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05-06-2007, 07:23 PM
Published - Sunday, May 06, 2007
Sitting in the emergency room of Community Memorial Hospital on Easter, Julie cried and prayed silently.
“Please don’t let my daughter die.”
Her 16-year-old daughter, Casey, had taken a handful of over-the-counter cold pills. Not by accident. Not to harm herself. Just to get high.
Julie, who asked that her last name not be used, was terrified as she watched doctors hook Casey up to IVs. She was angered when she learned the police couldn’t do anything to stop abuse of legal drugs. And she says she has been haunted — unable to sleep or eat n because she’s worried about the next child in the Winona area who can buy enough pills to get a high or to kill.
“I probably should have kicked her butt,” Julie said. “But I was so scared. I am scared for the kids.”
Teenagers looking for a high are taking large — and potentially deadly — doses of the drug. Because it’s legal, police say there’s nothing they can do. Local pharmacists said they are aware of a problem with dextromethorphan, or DXM, a common drug in cold and cough remedies. But only some have restricted sales. Six states have considered restricting DXM sales, but Minnesota has not.
Bad medicine
DXM is used as a cough suppressant. Though the effects are debated, many researchers believe high doses cause mild hallucinations or symptoms mirroring drunkenness.
Dr. Brett Whyte, an emergency room physician at Winona Health, said too much can be dangerous. Whyte explained that DXM suppresses respiratory functions, like coughing. In larger doses it can suppress breathing. Most medicines that have DXM in them also have other dangerous chemicals like acetaminophen, which, if taken in even smaller doses can damage the liver.
And mixing the drug with alcohol can have dangerous, if not deadly, results, Whyte said.
Because DXM is not a prescription drug, its sale and consumption is not regulated in Minnesota. Police say there’s not much the law can do to stop it.
Tony Gagnon, a Winona police investigator and a member of the Southeastern Minnesota Drug Task Force, said reported incidents of “pill parties” or abuse of over-the-counter medicine have been nearly non-existent. Parents, school officials and students haven’t even mentioned it as a problem. “But I am sure it’s out there,” Gagnon said.
Emergency room data suggests it is.
Three months ago, Whyte hadn’t seen a single case of an over-the-counter overdose. Since then, he’s seen three.
“If we’re seeing three, then there’s many more,” Whyte said. “Things have to get bad before they come here. No one wants to come (to the emergency room).”
Easter overdose
Julie and her husband, Thomas, had been with their family all day. After dinner, Casey went to hang out at a friend’s house in the neighborhood. She was grounded, but she was doing well, her parents thought. It was, after all, a holiday.
She took 12 cold pills containing DXM. Her friends had been doing it, and she had tried it once before.
When Julie came home that night, her mother said, she was walking like her shoes were too small for her feet. Her parents noticed her speech was slurred and she had trouble switching off a back porch light.
Julie grabbed Casey’s cheeks and smelled her breath. No sign of alcohol.
“What are you on?” Julie asked. “Don’t lie to me.”
Casey’s eyes rolled back and she swayed and stumbled. A frightening two minutes passed before she could muster the ability to tell her parents what she had taken.
But they couldn’t understand her. She scrawled the word on a piece of paper in words they could barely read.
It was Coricidin, a brand-name drug containing DXM.
“What’s that?” Julie and Thomas wondered.
They knew it wasn’t good.
When she found out Casey had taken 12, Julie’s knees buckled and she dropped to the floor. She called the hospital and was told Casey needed to be rushed to the emergency room. By the time she got there, Casey’s lips and throat had swollen. The doctors flushed three IVs-worth of liquid through her.
“She might not have woken up,” Julie said.
In the schools
Casey, a sophomore, told the Daily News that, in a any given month, she knows of nearly 20 students at Winona Senior High who are taking cold pills to get high before, during or after school.
Most take at least eight pills, some more than 20 — even as many as 46 at a time.
“It’s getting worse,” she said. “It is a really big problem.”
Public school officials are aware of the problem. Right now, they hear about the trend from other students, but they have busted very few.
