Ephedrine while pregnant

[mmgab]

I just found out I'm pregnant. It's only the 5th week. And here's my concern. In the last 3 weeks I took 1 capsule of Thermal Pro daily on 10 occasions. (Approximately)

Here are the ingredients:
Ma Huang Extract 8% 250mg (8% ephedrine alkaloids),
Caffeine USP 200mg,
White Willow Bark (Salix alba) 75mg,
Cayenne (40.000 SCU) 50mg,
Ginger Root 50mg.

Does anyone know what impact it could have had on the baby?

Has any of the girls on this forum done that and then gave birth to a healthy child? (Obviously this is what I would love to hear!)

[kebaldwin]

I known this is a supplement question -- but I would post the same question in the pregnancy forum also.

[mmgab]

Thanks, I'll do that.

[sophotia]

Wow I just had this super long post answering your concern and I guess mid post they move this from the Atkins thread to the pregnancy section...sheesh.

I've done a lot of research lately on supplements during pregnancy because my sister is pregnant. You should not be taking any supplement at this time without first consulting with your doctor. I did actually do research on ephedrine and saw that it can cause birth defects. So please call your doctor ASAP and run all your supplements past them so they can tell you all the possible risks of these drugs/supplements.

Oh by the way...CONGRATULATIONS. I will try to find the sites that offered the info and post them here later. Feel free to personally contact me as I have done lots of research on low carb eating and pregnancy as well. Oh yeah...U may want to look into Atkins maintenance instead of the actual diet at this point. Dieting is also very dangerous for your developing baby.

[mmgab]

Thank you, Sophotia.

I'm not taking any supplements now except Folic Acid. And I added good carbs into my diet. I'm not counting, but it's usually an apple and 2 or 3 slices of whole bread a day.

I did take CLA, L-carnitine, HMB. It seems that these are harmless, I stopped taking them though, I'll wait till after nursing.

Just ephedrine. It worries me.

[kebaldwin]

I know you are looking for info from the ladies ....

But might I suggest a good quality multi-vtiamin and plenty of omega 3s.

[GinaLeanne]

I wouldnt worry yourself about it.........

And I doubt if it causes birth defects, who knows, probably the FDA wrote that one.

Ephedrine is an herb, I'm not a doctor, yet I would not worry about taking a few of them.

[Meg_S]

IF anything, I'd say the heart or adrenals. Purely from a speculative point of view you could have a wee one who has over active or undeactive adrenals, or maybe a fast heart beat? But itt's so early on - I took a lot of ibuprophen and had some slightly drunk weekends in that first month before I knew and my baby (3 mos now) is strong as an ox and very healthy and intelligent. It won't do your baby or yourself any good to fret from now on, so just relax and do what you know is best: fish oils, lots of protein and greens - you may ccrave carbs and ifyou indulge for that reason.. ok..but don't feel like you HAVE to eat a lot of them just because you're preg, you don't. You DO need to get enough fat in though, lots of egg yolks etc. You'll have such a healthy baby!!!!
Congratulations :)

[Hilary M]

Like Meg, I was on some medication (birth control pills, actually) for several weeks before I found out I was pregnant, and I had a beautiful healthy baby. And if anything could have harmed a developing baby, you would think BC pills would!

I am certainly no doctor, but I won't worry about it. Worrying isn't good for the baby either, and trust me, there will be LOTS more to worry about later! :) Congratulations.

[mmgab]

Thank you all!

I read on another forum that one girl was taking it dilligently for 6 weeks while pregnant (unaware of course) in bigger dosages that I did, and she gave birth to perfectly healthy twins. Well that's not what I aim at :lol: , but one perfectly healthy child will be great.

I keep praying for God's protection and help. It's in His hands now and I'm at peace. I was also taking Sudafed (it's pseudoephedrine, isn't it?) for two days. Well, I can't do anything now. So I trust God that He made sure the baby's unharmed....

[GinaLeanne]

Hi, good for you, trusting in God is what he wants from you, it makes him happy and he will bless you for that!

"I remember in the 70's, I was young and dumb, well, I didnt know I was pregnant. I went to a couple different concerts and got really drunk, well as dumb as it was........." My daughter is a college grad and making over 70 grand a year..... "I was lucky though" It's not good to drink while you are pregnant, a little wine is okay now and then though...

Have a wonderful day, Gina

[Donna I.]

I think that because you took it so early, before the embyo has implanted, there is very little chance that the drug could effect it. At that point the baby was still growing off of a yolk sac and not directly "hooked up" to your bloodstream.

[sophotia]

Oh and I just wanted to add that I'm sure that you haven't done any harm to your baby. I guess I thought U were asking if U could take it throughout your pregnancy.

[truffle00]

Ephedrine is an herb, I'm not a doctor, yet I would not worry about taking a few of them.

Marijuana, cocaine, opium. Best to ask a doctor about this.

[ysabella]

The caffeine and other stuff isn't a problem. Sudafed is okay too, according to my OB. I would definitely ask your doctor about the ephedrine, but since it was so early my guess is that everything is just fine.

Good work on the folic acid - I hope you're feeling well!

[bigmomma04]

Congrats on the pregnancy welcome to the momma club:lol: . I think you will be just fine since you stopped as soon as you found out. I keep you guys in my prayers hope all turn out well.

[mmgab]

Thank you all so much for the good words, prayers, and the support! That means so much to me.

Right now I feel very well. No nausea or pains or carb cravings!

Thanks, and good luck to you all! :wave: