[posted 08/4/2000]
Question: Would there be an intraction between tegretol and the diet pill
that contains ephedrine. My heart was beating faster and I was
always tired and sleepy. Was this due to the mixture of medication.
THANKS

Answer: Nothing offhand, but ephedrine by itself can cause a rapid heart beat. Tegretol does have some cardiac effect, but usually not on rate.

[posted 04/22/2000]
Question: I have hypothyroidism and am taking .05mg of Synthroid daily. I also am on Prempro for hormone replacement, and Serzone, Elavil (night only), Flexeril and Celebrex to help with my Fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. I also have osteoporosis and take fosamax for that. Would any of these medications interact with Ephedrine being used for help with weight loss?

Answer: Elavil can cause irregular heart beats as can Ephedrine but, probably there won't be any interactions.

[posted 01/28/2000]
Question: I am currently taking pure effedrine pills for performance enhancement in the gym. I take one in the morning w/ cofee, and one right before I start my workout. I also diet regularly High protein-low fat,low carbs. What results should I expect. What are the side affects? How dangerous is this. Basically I have some unwanted fat I'm trying to get rid of.

Answer: About the only major problem would be irregular heart beats. An elevated blood pressure might be seen in some patients as well. This will have no effect on "getting rid of fat"-if it did we would prescribe it in this way for obese patients. It can result in physical/psychological dependency if used in large doses. Basically like speed.

Ephedrine in Drug Tests [posted 10/8/98]
Question:Will Ephedrine show up on a urine test as a false positive for any other drugs? I use it occasionally for my sinuses and it is a legal OTC drug here in Texas. Any info would be appreciated.

Answer: Depends on the drug test sensitivity, sensitivity. Occasionally would be positive for amphetamines.

Ephedrine [posted 8/14/98]
Question: How is ephedrine sold commercially? What are some brand names, and where in most stores can I find it? I am interested in using it to assist in some of my bodybuilding efforts and I can't seem to find it.

Answer: I'm not sure that ephedrine would do anything in terms of muscle strength or mass. Acutely it helps strength, but not chronically.

Ephedrine [posted 8/7/98]
Question: My boyfriend takes ephedrine before working out. Is this bad for his health? What are the side effects from taking this?

Answer: Ephedrine is used to increase heart rate, blood pressure and performance. This is normally released by your body under stress to enhance performance in life/death situatioC="b This drug is the reason people can perform superhuman feats while stressed or frightened. However, it should be used with caution and will do nothing to enhance long term strength or performance. Many people think that it is one of the reasons that people with high stress jobs have more heart attacks. It clearly should not be used routinely except for semi-medical emergencies (asthmatic attacks, etc.). It has some of the same effects as cocaine - known to increase sudden cardiac death.

Back to Drug InfoNet Home Page.