ephedra...my exp - Vitamins & Supplements Message Board

sweetpoison68 · 09-02-2003, 12:39 PM

I was losing so much weight and running around on warp speed at work...i was loving this lil yellow pill....until my kidney started hurting and i am now having alot pian in my breast and groin area...I am having tests run to check it out meanwhile i wait and warn anyone thinking about taking this please read everything you can get your hands then hopefully it will change your mind!!!!I have already got my appetite back ...but its just not worth it to me ...i felt alot of aches and pains while taking it also..i dont feel those now at all!!!!Please be carefull everyone .I was only taking one pill a day 25 mgs of ephedra...The max said 100 mg...thank goodness i didnt do that...I also only allowed my self to have one cup of coffe before the pill and drank ice water all day...hope i stopped someone else from trying this...thats all i can do
SW68

********* · 09-03-2003, 03:55 PM

It is very important if someone is taking ephedra to drink plenty of water. Ephedra also acts as a diuretic so water loss is increased.

When bodybuilders started using ephedra it was only used at the last couple of weeks of a training program to help them burn the extra fat. Know every one is using this product at any time; And companies are the ones that are marketing this product as a every day suppplement for the $$$.

Always read the warnings.

roboto · 09-03-2003, 09:30 PM

youll notice its become harder to find in retail stores. companies do not want the liabilty of lawsuits from ephedra. ive taken it on and off since the early 90s. not only the herb, but the hydrocholoride synthetic version. (ephedrine HCL)

i use to work in GNC's and usually try to turn people off of it. i never had problems, but its overall not worth it, or to find out the hard way that its bad.

its been known to speed birth control pills quicker. the hormone passes through the system faster than normal, giving it a shorter half life.

grlfrnd · 09-14-2003, 08:37 PM

Here's my 2 cents regarding ephedra - stay away from it! A fella working at the gym I attended recommended a product called "ripped fuel." I tried the product off and on but never took the recommended dose - the amount of ephedra was just to much in my opinion. I took the product for a few weeks so it wasn't my first dose that destroyed me. I took half the recommended dose one day and within the hour, lost full hearing in my right ear. After an MRI and numerous blood tests, the doctors concluded that I did not have a tumor but I did have a mini stroke in my ear damaging the nerve leading to the cochlea. It's been 2 1/2 years now and I can't tell you how frustrating my life has been. Hearing loss is devastating. Not knowing from which direction the ambulance is coming while at a red light or where the sounds of your children are coming from in your house along with missing pieces of conversations, to overwhelming sounds annoyingly amplified in my good ear makes each day a challange. Doctors told me a hearing aid wouldn't help, but I'm ready to prove them wrong. So - moral of story.... STAY AWAY FROM EPHEDRA!

ncs · 09-17-2003, 04:47 PM

grlfrnd, I am Sorry about your experience, and wish you the best health-wise, That said I also believe that ephedra has been the whipping boy of supplements over the last 18 months. This is as safe of a product as any if TAKEN CORRECTLY, obviously with your experience if WILL have adverse effects when used by some people as mostly all medications and supplements will.

I have used ephedra for 7 years, I was one of the first to use xenedrine in my area, I ONLY took the recommended dosage, and drank well over a gallon of water a day. I work 3rd shift and watch my daughter during the day, meanning I would get 4 hours sleep a day, not nearly enough to give the energy needed to maintain a regular work out regimine, At 5'9" and 248 lbs I needed a change, I started to read various magazines about routines and only took a 1 a day vitamin, and xenedrine (with ephedra) After the initial "jitters" things worked out fine and now at 180 lbs for 6 years, I truly believe that with the assistance of an ephedra based suppliment, Iwas able to turn my life around and am in better shape than I was at 25 and am now going on 40.

People get in trouble when they add a something to a huge array of things they may already be taking or they "double up" too try to "do it quickly". Here is 1 example I had a friend that was taking yohimbe, and decided to also take an ephedra based product, sorry that is a no-no, and fortunately he was wise enought to get the info before mixing and matching his suppliments.

To all that are even thinking of using an ephedra based product at least do these 2 things, have you bp checked, if it is already high, forget about it, also if you do start taking it remember WATER,WATER,WATER!!!!