As someone who suffers from B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency and wasn’t diagnosed until until the age of 27, when they threw the B12 deficiency into the show, it really ticked me off. There’s no way he would have reacted like that from it alone and they shouldn’t have really thrown that into there.

@Arturo
What you described with citric acid et. al. is not a synthesis, it’s an acid-base extraction of the DXM from the cough syrup. It makes 4oz of sugary syrup into like half an ounce of really horrible tasting lemon juice… not really something you can make pills from, but it can be taken as a “shot” and avoids heavy syrup sitting in the stomach. A genius would not necessarily do this because
a. it’s a lot of effort and not all that easy to keep hidden, what with the ammonia and lighter fluid smells and all
b. the organic solvent (ie. lighter fluid) probably cannot be completely boiled off, leaving some small amount of toxic chemical like naphtha. Doubtful it’s enough to cause toxicity, but I’m sure it’s not the healthiest thing to do
c. there have been DXM-only OTC cough gels available in the US for a few years now… but I bet that “cough gels” doesn’t quite have the same dramatic effect as “cough syrup.”

The DXM would be short term, you simply cannot keep a buzz going for that long, as it would be 1. intermittent at best due to the nausea that all the additives in Robitussin cause (i.e. explosive diarrhea) 2. A “genius” would be using pills that can be synthesized from Robitussin using citric acid, lighter fluid, and ammonia and not Robitussin itself because of 1 and the fact that Robitussin is nauseating. Robitussin doesn’t drop your IQ, it just gives you mild euphoria, a speed buzz, and disassociative effects. They probably picked this for the show because people are ignorant of this oft-used OTC drug.

You couldn’t tell if your friend was on DXM? Are you serious? What didn’t clue you off the bug eyed look, dilated pupils, or the general insanity?

Yeah, I saw that intervention and if that guy is a genius, than I’m a monkey’s uncle. Genius is as genius does.

Hey! Who the hell says 13 is hotter than Cameron? I STRONGLY disagree. Cameron is way prettier, way hotter and frankly a better character overall.
- A good character, played out. As for looks, maybe if she’d eat a sandwich.

Amber! Smoking hot! Anne Dudek by herself is hot, Anne Dudek + CB = way way hotter!)
- Aggressive is fun, but her body is much less attractive than you’d think and her face is so-so.

Another cringe-worthy House. Ever since the 3rd or 4th season.

It’s called NMDA antagonist neurotoxicity, and very few people are susceptible to it. Other than that, the House writing team pretty much has the right of it.

However, DXM is metabolized by CYP2D6. If Dude were on the verge of liver failure, hitting that fourth plateau probably would have killed him outright, so they should have been able to rule that out early.