Ephedra Addiction?!

To: all
I just read all these responses on here... I have been taking ephedra since 2006.. and have ALL of the same symptoms. My boyfriend basically thought I was psycho at the peak of it all, because my moods were soo sporatic..angry/paranoid to crying over absolutely nothing the next!  I stopped taking supplements in January.. I crave it still soo bad, but also have been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, to boot. my T3 is way low on the charts and my one porcelin complexion broke out soo bad. I did a hormonal panel and keep in mind i am 20 years old.. my testosterone level was 2,147! Thank god I never had any male features or anything from that.. I have since been told to do a liver/colon detox, once a month for the next 6 months.. my weight still yo-yos extremely because you know with ephedra it kills your appetite an is like a diuretic...so i just binge!. I just do not feel like the same person anymore. Friends would say I was depressed, i'm just tired and when i was taking the ephed/caffiene stacks , despite the jittery part, i could concentrate, didnt need much sleep and my work outs in the gym were not nearly as long and the weight just peeled off.. i went from 143-126 in 2 months... I made even more friends and life seemed like it couldnt be any better... now I feel as though i've hit rock bottom...

does anyone have ANY advice? I feel like absolute sh*t!!!!

[mandee500]

I haven't heard anything about ephedra addictions but someone on here will be along to help I'm sure. My gut feeling is that if you're putting anything into your body that it doesn't naturally produce you can become dependent. Therefore, there must be some physical and emotional fallout when you deprive your body of the substance its learned to need. I'm sure it'll get better in a few days. Maybe you could talk to your doctor about it? I would. Much Luv!

[Prospero73]

There's another, older post with a lot of replies.  Here's a different one.

My grandfather, who was born in 1888, took ephedrine several times a day for at least 20 years in the 40s and 50s, on medical advice for sinus congestion.  He called it his "treatment."  He got it from the drug store in gallon bottles, in liquid form, without a prescription.  He would lie on his back, squirt it up his nose, and use some kind of hand pump to irrigate his nasal passages.  Then he would get up, dash down the hall, and spit it in the toilet.  Woe unto any small boy who happened to be using the facilities!  He said it always made him feel a LOT better.  Eventually, in his seventies, another doctor warned him that it was dope and that he shouldn't use it, so he quit.  End of story.

On a personal note, last year I took one cap from a bottle of Ephedra a relative had, and went out for a run.  My heart rate was at least 20 beats higher than usual, so I decided to pass on that substance.