there for them and with them 24/7...but the crowd he has chosen to be friends with it, is the bad crowd...kids with no parental guidance...no one is there to guide them...they are free to make poor choices...no one is there to tell them that drugs are bad, etc...these kids are dirty and greasy, and live nowhere near us...but they attend our school...go to our church youth group...therefore my son knows them, and wants to emulate them...kids always want what they don't have...my son would give him his privledged life style, for the "freedom" of the bad crowd...

I'm really hoping that by involving him in football (team sports), he'll meet some new people...and make a better caliber of friends...and I hope he hasn't already lost all the "goody-goody" nice friends he has had....

[SouthFloridawx]

I am judging you. No brownies for the rest of the week.....

oh man I love brownies

[CajunMama]

Souf....of course no one is judging you. Who are we to judge you?

Furry, good luck with your son. It's a tough road to have to travel. We try to do the best for our kids but life has other plans for them.

[Stephanie]

Okay, my turn to share...

I hung with the "wrong crowd" in high school, but then again, we're talking the late 70's and though the law was starting to crack down on drug use, marijuana, etc., it was still rather easy to get. I'm guessing that kids can still get it, but not as easily, so they reach for a "legal high". Anyway, I did alot of different things - pot mostly, especially after I moved down here to NJ when I was 15 from NY. I was one PISSED OFF teenager for having to leave my friends and EXTREMELY DEPRESSED. I know I was "medicating" myself just to cope. I've also been one with low self esteem and confidence - especially as a child/teenager. I did ALOT of stupid things that I'm surprised that I didn't get into more trouble. One easy OTC drug that was available when speed wasn't was (and still is) Dexatrim. It contains high caffeine levels but gives you the same buzz.

When I finally got tired of feeling sorry for myself, I stopped (I still partied in college, but not to the same extent). Also, I found a job at that time, so I couldn't just hang out after school and "dabble".

Unfortunately, Furry, you and hubby will still have to be on him after he gets back from Florida, but that is what you're going to have to do. Getting him involved in extra curricular activities is a good idea too. Again, good luck!!

[tropicana]

Good luck furluvcats, with your constant fighting off the bad elements that are so rampant and can easily intrude your family ...as you said, it knows no boundaries and can come like a thief in the night.

Thinking of ya!

-justin-

[alicia-w]

i'm sorry to hear about that. the stores here dont sell OTC cold meds to people under 18.

[george_r_1961]

Shannon im sorry about what your son has done; im also thrilled that you are attacking this problem head on instead of taking the "its just a phase hes going thru" attitude. Best of luck.

[wxmann_91]

I am so sorry what has happened. Good luck with this and I'm hoping for the best for your family.

[george_r_1961]

i'm sorry to hear about that. the stores here dont sell OTC cold meds to people under 18.

Alicia thats a great law. Ive always wondered how we can restrict sales of alchohol and tobacco and yet let a teenager buy Nyquil or other mood altering OTC products. Some OTC drugs here, especially the ones used at home labs to make meth, are now available only at the pharmacy window and ID is required and sales are tracked.

[beachbum_al]

Thanks for posting this. This is really scary. I have heard several of those terms while working in the upper grades thinking they were talking about something else. Man, I was naive (Spelling). I pray they were not doing this.

Unfortunately one kid will say it will not hurt you. It is just otc medication. And their friends do it and the outcome is grave. I am so sorry that you had to go through this with your child. I can only imagine how scary that is. That is one of my biggest fears when my girls get older. I try to talk to them about drug use and how dangerous it is but will they listen when they reach that age. Peer pressure sometimes wins and it is sad because sometimes that peer pressure can change their lives and everyone around them forever.