Health News - CNN. Ephedrine: Michelle thought diet pills were safe but now she's got just 1. As more and more women buy diet pills online, a chilling investigation reveals the deadly gamble they are taking. By. Antonia Hoyle for The Mail on Sunday. Published. 2. 2: 5. BST, 1. 9 September 2. At 5ft 5in tall and weighing 9st 6lb, she was hardly overweight, but hated the extra fat she had put on around her middle. In search of a quick- fix one evening, she came across an internet forum on slimming pills where dieters talked about using a drug called Ephedrine to speed up their metabolism and help them lose weight. Michelle, now 4. 6, placed an order for the drug online — a decision that was to have tragic consequences. She developed a four- year dependence on the pills, causing a heart condition that has left her with a life expectancy of just ten years. Devastated: Michelle Rumsay is only expected to live for another 1. Marketed as a cold and flu remedy, internet chatrooms are awash with women waxing lyrical about its weight- loss properties. It is one of several . Most are deemed too unsafe for doctors to prescribe in Britain, but are available online from overseas pharmacies. Dr Ian Campbell, former chair of the. National Obesity Forum and honorary clinical director of the charity. Weight Concern, warns: . My advice is not to use these slimming. I wish we had an effective and safe weight- loss medication, but at. Orlistat. It was. Until. she reached her late 3. Michelle, from Saxmundham, Suffolk, was the. At 8st 7lb and a size ten, she ran a horse yard. In. November 2. 00. Michael Harrowven, a steel constructor, then 2. By. the following May, she’d put on 1. I wanted to look like his girlfriend, not his mother.’She researched slimming pills online, and on one forum, users recommended Ephedrine. A naturally occurring substance with amphetamine- like properties, it is not prescribed as a slimming aid, but is available as an over- the- counter cold remedy. It can increase blood pressure, however, leading to heart disease, anxiety and insomnia. Its dangers have not gone unnoticed by the medical profession. Michelle didn’t realise Ephedrine was. Britain, so she ordered 5. She bought two packets of 5. Michael was against the idea, but I was determined to lose. She. started taking two tablets a day, cut down on what she was eating, and. By August 2. 00. 6, she. Two years later, she started suffering side- effects after she’d taken her pill one morning. The room was blurred and my heart was racing. After ten minutes, my heart rate went back to normal, but I was terrified. I was sure the pills were to blame and threw them in the bin.’ Despite her decision to stop taking the tablets, Michelle didn’t put on any weight. They were out on a bike ride together that month when she suddenly developed chest pains. She had scans and tests, and in September 2. Ephedrine had constricted the vessels in Michelle’s lungs, and the doctor said her heart was under so much pressure it wouldn’t be able to cope for much longer. It is illegal for shopkeepers and chemists to sell it in large quantities because it is dangerous if taken for long periods of time or in large volumes. But the drug is sold over- the- counter because it is intended for short- term use as a nasal decongestant. Michelle was prescribed a cocktail of seven drugs to keep her blood vessels open, her blood thin and the muscles in her lungs working. When they fail — and doctors can’t predict when — she will have to have a tube inserted into her heart to infuse drugs to keep it pumping. Her life expectancy is now just ten years. Mark is supportive, but we are. Michelle no longer works at the horse yard, and even a simple walk leaves her exhausted. When. she was just 1. Helen Hancock, now 4. Tenuate Dospan —. In. 1. 97. 8, Helen’s GP in Loughton, Essex, promised her and her mother Ruth. She was size 1. 4 and weighed. I’d gone. down to 7st 7lb.’Where to turn? Michelle thought diet pills could help her drop a dress size. Now she's got just ten years to live As more and more women buy diet pills online, a chilling. Helen's GP promised her that Tenuate Dospan would help her lose weight. But she suffered side- effects straight away and her weight rose from 9st to 1. Helen felt the effects immediately. I couldn’t sit still,’ she remembers. Within a year she weighed 9st and was a size ten. She was 1. 8 before she managed to wean herself off Tenuate Dospan, and within months she went from 9st back to 1. Helen fad- dieted throughout her 2. Louise, who had stopped taking the pills when she was 2. Louise, who is 5ft 3in and weighs 1. She is 5ft 4in. Her GP offered her a solution — a new slimming pill called Acomplia, which is the trade name for rimonabant. It blocks receptors in the brain to stop it sensing hunger. On its UK launch in 2. However, two years later it was banned because of side- effects which can include suicidal thoughts. Later that month, rimonabant was banned. Find recipes for every meal, easy ideas for dinner tonight, cooking tips and expert food advice.Two years ago, Helen finally learnt how to lose weight through diet and regular exercise. Think twice! The side- effects are always worth reading and bearing in mind. Yet despite her healthier lifestyle. May. She was. told she was at risk of a heart attack, and will have to take medication. It is. shocking to think that there are women still taking these pills.’Another. Britain is sibutramine, which alters. At. 5ft 6in, she was 1. I couldn’t concentrate, so my college work and social life suffered. I’d reached my target weight of 9st that April, so I stopped taking Reductil,’ says Lilla, a social media strategist. Six months later, though, she’d put on two stone. Wanting another quick fix, she searched for slimming pills online and came across Xenical — the trade name for Orlistat. Before viewing my diet suggestions, please understand that health begins with what you eliminate from your diet, not with what you add. Taking over-the-counter medications for colds, flu and allergies may seem harmless, but a new study warns that certain drugs are linked to an increased risk of dementia.
The only slimming pill in the UK now available on prescription, it stops the body’s absorption of fat. In April 2. 00. 9, it became available in a lower dose, over- the- counter pill called Alli. By the age of 2. 2, she was a size 1. She went back to her GP who prescribed her Reductil again, but at a lower dose. She now weighs 1. Hopefully other women will heed her advice before they, too, put their health — and lives — at risk.
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