Winona Senior High Assistant Principal Jeff Sampson said he knows of just two cases of DXM abuse in the last year — one during school and one before school.
Principal Nancy Wondrasch said her staff is trained to recognize when students have used drugs during school. This year, they’ve had about a half-dozen incidences with legal and illegal drugs — and that’s about steady or even decreased from previous years, she said.
This is where relationships play a crucial role, said counselor Terri Bauer. It’s important for students and staff to recognize when other students are acting strangely.
High school health teacher Warren Deets said his class doesn’t talk specifically about DXM, but does address the dangers of over-the-counter drugs during a unit about drugs and alcohol.
“Parents have them, grandma and grandpa have them,” he said. “They’re pretty easy to get a hold of.”
Over the counter
Area pharmacies said they haven’t noticed a large problem, but are aware that some people are abusing it.
Goltz Pharmacy last month put Coricidin behind the counter because of problems with theft, said pharmacist Dan Goltz.
Bradley Eide, pharmacy manager at Hy Vee, said he hasn’t seen problems with it, but is aware of a nationwide trend.
Walgreen’s corporate spokeswoman Carol Hively said the company has voluntarily restricted quantities of some cold medicines and chosen to only sell it to those older than 18. However, boxes of the drug remain on store shelves susceptible to shoplifting. And a single box of 20 pills is more than enough for an overdose.
A new mission
The Easter trip to the emergency room has changed the way one Winona family interacts. Julie never lets Casey leave the house without reminding her she’s loved. Casey doesn’t hang out with the same friends. And the family is leading a crusade against DXM.
Casey learned her lesson. She’s tried to spread the message to others. One of her friends decided not to try the drug after learning of her experience.
Julie and Thomas learned a lesson, too. Julie can’t shake the thought of Casey not waking up. She can’t imagine reading about another Winona-area kid dying while she remained silent.
“If I could save one child, I’d be happy,” Julie said.
Now, Casey spends more time at home and less time with her friends.
“My daughter’s coming back,” Julie said. “She’s just my happy little girl again.”
http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/20...news/00lead.txt (http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2007/05/06/news/00lead.txt)
Sitting in the emergency room of Community Memorial Hospital on Easter, Julie cried and prayed silently.
“Please don’t let my daughter die.”
Her 16-year-old daughter, Casey, had taken a handful of over-the-counter cold pills. Not by accident. Not to harm herself. Just to get high.
Julie, who asked that her last name not be used, was terrified as she watched doctors hook Casey up to IVs. She was angered when she learned the police couldn’t do anything to stop abuse of legal drugs. And she says she has been haunted — unable to sleep or eat n because she’s worried about the next child in the Winona area who can buy enough pills to get a high or to kill.
“I probably should have kicked her butt,” Julie said. “But I was so scared. I am scared for the kids.”
Teenagers looking for a high are taking large — and potentially deadly — doses of the drug. Because it’s legal, police say there’s nothing they can do. Local pharmacists said they are aware of a problem with dextromethorphan, or DXM, a common drug in cold and cough remedies. But only some have restricted sales. Six states have considered restricting DXM sales, but Minnesota has not.
Bad medicine
DXM is used as a cough suppressant. Though the effects are debated, many researchers believe high doses cause mild hallucinations or symptoms mirroring drunkenness.
Dr. Brett Whyte, an emergency room physician at Winona Health, said too much can be dangerous. Whyte explained that DXM suppresses respiratory functions, like coughing. In larger doses it can suppress breathing. Most medicines that have DXM in them also have other dangerous chemicals like acetaminophen, which, if taken in even smaller doses can damage the liver.
And mixing the drug with alcohol can have dangerous, if not deadly, results, Whyte said.
Because DXM is not a prescription drug, its sale and consumption is not regulated in Minnesota. Police say there’s not much the law can do to stop it.
Tony Gagnon, a Winona police investigator and a member of the Southeastern Minnesota Drug Task Force, said reported incidents of “pill parties” or abuse of over-the-counter medicine have been nearly non-existent. Parents, school officials and students haven’t even mentioned it as a problem. “But I am sure it’s out there,” Gagnon said.
