Ma Huang, Ephedrine, and Nutritional Supplements
Q & A: I have been taking Metabolife to try and lose a few lbs. before I finally get pregnant. I have been trying to conceive for the past 7 months, and I will be starting on Clomid next month. Could there be any adverse reactions to taking Metabolife with Clomid?
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Definitions:
Clomid is clomiphene, an estrogen receptor site filler that jump-starts the whole ovulation process by making the hypothalamus think you've had your estrogen surge so that you'll produce LH (Luteinizing Hormone) that will cause the ovary to ovulate.
Metabolife is a nutritional supplement that contains Ma Huang, an herbal Ephedrine--an adrenaline-like substance.
Clomid and Metabolife
I don't think there's any direct interference between these two drugs, but I must warn you about the ephedrine in such products as Metabolife, Biolean, and the other weight-loss-causing and energy-producing food additives. Because they're labeled as nutritional supplements,they're not under the scrutiny of the FDA like other drugs are before released to the general public. This will probably change soon, because the ephedrine in such products is a powerful drug. You may notice that many decongestants have pseudo-ephedrine as an active ingredient. This is because the real ephedrine is so powerful. No wonder these drugs are popular--they're stimulants. They're the speed of the nineties. They give you energy by increasing your metabolism. You're 117 V being plugged into a 220 V socket. What we're beginning to see are anecdotal reports of healthy young men and women dropping dead of cardiac arrhythmia--usually young people with no cardiac history at all! At the most recent meeting of the Cardiologists in my home town of New Orleans, a paper was presented that brought up this very concern. In this study, the average age of death was 42! Pretty scary.
I not only don't want to recommend your baby be exposed to it, I'm not to wild about YOU being exposed to it. Conception time isn't the time to pollute yourself with nutritional supplements sold according to pyramid schemes by people whose only guarantees of safety come from the very company they represent.