Side Effects of Dimenhydrinate

The active ingredient in Dramamine, dimenhydrinate is what would cause the side effects. It is normally mild for everyone. There are some symptoms that could develop however. Abusing Dramamine is hard on the body. This drug affects the central nervous system. Within the CNS, there are effects to the limbic system and hippocampus. This is what causes amnesia in some people and confusion. In the autonomic nervous system, there is an effect which will cause your legs to feel heavy. It is the at the sympathetic postganglionic junctions that the medication can influence it and cause many of the side effects of dimenhydrinate.

The most common side effects include:

• Dizziness.
• Drowsiness.
• Dry mouth.
• Dry eyes.
• Dry nose.

In the event someone has an allergic reaction, the following side effects can occur:

• Facial swelling.
• Problems breathing properly.
• Loss of consciousness.

Similar Drugs in the News

While there hasn’t been much in the news about Dramamine itself, the active ingredient has experienced a lot of lime light. Dimenhydrinate is the medical ingredient in Dramamine. It is made up of diphenhydramine and 8-chlorotheophylline. Diphenhydramine is in Benadryl which has been widely abused. There are some stars that have experienced issues with Benadryl. Teens are abusing Benadryl because they like the high it gives them.

When allergies leave you sneezing, what do you turn to? Many of us choose Benadryl. But now more and more young people may not choose Benadryl for allergy relief, but instead, to get high. It seems to be a trend among rappers and youth. The working ingredient is diphenhydramine which is associated to the active ingredient in Dramamine. When you take a lot, it makes you drowsy and the user may hallucinate. The heart rate increases and blood pressure reduces. These are very similar symptoms to Dramamine.

In the social teen scene, they are downing fistful of the pills. Some substance about recovery programs have said they are seeing a rise in OTC medication addiction in their admissions.

Teens prefer the name brand DXM and Benadryl for OTC medications they can abuse for the high. Diphenhydramine in Benadryl gives a different effect than DMX. When teens use Benadryl, the high can include seeing streaks, falling asleep with the possibility of a seizure. When teens mix diphenhydramine with alcohol, the results can be devastating. That is often what they do. The risk becomes much greater.

Dramamine Overdose

The working ingredient in Dramamine is dimenhydrinate, which can be harmful in large amounts. There is a risk of overdose as people abusing the drug will take high doses. There are a variety of symptoms that will affect many areas of the body when someone overdoses on this medication. The bladder, kidneys, sinus system (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and throat), the heart and blood vessels and more. Here are the main symptoms that might help you figure out if someone has overdose on Dramamine.

Mixing Substances with Dramamine

There is a game that teens play in the US. They go into their parent’s medicine cabinets and take a few pills from one container, another few from a box. They go to a party, throw all the medication they stole into a bucket. Then they pass the bucket around the circle and take pills randomly from it. They ingest pills without knowing what they’ve mixed together or what reaction it will give them. This is happening in society. Dramamine is a household product that even teens can get at some pharmacies. When mixed with other drugs, it can be a totally different sensation and come with greater risks.

Dramamine already has the ability to cause dizziness, a feeling of lightheadedness, and sedation. If you are abusing the drug, these symptoms become more intense. So do the risks and negative side effects. Mixing other substances with the drug can cause a few different effects. Here are some of them.

Death by Overdose

It is really rare that someone will die from Dramamine if they’re taking it normally. Even if you’re taking more than the prescribed amount, on its own, it's quite mild. However a healthy 19 year old woman experienced epilepticus and heart problems. She died less than 60 minutes after ingesting 5,000 mg of Dramamine. That is a lot of medication when you consider is 50mg-100mg every 4 hours. The maximum a person should take per day is 400mg.

She received medical attention almost immediately and they tried to resuscitate her with aggressively but the neurological damage she suffered was severe. She received surgery to remove a part of her large bowel. Her condition worsened however. There was very little brain activity which resulted in the decision to take her off of life support. She died. The study conducted showed that a dimenhydrinate overdose causes a rapid CNS stimulation. Death is likely to occur quickly (within 2 hours).

Teens and Dramamine Abuse

Dramamine is not likely to be taken recreationally which is why it is still an over-the-counter medication. However Dramamine is trendy to abuse among teenagers. It can prove to be deadly when taken outside of the recommended doses. If you have a teenager and they’ve taken too much Dramamine, signs may include:

• A poor appetite.
• They are hyperactive or alternatively have very little energy and are weak.
• They may be clumsy and have a lack of coordination.
• They may be disoriented.
• Slurred speech.
• They may vomit or complain of nausea.
• They may have a problem urinating.

Often teens will abuse the drugs with other medications. If you suspect this is happening, get medical help right away. You may also want to consider getting them treatment so they don’t continue to go down a road of self sabotage abusing over-the-counter medications.

