'Triple C' abuse: high, hallucinations — and dangerous, medical experts say

When Greensburg police arrived at an apartment to investigate potential child endangerment last month, they were met by a 35-year-old man who appeared agitated, pacing back and forth and sweating profusely, though outside the temperature was about 50 degrees.

Officers were summoned to the apartment house at 1:30 a.m. Sept. 30 by a woman who feared her children might be endangered by a baby sitter who appeared to be high. Police didn't know what to expect, they said in court documents.

Patrolman Hank Fontana Jr. said when they encountered Ian F. Saugucio that morning, he was angry that police were contacted. The sweat and his demeanor raised warning signals, Fontana reported.

Through training, Fontana recognized that Saugucio may be high on Triple C — a slang term for over-the-counter Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold, a medicine made for people with high blood pressure that can cause hallucinations and dissociative effects when taken in large doses.

“We've had a couple of instances I'm aware of through the years of teenagers or someone in their early 20s abusing cough medications ... but a 30-plus-year-old is really rare. And someone who is so combative is equally rare,” city police Capt. Robert Stafford said.

Dr. Yeshvant Navalgund of DNA Advanced Pain Treatment Centers has spoken about prescription drug and opiate abuse at forums throughout southwestern Pennsylvania. He said he is not surprised by incidents of people turning to cough medicine to get high.

“I think we're seeing a pendulum swing,” Navalgund said. “People who have been dependent on a certain opiate for years are being cut off now with prescription drug monitoring programs, and they are looking for a new method of combining drugs to achieve a high.”

Dr. Neil A. Capretto, medical director at Gateway Rehabilitation, said Coricidin contains dextromethorphan, or DXM, and abusers take doses that dramatically exceed what is recommended by physicians.

“They usually take 20 to 30 times the regular amount, which can cause you to get dizzy, high and even cause hallucinations. It also can be very dangerous, causing convulsions or even be fatal in some cases,” Capretto said.

He said he has seen the medication abused for more than 20 years but hasn't noticed a recent spike.

“It's mostly teenagers who just dabble in it,” Capretto said, noting the medication is cheap and accessible.

The Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer this month reported that police found an empty Coricidin package at the home of a newly married Bible college graduate who told 911 dispatchers Sept. 1 that he took too much cold medicine and awoke to find his wife dead on their bedroom floor. Matthew James Phelps, 29, told authorities he believed he stabbed his wife to death.

“I have blood all over me, and there's a bloody knife on the bed and I think I did it. I can't believe this,” Phelps said in the 911 call, a recording of which was obtained by People magazine . “I took more medicine than I should have. I took Coricidin Cough & Cold because I know it can make you feel good. A lot of times I can't sleep at night. So, I took some.”

A Louisiana homeowner in January shot and killed a man who was later found to be high on Triple C. The homeowner told police “he feared for his safety and that of his wife when a man showed up in his front yard behaving erratically,” according to an article in The New Orleans Advocate.

In the recent Greensburg incident, police reported that Sagucio wouldn't comply with police commands and appeared to be hiding an item in his clenched left fist before he became combative.

“Sagucio was striking officers with his elbows. ... (He) seemed to have significant strength and was pulling his arms away from officers,” Fontana said.

Sagucio eventually was physically taken into custody and placed in handcuffs. He is charged with aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, resisting arrest, simple assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

He was released on $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Oct. 26.

After Sagucio's arrest, police found an empty pack of Coricidin medicine tablets in a garbage can next to his bed.

“Sagucio admitted to having a history of abusing Triple C and admitted to abusing Triple C on this date and time,” Fontana reported.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2860, ppeirce@tribweb.com or via Twitter @ppeirce_trib.