i was reading one of anaximenes' links (the one to the women's fitness thing) and they had a big ad for this supplement called Xenadrine that i was reading. well, at the bottom it said it contained ephedra, and i've always heard "oh that's dangerous, don't take it," but what does it do exactly?
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If I remember right, its a stimulant that speeds up your heart. I'm not entirely sure though.

*edit* I did a little poking around, and there's quite a bit of information on it. I think the information I found said that ephedra is the main component of ephedrine. Ephedrine is common component in treatment for things like asthma and the common cold.

I guess the problem that arises with it is that maybe these diet pills have too high of a dose?
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i will do some research of my own in a little bit....right now i need to start working on my homework!

i tried to PM sneeze to look at this thread (she doesn't seem to come here much anymore) because if i remember correctly, she seemed to be knowledgeable about supplements and the like.

(not that i don't value any of your comments, i just remember her saying she had done some research before)
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here is one website i found that has some interesting articles:

http://www.ephedra.demon.nl/

it is obviously a pro-ephedra website, so i will do some searches at school for anti-ephedra ones. i am in grad school and can link to the medweb at the library and get all sorts of scientific journals/medical journals and stuff, so hopefully they'll have some good information. it may take me a few days to get around to it, though, because i have a paper due on wednesday and a test on thursday.
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well, i have not really done any research yet, but this pharmacist came and talked to our class about some drugs, and she briefly mentioned ephedra. she said it could cause increased heart rate/blood pressure in some people. i asked her if she thought it was related to the fact that people who are more likely to take ephedra are probably overweight, which means they are already more likely to have increased heart rates/blood pressures. she said this was not really true. those side effects can happen to anyone, and they don't really know why they happen to some and not others. then i asked her if you were taking it and then you stopped, would your heart rate/BP go back to normal or would they always remain elevated. she said initially they might rise a little but that eventually they'll go back to normal.

that's all for now.
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I've also taken a diet pill with ephedrine and it had the same effect on me. Actually for me it was worse than the shakes. My heart was beaing very rapidly, I was lightheaded and dizzy, I was breaking out in cold sweats, and just felt like I was gonna collapse. It scared the hell out of me and I threw the bottle of the pills away!!

So even us obese people don't need the "magic pill". I've found the best thing that works for me is the old fashioned way-good diet and exercise.
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I also had a horrible experience with Xenadrine. A friend of mine had been taking it and lost about ten pounds. She looked good, and I was jealous, so I decided to give it a try.

From what I remember, it said to take one pill for the first week, and then two pills a day after that. I never made it past the first week! I noticed a serious increase in the amount of energy I had. (Normally, I am ridiculously lazy, for the most part.) I was twitchy and found it hard to concentrate on anything for a long period of time. I never slept and had no appetite. I knew that I was not acting myself.

After five days, I realized that I was also feeling as though I was forming an addiction. I started to rationalize that if I took the Xenadrine, I could stay up to study, or I wouldn't eat, etc. I started to think I needed it. The guy I was seeing at the time noticed it, too.

The worst thing about it though, was how I felt mentally. I can't explain it really, other than to say that I was indifferent to everything. I felt this overwhelming sense of apathy. Usually, I am overemotional and care too much about things. All the sudden I find myself with no feelings whatsoever. That was frightening as hell.

So yeah, it's bad....please try to stay away from it.

I don't even remember if I lost any weight. :l
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well, i hate to say it, but against all of your advice, i have bought a bottle and have been using it for a few days. so far i haven't suffered any ill effects. i'm doing the one pill 2 times a day thing that it says to do for the first week. i know that it sure helps me stay awake for my 8am classes! i have not felt dizzy or any of the things you guys have described. i feel exactly the same as i ever did, with a little more energy, mostly noticeable in the mornings. i think my appetite has also decreased a little.

things could change when i increase to 2 pills at a time...i am going to watch to make sure nothing weird happens. i have been checking my pulse regularly throughout the day and have not noticed any changes, nor have i ever felt my heart racing. i just worked out and my heart rate was the same as it always has been when i work out. since i'm in PA school i can check my blood pressure often (thankfully, mine is usually really low--usually 100/60).

