Ephedra

What is it?
Ephedra is banned by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is an herbal medicine that has been used for asthma, the common cold, hay fever, and weight loss. You should not take ephedra as it is not safe. You can have very serious problems or even die if you use ephedra.

Other names for ephedra include: Ma huang, Chinese jointfir, and Indian jointfir.

Ask your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist if you need more information about this medicine or if any information in this leaflet concerns you.

Before Using:
Tell your doctor if you

• are taking medicine or are allergic to any medicine (prescription or over-the-counter (OTC) or dietary supplement)
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant while using this medicine
• are breast feeding
• have any other health problems, such as high blood pressure or heart or blood vessel disease

Drug and Food Interactions:
Do not take ephedra without talking to your doctor first if you are taking:

• Acetazolamide
• Anesthetics (examples: cyclopropane, halothane)
• Antacids
• Caffeine
• Corticosteroids (examples: dexamethasone (Decadron(R)), prednisone (Deltasone(R)))
• Creatine
• Digoxin (Lanoxin(R))
• Furazolidone
• Medicines used for depression or Parkinson's disease (monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), examples: phenelzine (Nardil(R)), selegiline (Eldepryl(R)))
• Medicine to decrease swelling or to lower blood pressure
• Midodrine
• Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medication (examples: ibuprofen (Advil(R), Motrin(R)), naproxen (Aleve(R)), Naprosyn(R), Anaprox(R)), celecoxib (Celebrex(R)), diclofenac (Arthrotec(R), Voltaren(R)), etodolac (Lodine(R)), flurbiprofen (Ansaid(R)), indomethacin (Indocin(R)), ketoprofen (Orudis(R)), ketorolac (Toradol(R)), oxaprozin (Daypro(R)), piroxicam (Feldene(R)), rofecoxib (Vioxx(R)), sulindac (Clinoril(R)), tolmetin (Tolectin(R)))
• Oxilofrine
• Phenylpropanolamine (found in many cough, cold, and diet formulas like Acutrim(R), Dexatrim(R))
• Procarbazine
• Pseudoephedrine (found in many cough and cold formulas like Sudafed(R))
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Theophylline

Warnings:

• If you use ephedra, you may have seizures (uncontrollable shaking), a heart attack, stroke, or possibly die
• Taking more than 8 milligrams ephedrine at a time or a total of 24 milligrams daily may cause seizures, heart attack, stroke, or possibly death
• Ephedra should not be used in children under 18 years
• Do not take ephedra if you are pregnant or breast feeding
• Do not take ephedra if you have a seizure disorder
• Do not take ephedra if you have depression or other emotional problems
• Do not take ephedra if you have high blood pressure or any heart problems
• Do not take ephedra if you are anxious (nervous) or restless
• Do not take ephedra if you have insomnia (sleeping problems)
• Do not take ephedra if you have thyroid problems
• Do not take ephedra if you have eating problems, such as anorexia (loss of appetite) or bulimia (causing yourself to throw up)
• Do not take ephedra if you have diabetes
• Do not take ephedra if you have glaucoma
• Do not take ephedra if you have stomach ulcers
• Do not take ephedra if you have a large prostate gland (called prostatic hypertrophy)
• Do not take very much ephedra or take it for long periods. You could become addicted to it or possibly die.
• Do not drink alcohol or take medicine that has alcohol in it when using ephedra
• Do not take ephedra before or during hard exercise

Side Effects:
Stop taking your medicine right away and talk to your doctor if you have any of the following side effects.

• Allergic reaction: itching or hives, swelling in your face or hand, swelling or tingling in your mouth or throat, chest tightness, trouble breathing, or rash.
• Chest pain, shortness of breath, rapid and/or irregular heartbeat, increase in blood pressure
• Dizziness, fainting, bad headache
• Emotional or behavioral changes (depression, hallucinations (seeing or hearing things), bad mood swings, or hysteria (wild behavior), irritability)
• Heart attack, stroke, seizures
• Nausea

Other Side Effects:
You may have the following side effects, but this medicine may also cause other side effects. Tell your doctor if you have side effects that you think are caused by this medicine.

• Hard time passing urine, especially if you are a male with prostate gland problems

• Insomnia (sleeping problems)
• Weight loss

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