Emergency room data suggests it is.
Three months ago, Whyte hadn’t seen a single case of an over-the-counter overdose. Since then, he’s seen three.
“If we’re seeing three, then there’s many more,” Whyte said. “Things have to get bad before they come here. No one wants to come (to the emergency room).”
Easter overdose
Julie and her husband, Thomas, had been with their family all day. After dinner, Casey went to hang out at a friend’s house in the neighborhood. She was grounded, but she was doing well, her parents thought. It was, after all, a holiday.
She took 12 cold pills containing DXM. Her friends had been doing it, and she had tried it once before.
When Julie came home that night, her mother said, she was walking like her shoes were too small for her feet. Her parents noticed her speech was slurred and she had trouble switching off a back porch light.
Julie grabbed Casey’s cheeks and smelled her breath. No sign of alcohol.
“What are you on?” Julie asked. “Don’t lie to me.”
Casey’s eyes rolled back and she swayed and stumbled. A frightening two minutes passed before she could muster the ability to tell her parents what she had taken.
But they couldn’t understand her. She scrawled the word on a piece of paper in words they could barely read.
It was Coricidin, a brand-name drug containing DXM.
“What’s that?” Julie and Thomas wondered.
They knew it wasn’t good.
When she found out Casey had taken 12, Julie’s knees buckled and she dropped to the floor. She called the hospital and was told Casey needed to be rushed to the emergency room. By the time she got there, Casey’s lips and throat had swollen. The doctors flushed three IVs-worth of liquid through her.
“She might not have woken up,” Julie said.
In the schools
Casey, a sophomore, told the Daily News that, in a any given month, she knows of nearly 20 students at Winona Senior High who are taking cold pills to get high before, during or after school.
Most take at least eight pills, some more than 20 — even as many as 46 at a time.
“It’s getting worse,” she said. “It is a really big problem.”
Public school officials are aware of the problem. Right now, they hear about the trend from other students, but they have busted very few.
Winona Senior High Assistant Principal Jeff Sampson said he knows of just two cases of DXM abuse in the last year — one during school and one before school.
Principal Nancy Wondrasch said her staff is trained to recognize when students have used drugs during school. This year, they’ve had about a half-dozen incidences with legal and illegal drugs — and that’s about steady or even decreased from previous years, she said.
This is where relationships play a crucial role, said counselor Terri Bauer. It’s important for students and staff to recognize when other students are acting strangely.
High school health teacher Warren Deets said his class doesn’t talk specifically about DXM, but does address the dangers of over-the-counter drugs during a unit about drugs and alcohol.
“Parents have them, grandma and grandpa have them,” he said. “They’re pretty easy to get a hold of.”
Over the counter
Area pharmacies said they haven’t noticed a large problem, but are aware that some people are abusing it.
Goltz Pharmacy last month put Coricidin behind the counter because of problems with theft, said pharmacist Dan Goltz.
Bradley Eide, pharmacy manager at Hy Vee, said he hasn’t seen problems with it, but is aware of a nationwide trend.
Walgreen’s corporate spokeswoman Carol Hively said the company has voluntarily restricted quantities of some cold medicines and chosen to only sell it to those older than 18. However, boxes of the drug remain on store shelves susceptible to shoplifting. And a single box of 20 pills is more than enough for an overdose.
A new mission
The Easter trip to the emergency room has changed the way one Winona family interacts. Julie never lets Casey leave the house without reminding her she’s loved. Casey doesn’t hang out with the same friends. And the family is leading a crusade against DXM.
Casey learned her lesson. She’s tried to spread the message to others. One of her friends decided not to try the drug after learning of her experience.
Julie and Thomas learned a lesson, too. Julie can’t shake the thought of Casey not waking up. She can’t imagine reading about another Winona-area kid dying while she remained silent.
“If I could save one child, I’d be happy,” Julie said.
Now, Casey spends more time at home and less time with her friends.
“My daughter’s coming back,” Julie said. “She’s just my happy little girl again.”
http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/20...news/00lead.txt (http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2007/05/06/news/00lead.txt)