Pills, Drugs, Booze Dorothy took

Benzedrine a habitual hallucinogenic drug 

Benzedrine probably led Dorothy to a selfish indifference towards the common world everyone else lived in and a withering of love and affection for others.  Bennies (nickname for the drug) did not alter one's personality or distort one's perceptions of reality; they were, in that sense at least, morally acceptable.

Of course, bennies had a tendency to ruin the body of the person using them. Benzedrine wasn't made a prescription drug until 1959, but by then the fad was already in decline, partly because people could see the damage that bennies were inflicting on their users, but perhaps even more because artistic and intellectual styles were changing. 

Dexedrine.  Two important benefits.  One, effective in appetite control.  Two offered a renewed level of energy.  

Interesting.  It is a stimulant widely prescribed by physicians for the treatment of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy (a sleep problem). This medicine is a stimulant.

Dexamyl - Appetite deterrent.  An amphetamine stimulant combined with a barbiturate depressant. Dexamyl was of a significant value in depressed and verbally inhibited patients.

Dexamyl (or Drinamyl in the UK) is the brand name of a combination drug composed of amobarbital (previously called amylbarbitone) and dextroamphetamine.

First introduced in 1950 by Smith, Kline and French, Dexamyl was marketed as an antidepressant medication that did not cause agitation, and also as an anti-anxiety drug and diet drug. Amphetamine alone had previously been marketed as an antidepressant (under the Benzedrine Sulfate brand) beginning around 1938. The amphetamine in Dexamyl was intended to elevate mood, while the barbiturate was added to counter the side effects of the amphetamine. Its name is a portmanteau of dextroamphetamine and amylbarbitone.

In Britain during the early 1960s, the drug was taken by "tired housewives", and was also abused by youths who took excessively large doses and nicknamed the triangular blue tablets "purple hearts". This became a celebrated part of the Mod subculture. The main character of the film of Quadrophenia by The Who is shown taking purple hearts at a party, then subsequently appearing to suffer an attack of amphetamine psychosis.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dexamyl spansules—a clear and green capsule containing green and white "beads"—became popular as a street-drug upper nicknamed "Christmas trees," a reference to its appearance.

The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and the Food and Drug Administration decided to recall all diet drugs that contained amphetamines and required all of them to be off the market by June 30, 1973. Smith, Kline & French, the producer of Dexamyl and Eskatrol, was excepted from an order banning interstate shipment of its drugs. The company asked for a hearing before the F.D.A.

Dr. George C. Nichopoulos was indicted in May 1980 for having improperly prescribed Dexamyl and Preludin to the singer Jerry Lee Lewis, despite knowing he was addicted to them.  Dr. Patrick A. Mazza, team physician for the Reading Phillies, said he prescribed Dexamyl, Eskatrol, Dexedrine, and Preludin for Steve Carlton, Larry Christenson, Tim McCarver, Pete Rose, Larry Bowa, and Greg Luzinski. The charges against Mazza were dropped after he contended that he had provided the prescriptions in good faith to the baseball players at their request.

Dexamyl was discontinued in the 1970s in favor of MAO inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants.

Soloxine, a thyroid pill

How It Works

People with hypothyroidism have lower-than-normal or no thyroid function and do not make enough thyroid hormone for the body to function properly. Taking thyroid hormone medicine replaces missing hormones.

Why It Is Used

Thyroid hormone medicines are given when blood tests show that you have hypothyroidism.

Thyroid hormone medicines also may be prescribed:

For mild (subclinical) hypothyroidism when you test positive for antithyroid antibodies.

For an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter).

How Well It Works

People with hypothyroidism who take thyroid hormone medicine usually notice:

Improved energy level.

Gradual weight loss (in people with severe hypothyroidism at the time of diagnosis).

Improved mood and mental function (thinking, memory).

Improved pumping action of the heart and improved digestive tract function.

Reduction in the size of an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), if you have one.

Improved growth, school performance, and behavior in children. Children whose growth has been delayed because of hypothyroidism start growing normally again when they are getting adequate doses of thyroid hormone.

Lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

In most cases, thyroid hormone medicine works quickly to correct symptoms.

Digitalis

Digitalis is a plant. Although the parts of the plant that grow above the ground can be used for medicine, digitalis is unsafe for self-medication. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

Chemicals taken from digitalis are used to make a prescription drug called digoxin. Digitalis lanata is the major source of digoxin in the US.

Digitalis is used for congestive heart failure (CHF) and relieving associated fluid retention (edema); irregular heartbeat, including atrial fibrillation and “flutter;” asthma; epilepsy; tuberculosis; constipation; headache; and spasm. It is also used to cause vomiting and for healing wounds and burns.

How does it work?

Digitalis contains chemicals from which the prescription medication digoxin (Lanoxin) is made. These chemicals can increase the strength of heart muscle contractions, change heart rate, and increase heart blood output.

Believe Dorothy used it for relieving fluid retention (edema).