Any opinions on ECA stacks?

My attitude is that I don't get on my moral high horse about it, if you want to use them then that's totally up to you and I respect that. There's absolutely no doubt that they work in the short term, but I also think that if you're able to do without them completely, then that's better.

I'd like to know your opinions and experiences of ECA stacks, or other products with mahuang or ephedrine in them, good and bad. Thanks.
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This is my opinion based on my own personal experiences with MetaboLife:

I stay as far away from those as I possibly can. I tried MetaboLife a couple of years ago. I paid attention to the label and didn't have any caffiene when I took the pill. About the second or third time I took it, I had a *really* bad reaction to it. My heart was racing, I was breaking out in cold sweats, and I was blacking out. And this would have been no big deal if I was at home. But nope, I was working a fundraiser with my sorority, working a concession stand at a San Francisco Giants baseball game. I took it just like the label said to, and still it did that to me. So that made me chuck the rest of the bottle in the garbage.

Now like I said, that's just MY opinion based on MY experiences. I agree with sqidqy's take on this-if you take them that is up to you, and while I respect your decision, I don't agree with it because of my own experiences. But hey if you are taking anything like these and you are not hurting yourself, then share your opinion on them!
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Whoa, that's nasty. Obvious question but I assume you hadn't been drinking or taking maoi's had you? When you say second or third time you took it - do you mean second or third pill, that you took on the first day? Or after the first day? Just being nosey. Well, more than that, I don't want the same thing to happen to me. Thanks.
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i take stacker 3, i only take a third of the recommended dose (1 pill daily instead of three). i use it mostly as an energy booster, some people have coffee, i have stacker 3.
i tried xenadrine and that stuff made me crazy. i was a moody mess (more so than usual) and i was shakey all the time. stacker 3 just gives me a boost and doesn't have any wierd side effects (at least on me).
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Originally posted by squidgy
Whoa, that's nasty. Obvious question but I assume you hadn't been drinking or taking maoi's had you? When you say second or third time you took it - do you mean second or third pill, that you took on the first day? Or after the first day? Just being nosey. Well, more than that, I don't want the same thing to happen to me. Thanks.

I was on absolutely no other medication at the time.

The second or third time it was the second or third day.
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well, i bought some xenadrine over a month ago and i STILL haven't taken the whole dose (4 pills a day). to start off you're supposed to take one pill when you get up and then one pill in mid afternoon (normally you would take 2 pills at each time) to see how your body reacts to it. i didn't notice anything major except that i was more energetic in the morning (which helped in all my 8 o'clock classes). then i got a cold and stopped taking it for like a week or two. then i decided to take two pills in the morning to see if anything weird happened....nothing did. i still haven't taken 4 pills in one day yet. i don't know if i ever will remember to. i never follow through with anything.

bottom line: nothing bad has happened to me, but i haven't taken the whole dose. i haven't lost any weight, but i haven't been working out or eating right lately, either.

incidentally, i made a thread about ephedra a while ago...it's probably on page 2 or something.
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First i took the ingredients of Hydroxycut but separately because it was illegal up here in Canada. then i got my dad to go down to the States and get me some Hydroxycut. then i started getting nose bleeds. (after using both for about 2-3 weeks). i realized it was the ASA everyday that was probably giving me the nose bleeds. i wasn't losing any weight, my heart rate skyrocketed when i worked out so i just stopped. it was too bad cause i really wanted them to work. oh well......
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ya know, I was at my local Walmart yesterday and I was looking at those weight-loss pills. On every single one of them it read "do not drink/take caffeine while using this product. If caffeine is used such and such and such can happen to you." That stuff just outright SCARES me. Now this is how I look at it, I'm fat and I have a 3 year old son. Which one do I want more, trying to be skinny and perhaps may die in the cause, or be fat and loss the weight traditionally (no meds) and be able to see my son graduate? Hmmm.. Not a hard choice.

Needless to say, I'm not going to be chucking my money in those pill companys faces (although, it can be tempting at times! :) )

-angeles
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I'm a bodybuilder, so E/C/A stacks are something I'm exposed to a lot. I took Ripped Fuel / Xenadrine (they're pretty much the same thing) for a while, and it really worked for me bodywise (I got under 5% bodyfat), BUT after a while, they started to mess with me. I began to black out, couldn't sleep, was moody, was dizzy all day, etc. They really do effect your anger level; I'd get pissed about the most inconsequential things in the world, and though I knew I was being stupid, I couldn't stop. Iit became so bad that I was plagued by fear anytime I left the house. I was taking the max dosage longer than I should have, because I became psychologically dependent on the stuff. It wasn't worth it. I haven't taken it in about 9 or 10 months now. Though they're very effective, they can make you feel that you need them to stay in shape :) You don't. Change your diet, and hit the gym.

If you really want to try it, though, I'd recommend taking half the dosage at the most for several weeks. Also, keep in mind that they only work if you alter your diet and exercise habits; if you eat and work out the same as you did before you started taking the stuff, you won't see much change.
They have a bunch out that are ephedrine-free now (Xenadrine EFX, for instance). I've never tried them, but I've heard good things. Ephedrine is not your friend.
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i'll tell you one thing, when i take the full dose of xenadrine, it sure does give me heartburn. i think when this bottle runs out i will get something that is ephedrine free.
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