Skip to main content

Delsym User Reviews & Ratings (Page 2)

Delsym has an average rating of 3.3 out of 10 from a total of 238 reviews on Drugs.com. 16% of reviewers reported a positive experience, while 68% reported a negative experience.

Reviews for Delsym

  • Made...
  • January 19, 2019

For Cough "I took Delsym for my allergies. It worked really good the first two days. But on the third day it made me feel like I was drunk or high, not really dizzy. I was disoriented and couldn’t focus and my mind was all over the place. I thought that maybe I had just not eaten enough that day or something, but after seeing the reviews I guess other people experienced this too."

3 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
12 Report
  • sick...
  • September 6, 2014

For Cough "It did stop the cough, got up all the junk in my lungs and allowed me to continue my work day. However it gave me such terrible stomach pain I was very near calling it quits and going home. Taking a smaller dose with food made this problem much more tolerable, yet that burning feeling lingered for hours after."

6 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
19 Report
  • Absol...
  • December 25, 2017

For Cough "Absolute nightmare. Do not take for the love of god! I took for a upper respiratory cough at around 4pm and the nightmare began shortly after when I got the chills so bad I couldn’t stand up. I was sweating bullets but freezing cold. After that stopped, this poison passed me out at which point I had the most extreme nonsense nightmares I’ve ever had in my life. Atop all this, I coughed and coughed and coughed to the point of gagging. This medicine is poison. Wouldn’t recommend it to my worst enemy. Such an astronomical waste of money, time, health and sleep. I poured the remainder down the toilet and felt bad that the water treatment facility now had to deal with this absolute toxic waste."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
14 Report

Frequently asked questions

  • Brain...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 15, 2018

For Cough "DO NOT take Delsym with alcohol. No where on the box does it say that! I had wine with dinner and later took the prescribed dosage of Delsym because I had a cough that was preventing me from sleeping. The next thing I knew was waking up on the kitchen floor with ambulance personnel in my house! I hit my head on the floor which caused a brain bleed. I had to be air lifted to a regional hospital and put in the ICU. Luckily the bleed stopped and they didn't have to crack my head open to do brain surgery! Recovery was a nightmare with months of headache, dizziness, and zero energy. I still have residual effects a year later. They did a lot of tests in the hospital to figure out what caused me to faint, but all of them showed no problems so it had to have been the Delsym. I don't know for sure of course that the combination of wine with Delsym caused me to pass out. It could have been just the Delsym, but I want to warn people. This stuff is dangerous!!!"

Was this helpful?YesNo
13 Report
  • Unhappy...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 28, 2016

For Cough "I took the appropriate dose of Delsym, and 30 minutes later began hallucinating. The following day, I lost all vision and motor control. I took Delsym 3 days ago and am still experiencing side effects."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
15 Report

Are you taking this medicine?

  • Donew...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 22, 2018

For Cough "Uhh I took this medicine for a severe cough because of seasonal allergies. I was taking Mucinex but it wasn't as effective immediately. So I asked my mom, who also deals worth allergy issues and she gives me this Delsym. It did, in fact, suppress my urge to cough but with major repercussions. It is now 10 pm, 12 hours after my first dose and I can't stand myself right now. I feel so disoriented that it is hard to focus on this message but it is important that I share my experience so I can save some the trouble of this way. I have an anxiety disorder, this is important for others like me so they know that this medicine has made me feel so incredibly bad that I have seriously, seriously dark thoughts about myself. I just want to stop this unexplainable, very terrible feeling throughout my entire body and brain. I hope this horrible experience will end soon. I'll be sure to update on how long the effects last. So far, 12 hours and counting..."

4 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
12 Report
  • enici...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • December 10, 2016

For Cough "I read all these reviews and decided to try it thinking it might work but I was wrong. Do. Not. Take it. First of all it barely helped my cough at all, some tea and honey could've done better than this. In fact I think my cough got even worse. That part that was most upsetting was when I woke up feeling nauseous. I ignored it and next day took it again and I got EXTREMELY light headed, just crazy dizzy. And then I got the diarrhea afterwards....I just felt confused and out of it. This medicine is absolute trash and I don't recommend taking it at all. I usually don't even write reviews either so that should tell you something. 18f"

