I think I may be od-ing on cough medication

[hearts and roses]

Oh no, in my coughing delirium, I took an extra dose of my prescribed cough medicine and now I'm not feeling so good...of course I searched mayo clinic to read up on the drug, benzonatate, and it's very heavily stressed not to take more than the prescribed dose. Now I'm freaking out!

Anyone have experiences with this drug? Please share, thanks.

 

[DammitJanet]

I have taken tessalon pearls before. I had to look up what it was...lol. They actually gave them to Billy but he let me use them after his cold was gone. If all you took was one extra pill or even two, I wouldnt freak out too badly. Now if you downed a whole handful then yeah I would worry but I doubt you did that. They worry much more about kids who might think they are candy and eat them by the handful. I didnt realize the mechanism by which they worked but yeah I can see it. Personally I find the best combo in phenergan and codeine. If you are really worried, sit up and drink some hot tea with honey for a little while and I think you will be okay.

 

[susiestar]

If you are okay by now, it should be okay. PLEASE BE CAREFUL IWTH THESE.

thank you just had these, and in the info from the pharmacy they noted that with an overdose you NEED to call poison control and/or get help because death was found to occur within the first hour after OD. I don't know what strength you have, but I know our pharmacy AND the doctor at urgent care both stressed this.

You may still want to call poison control. I was rather alarmed to read this, and we keep a pad of paper with the medication bottle to write down what time each dose is taken. I do that with most medications that we don't take at the same time each day.

This medication does come in 2 strengths, but I don't knwo what they are. I do know the first didn't do anything at all for my mom, so the next tme her doctor gave her the higher strength.

This isn't the same at the dextromethorphan that is OTC and the kids like to OD on because you hallucinate. I don't get why anyone would wnat to hallucinate, but it takes a whole lot of diagnosis to kill yourself. Bentonotate or however that is spelled is different and it takes a lot less to OD on it.

I hope you are okay.

 

[1905]

I hope by now the effects have worn off and you're ok and resting.

 

[hearts and roses]

I am okay...exhausted but okay. The dose is 100mg 3x/day. I took one pearl at 11pm and when I woke at 12:30am coughing my butt off, I took another. Wasn't even thinking-I just wanted relief. Well, didn't matter because I still was coughing like mad and barely slept all night.

The side effects I began to have were like a lump in my throat, sweating hot but cold, and then later I developed chest tightness and then later still I felt little shooting pains in my head. H rubbed my back and shoulders which helped me calm down but I'm going to call the pharmacist and dr today for something else-this stuff doesn't work and scared the crud outta me!!!

I generally stay away from codeine because it tends to cause severe depression and bad dizziness but it does work so maybe I'll get that. I've been dealing with some vertigo recently so I'm hesitant but also tired of not sleeping.

Thank you, as always, for your input. Think I will call out sick today.

 

[DammitJanet]

just try phenergan. works well

 

[hearts and roses]

Isn't that a motion sickness or anti nausea medication, Janet?

 

[Hound dog]

Phenergran soothes coughs too Jo. You just wouldn't want to use it too often or you could have complications from not coughing the nasties up and getting rid of it.

Don't worry about an extra dose. One extra dose won't hurt you, might make you groggier. Just don't make a habit of it. lol That warning is on there so that people won't go crazy (for relief or for recreational purposes) and actually OD themselves.

You need some rest. I know you don't like the codeine type cough medications, but if you can get some rest.....you probably wouldn't be taking them that long.

Have you been checked by doctor again for pneumonia?

When I had pneumonia I couldn't stop coughing long enough to sleep at all. Not a wink. Cough wasn't productive anymore either. My muscles were exhausted and sore as heck from all that coughing without a break. I finally gave in and got that cough syrup and did I sleep.............and sleep...............and sleep.............and sleep. I didn't realize how utterly exhausted I was from my body trying so hard to throw off that bug. Before long when I coughed......it became productive. Muscles weren't overworked anymore and could get it up. I started getting better after being sick for weeks.

You need to call off work. Time to take care of yourself, pamper yourself with plenty of rest.

((hugs))

 

[buddy]

Feel better soon! Hugs......

 

[BusynMember]

Hi there and sorry I'm late. I have a script for these pills and I'm very sensitive to all medications. I think (am not sure) that these are pretty mild, but just be more careful next time, if you use it. Personally, I have dumped the script for an over the counter non-drowsy medication and in my opinion it works just as well.

I'm so glad you are better now. I've had a lot of drug reactions and they are soooooo scary. Hugs!!!

 

[hearts and roses]

You are correct, Lisa. I called out of work and will call my dr about the cough-maybe I need a chest X-ray. And maybe it's time to give in to the codeine.

