Ephedrine Banned in USA

[High_Ground]

According to the News:

The Bush adminstration is going to announce a ban on Ephedra containing products today. This ban does not extend to Sudaphed and other Ephedrine related cough products, or any products used for medicinal purposes (Read: Big Pharmeceutical companies) it is in relation to dietary supplementation only.

no comment, just a statement.

HG

[Ann]

Comment:
Ephedra including plant ephedra is very likely to do damage not just when abused but when used as a part of dietary supplement according to the directions. One of the truly frightening experiences of my life was when Charles used 1 capsul of a weight loss dietary suplement. He said his legs hurt an hour or so later. I looked and they were covered with tiny red spots, pinpoint capillary ruptures. He was in pretty good health then and even so as a diabetic if he had used the 3 capsuls recommended on lable he could have lost his legs. He was in severe pain more than 24 hrs. If capillaries in optic area had done that it could have made him blind. If the capillaies had been in the brain it could have caused a stoke and he did have a headache for days. This was reported to both distributor and company and neither ever expressed concern or regret and there was not then and never has been a warning on the label. Ephedra has been associated with death in otherwise healthy athletes, strokes and brain anurysms, traffic accidents when the alertness failed or judgement was impaired. Ephedra has also helped people loose weight, increase stamina, build muscle mass, and breathe when they were suffering from athsma or other respitory distress.

A bit of background for perspective: we not only have nothing against natural supplements we were at that time selling other herbal and other natural health proucts and have been doing so for most of the past 10 yrs. Some people regard us as experts by this time. I know that tho Charles has health problems the fact that he is still here and in as resillient shape as he is is due to natural supplemrnts and the grace of God in large part. (and obviously God is the biggest factor and we bellieve the One who led us to the natural supplements).

Unfortunately the natural supplemet industry has not policed itself adequately tho many companies are very responsible and conscienious and this has led to government regulation. If this does not serve as a sufficient warning to the good guys to deal wiith the bad guys or get them dealt with we will probably see more regs. I personally am not much in favor of that except possibly for a few other substances where potential to harm is great.

A note on "medicinal" prducts like Sudafed. Because they are medicinal they must meet certain standards set forth by FDA. Most use psuedoephedrine which in theory is less potentially damaging and most have a buffering agent to lessen possibe damage. (for example most natural health experts believe that if ephedra is buffered w/ salix (the natural equivelent of asprin) potential harm is much less. Never the less anyone sensitive to ephedra should avoid all look alike and equivelents including psuedoephederine and Ma Huang in the opinion of most experts I've heard and read. Far better safe than sorry.

BTW if anyone wants to discuss herbal and naural supplemens and health I'd be very interested as long as we can avoid giving "medical advice".

[Anne]

Mot use psuedoephedrine which in theory is less potentially damaging and most have a buffering agent to lessen possibe damage.

psuedoephedrine is a nasal decongestant and I can NOT take it at all. Neither can my mom and I believe my sister and aunt cant take it either.

I took one pill of sudafed one night and my heart freaked out so bad I thought it was going to burst out of my chest! I couldn't sleep because my heart was beating so rapidly and so hard. It scared me really bad.

Not everyone has that same reaction but many, many people do. If I'm stuffy I have to use a nasal spray decongestant.

I stay away from anything that has the words ephedra, ephedrine or anything like that in it.

Just that one incident scared me enough to stay away! LOL

I'm glad it's been banned. It's unsafe and horrible and marketed as a 'miracle diet pill' when what people really need to do is eat right and exercise!

Thanks for the info Ann! God Bless You!

[High_Ground]

This will not be a popular sentiment here, but I'll go ahead anyway:

First off: I am deeply sorry, and will continue to pray for everyone who has had a negative effect to ephedra or its alkalines. Certainly this is not something that is meant for everyone. It is NOT a cure all diet pill for many people, and should not be taken by those with heart or blood conditions.

Secondly: You have to understand that my wife is currently in training to compete in fitness and figure contests, so everything that I view is first shot through that spectrum. This provides me with a more liberal view of supplementation than most posess. I realize that, and respect the opinions of all that support this ban.

