Month: June 2005

Phensedyl dry cough linctus is a cough syrup by the pharmaceutical
giant Aventis and it supposed to be the number one cough syrup being
abused in Malaysia, India and parts of Bangladesh. It is reportedly banned in Bangladesh [essentialdrugs.org] due to its high rates of abuse and pharmaceutical diversion into the black market.

However, the cough formulation listed there seems to be different
one from the Phensedyl I got – it seems that Phensedyl used to contain
Promethazine HCl 3.6 mg per 5 ml, Codeine Phosphate 9 mg per 5 ml and
Ephedrine HCl 7.2 mg per 5 ml. The one I got when I went back to Sibu
costs RM 25 for a 90 ml bottle and lists Promethazine HCl 3.6 mg per 5
ml, Pholcodine 5 mg per 5 ml and Pseudoephedrine HCl 20 mg per 5 ml (!).

It seems that they swapped the (relatively) high codeine content in
the previous formulation of PHENSEDYL for pholcodine, which is widely
known in recreational circles as having no recreational value at all,
despite being an opioid (synthetic opiate agonist). This is due to the
inability of pholcodine to be metabolized to morphine
[opioids.com] unlike codeine and its ilk. The promethazine content is
retained, but ephedrine is replaced with a higher content of
pseudoephedrine, at a staggering 20 mg/5 ml.

Phensedyl also contains a small amount of ethanol (that’s just a
fancy name for alcohol ;)), but the content is negligible. I ingested
this in the hopes of evaluating the psychoactive potential of
pholcodine (wanted to see for myself), but alas, the experience was not
in that direction, but it went in a direction that provided a rather
insightful, but unpleasant direction – anticholinergic activity…

Substances ingested:
Pholcodine 90 mg (total)
Pseudoephedrine 360 mg (total)
Promethazine 64.8 mg (total)

Download: PHENSEDYL [sixthseal.com]

I did not feel the pholcodine at all, and I’m convinced that it does
not have any recreational potential, like the medical literature
suggests. The pseudoephedrine manifested itself by keeping me awake and
making my blood pressure skyrocket and giving me constant cranial and
retinal pressure for about 6 hours, but the worse (or most interesting,
depending on how you look at it really ;)) bit was the promethazine. I
drank the whole bottle of PHENSEDYL and that gave me 64.8 mg of
promethazine.

Promethazine is a phenothiazine derivative with antihistaminic,
sedative, antimotion-sickness, antiemetic, and anticholinergic effects.
The last bit is that part you have to watch out for – an
anticholinergic overdose gives you hallucinations. These are not LSD
type hallucinations, and I would not call it a hallucinogen by any
definition of the word. The experience is more like delirium –
anticholinergics are a well known delirient. There are a lot of
substances such as belladonna alkaloids, scopolamine and others which
can cause a anticholinergic activity – the most well known of it being
Dramamine.

Yes, it was like a Dramamine “trip”, but shorter in duration.
Promethazine in that dose was apparently enough to push me into a
delirium for close to 6 hours, with after effects lingering on for an
hour or two after that. I had full blown audio hallucinations and some
realistic visual hallucinations. The problem with an anticholinergic
trip is that you can forget that you’re on something – it feel like
you’re sober, but the world just turned upside down on you. I’m glad I
had sufficient experience with other psychedelic substances to ride out
this one…it wasn’t a pleasant experience, but it was enlightening. 🙂

The audio hallucinations were the most vivid and realistic component
of the anticholinergic trip. I keep on hearing conversations, one of
which was about me by two of my coworkers, and I swear, their voices
were completely realistic, right down to the intonation, and the
“conversation” came from beside me, but when I turned, the voices just
shifted to the other side. I also kept on hearing vivid ringing sounds,
bells, sirens, and most of all, my name being called out by various
parties, some voices of which I recognize, and some I didn’t. I was a
little disconcerting, but I knew I was on the anticholinergic
rollercoaster, so I just…er, held on for the ride. 😉

This is what I managed to write during that sleepless and delirious night:

START

the first thing inoticed afte the initial; “high” (if uou can call
it that has passed is that the RGB netting seems to have stck on the
walls so i excused myself.

thats the interesting bit -there s a ehporic lift when the syrup
hits, and that lasts for about 15-30 min before going to delerious
mode, without euphria.

i was having problems with orienttion and motor cordination but i
managed to get into my room and then BAAM the fuckin syrup hit. v.
intense and can be frigthening…except i already know that i’m due for
a delieriant trip, so i just rode it out.

the entire night was filled with full blown auditory hallucinations,
from other people speaking, to people i know talking, and there’s more
= there’s alwas a voice to your side, smetimes calling your name,
sometimes just stating a irrelevant phrase or calling another person.
but the entities are so close to me that i always think they’re talking
to me.

confusion
extremally dry mouth
auditory hallucinations, can hear various people conversing natually (ny coworkers
sounds are frightenig

severe disorientation, hard to appear sober

i looked into a mirror and saw a parellel universe. it was
amazing,it looks REAL, so real that the mirror is forgotten. i saw
myself too, and he was smiling at me. i knew it was me, but he still
managed to startle me.

ringing sounds are always on (eng eng eng eng eng sounds) but when other audio sources are obtained the ringing goes away

I HAD a severe case of cotton mouth (dry mouth) too. it’s appaling, no fluids can quench the thirst.

posters can appear to be 3d and deeper meanings are reveaked, i just saw it on this old one i put up when i was 13.

strong deleriant effects, i had full blown real hallucinations twice
during the trip, and the field of view is always wierd, like something
is wrong here. Auditory hallucinations are so strong (fucking
impressive) that i heard a 3 way conversation with some of the people
in the office. their sounds are reproduced perfectly too. CEV;s are
also present, very good ones too.l but the auditory hallucinations
impressed me the most.

this is an accidental use of a anti-choinegic substace – i was after
the pholcodine, but i got an anti=chlogenic insteaed. but i appreciate
the unintentional ride though. 😉

not for inexperienced users or those who can’t handle substances.
since youre in for long ride, you need to be able to tell yoursef tht
you’re okay anything strange is just hllucination not for the weak of
mind. it’ll blow your socks off.

END

The most interesting experience about the anticholinergic delirium
was the bit where I looked into the mirror and saw another parallel
universe and another person looking back at me. I didn’t realize that
it was me at first. I smiled at him, and he smiled back. I tried to
touch the face, and it almost appeared as if I was going to
go through the mirror before I started and realized that it was just
me…before forgetting it was me, and then remembering it was just me
again.

That’s the interesting bit about anticholinergic delirients – it’s
like a fever dream, it feels so realistic, you can forget you’re
delirious, and the audio hallucinations are so vivid, with bouts of
complete delirium with accompanying visuals which you can forget are
visuals. It can be very disconcerting, and most people would call this
a bad trip. I would like to try this again, in higher doses (but
without the pseudoephedrine) to see what complete delirium feels like.