since you all have tried it, you know why i'm doing this. i'm just frustrated. since i started grad school i have gained weight despite working out and eating healthier, and i'm sure it has to do with stress. it seems like everyone around me is losing weight....my old roommate (who used to be my size (12-14) is now a size 2 (although i think she's too skinny). my niece, who used to be my size, is now a size 7. even my mom has lost 30 pounds on the suzanne sommer's diet. my current boyfriend weighs about 30 pounds less than me.

i don't feel like i'm super fat. one of my books says that i'm 37 pounds overweight, but i know that if i lost 37 pounds i would look anorexic. i have a lot of lean muscle mass, i know it, and i'm trying not to worry about numbers (i don't even own a scale and don't plan on purchasing one). today i took my measurements and got extremely frustrated--37,33,41. you can tell by those i carry a lot of weight around my midsection. i have lost weight before and my stomach is the last place it disappears from. i hate my rolls. i have nice, muscular legs and i don't understand why my midsection has to be so freaking flabby and gross (well, yes i do---my mom and grandma are the same way).

anyway, i'm going to stop rambling now. all i know is this girl i went to school with went home one summer and came back with the best body i have ever seen...we were all in awe of her. she took a metabolism enhancer (i guess that's what you would call Xenadrine). that's what i want. i work out like 6 times a week, doing cardio and weights/toning. all i want to see are some results already.

but anyway, i'll be careful, i promise. if i see my blood pressure start to go up or i ever feel bad, i'll stop.
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Getupkid-

I appreciate your honesty and that fact that you've taken everyone's concerns seriously. But honestly, it doesn't affect all people in a dangerous manner. The friend that lost 10 pounds that inspired me to try it was never seriously affected by it. It definitely has the potential to be harmful, however.

Good luck with your hard work, and I hope it pays off. It is good to see you are not expecting the ephedrine to be your only source of weight management.

To tell you the truth, what I fear most about this drug is its addictive qualities.

Please, just be careful. Listen to your body if it tells you something is not right.
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feeling some jealousy or confusion over your cohorts rapid weight loss? keep in mind that 1 in 4 college females are bulimic. with that stated, i don't think you'd be feeling that anymore.

ephedra is one of the chief ingredients in making methaphetamine.
it is a stimultant, and stimulants are appetite suppressants. the effects of taking drugs--any drugs-- continuously are never good.
you can overdose and enter psychosis on ephedra just like you can on meth.

btw, when browsing drugs, anything that ends with "drine" is in the amphetamine family. If you see a drug brand that lacks this ending, check the generic name of it instead.

And as always, according to my clinic nutritionists, scales are so inaccurate as to how they measure you. I find it depressing and fusterating that instutitions haven't stressed this more. Scales weigh bones, muscle, organ...all this shit, so why does everyone automatically assume its just weighing your fat? i mean if you really think about that, you realize how dumb it is to think a scale could do that--just measure one feature of your body, a feature that is pretty marginal compared to all the rest of your features that its weighing too. It makes me wonder tho, that when someone weighs themselves and sees that they are at a lesser # than previously, that if that's because they're losing bone density or something. Muscle weights more than fat, too. I really don't understand at all how someone could judge themselves by scales now after this has been noted.
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it's not just the scale. my clothes are getting tight. i have rolls. i have virtually no waist. i don't like to look at myself in the mirror.
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i said this in another thread but i'll say it here too.
xenedrine made me CRAZY!
i had horrible mood swings, the shakes and i couldn't sleep at night and this was from one pill taken in the morning. i tried to wait and see if it would level out and it never did. i wasted like $50 and had to toss the rest of the pills. :m
i'm sure it doesn't do this to everybody but in my case xendrine was not the right supplement for me.

they have xenedrine without ephedra now, i've never tried it. i take stacker 3 now and it doesn't make me crazy. i was hyper for the first few days but i didn't have horrible bitchy moodswings.
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the feeling that your twitching and moody...aka "tweaking" ..is entirely normal with ephedra --as it is speed.
They don't call meth-addicts tweakers for no reason.
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