MA HUANG (EPHEDRA)

(ma huang (ee FED ra)) Brand:

What is the most significant information I must know about ma huang (ephedra)?

• Because ma huang (ephedra) has been reported to reason serious, even fatal, side effects such as heart onslaught, stroke, irregular heartbeats, and sudden death, the FDA has recommended that consumers not take ma huang.

• Ma huang is not recommended for use by people with heart malady; angina (chest pain); irregular heartbeats; tall blood pressure; blood vessel malady; asthma or another lung malady; diabetes; insomnia; eating disorders (such as anorexia or bulimia); glaucoma; kidney malady; liver malady or hepatitis; mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, mania, bipolar mess or psychosis; hyperthyroidism; prostate problems; urinary retention; or seizures.

• Ma huang has not been evaluated by the FDA for safe, effectiveness, or purity. All potential risks and/or advantages of ma huang may not be known. Additionally, there are no regulated manufacturing standards in seat for these compounds. There have been instances where herbal/health supplements have been sold which were contaminated with toxic metals or another drugs. Herbal/health supplements must be purchased from a dependable source to minimize the risk of contamination.

What is ma huang (ephedra)?

• The use of ma huang in cultural and traditional settings may differ from concepts accepted by current Western medication. When considering the use of herbal supplements, consultation with a primary health care professional is advisable. Additionally, consultation with a practitioner trained in the uses of herbal/health supplements may be beneficial, and coordination of treatment among all health care providers involved may be advantageous.

• Ma huang is also known as sea ephedrine, ephedra, ephedra alkaloids, sea grape, yellow horse, yellow astringent, joint fir, squaw tea, Mormon tea, popotillo, and teamster's tea.

• Ma huang has been used as a stimulant and for weight loss and appetite suppression.

• Ma huang may also have uses another than those listed in this medicine guide.

What must I discuss with my healthcare provider till taking ma huang (ephedra)?

• Ma huang is not recommended for use by people with

· heart malady; angina (chest pain); irregular heartbeats; tall blood pressure; or blood vessel disease;

· asthma or another lung disease;

· diabetes;

· insomnia;

· eating disorders (such as anorexia or bulimia);

· glaucoma;

· kidney disease;

· liver malady or hepatitis;

· hyperthyroidism;

· mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, mania, bipolar mess or psychosis;

· prostate problems;

· urinary retention; or

· seizures.

• The use of ma huang may be dangerous if you have any of the conditions listed above.

• Till taking ma huang, conversation to your doctor, pharmacist, or health care professional if you have allergies (especially to plants), have any medical condition, or if you take another medicines or another herbal/health supplements. Ma huang may not be recommended in some situations.

• Do not take ma huang without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant or could become pregnant. Ma huang may be deleterious to an unborn baby.

• Do not take ma huang without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a child. Ma huang may be deleterious to a nursing infant.

• There is no information accessible regarding the use of ma huang by children. Do not give any herbal/health supplement to a baby without first talking to the child's doctor.

How must I take ma huang (ephedra)?

• If you choose to take ma huang, use it as directed on the package or as directed by your doctor, pharmacist, or another healthcare provider.

• Standardized extracts, tinctures, and solid formulations of herbal/health supplements may provide a more dependable doze of the product.

• Ma huang is generally taken by mouth. Take every doze with a full glass of water.

• Taking ma huang with food may decrease stomach upset.

• The recommended doze of ma huang is no more than 100 mg for day for no longer than 12 weeks. However, in some people, doses of 100 mg for day may not be safety. Consultation with a healthcare provider is recommended till taking ma huang.

• Because ma huang has been reported to reason serious, even fatal, side effects such as heart onslaught, stroke, irregular heartbeats, and sudden death, the FDA has recommended that ephedra alkaloids (ma huang) be taken in doses no larger than 8 mg for serving, no more often than each 6 hours, and not to exceed 24 mg for day.

• Do not use various formulations of ma huang or another commodity that contain ma huang or ephedra, caffeine, gotu kola, guarana, pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, or another stimulants at the same time. Using various formulations together increases the risk of an overdose or serious side effects.

• Store ma huang as directed on the package.

What happens if I miss a dose?

• Missing a doze of ma huang is not deleterious. Do not take a double doze to catch up, simply return to the regular schedule. Consult your doctor, pharmacist, or health care professional if you require further information.

What happens if I overdose?

• Search abnormal medical attention.

• Symptoms of an ma huang overdose may include heart problems (heart onslaught, tall blood pressure, irregular heartbeats), stroke, and/or death.

