RE: Re: pseudoephedrine

[Guest guest]

Steve, I have also observed the same effect with pseudoephedrine. Under

certain circumstances, it can have a remarkable effect for me---amazing

improvement in muscle strength and function and exercise tolerance. I have

observed this effect for 2.5 years, having discovered it accidentally when

taking Drixoral for congestion. In fact, thought I must be imagining it

until I investigated ephedrine and found that it is known to improve muscle

strength is certain neuromuscular disorders such as myasthenia

gravis--namely the congenital forms of MG, not the acquired form. I did

mention this observation to my neurologist once, and he nodded, clearly

familiar with this effect.

At any rate, I was pleased to know that I had correctly sorted out cause and

effect, connecting the right dots. You've connected the same dots, which

once again proves to me how reliable patient observations can be--contrary

to the view of certain (ahem!) doctors.

Here's a post from a doctor who has used ephedrine successfully with MG

patients. He also mentions work on this subject by Engle at Mayo.

It's an old post, so not sure the current state of knowledge regarding

ephedrine and neuromuscular disorders. A Medline/Pubmed search might turn up

something interesting.

http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/neurowebforum/ChildNeurologyArticles/ephrid

rinecongentlmyasthenia.ht

http://www.neuro.wustl.edu/neuromuscular/synmg.html

This site also mentions ephedrine as improving muscle strength in congenital

MG. Use the page word search function (Ctrl-F) to find the reference to

ephedrine as this is a looong page and it is near the bottom.

One other note: Most OTC pseudoephedrine is in the form of pseudoephedrine

hydrochloride. The chloride ion in any form always causes arrhythmias for

me, so when I take it, I use pseudoephedrine sulfate, the form in Drixoral.

Of course, sales of these OTC drugs are closely monitored now due to the

proliferation of meth labs. In Kansas, anything containing pseudoephedrine

is always behind the counter and requires ID to purchase. Many local stores

have just quit carrying these products.

Barbara

> Intriguingly, I've also found that I can get most of the above value by

> taking an OTC decongestant, anything containing pseudoephedrine. I don't

> like to overdo this, but sometimes I do it when desperate. Of course, I'm

> not surprised that this helps with the stuffiness, but it's fascinating to

> me that it not only helps a lot with headache, but I also get this

> much-better feeling of stamina and safety.

>

> Steve D.