Eating Disorder Support Forum banner
  • Important - Please Read This website may include conversations, media, and content around topics relating to eating disorders, trauma, addiction, and mental health. Please be aware that this content may be upsetting, difficult, or triggering for some. EDSF is intended as a place of safety. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, Feast-ED.org is a resource that lists the organizations set up to help.

Pseudoephedrine and Why You Shouldn't Use It.

254K views 249 replies 209 participants last post by  Lilac-princess  
#1 ·
Let me explain:

First off, pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine/ephedra are fucking banned in pretty much every country. So unless you live in Turkey AND have a prescription I highly fucking doubt what you're taking is Ephedrine or it's diasteromer pseudoephedrine. So that alone is already a huge symptom of bullshit. More likely you're taking phenylephrine. Which is crap. And yes I am aware it is technically legal in the UK in small purchases of like 650-750mg, but you have to purchase it through a pharmacist and they're still highly unlikely to sell it to you because they can get their license revoked and have their entire livelihood and career taken with one fell swoop if it is believed or even suggested they may have sold it to someone who manifests any symptoms of misuse. This includes weight class and gender stereotyping. Because it is known to be abused specifically by bulimics. 🙄

Further more, even if you are taking pseudoephedrine, it is a completely different structure from Ephedrine/ ephedra. Yes they are diasteromers, but that doesn't mean they work the same. In fact it literally means the opposite. Just cuz they're essentially mirrored twins doesn't mean they're actual twins.

Ephedrine has a configuration of 1R,2S while pseudoephedrine is 1S,2S. So while Ephedrine directly and effectively acts on andrenergic receptors as well as indirectly acts by displacing NE from the storage vesicles. Pseudoephedrine only primarily acts indirectly by subtly displacing NE from the storage vesicles and barely does anything at all to effect the andrenergic receptors. So little in fact that there's barely any point in referencing it.

Add to this that you're never gonna have a pure form of pseudoephedrine because the way you're getting it is probably through a GD decongestant, you're also consuming a property called "tachyphylaxis" which is a superspeed effect for how your body reacts to the drug in question. Making decongestants useless and lethal because the use of these products leads quickly to blood vessels popping in your brain. Carbon Dioxide builds up in the nasal tissue from using these decongestants, causing the blood vessels to dilate and leading to fluid seepage through the vessel pores that increase congestion overall. Literally this means that using any decongestants (especially when you don't actually need one and are just trying to abuse the small amount of pseudoephedrine that MIGHT be in it) will lead to difficulty breathing, chronic -commonly irreversible- nasal congestion that can disturb your overall sinus thytm and ENT system as well as your hearing, your vision, your senses, your tonsils, your oral health, your lungs by extension, and your voice.

Also pseudoephedrine is horrible for your heart just a quick side note. But back to the chemical lecture lmao.

You're abusing this for weight loss goals.

It's not gonna work. Not really. Here's why:

Pseudoephedrine (which you're definitely not taking, but let's pretend you are) has three actions. They are:

•Alpha 1 Receptors

•Beta 1 Receptors

•Beta 2 Receptors

When they act on these receptors, here is their respective reactions.

•A1

~ increase the IP3/DAG
{Leading to vasoconstriction}

•B1

~ increases the cAMP in the heart.

{Literally this means it increases the rate and the force of contraction which inevitably leads to tachycardia} \\ that's science speak for your heart goes ooey kablooey all over your little black dress.

•B2

~ also increases the cAMP. But specifically, when activating the the B2 receptor with pseudoephedrine you are directly damaging the bronchioles. Other organs too but most significantly is the bronchioles. Which is one of the tiniest channels into the segmental bronchi divide leading air into the bronchopulmonary segments which allow for you to do silly unnecessary things like BREATHING. When you damage the bronchioles -specifically the respiratory and terminal bronchioles- it doesn't even matter if you don't damage the longer and wider channels because you are making it extravagantly more improbable for air to get through to your lungs. It'll just build up like pressure in the larger tubes and push against this tiny little straw without the ability for oxygen to successfully travel to your alveolar sacs. This can lead your alveolar sacs to LITERALLY -not hyperbole- LITERALLY POP!

But with pseudoephedrine specifically and how it reacts w B2 you're getting a very different problem typically. Called Bronchodilatation. This isn't typically seen as a problem. For people WITH ATSHMA. But if your bronchus isn't already constricted and you're using a fucking chemical that causes bronchodilatation you're playing with the devil. And not in some cutesy aesthetic bitch witch way. Because overly dilating your bronchus leads to permanent abnormal widening of the bronchial tubes which causes chronic infection. This happens because you have abused a substance that makes your bronchi comically and uncommonly enlarged. Because of this the normal structure of your bronchi is permanently altered and destroyed, being replaced with severe amounts of scar tissue. Pustules then gather in the bronchi and breathing becomes often irreversibly impinged. So now you're blessed with chronic bronchial infections and bronchial spasms from inflammation and swelling and high levels of invasion I to your bronchus by a wide variety of immune cells that are not supposed to be there. So now you have this abnormal ever increasing influx of blood vessels that keeps growing. Which is BAD. And CAN kill you. Easily. Can also lead to comatose which is always super sexy. Oh. And this increased dilation can also lead to oxygen toxicity. Which also causes death.

Aside from all of this shit it also acts on the CNS receptor. Which causes extreme bouts of anxiety, agitation, tremors, and hallucinations.

The ENTIRE reason pseudoephedrine can potentially help SOME people lose MINOR amounts of weight WHEN ABUSED "sufficiently" is because it's increasing your anxiety tenfold, making your brain shit itself with overactive hallucinations and physical body ticks and tremors. Plus it's forcing more air into your body which is making you think youre more satiated because it's pumping you up w excess amounts of air that your poor lungs and bronchioles CANNOT HANDLE while simultaneously damaging the fuck out of your heart giving you persistent random mini heart colvulsions.

So, you're not losing weight. You're gaining a death sentence. And it's gonna bloat you out like a suckled pig. Stick an apple in your mouth and call yourself Wilbur. Pseudoephedrine isn't even going to make you eat less. In fact for most people it makes them more hungry because their body becomes depleted quickly because it's in extreme distress. The only difference is you're also gonna be uncomfortable as fuck trying to eat because of all the excess pressure from the added air pooling into your body that alveolar can't clear because it has the SLOWEST rate of particle clearance in the entirety of the respiratory body. So you're gonna be hungry as fuck, bloated as fuck, all the calories you're burning that look like weight on the scale dropping is from your heart's mass decreasing, and you're gonna be paranoid and probably crying a fuck ton with no understanding for why your system is so out of whack and why you feel like shit and why you're so depressed. Plus only so much of your heart and your other organs can deplete before you suffer organ failure. So weight on the scale isn't even gonna decrease more than a couple of pounds. It's illusionary at best. And so wildly dangerous for no real payout not reason. If your goal is to be out of your gourd tripping balls and dry heaving, panic nauseated and borderline suicidal with permanent damage to your internal structure for an extremely minimal and noncommittal weight loss that ultimately slows down your metabolism and makes you hate yourself and everyone around you before potentially dying or suffering chronic inconvenience from heart, lung, and nervous system damage. Go for it. But a. Objectively you should seriously reconsider that ambition. b. I highly doubt you deserve that level of suffering. And c. We're all here dealing w similar problems, there are so many safer avenues to get what you want that I'm sure most of us would be more than happy to keep you alive with alternative tips and tricks that won't destroy your life. That being said, it is your life and I'm not gonna harp on you about it. I just think you deserve all the information before playing with a death sentence. There is a reason why this substance is illegal. Hell, there are thousands of reasons, but just so you know ****ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, much like meth was made illegal by drug companies not because the drug companies want to say "lol you don't deserve to be skinny." They did it because it was being abused by drug addicts trying to get high at and it led to an overwhelming amount of deaths from abuse and misuse which led to crisis. By this I mean the main reason anyone abuses it is for the high, any and all weight loss is a side effect from organ damage which is minimal, unreliable, and unmaintainable. ****
 
#6 ·
I have a friend who's recently had to face the damage done by ephedrine abuse. She's closely monitored and on so many medications now just to keep herself running. Serious damage to her lungs and heart.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Ephedra herbs(ma huang) are prescribed by traditional korean medicine doctors and it's called as 'herbal medicine diet'. Very popular in korean girls as well as amphetamine(advertised and prescribed as a diet pill oops) 🙄 korea is crazy lmaoo.
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
im confused why everyone is saying ephedrine is illegal everywhere because all i need to do is walk into a walgreens and show id at the counter (and i only initially purchased it because i was sick and couldnt breathe n it legit helped). its not banned in the usa at least, just limited bc ppl make meth with it. ive never heard of people taking psuedo instead of ephedrine though thats top tier misinformed lol how do people mess it up that bad. plus the way you get psuedo is the exact same isnt it? no form of this stuff is on the shelves. eca stacking makes you feel like shit though you grow tolerant to chugging all those pills and now i get legitimately nauseous anytime i go near a box of bronkaid lol
 
#14 ·
/nervously laughs in "lives in turkey"/

⁠- an overworked student
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
im confused why everyone is saying ephedrine is illegal everywhere because all i need to do is walk into a walgreens and show id at the counter (and i only initially purchased it because i was sick and couldnt breathe n it legit helped). its not banned in the usa at least, just limited bc ppl make meth with it. ive never heard of people taking psuedo instead of ephedrine though thats top tier misinformed lol how do people mess it up that bad. plus the way you get psuedo is the exact same isnt it? no form of this stuff is on the shelves. eca stacking makes you feel like shit though you grow tolerant to chugging all those pills and now i get legitimately nauseous anytime i go near a box of bronkaid lol
Haha seriously. It's so easy to get ephedrine for me. I am not taking it right now because i don't want to screw up my heart anymore than it already is, but yeah... And as far as pseudoephedrine goes - Sudafed is the ONLY thing that actually helps my congedtion when I have a cold, and I LOVE the high I get when I take it for a week straight. Taking ephedrine or pseudoephedrine for weight loss is a bad idea, I just feel like this is a little exaggerated. Idk what do I know, probably less than OP tho. I would never take pseudo for weight loss, and I did meth on and off for 2 years lol
 
#18 ·
I'm in canada and ephedrine is allowed here, just limited and you need to show id. I've been taking it pretty much nonstop for a few years now and find it hard to go without it. (similar to caffeine withdrawal i guess, just very tired/don't feel awake without it). Aside from that, no negative side effects that i've noticed. Has anyone else been on it as long as me? Are people doing alright on it? This thread is scaring me a bit.
 
#19 ·
Wish I had seen this post years ago before I started abusing sudafed.. I now have a hole as wide as my index finger in my nose.. definitely can attest to the anxiety and heart going cray cray. No hallucinations or anything here. Definitely suppressed my appetite though. It’s the difference between Going over 1000 cals and staying under 600 cals.. add the productivity bonus I get.. and that’s why I’m stuck here knowing I’m doing so much harm and kidding myself into thinking it can’t be that bad.. telling myself I will stop once I reach *insert weight here* but this post has definitely given me food for thought maybe this is just the push I needed to finally give this shit up.. ☹
 
#20 ·
im confused why everyone is saying ephedrine is illegal everywhere because all i need to do is walk into a walgreens and show id at the counter (and i only initially purchased it because i was sick and couldnt breathe n it legit helped). its not banned in the usa at least, just limited bc ppl make meth with it. ive never heard of people taking psuedo instead of ephedrine though thats top tier misinformed lol how do people mess it up that bad. plus the way you get psuedo is the exact same isnt it? no form of this stuff is on the shelves. eca stacking makes you feel like shit though you grow tolerant to chugging all those pills and now i get legitimately nauseous anytime i go near a box of bronkaid lol
I think you are referring to pseudo ephedrine. You can't buy ephedrine in the United States. I take pseudo ephedrine for allergies and have to get it by asking the pharmacists. The sudafed on the shelves at CVS is not the same thing as the stuff behind either
 
#21 ·
I think you are referring to pseudo ephedrine. You can't buy ephedrine in the United States. I take pseudo ephedrine for allergies and have to get it by asking the pharmacists. The sudafed on the shelves at CVS is not the same thing as the stuff behind either
im talking about primatene and bronkaid, theyre ephedrine hcl and ephedrine sulfate. sudafed is psuedoephedrine behind the counter and phenylephrine on the shelves. you can even buy ephedra seeds to grow your own. genuinely confused why people are saying ephedrine is banned, maybe in certain states but its def not banned here considering i bought some last week
 
#22 ·
I think you are referring to pseudo ephedrine. You can't buy ephedrine in the United States. I take pseudo ephedrine for allergies and have to get it by asking the pharmacists. The sudafed on the shelves at CVS is not the same thing as the stuff behind either
This isn't my post, but you can get ephedrine in the US. At least in Mass. I have purchased ephedrine and pseudoephedrine at Walgreens and CVS. Both behind the counter with ID.
 
#24 ·
The sale of ephedrine in the U.S. is stricly controlled as of 2005 due to numerous deaths. "Dietary supplements containing ephedrine are illegal in the United States,[1] with the exception of those used in traditional Chinese medicine, where its presence is noted by má huáng."
 
#25 ·
Add to this that you're never gonna have a pure form of pseudoephedrine because the way you're getting it is probably through a GD decongestant, you're also consuming a property called "tachyphylaxis" which is a superspeed effect for how your body reacts to the drug in question. Making decongestants useless and lethal because the use of these products leads quickly to blood vessels popping in your brain.
My friend abused some kind of ephedrine for months, never lost any weight, and ended up having a TIA because of it. Scary as hell. I've never touched stimulant/thermogenic diet pills and hopefully never will. DNP is another one that's horribly dangerous.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pickles312
#26 ·
I'm not a fan of medical drugs, I like plants and fungi... I'd probably never attempt to find diet pills.

But this...
This makes a lot of sense why I can't freaking breathe

I smoke and I get bronchitis at least once a year. The first time I had bronchitis, years ago, i was popping Sudafed-12 hour just to walk to the bus stop. Ended up on the verge of walking pneumonia.

My lungs literally want to punch me in the face sometimes, and it's scary when I wake up at 6 am after smoking one to many cigs and I have to sit up for an hour to let my lungs drain right. I'm fine and I can breathe, I have plenty of tricks to clear my lungs, like sitting in a steamy bathroom and Clearinghouse my throat while bending over. But my lung capacity is never going to return to normal without training it, especially at 25.

But this would definitely make sense if I had been taking Sudafed and hitting an inhaler, I've probably done irreversible damage to my lungs, that never fully recovered because of the cigs.

It honestly makes me a little scared that if I get Covid, I might be put on a ventilator...

Anyway this was super enlightening and thanks!! You got those smarticle particles in your brains

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk