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04-04-2007, 02:58 PM
The first time Judy Siggins found the cough medicine blister packs in the trash, she shrugged it off.
Then she found more in her 16-year-old son's pockets.
“They started to appear everywhere,” she recalled.
But it wasn't until her son overdosed the first of five times on over-the-counter cold medicine that Siggins realized there was a serious problem.
“At first I was relieved I wasn't finding something worse. Then I realized how serious it was,” Siggins said.
Her son is one of an estimated 2.4 million youngsters aged 12 to 17 in the country who have used cough medicine to get high, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.
But many parents do not suspect their children are abusing cough medicine, Siggins said.
That is why the Natick mother will be one of the speakers Thursday night at a drug forum at Bridgewater State College, sponsored by Learn to Cope, a parents support group, and Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater and Bridgewater State College.
The forum, set to start at 7 p.m., is aimed at educating parents about opiates, such as OxyContin and heroin, and other drugs. The forum will be held at the college's Moakley Center Auditorium.
Siggins said she is trying to educate parents about the abuse of over-the-counter medicines containing Dextromethorphan, DXM.
“Nobody would think there is a problem with drinking cough syrup,” she said. “You don't need a prescription.”
DXM is a safe and effective active ingredient found in many nonprescription cough syrups, tablets, and gel caps, but when abused in large amounts it can produce a “high” feeling.
It also can have dangerous side effects, including confusion, dizziness, double or blurred vision, slurred speech, loss of physical coordination, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart beat, drowsiness, numbness of fingers and toes and disorientation.
Siggins' son wound up in the emergency room five times after overdosing on the medicines.
He has been in several treatment programs and most recently was committed for treatment after his mother petitioned the court to find him a danger to himself or others.
The first time her son overdosed, he was 16.
“He came in through the door and the only way I could describe it was he was glowing. That's because these things elevate your heart rate,” she said.
“It is like cooking yourself from the inside out. You are bright red, sweating profusely ... He didn't look right. He wasn't able to speak. His speech was very slurred. His coordination was off. I decided to take him to the emergency room. I didn't know what he was on, but I knew it wasn't good.”
Even after the abuse was identified, Siggins said getting treatment has been difficult.
“In most of the places, I was the one trying to educate the staff about it,” she said.
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articl...news/news05.txt (http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/04/04/news/news/news05.txt)
Then she found more in her 16-year-old son's pockets.
“They started to appear everywhere,” she recalled.
But it wasn't until her son overdosed the first of five times on over-the-counter cold medicine that Siggins realized there was a serious problem.
“At first I was relieved I wasn't finding something worse. Then I realized how serious it was,” Siggins said.
Her son is one of an estimated 2.4 million youngsters aged 12 to 17 in the country who have used cough medicine to get high, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.
But many parents do not suspect their children are abusing cough medicine, Siggins said.
That is why the Natick mother will be one of the speakers Thursday night at a drug forum at Bridgewater State College, sponsored by Learn to Cope, a parents support group, and Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater and Bridgewater State College.
The forum, set to start at 7 p.m., is aimed at educating parents about opiates, such as OxyContin and heroin, and other drugs. The forum will be held at the college's Moakley Center Auditorium.
Siggins said she is trying to educate parents about the abuse of over-the-counter medicines containing Dextromethorphan, DXM.
“Nobody would think there is a problem with drinking cough syrup,” she said. “You don't need a prescription.”
DXM is a safe and effective active ingredient found in many nonprescription cough syrups, tablets, and gel caps, but when abused in large amounts it can produce a “high” feeling.
It also can have dangerous side effects, including confusion, dizziness, double or blurred vision, slurred speech, loss of physical coordination, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart beat, drowsiness, numbness of fingers and toes and disorientation.
Siggins' son wound up in the emergency room five times after overdosing on the medicines.
He has been in several treatment programs and most recently was committed for treatment after his mother petitioned the court to find him a danger to himself or others.
The first time her son overdosed, he was 16.
“He came in through the door and the only way I could describe it was he was glowing. That's because these things elevate your heart rate,” she said.
“It is like cooking yourself from the inside out. You are bright red, sweating profusely ... He didn't look right. He wasn't able to speak. His speech was very slurred. His coordination was off. I decided to take him to the emergency room. I didn't know what he was on, but I knew it wasn't good.”
Even after the abuse was identified, Siggins said getting treatment has been difficult.
“In most of the places, I was the one trying to educate the staff about it,” she said.
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articl...news/news05.txt (http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/04/04/news/news/news05.txt)