My point: Ephedra as a "Diet" pill for the masses is certainly NOT a good idea, most of the supplements used by physique competitors, and professional athletes are NOT meant for consumption by those with a less than active lifestyle. I would disagree with the statements that Ephedra is "very likely" to be dangerous (in three years there are only around 100 deaths "possibly" associated with the drug). This is not to say that there is ZERO danger associated with it's use, but it falls in the same range as use of NSAID's (ibuprofen, acetomeniphen etc.) psuedoephedrine was also found in the system of Mr. Bechler (who's unfortunate death place the controversy in the public eye). I also partially disagree that the FDA does an adequate job of policing prescription drugs (fen/phen for example)

What this WILL do is send thousands of people streaming toward the black market to attain even more unsafe products in the future. This will also lead to the end of the supplementation industry as we now know it. There is a bill in the Senate (SB 722) that seeks to regulate Dietary supplements as drugs, placing them under even tighter regulatory demands than are several OTC drugs. This will effectively kill the supplement industry, rolling into the Big Pharmeceutical companies jurisdiction. (As that they are the only ones who can afford to pay the regulatory fees)
Not only will this up the price of Protein powder, Creatine, Glutamine etc. But it could be used to regulate something as simple as a multivitamin in the future.

So anyway, now that everyone knows where I stand, you can think either less or more of me. :D

(I have approximately five months back up to get my wife and I through this contest season, I'm hoping someone in the BB suplementation industry comes up with something new soon.)

[butterfly]

Multivitamins can be dangerous too if taken in excess. ;)

Seriously though, I know very little about supplements as I stay far, far away from anything with even the appearance of a drug. But it seems to me that too many people just assume that if it's herbal, it must be safe. Maybe it is time that these things were regulated a bit more stringently.

[Ann]

There are dangers other than death. One is addiction and /or dependency. I wonder what happened too sport annd competiion when it becoes a matter of who has the most an best drugs.

Also just to set the record straight I did not say here or anywhere ever that FDA regulation is adequate or good simply that FDA does set some standards.

[High_Ground]

Ann,

I just wanted to say here that my post was not meant to call you out personally. I was just stating my position.

I hope you did not take offense. And if so please forgive me.

Cory

[Ann]

No offense :)

btw the news last eve said it was something over 16,000 incidences of reported serious negative incidents from Ephedra and those of course are only the reported ones directly attributed to Ephedra.

I spent much of the afternoon with a woman who is trying to get off Ephedra. She has had 2 brain anurysms on right side and is now experiencing symptoms of something similar on left side. And very frakly if she could have gotten the substance today she would have used it for the high she so desperately wanted brain or no brain. Her name is Kim. She asked that we post a prayer request for her. I'll do that on the prayer be but if anyone here wants to pray too please do. Her situation is NOT typical of all people using this substance but very sadly it is not terribly unusual either except in the ability to survive 2 artery blow outs and an apparent additional leakage. For a significant number of people it really is that addictive.

[janny108]

Originally posted by Anne
psuedoephedrine is a nasal decongestant and I can NOT take it at all. Neither can my mom and I believe my sister and aunt cant take it either.

I took one pill of sudafed one night and my heart freaked out so bad I thought it was going to burst out of my chest! I couldn't sleep because my heart was beating so rapidly and so hard. It scared me really bad.

Not everyone has that same reaction but many, many people do. If I'm stuffy I have to use a nasal spray decongestant.

I stay away from anything that has the words ephedra, ephedrine or anything like that in it.

Just that one incident scared me enough to stay away! LOL

I'm glad it's been banned. It's unsafe and horrible and marketed as a 'miracle diet pill' when what people really need to do is eat right and exercise!

Thanks for the info Ann! God Bless You!




I think so too! Now, when I get a cold, I take something like benadryl to clear congestion while asleep, with Vicks vaporub, and take big doses of Vitamin C during the day. It helps a lot.
I used to think I was just sensitive to cold preparations.

Janny

[selah]

an FYI to those others of you who, like me, stay away from sudafed-type products. In addition to vitamin C boosting the immune system, I find that green tea is extremely helpful, especially having a nice tall tumbler full in the morning. The hot liquid acts as a decongestant and the anti-oxidants really help my body to rid the virus more quickly. I don't know if it will work as well for others but it's worth a shot!