When ephedrine products flooded the market a few decades ago, they were celebrated as an effective way to lose weight, especially if used in combination with sensible diet and exercise. Problems began to emerge, and some people using ephedra had life-threatening or fatal reactions to it. This led to many countries banning the sale of ephedra, though many ephedrine products are widely available on the Internet. It cannot be stressed enough that in places like the US, the answer to which products to choose containing this substance, is to not use any of them. At the very least, people considering anything with ephedra should seek medical advice and think about any medical conditions that might pose problems or risk fatal reactions.
Some of the people who should avoid ephedrine products completely include anyone with cardiovascular disease. Conditions like high blood pressure, heart arrhythmias, previous history of heart attacks, congenital heart defects, atherosclerosis, and high blood cholesterol contraindicate ephedrine use. Since this substance can also produce higher energy, it should likewise be avoided by anyone who has bipolar disorder, panic disorder, or schizophrenia, as it could be cause manic or hypomanic symptoms. Pregnant women should never use ephedrine products and they are inappropriate to children, too.
It is strongly advised that people seek advice from their doctors prior to choosing any of the available ephedrine products. This is a good way of ruling out problematic medical conditions. Some doctors may support its use in limited circumstances, but others will not. Nevertheless, anyone planning to take ephedra of any kind should duly inform their physician, to determine whether or not they’d approve. This kind of information helps doctors make better informed decisions about what other medicines or treatments to prescribe when illness occurs.
Given approval from a physician, or even in absence of it, people can search the Internet for available ephedrine products, and they’ll find numerous ones. Many come in pill form, and they may be sold under names like Ma Huang, instead of ephedra. A number combine several other agents thought to help with weight loss, such as green tea or caffeine. Those uninterested in taking pills can also find ephedrine tea or some diet foods containing ephedra.
Since there are not as many countries manufacturing ephedrine products, it makes sense to determine exactly where supplements or other forms of this substance are being produced. Shoppers may want to look up manufacturing countries to determine which ones have the highest quality standards and base choice on this information. If dieters are principally interested in product type, they should know that pills are usually preferable, though some people may better enjoy things like a tea.
Lastly, no matter what ephedrine products are chosen, people should look for signs of adverse reaction. If an ephedra user experiences heart palpitations, weakness, perspiration, fainting, shortness of breath or severe headache, he should discontinue use and get medical help immediately. Medical personnel should be informed of recent ephedrine use.