Ephedra

[4STRINGS]

so it has been taken off the shelves huh?

i know gnc doesnt carry it.....any more places left with it?

[AnnaD - TX]

I have noticed that people still sell it, you just have to ask for it, they usually have the leftover stock in the back, try Ebay, or flea markets? Even though I am helping ya' out, I still think you should stop using Ephedra ASAP. I was dizzy, very nervous, and yes, I did black out sometimes, can't really explain but it was not a good side effect. Be careful!

[dsade]

Originally Posted by AnnaD - TX

I have noticed that people still sell it, you just have to ask for it, they usually have the leftover stock in the back, try Ebay, or flea markets? Even though I am helping ya' out, I still think you should stop using Ephedra ASAP. I was dizzy, very nervous, and yes, I did black out sometimes, can't really explain but it was not a good side effect. Be careful!

Easy with the propaganda-panic. This is one of the reasons the Nazis are trying to ban everything in the first place. To recommend someone else to "stop using Ephedra ASAP" is WAY overreacting. The majority of the studies performed show Ephedra to be PERFECTLY safe, when taken in reasonable amounts.

You personally might be having reactions to some of the less-known alkaloids, much like I do. Try switching to pure Ephedrine HCl and you might find, much like I did, that the side effects disappear.

Is it dangerous if abused? Yes. Do some people have bad reactions? Yes. Is that any different than the majority of things out there? No. Aspirin and Acetominophen kill far more people than Ephedrine ever could.

Anyway, Mike and BulkNutrition.com has good deals on Vasopro E-HCl. This is pure ephedrine.

Good, fair, level headed advice dsade. Thanks! :thumbup:

[chvyclbrty]

Perhaps i'm paranoid, but after several athletes dropped dead because of the stuff i threw away the bottle i had. The problem i see with this and any other herbal supplement is there is no guideline to go by as far as dosage. No two plants are going to have the exact same amount of any chemical they produce (unless they're clones) so you never know if the standard dose you take is on the high side or the low side of things. Plus, since it's not regulated by the FDA there's no requirement for dosage amounts and i think some companies were stating a higher than nescesary amount in order to maximize their profit. Have studies proven it to be safe? Probably, but i'd be curious as to who funded these studies and whether the results have been replicated. If the pure ephedrine HCL was chemically derived and had a consistant dosage i'd be much more confident in taking it. At any rate, it's still for you to decide, but, i think there's much safer ways to lose weight than to increase your heart rate.

[sparky]

I did a fair amount of reading on this before decideing to try it. You can check out this site. It is probably industry sponsered but has alot of good information.
www.ephedrafacts.com

[AnnaD - TX]

Great advice DSADE, but I am w/ CHVYCLBRTY, when people start dying, I get a little scared. Some people get the side effects, some dont, but I did and I had to stop. Who knows what to believe now -a-days,

[DaLinkWent]

Originally Posted by AnnaD - TX

Great advice DSADE, but I am w/ CHVYCLBRTY, when people start dying, I get a little scared. Some people get the side effects, some dont, but I did and I had to stop. Who knows what to believe now -a-days,

I threw away my ephedra bottle after the last ball player died but I wished I hadn't bought into all this media hype. Ephedra is perfectly safe taken in adequate amount with proper hydration. Media has a tendouncy to blow things way out of proportion and freak people out and the fact they don't sell ephedra anymore has more do to with the fact these companies don't want to get sued by stupid people who take too much and die as a result!

Always better safe than sorry though . . . . . .

[Vurcease]

I agree that the whole ephdra scare is media induced. I can't help but feel frustrated that no one is throwing away their bottles of alcohol because they kill brain cells and cause liver damage, yet a few deaths from ephedra abuse and all of a sudden the health world is in a panic.

But, it's been said in this thread before - the companies didn't want to get sued. So they remove the products. Probably safer for them, yes. They don't exactly have the political backing the tobacco industry has to keep dangerous things on the market.

Never have I experienced any bad side effects when taking the directed amount. I usually take half the normal amount, and it does plenty of what it's supposed to do.

I think the whole thing came to a head for me when I took a couple ephedra before going out dancing, and a friend / raver - who takes ecstacy, mind you - looked at me in shock and told me how dangerous ephedra is. Man, oh man, do we live in a world of hipocracy.


- Vurcease

[chvyclbrty]

My biggest concern is that there is no governing body that can regulate herbal supplements (or any supplements at all for that matter) and people assume that since it's natural it can't hurt them.

[DaLinkWent]

Originally Posted by chvyclbrty

My biggest concern is that there is no governing body that can regulate herbal supplements (or any supplements at all for that matter) and people assume that since it's natural it can't hurt them.

Couldn't agree with you more! FDA needs to regulate supplements

[Vurcease]

True. With proper regulation, perhaps much like that of over the counter medicines, people would be warned and somewhat protected from accidental abuse from the products (from themselves, too). And under the FDA umbrella, perhaps the companies procuding the ephedra products would find some legal protection from the unwise abusers who injure / kill themselves. There's a delicate balancing act here, no doubt.

[Kitara]

I don't know where I stand on FDA regulation of supplements. I just wanted to say that I think it's funny how some people think that just because it's regulated that makes it "safe". Look at PhenPhen? Duh. Like someone mentioned, even acetaminophen overdoses kill way more people than Ephedra, but because you HEAR about Ephedra more it makes it more scary. What about all the other things you DON'T hear about? You know, if you don't wear your seatbelt you can die .

Many people blame Ephedra for the of the most recent baseball player who's name I've forgotten at this point. But, was Ephedra responsible? Maybe. But, could it have been that he had previous heart problems and was taking too much of the product working out on a hot summer day not drinking enough water? No - of course not. It was the Ephedra plain and simple . Nothing is ever "plain and simple."

Why hasn't alcohol been "pulled off the shelves" when it's been the culprit in a lot of deaths? This debate is just stupid. Nobody has all the facts so it's argued with a bunch of speculation and half-truths. What good can come of that?

[sparky]

Here is a study from Baylor university that is good reading if you are considering taking ephedra.

http://www3.baylor.edu/HHPR/ESNL/EphedraStatement.htm

[EazyE26]

When you discuss FDA regulation for supplements, be careful what you wish for. If the FDA ever does start regulating supplements, you will have a grim surprise next time you browse at GNC or any other retail chain. Make no mistake, the FDA would take this new power and run with it. Forget sensible regulation, the FDA would pull any product that is even questionable for certain people. The FDA is not in business to help out the bodybuilding/fitness community, and they know nothing about bodybuilding supplements. Take this product ignorance and add new unchecked government control, and you've got a recipe for communism. First, they would pull all ephedra products and prohormones(they've already said this in S. Bill 722). Next, they'll go after creatine. Before you know it, we'll have no supplements to choose from, and everyone will go back to steroids like in the 1980's during the dark ages of supplements.