pseudoephedrine and ephedrine

[htime]

What is the difference? I've been taking the cold tabs for years and never really notice the 'effects'. (high body temp, heart rate..etc)

Thanks!

[chris587]

Most cold tabs have such a low amount of pseudoephedrine so you never feel them.

If you want an OTC "cold pill" that you will feel then get Vasopro ephedrine HCL.

[htime]

Thanks.

[MusclesFlyers]

Yes, Vasapro Ephedrine HCL is synthetically produced..Many people have reported a much smoother, cleaner, and actually stronger effect on ephedrine HCL..plus the price is unbeatable and tis not getting banned

[Black_Spit]

Cold medicines do not have a small amount in them. They generally have 25 mg Pseudoephedrine Hcl per serving. I read a study(don't remember where I found it or where it was conducted) that stated that the pseudo form does not have the same cns effects as ephedra/ephedrine.

[mimo]

i thought cold drugs were low in ephedrine. but i could be wrong

[chris587]

Originally posted by Black_Spit
Cold medicines do not have a small amount in them. They generally have 25 mg Pseudoephedrine Hcl per serving. I read a study(don't remember where I found it or where it was conducted) that stated that the pseudo form does not have the same cns effects as ephedra/ephedrine.

Thanks for the clarification.

[laz]

Psuedoephedrine and ephedrine effect the CNS differently! Psuedo is not a stimulant! Bada bing Bada boom.

[|2e|3eL]

guys is there still a more powerful HCL product on the market (i.e. a pure ephedrine HCL w/o the guafinsin sp?)?

[Black_Spit]

Originally posted by chris587
Thanks for the clarification.

You bet. I have 2 young kids that were sick a lot this winter(my wife, too), and I have a habit of reading every bottle I come across, so I got to know these very well.

[htime]

Thanks for the info! Helps alot.

[factzone]

Let's clear things up here. There are numerous ephedrine alkaloids.
(-) ephedrine
(+) pseudoephedrine
(-) methylephedrine
(-) norephedrine
(+) norpseudoephedrine
(+) methylpseudoephedrine

In nature, the order of content amount in total ephedrine group alkaloids found
in various species of ephedra is normally 1-2-4-5-3-6.

Of the 6 main ephedrine alkaloids, I am going to discuss the two most abundant
and popular: Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine

1. Ephedrine - The Alkaloid ephedrine makes up 30% to 90% of total ephedrine
group alkaloids in ephedra. Ephedrine is not as good as caffeine at stimulating
the CNS, but when combined with caffeine, the two work in synergy because
ephedrine prevents the break down of epinephrine released by the caffeine,
enhancing caffeine's CNS stimulating effects.

Ephedrine is probably the most effective herbal alkaloid at stimulating a
non-active Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). Obesity can be directly linked to
an inactive SNS. Ephedrine has been proven to increase in weight loss for obese
individuals, but has no effect by itself in lean individuals (lean individuals
do not need SNS stimulation, they just need CNS stimulation- put more fat in the
blood). Caffeine by itself keeps lean individuals lean by keeping circulating
blood lipid levels higher than normal."

My info is below...
Pseudoephedrine causes headaches in ~15-20% of users regardless of the dose
ingested orally..
The evidence/research is more than adequate for me to occasionally use
pseudo-ephedrine hcl at ~200mg orally, 45 minutes pre-workout for its POTENT,
very safe - stimulant/strength/power elevating effects which equate to ~90-110mg
of Ephedrine hcl, yet with half the side-effects of ephedrine hcl.

IMO, the studies showing no benefits from pseudoephedrine alone pre-workout were
planned to fail just like the 25mg of ephedrine hcl pre-workout studies on
athletes have since the 1980's.

Using pseudo-ephedrine at over 180mg pre-workout leads to at least 75% of
subjects significantly increasing their 30 second peak power output by over 3%
in double-blinded placebo-controlled-randomized research. Average
Leg-press/Squat weight for 5 reps also consistently increases by well over 8%
after ingestion of 180-200mg of pseudoephedrine pre-workout with little to no
side-effects...
Why others don't seem to utilize this safe stimulant responsibly is beyond
me...IMO, any top athlete/PL'r would pay hundreds of $$$ for a pill that can
easily add 30-50 pounds to their 1 Rep Squat or BP Max in less than an hour.
First time I had a stuffed up nose during a cold I broke 5 PR's in the gym in 90
minutes after only 90mg of pseudoephedrine hcl.
Below is one out of many abstracts showing that doses that are way to low simply
do not increase performance.

"IMO, the studies showing no benefits from pseudoephedrine alone pre-workout
were planned to fail..."

Clin J Sport Med. 2002 Nov;12(6):387-90.

A moderate dose of pseudoephedrine does not alter muscle contraction strength or
anaerobic power.

Chu KS, Doherty TJ, Parise G, Milheiro JS, Tarnopolsky MA.

Department of Medicine (Rehabilitation and Neurology), McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of an acute oral administration of
pseudoephedrine (PSE) on muscle function, fatigue, and anaerobic power output.
DESIGN AND MATERIALS: Healthy males (N = 10) and females (N = 10) were allocated
to receive both a placebo and PSE (120 mg) using a randomized, double-blind,
crossover experimental design. Each subject had their maximal voluntary
contraction strength and fatigability measured for both handgrip and ankle
dorsi-flexion. Following the strength measurements, a 30-second maximal cycle
test was performed to determine lower extremity anaerobic power and fatigue.
Plasma lactate was measured before and after exercise. RESULTS: There were no
significant differences in any of the outcome variables between the placebo and
PSE trials. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that a 120 mg dose of PSE
did not enhance force production, time to fatigue, fatigue index, or power
output in young men or women. Therefore, there does not appear to be an
ergogenic benefit from the ingestion of 120 mg PSE in high-intensity exercise
performance.

Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 12466695 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]