Dextromethorphan (DXM or DM) is a drug. It is used to prevent coughs in many over-the-countercold and cough medicines. Dextromethorphan can also be used for pain relief or for psychological conditions. It is sold in syrup, tablet, and lozenge forms, manufactured under several different brand names and generic labels. In its pure form, dextromethorphan is a white powder.
Turning on the Sigma-1 receptor is believed to be how dextromethorphan helps with a cough. Dextromethorphan also prevents serotonin and norepinephrine from being absorbed again in the brain. When too much is inside a person's body or when they have been using it as a recreational drug, it can cause dissociativehallucinations, make a person feel good, change how you feel things, and other things. It does this by doing the things said before but also by blocking glutamate from turning on NMDA receptors in the brain, much like how Ketamine and Phencyclidine work as well.
