My diet pill confession: I don't use them to lose weight...

WhiteRabbit1313

... I use diet pills to get an edge at my job.

Yep, that's right.

I'm a court reporter by profession. And I'm essentially taking Speed every morning (ephedrine) to give me a leg up at my job. Is it illegal? No. It's perfectly legal. Is it ethical? That's the question I'm struggling with. I am expected at my job to write, instantaneously, everything that people say in a legal setting. Sometimes, that's 250-300 words per minute for stretches of time on my little machine. Surely anything that helps me do my job to the best of my ability is a good thing; however, I feel like if anyone knew, they would use it as another nail in the coffin for my job. Court reporters are being eliminated elsewhere in North America and being replaced by tape recorders and typists. Ideally I get my speed up to the point where I can do television closed captioning (yes, if you didn't know, that's a real person doing your evening news captions live).

When I was in college, people knew that I was using them before tests. No one really discouraged it, but people did of course warn me about the health effects it could have on me. I know it's not healthy, and I know it would be far better if I could do my job at this level without the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

I don't know, just wanted to get this off my chest before i go to work this morning. Just wondering if anyone else uses strong stimulants like this to increase their work performance, and if so, how it affects you.

Undiagnosed ADHD?

^^This. I have ADD, not ADHD, and I zone out all of the time, so I need Rx meds to stay focused, streamline my thinking, and stay on task.

FrenchMob

So much misinformation on here about ephedrine I don't even know where to begin;

1. it's not speed
2. it's not addictive
3. not "a bunch of people started dying of heart attacks" - 1 person did that had a pre-existing heart condition.
4. They use to sell them in 25mg form - now it's 8 mg, which means you need 3 to match old dose, not 20.
5. Proven to work as a legit fat burner especially when paired with caffeine. http://examine.com/supplements/Ephedrine/

Slacker16

Ephedrine is legal/OTC 'round your parts?
Care to sell?


Just joking...




...I'm more into addy.

Aust1967

where do you get the epedrine from?

Primatene tablets. *shrugs* Completely legal - its an over the counter medication and her getting in trouble over it is like her getting in trouble for taking ibuprofen, same legal status.

I took the recommended dosage of Primatene tablets once (for asthma) and wound up in the emergency room. The doctor assumed I had OD'd on something by the way I was acting. I was literally running up and down the halls waiting to be seen. He said I was lucky I hadn't had a heart attack with the way it affected me....

Aust1967

This thread over ephedrine is way over people's heads right now

I use ephedrine...

...for my seasonal allergies. One or two of the smallest dosages a day, sometimes every other, and have been since before I started losing weight. Wayyyyyyyy cheaper than buying any other seasonal allergy mediation, and it's the same active ingredient.

I didn't even know that it's meant to be used for weight loss until I came on this site :indifferent:

what allergy drug uses ephedrine? I have only seen pseudoephedrine

I thought ephidrine is the reason that you need a prescription for Claritin/Allegra. Also, I think that they changed the formula so that it doesn't include it. Maybe ppl are just confused. Funny that she thought she was taking speed, though. LOL. Problem solved, OP. You're not a speed junkie. But, I'd work on getting another job. The stress of knowing that my job is becoming obsolete would drive me crazy. If you're resorting to using what you think is speed right now, I'd hate to see how you react when you lose your job. Hope things pick up for you. :happy:

Since when did you need a prescription for those 2?

You don't. I meant you have to get it from the pharmacist...And show an ID and sign some type of agreement and have your info logged.

thats because of pseudoephedrine.

It's because the various states keep databases of the people who buy it and in what quantities - because it can be used to make meth.

Saramelie

Have you ever thought about switching to steno-mask? My mom is a stenographer but steno-mask. It`s still really demanding, but you don`t have to type in direct.

kelly_e_montana

I took ephedrine for YEARS. I took it on its own starting at about age 15. I took it in an ECA stack back in the good old days when Hydroxycut actually worked. EVERYONE was ECA stacking in the 90s from what I remember. I'm sure it was horrible for me but I don't really know what life was like without it. It's not very possible to get it where i live anymore so I have not taken it in years. You can get pseudoephedrine here but you have to sign your life away and get it from a pharmacy. Whenever I take it for my allergies, I notice an immediate decrease in appetite and it reminds me of how I felt my entire 20s. I can't judge you because I did it but you will definitely notice appetite gain and weight gain when you come off it.