What must I avoid while taking ma huang (ephedra)?

• Do not take another commodity that contain ma huang; ephedra; ephedra alkaloids; ephedrine; decongestants such as pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, and others; weight loss medications; amphetamines; or another stimulants while taking ma huang.

• Avoid commodity that contain caffeine while taking ma huang. Coffee, tea, cola, chocolate and herbal commodity that contain gotu kola, kola nut, guarana, and others are sources of caffeine.

• Speak your doctor or dentist that you are taking this product till having surgery.

What are the possible side effects of ma huang (ephedra)?

• Serious, even fatal, side effects have been reported with the use of ma huang. Stop taking the product and search abnormal medical attention if you experience:

· a serious allergic reaction including difficulty breathing; closing of your throat; swelling of your lips, tongue, or person; or hives;

· chest pain or irregular heartbeats;

· heighten blood pressure;

· agitation, hostility, or personality changes;

· thoughts of suicide;

· pain or difficulty passing urine;

· rapid or troubled breathing;

· rash;

· stomach pain;

· vomiting; or

· yellowing of the skin or eyes

• Another smaller serious side effects have also been reported. Conversation to your doctor or pharmacist if you experience

· anxiety;

· tremor or restlessness;

· insomnia or difficulty sleeping;

· dry mouth;

· headache;

· decreased appetite; or

· nausea.

• Side effects another than those listed here may also occur. Conversation to your doctor about any side effect that seems unusual or that is especially bothersome. You may message side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

What another drugs will affect ma huang (ephedra)?

• Do not take ma huang if you are taken or have recently taken (within the recent 2 weeks):

· a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), or selegiline (Eldepryl);

· amphetamine-dextroamphetamine (Adderall);

· pemoline (Cylert);

· methylphenidate (Ritalin, Metadate, Methylin, Concerta);

· dexmethylphenidate (Focalin);

· amphetamine, dextroamphetamine (Dexadrine, Dextrostat), or methamphetamine (Desoxyn);

· atomoxetine (Strattera);

· a heart malady or blood pressure medicine;

· ergot alkaloids such as ergotamine (Ergomar, Cafergot, Wigraine, Ercaf, others), or dihydroergotamine (D.H.E., Migranal);

· thyroid hormones;

· acetazolamide (Diamox), dichlorphenamide (Daranide), or methazolamide (Glauctabs, MZM, Neptazane);

· atropine (Sal-Tropine);

· a phenothiazine such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), fluphenazine (Permitil, Prolixin), promethazine (Phenergan), prochlorperazine (Compazine), perphenazine (Trilafon), trifluoperazine (Stelazine), and others;

· a tricyclic antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil), amoxapine (Asendin), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), imipramine (Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl), trimipramine (Surmontil), or protriptyline (Vivactil);

· an oral or injectable diabetes medication (e.g., insulin);

· haloperidol (Haldol);

· cocaine;

· a steroid medicine such as cortisone (Cortone, others), prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone, others), methylprednisolone (Medrol), prednisolone (Prelone), and others;

· creatine;

· digoxin (Lanoxin);

· linezolid (Zyvox);

· procarbazine (Matulane);

· an appetite suppressant or weight loss medicine such as diethylpropion (Tenuate), benzphetamine (Didrex), phendimetrazine (Adipost, Bontril, Melfiat, Phendiet, Plegine, Prelu-2), phentermine (Adipex-P, Fastin, Ionamin, Obenix, Pro-Fast, Teramine, Zantryl), mazindol (Mazanor, Sanorex), sibutramine (Meridia), and others;

· theophylline (Elixophyllin, Slo-Phyllin, Theo-Dur, Theochron, others) or aminophylline (Truphylline);

· furazolindone (Furoxone);

· common anesthetics (used during surgery); or

· yohimbine.

• You may not be able to take ma huang, or you may require a dosage adjustment or particular monitoring during treatment if you are taking any of the medicines listed above.

• Avoid commodity that contain caffeine while taking ma huang. Coffee, tea, cola, chocolate and herbal commodity that contain gotu kola, kola nut, guarana, and others are sources of caffeine.

• Drugs another than those listed here may also interact with ma huang. Conversation to your doctor, pharmacist, or health care professional till taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicines or another herbal/health supplements.

Where can I get more information?

• Your doctor, pharmacist, or health care provider may have more information about ma huang.

Remember, hold this and all another medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medicine only for the indication prescribed.

Disclaim: Each effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses external of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way must be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safety, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the help of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

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