blacked out, ringing in ears, ephedra

[beachrealtor]

I have been takig ephedra for 5 years, quitting completely 4 days ago.  I am on high blood pressure medicine.  My physician does not know about the ephedra.  I am in a high stress occupation that goes 24/7.  I am a 44 year old female who smokes.
  Last  night at dinner I began to black out.  I had nothing to drink (alcohol).  My husband was helping me to the sofa when I collapsed on the floor.  I came to quickly, and had loud ringing in my ears for approx 1 hour.  I felt extraordinarily tired and fought off sleep.  I had no memory of passing out.  I did not let my husband call 911.  I had mild pain in the left side of my chest.  
  Could this be signs of ephedra withdrawels, or do I need to get checked for a stroke.  I have no history of passing out or dizzy spells.  Thank you for your time!!

[woodbeegood]

i would definitly get checked out-sounds more like a heart problem-whether from withdrawls or the ephedra itself at "our" age-lol never hurts to err on the side of caution-looks like we are catching up with the men in the heart disease area-hope you feel better soon-take care

[matts_place85]

Hmm...sounds simiar to something I experienced recently. I had been using ephedrine supplements to aid in my workout routine, and lost a lot of weight. However, all of a sudden, i had a weird lightheadedness, and almost passed out...with mild rhythm issues, which all returned to normal. I ignored it, and thought it to be a panic attack as I had no lasting symptoms at all. It happened again, this time with the ringing in the ear, which still exists in mild form, and took a few days to really get back to normal. I still felt better exercising, and had no endurance symptoms at all. Oh, and I am a 24 yr old male.