Dramamine Addiction Symptoms and Behaviors

Addiction to Dramamine will begin with tolerance. You’ll be able to take higher doses in order to get the same results. This can lead to dependency which is separate from addiction. It is however, the bridge you’re crossing over where addiction is a risk. Abusing Dramamine by taking it at higher doses can result in several Dramamine addiction behaviors and symptoms, such as:

• Instances of delirium
• Onset of hallucinations
• Brain fog or confusion
• Memory loss or amnesia
• Disorientation

Some formulations of Dramamine also include Ibuprofen. When this common, over the counter pain reliever is consumed in higher dosages, there are some serious health risks. It can cause a heart attack or stroke. This is possible after just one use of Dramamine.

Dramamine Withdrawal: Should You Quit Cold Turkey?

Quitting Dramamine if you’ve been using it regularly isn’t a great idea. This is especially true if you’ve developed a dependency or addiction to it. It might seem natural to just stop using the drug but it can cause a myriad of symptoms. Your brain is demanding that you give it what it wants. You might not realize that your extreme agitation towards others is a direct result of not taking a motion sickness pill but in reality, that’s what is happening.

Stopping the use of a drug one day after taking it often is referred to as quitting cold turkey, and this method is not recommended. Dramamine is not reported to have any real negative physical health consequences or withdrawal symptoms. That doesn’t mean there aren’t psychological Dramamine withdrawal symptoms to consider. Actually, the psychological symptoms can sometimes be more troubling than physical symptoms, and they are certainly enough to cause someone to go back to using.

Some of the most common Dramamine withdrawal symptoms are:

• Becoming very anxious
• Experiencing panic attacks
• Rebound nausea and vomiting
• Problems with sleeping
• Becoming extremely depressed

If you believe you’ve become addicted to Dramamine, it’s not recommended for you to stop taking it abruptly. Doing so can result in any of the above withdrawal symptoms. This can cause you to go back to using Dramamine for the relief. That can drive you even further into your addiction. You may begin to feel that there is no way out but addiction has a way of making you feel isolated. You would rather hide your secret than ask for help. There are only 15% of addicts that will ever ask for help. The best way to find out what you should do is to talk with someone at a Dramamine addiction treatment center and find out their recommendations.

Is it Just Dramamine Abuse? Understanding the Fine Line

There is a fine line between Dramamine abuse and addiction. Dramamine abuse would refer to any instance of using the drug in a way other than how it was intended. For example, you may find that using it for motion sickness calms you down, and so you start to use it every time you begin to feel anxious. You may take more than is recommended because you’re taking it often enough that the body becomes used to it. This is known as tolerance. Addiction occurs the moment when you start to crave the drug, or when you begin to feel Dramamine withdrawal symptoms when it’s been a while since your last dose. An addiction to Dramamine can occur very quickly, especially if you’ve been taking it fairly regularly.

The Best Dramamine Rehab Programs Can Help

It is important not to underestimate the dangers of dimenhydrinate abuse. Dramamine can become addictive, resulting in the need for treatment. Depending on the length and severity of an individual’s symptoms and risks, medically supervised detox may be required. A qualified addiction specialist can evaluate an individual’s need for medically monitored detox. They will assess many things such as the person’s level of use. They will look at whether or not they were abusing other substances in addition to Dramamine. If you’re mixing substances, it could be a polysubstance dependence which is the desire to be high. These are the small details of your disorder that matter. There are specific treatments for each issue that surrounds addiction. There is also the possibility that you have a co-occurring disorder which is a mood disorder (anxiety/depression etc). This is a complex disease that again requires different treatment.

People who have developed an addiction to Dramamine may benefit from inpatient or outpatient therapy to address the onset and progression of their addiction. Treatment may involve individual, group, or family therapy focused on the origins of the addiction and will teach individuals with addictions how to build a sustainable recovery plan. While Dramamine is not a major drug of risk, there is the question behind the cause of addiction. Emotional issues that were repressed, life being too stressful and you’re not dealing with reality. The list goes on an on as to why you’d want to numb yourself. This is addressed in therapy and it could be an insightful journey where you can heal from wounds you weren’t even aware were there.

As the medication is still available as an over-the-counter drug, some people may underestimate the safety risks involved in misuse of Dramamine. There needs to be more research for us to fully understand the complete effects of abuse of this substance. Sometimes the not knowing what a drug is capable of is the scary part. Remember that at one point, heroin was given out as a medication for anyone who had a cough.

Health Risks of Abusing Dramamine

Even motion sickness pills may be abused by a person who enjoys the euphoric effects of high doses. Youth may abuse this drug because it is readily available where it is otherwise hard for them to obtain any kind of substance. Dimenhydrinate, best known as Dramamine, can cause delirium and hallucinations at high dosages. The abuser may be confused and suffer from amnesia.

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) produces a dreamy, relaxed state when it is abused. It can also produce confusion, disorientation, vomiting, loss of coordination and hallucinations.