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
14 Report

More FAQ

  • Charl...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • May 22, 2021

For Cough "Last year my daughter's pediatrician recommended this because she was diagnosed with the flu. Fast forward to this year and week I bought it for my extreme cough and because I couldn't sleep for coughing so much. Well, I took recommended dosage twice and noticed the medicine was making me worse! I have never coughed so much in my life. My body is sore from all the coughing. I obtained a stuffy then runny nose that I didn't have prior to the medicine. My taste and smell left and I have severe diarrhea. I didn't take anymore and my cough is calming down and I can smell and taste again. Not sure what's in this but I highly recommend you steer clear of this cough syrup. I've never had this type of reaction to a cough syrup. Never again will I take this nor give it to my daughter. I would literally cough and sneeze so much at a time I'd get light headed and discombobulated. Buy and try at your own risk!!!!!!"

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
7 Report
  • Scar...
  • October 11, 2020

For Cough "On the wee early hours of Sept. 12, 2020 I ended up in the ER after taking the recommended dose for an adult (10ml) of Delsym. This cough syrup made me violently sick and caused me to pass out. Long story short, I ended up with rught side facial fractures, and right shoulder area pain. I've never in my entire life ever had a drug reaction until this. It caused me nausea for 2 days that followed, weakness, and confusion. I can't believe this product is allowed to be purchased OTC. It is toxic and should have a warning label on it. I hope others don't go through what I did."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
8 Report
  • Anonymous
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • April 12, 2015

For Cough "I was traveling and started having dry, allergy-related cough. Trying to suppress it long enough to give a presentation and Delsym worked perfectly. But as others noted, started to have diarrhea. I didn't connect it right away to Delsym, because when traveling everything is disrupted. Now home, everything had mostly cleared up and took the last dose last night, and sure enough diarrhea back today. I take no other meds."

5 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
14 Report
  • Brain...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 26, 2017

For Cough "About 15 minutes after taking exactly the dose indicated, I fainted and cracked my head on the floor resulting in a brain hemorrhage! Several tests were done in the hospital to rule out any other reason for fainting. The only conclusion is that I had a severe reaction to the ingredient in this cough medicine. Be careful!! Read all the reviews BEFORE taking this medicine!"

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
12 Report
  • kyraa...
  • February 25, 2017

For Cough "First off, it tasted awful. Secondly, I thought I was dying on my bathroom floor an hour after taking it. It gave me chills, extreme nausea, diarrhea and dizziness. Double checked the expiration date to see if that had something to do with it, nope. My cough is calm but it's not worth fighting nausea and dizziness four hours later. I will never take this medicine again."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
11 Report
  • Upset...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 7, 2016

For Cough "Took this as a cold medicine because I can't stop coughing. Was all fine and dandy and went out to dinner. Halfway there I had to stop because I felt gurgling in my stomach. Sure enough- diarrhea. I should have listened to the reviews- do NOT take this medicine."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
11 Report
  • weetowu
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • February 27, 2013

For Cough "Works really well, like Tussinex without the codeine. Tastes better than other cough medicines too. Non drowsy, but also didn't make me jittery so I could take it and sleep. Closest thing to Tussinex over the counter."

8 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
15 Report
  • Barnw...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • December 8, 2017

For Cough "Looked up ingredients in Delsym. Active Ingredients: Dextromethorphan Polistirex Inactive Ingredients: Citric Acid, Edetate Disodium, Ethyl Cellulose, FD&C Yellow 6 Aluminum Lake, Flavor, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Methylparaben, Polyethylene Glycol 3350, Polysorbate 80, Propylene Glycol, Propylparaben, Purified Water, Sucrose (Sugar), Tragacanth, Vegetable Oil, Xanthan Gum. Polyethylene glycol 3350 is, get this, MIRALAX! No wonder we get explosive diarrhea!"

Was this helpful?YesNo
10 Report
  • skye
  • July 2, 2017

For Cough "DO NOT TRY IT. I know some of you have had good experiences and some have had bad ones. There as been more bad ones then there are good I know that much. I took this medicine for my dry cough that I was having, I felt fine for a little while, went to sleep. And then about an hour after going to sleep I woke up in a full blown panic attack. I felt like I was going to black out, I kept having hot flashes, and severe stomach pain. The feeling of throwing up was pretty bad too, but it never happened. I was shaking and almost went to the hospital."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
10 Report
  • Tomjjc
  • February 14, 2017

For Cough "Well it stopped my cough...but it also gave me extremely watery diarrhea that had me running to the bathroom every 10-30 minutes for hours and hours. It must have been at least 8 hours before my stomach calmed down. It left me feeling dehydrated and sick, but hey. At least my cough was gone, right?"

