DOSE:	0.25 tsp	oral	Ephedra sinica	(tea)
		oral	Caffeine

BODY WEIGHT:

260 lb

I used to use ephedra extract, caffeine & aspirin the fabled ECA stack. Now that my secret stash of the ephedra extract pills is almost gone, I learned I could buy powdered whole plant Ephedra sinica (Ma Huang).

I am a bit lazy so I decided to try brewing the Ma Huang along with my morning tea (4 teabags in 4 cups of water). Once brewed I poured the blend over ice and started my morning iced tea. Before I had finished half the cup I had a terrible headache at the base of my skull. Excruciating. I took some naproxen. This did not help. I did not connect the headache with the tea. Day 2 I did the same and the headache returned. Now I made the connection.

Because I had mixed the two stimulants previously (separately) I decided on day 3 to brew a pure Ma Huang brew. I wanted to know if this batch was bad or if my body did not like the whole plant. I drank the mostly flavorless and nearly colorless tea. The brewed and then iced tea does have a wonderful 'mouth feel'. Again before I finished half the cup I could start to feel the effects. This time no headache. But a very nice 'upper body' buzz. No jitters, heartrate was normal, but I was slightly light headed. Most importantly despite not having yet had breakfast, I was not hungry. The buzz pleasant and not powerful or distracting. I can go about my normal day and still enjoy the buzz.

Now two months later I take my Ma Huang with a 200mg caffeine pill and an aspirin 4-5 days a week. I feel better I love the buzz and I am 20 pounds lighter. Thanks to Chinese traditional medicine, I raise my cup of tea to you!

Exp Year: 2012	ExpID: 98422
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 50
Published: Dec 11, 2017	Views: 3,302
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Ephedra sinica (243) : Unknown Context (20), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Preparation / Recipes (30), Retrospective / Summary (11), Combinations (3)