I have to take Nala to the vet this morning for a big lump on her right side and then hopefully I will be able to rest this afternoon. I am exhausted and of course, once H found out I was staying home, gave a few things to take care of for him. Thanks, hon.

Delsym is the usual OTC cough medication I go for because it works well and is non drowsy. However, this cough has been resilient against all remedies thus far so I asked for the script. I called Walgreens and the pharmacist said there was no harm in taking the extra 100mg, but to wait a full 8 hours before taking the next dose. I don't want to take it at all!

 

[InsaneCdn]

Do you have a comfortable recliner? or a single bed where you can significantly raise the head of the bed?
We find that when we're really congested, it is worse to sleep laying flat. (and you can't overdose on recliner sleep!)

 

[Tiapet]

When I was sick this past time it was the first time I had ever been given this medication and had never before heard of them. The warnings are pretty strong for not breaking them or chewing them up. I can see why. I wouldn't have been able to advise you on OD of them. I'm glad you are alright. What I can say is that it seriously helped me be able to cough up the nasties that I've never been able to do before. Delsym is what we swear by here as no other cough medication works as well or as quick in helping calm a cough. We use it especially because it's safe with every other medication for non interacting. I also like to treat things 1 thing at a time rather then a medication that is multi-symptoms." This way once cough is gone you can continue treating the stuffy head or runny nose/sneezing that usually is still around for a week or so.

 

[hearts and roses]

Do you have a comfortable recliner? or a single bed where you can significantly raise the head of the bed?
We find that when we're really congested, it is worse to sleep laying flat. (and you can't overdose on recliner sleep!)

No recliner. Now that my friend went home, I will sleep in the spare room and raise the upper part of the mattress and have H put up the humidifier. Hopefully, that combined with the Delsym and a couple of breathing treatments, I will sleep tonight.

I was able to get a two hour nap today. My dr is out so I will wait till tomorrow, if I still have the cough, to get an X-ray.

 

[InsaneCdn]

The irony is, when we're sick, we need sleep... and being sick makes it hard to sleep!

Sending hugs and extra zzzzs

 

[susiestar]

I highly recommend taking guaifennesin (active ingred in Mucinex). You can get the brand name, which is 12 hrs, or generic. Around here the only generics are immediate release, which means a new dose every 4 hrs. I prefer that because no time release medication really lasts the entire dose for me. I would go and get the generic mucinex and some sudafed (the real thing, not the PE that you get OTC with-o signing for it). Sudafed is proven to work better than the PE stuff, and you can buy more than 1 box at a time. In my state the limit is 9 grams per month, which means of the 24 tab boxes I can get either six or seven boxes at a time. I got five the last time because husband hates to go get it. We all had colds and with-o sudafed and mucinex they never go away for us.

Phenergan is an antihistamine like benadryl. If you take it (and it can help with coughs but is mostly used for nausea in this country), beSURE to take the mucinex and if poss the sudafed also.

Getting the delsym or other dextromethorphan medication may be helpful, but you get better results from hte medication you have or from codeine or other opiates. Surprisingly, alcohol is still one of the most effectiv cough suppressants we know of. That is why a hot toddy or shot of whiskey or whatever still works, and why nyquil still has alcohol. I loathe nyquil because of the tylenol in it - it just isn't safe to take tylenol with alcohol, esp if you are female. women don't have the enzyme that men do that breaks down alcohol, and this means alcohol is harder on our livers.

I suggest getting hte different medications in separate pills because that way you can control what you take and not take stuff you don't need or take mroe of any medication that is recommended.

I hope it isn't pneumonia and that you feel better very soon. Don't take care of H's stuff. He is healthy, let him do it. Give him your errands, lol.

 

[hearts and roses]

Susie, it's funny you mention alcohol...my friend bought me some Sambuca and I've been doing a shot a night. It actually helps, which of course, reminds me of my grandpa who always took a shot of anisette nightly! Hahaha.

I can take mucinex, but it does make me a bit loopy...not all OTC medications agree with me so I have to be careful. I absolutely cannot take things such as multi symptom cold medications, sudafed, or Benadryl (unless I'm having a severe hive attack) because they make me speed and mean.

Im not going to take that script medication. The Delsym did okay yesterday and last night that I will stick with it. I put a call into dr today to request a chest X-ray. The trouble I'm having with breathing does not feel like my usual asthmatic reaction to a cold. It feels different in my right lung. Oh and I took 10mg of prednisone last night, which I hate, but it helped a lot to break up the mucus so I could expel some of it.
Thank you for all that great information!