Ephedra... how did it effect you?

Question

Alright, Ephedra... I am looking into taking it. Yes, I am over 150. Did it work for you? what diet were you on when you took it? how often did you exercise? did you overtake and thats why you had a bad experience with it? whats the best ephedra plan to take? I do have bad athsma as well, I think it could help give me energy to get through a chaotic day.

Answer 1

Contrary to what a lot of people here think (or know!) is that Ephedra is NOT illegal anymore. The ban was lifted April 14th of '05, and is now legal for sale in the US.

As to the effects of Ephedra, it depends on the person taking it and their dosage. The FDA has stated that the allowable dose is 10mg in an extended release formula.

What people also may not know is that Ephedrine, the synthetic version of Ma Huang Ephedra, is widely used in asthma medicines and other medications. Ephedrine is what they use to make meth - you can't make meth with the herbal, Ma Huang Ephedra.

As to the effects, I love it. I take a supplement called Herbalean, and it's from the original makers of MetaboLife. They have a formula with 10mg of Ephedra as well as Hoodia Gordoni for appetite suppression, along with 77 trace minerals and 14 herbs.

The Hoodia works very well for keeping the snack cravings down, and I get energy through the whole day from the ephedra. The first couple weeks I took it, I had to actually set the alarm on my cell phone to remind me when to eat. I usually have a couple strong coffees each day, but with Herbalean, I definitely don't need the coffee anymore.

Answer 2

I was taking Ephedra before I learned that it can KILL you. I was using the Herbalife version of Ephedra, Thermojetics I think was the name of it. That at least had a much lower dose of the actual drug in it than other brands. But it definitely worked. I didn't do any dieting. The ephedra made me not want to eat. I'd still go get fast food or whatever, but I'd eat less than half of it. I did start to exercise every day though. Nothing crazy, just a 20-30 minute weight training workout every day. I was able to lose about 20 lbs on it. I quit taking it though once I found out that ephedra than kill. I figure I'd much rather be fat and happy than a thin corpse.
Once I got off Ephedra my weight came right back with my appetite. Since I wasn't following any diet plan and never changed my eating habits, my weight came back once I started eating the regular amounts of food again.

What I found works much better in the long run, and much more permanently, is changing your diet habits, and not relying on a pill. I've been able to lose 35 lbs, and keep them off, by keeping a daily log of my calories, and slowly trying to reduce my daily intake to 1400-1800 calories. After doing that for a while, you'll pretty quickly start looking at nutritional labels a lot more, and start choosing foods that are much better for you, while taking in less calories every day. Eating healthier will become your daily routine, not some 'diet' that you'll eventually cheat on and fall off the wagon on. Of course you need to keep daily exercise part of it, but you don't need to go crazy. A very simple 20-30 min workout is all you need to jump start your body into burning fat.

Answer 3

I would be EXTREMELY cautious about using ephedrine now. With all the negative publicity it received, most insurance companies either will NOT insure or charge a proibitively high amount for coverage. That means many manufacturers are probably not insured. While I know ephedrine is safe when used in moderation, long term use tends to compromise adrenal function. It should not be used for more than 8-12 weeks in a row maximum, at which point you need to take a break from it for at least 2-3 weeks. For ephedrine to be most effective, you usually have to combine it with caffeine and white willow bark.
If you need energy, you should try things like Siberian and Korean Ginseng, and rhodiola combined with green tea. These alternatives will not give you that spacey speeded-up feeling ephedrine is notorious for, but it will give you a nice lift. If you get stressed out, add some theanine - an ingredient found in green tea that helps reduce nervous tension, but keeps your thoughts/mind clear.

Answer 4

I use Lipodrene with ephedra and Hoodia. It works well for me; helps keep me cut. The ephedra boosts my metabolism, alleviates allergy symptoms for me and suppresses my appetite. It is legal, although some states have restrictions. The ban was lifted a year and a half ago, when it was determined that the FDA used false information to establish the dangers of using ephedra.

Ephedra has been used for well over 1,000 years in Chinese Medicine. It is SAFE, when USED AS DIRECTED.

Answer 5

I took it and lost weight, It works well, good appetite supression. The only bad expereince I ever had was when I took one after 4pm and couldn't sleep! Can you buy it again? I used to love the stacker 2's. The reason why it was banned because they were marketing it as herbal extasy and kids too stupid to know where to get real ecxtasy from took large amounts of it and a few died. If you take between 12-25 mg a day, you wont die.

Answer 6

I took it and lost eight lbs in a week, but I also passed out twice. I wasn't really on a diet plan, I just hardly ate. I didn't overtake it either, I took the recommended amount. I really don't think it is safe. My heart was racing the whole week I took it. I thought my life was more important than losing twenty pounds, so I stopped.

Answer 7

I took it for a week inorder to loose weight after having a baby. It caused me to be nervous but i wasn't hungry, my heart felt like it was about to pop out of my chest but i wasn't hungry, i had rapid breathing but i wasn't hungry, i had severe stomach cramps but i wasn't hungry, i didn't sleep for 36 hours straight but i wasn't hungry. In all i lost about 5 pounds that i quickly regained after I stopped taking it. Ephedra is a killer. I was able to loose 40 lbs of pregnancy weight without the help of drugs by reducing my calorie intake to 1200 per day and exercising every other day.

Answer 8

I really thought it was illegal. I do know it's bad. This girl who worked at our commissary was taking it. She ended up having a heart attack, her brain got deprived of oxygen, and she went into a coma. Here's some info on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedra

P.S.- Just because people are on here saying they liked it just means they were lucky, you might not be so lucky so I hope you stay away from it!

Answer 9

it made me very very hyper and not hungry at all, i think for about 5 months i ate bout 200 calories a day every day and was not even hungry for those calories. it made my heart speed up alot. I was taking zenadrine, i stopped because they stopped selling it.

Answer 10

its illegal now for a reason
its very very unsafe
i took it a long time ago and lost a lot of weight
but i quit taking it cuz i was having panic attacks from it
the stuff is not good