3 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
10 Report
  • JJano
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • November 15, 2019

For Cough "Horrendous. Delsym did not stop my cough. I woke up at 4 AM (I had taken the afternoon before at 4:30 pM) with serious diarrhea and vomiting. The cramps that followed are unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, absolutely horrific. This medicine needs to be taken off the market. It’s been over three hours and the cramping has worsened - I didn’t think it was possible - and I’m basically writhing on my floor. DO NOT RISK THIS!!!"

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
7 Report
  • Anonymous
  • January 13, 2019

For Cough "It's does stop the coughing but the SEVERE CRAMPING, diarrhea, and dizziness are not worth it! I was 2 days in before I realized that those symptoms weren't part of my flu.... It was the Delsym! BEWARE!!!"

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
8 Report
  • KKano
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • March 19, 2018

For Cough "I had a dry cough and asked a pharmacist what would be the best to take. He suggested this Delsym ,so I bought it. Less then an hour later a wave of dizziness hit me. I was not sure what was going on . Then, I began to feel like I was going to vomit. I threw up from 7 pm until 8am. I had extreme anxiety, shook, my stomach cramped and gurgled . At one point I thought I was having a toxic reaction . This is hour 16 and I am still shaking, my pupils are still dilated, and Im utterly exhausted. Im not sure how its even legal to sell this OTC."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
9 Report
  • Furrawn
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • December 7, 2016

For Cough "I'm sick and have a constant barking cough that's mostly unproductive. I read reviews on amazon to find a good OTC cough suppressant. Delsym had rave reviews. I had hubby pick up the orange. I can say that my coughing has stopped. Delsym absolutely stops the coughing. It's quite wonderful. What's not wonderful are the three bouts of explosive diarrhea I have had since taking it three hours ago. There's more to come as my stomach is still gurgling. This is the really bad stuff. Thank goodness it stops the coughing because if I coughed right now, I'd have diarrhea all over the bed. The medicine DOES stop the coughing, but it's not worth this kind of diarrhea."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
10 Report
  • ggtexas
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 9, 2016

For Cough "Stopped my cough and I was able to sleep. But I was awakened a couple of times during the night with a severe diarrhea accident. I don't think I'll take again for that reason. The diarrhea past in about 12 hours."

2 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
11 Report
  • Connie
  • November 10, 2015

For Cough "I had purchased Delsym nighttime night strength for a cold the first night it worked great the second night I got the worst pain in my upper abs, than came nausea , followed by actually throwing up and a small bout of diarrhea. I am not sure if it was the lack of food contents in my stomach or what but it was a horrible experience"

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
11 Report
  • Chaos...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • August 19, 2019

For Cough "Took this tonight as I've been sick for 3 days with a cold/cough. I expected it to make me drowsy but it made me restless and completely unable to sleep. I came here looking to see if anyone else had that reaction. I don't think it helped me cough at all either. Now I will probably feel worse tomorrow seeing as how I didn't really get any sleep tonight."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
7 Report
  • Never...
  • Taken for less than 1 month
  • January 15, 2022

For Cough "I am currently taking delsym for a nasty cough and upper respiratory infection. I took the recommended dosage of 10 ml every twelve hours. After the first dose I became worse. My cough had gotten 10x worse I had severe chills bad body aches and severe dizziness to the point of not being able to sit up right. I would have gone to the hospital but didn't have a ride. I can't sleep because of the cough. I took a half dose compared to the recommended dosage (5 ml) and am having the same symptoms. Freezing, worse cough, and dizziness. I do not recommend whatsoever and will likely be going to the hospital this evening due to not being able to breathe."

1 / 10
Was this helpful?YesNo
4 Report

Reviews may be edited to correct grammar/spelling or to remove inappropriate language and content. Reviews that appear to be created by parties with a vested interest are not published. This information is not intended to endorse any particular medication. While these reviews may be helpful, they are not a substitute for the expertise, knowledge, and judgement of healthcare professionals.