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Walking Coma
Diphenhydramine
Citation:   Sinnlos. "Walking Coma: An Experience with Diphenhydramine (exp669)". Erowid.org. Jul 18, 2000. erowid.org/exp/669

 
DOSE:
8 tablets oral Diphenhydramine (pill / tablet)
BODY WEIGHT: 130 lb
I have read several reports of experiences involving Dimenhydrinate...it is close to Diphenhydramine Hydrochoride in it's anti-motion sickness effects, but Diphenhydramine is also an anti-histimine and is more commonly found in night time flu medication. I had the unpleasant experience of taking way too much when I was about 14 years old.

I had a bottle of 'Sedicin', an over the counter sleep aid like 'Nytol'. I used to take it all the time because I was an insomniac, and was familiar with it's normal effects. Properly used it makes one drowsy and groggy. It produces mild cotton mouth effects and stops motion-sickness and nausea due to an ear infection.

IMPROPERLY used...well...read on! I took 8 of the pills at around 6:15pm. By 6:30 I was noticing the drowsy effects and was feeling pleasantly dizzy. About 1 hour into it I noticed that my entire body had become weak. It was not a hallucination. I could barely make my muscles respond to my brain's commands. When I did manage to move my arm or leg, it would feel exhaused as if I had been bench pressing my own body weight for hours. Even my eyelids became fatigued. I could do nothing but sit in my chair until my neck became exhausted with holding up my head. Strangely, my MIND came out of the grogginess and I had no desire to sleep. I became worried about this muscle relaxant effect because my heart began to palpatate and beat weakly...and the heart is a muscle after all. My breathing became shallow and it was a chore because my diaphragm began to ache from the strain of breathing. It was like being horribly weak, reminding me of people in third-world countries or in death camps.

There were mental effects too. I became spacey...not trippy or dreamy, just spacey and out of it. People would talk to me and I would not respond for a few seconds, or even register what they said because I would be staring blankly at the wall....and when I tried to speak I regretted it because everything came out slowly and weakly. It made me too tired to talk. It was as if my body and mind had been shut down and had I been a cellular phone, my battery light would be flashing. My tounge felt like a big fat tensor bandage in my mouth...it was dry and hard to manage. I could co-ordinate it, but doing so would exhaust me.

I decided to try and smoke a cigarette...and perhaps this was actually wise considering that my whole nervous system was suppressed. Taking a stimulant like nicotine was what kept me from having to visit the hospital I think. My friend lit it up for me and I sat there like an old person, smoking it without using my hands because I could barely find the strength to lift them. After the smoke I came back a bit and had enough oomph to seek stimulants like cola and sugar. That episode lasted 6 hours, and following that I could walk again and my heart regained it's normal pattern. I went outside for a very slow stroll. But the mental effects were still with me...I was a blank, dull, and unresponsive. My voice was still weak when I spoke. I went to bed 9 hours after taking it and slept for 14 hours. But for days aftwerwards I felt stupid and sluggish. I also got diarrhea and cramps. I had to consume gallons of water to stop my incredible thirst.

My advice to those thinking about experimenting with things like Sleep-ez, Dramamine, Gravol, Nytol and generic motion sickness pills should forget about it. You dont 'Trip', you just fuck up your primary nervous system. It feels like having a flu, when you cant find the energy to perform simple physical tasks like speaking and walking. I think you could simply supress your cardiac or respiratory system to the point of failure and then simply die. Avoid this.

Exp Year: 2000ExpID: 669
Gender: Not Specified 
Age at time of experience: 14
Published: Jul 18, 2000Views: 32,638
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Diphenhydramine (109) : Small Group (2-9) (17), Difficult Experiences (5)

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