Dangers of Ephedra? - Weight Loss Message Board

bowie94 · 10-24-2003, 11:23 AM

I'm curious to know if anyone knows of any REAL risk in using ephedra? I just had a baby 3 months ago (and am not nursing) and am trying to lose 20 pounds of "baby fat". I've used ephedra before and lost 40 pounds quickly...I'd like to do this again, but have read that ephedra is dangerous. Any info? I also started taking CLA last week but haven't noticed any difference (in scales or measurements) yet--maybe it's too early?? Also--if anyone could recommend a good SCALE I'd appreciate it! We just have the regular $9.99 one from Wal Mart and I'm thinking it's not that accurate. THANKS!

Aldona · 10-24-2003, 11:47 AM

Hi!
I would also like to know about the long term side effects. I used Xenadrine long time ago and it worked perfect for me !!
I want to use it again but I have heard that it can damage your kidney

What I have noticed on my self was a muscle pain, rapid heart beat and depression, but that went away as soon as I stoped taking them.
I was trying many diferent things (e.g.CLA, phentermine) but without efect :/
I was taking syntetic estrogen and progesteron and gained 30lbs from it ...wrrr
Now I need to loose it !!

roni624 · 10-24-2003, 11:49 AM

bowie.....here is my story.

I had two children back to back and I had some weight(53lbs) to lose. I didn't nurse my last child and it made it so much harder to lose weight than it did with my first. I bought this product with Ephedra, guarana seed extract, and caffeine. I went down to 148lbs. from the 180lbs that I was at. I was so happy. It worked well for me. I quit taking it because I thought I could lose the rest on my own. Well...that isn't what happened. I started gaining weight and couldn't figure out why. I had gained about 10lbs. I started taking the pills again and I started having chest pains so I quit and went to see the dr. The dr diagnosed me with hypothyroidism. Now this runs in my family and it is common with women who have had children. But he did say that taking the pills could have made it worse for me because it may have messed up my metabolism worse than what it would have been. So technically I messed up my metabolism by taking this stuff. Now I am having a hell of a time trying to lose weight. I am taking thyroid medicine and I started taking cla. Dr told me it is going to be extremely hard for me to lose weight or gain muscle because of my health problems now. I had been running 30 min every day/night for over a month and lost nothing nor built any muscle. I since have been lucky to balance out my thyroid for now and I am being very careful to try to lose what I can during this time. I don't know how long I will be balanced. From my experience with ephedra....I would not advise anyone to take it. It is a very dangerous drug. It is not FDA approved and they don't have to say how much ephedra is in their products. It is just not safe. I was very healthy until I started taking these pills.

Now....this may not happen to everyone out there using ephedra. Everyone reacts differently. I know prolonged use can cause health problems. I used it for about 4 1/2 months.-Roni

[This message has been edited by roni624 (edited 10-24-2003).]

bowie94 · 10-24-2003, 12:08 PM

Roni-thanks for your input. I did just have my thyroid and iron check and it was all ok-so I know that's not a problem for me. I did eventually gain about 10 pounds back once I went off of the Metabolife--but was still 30 pounds "lighter" than when I started. I'm sorry to hear that you're having troubles now...I did have very rapid heartbeat with it, but that was about it (sometimes it would get up to 140 or higher, even when I was resting!). I'll keep looking for more info and add your post to my pile of information. Thanks again and good luck!