 | While maintaining a healthy weight is a good thing, people sometimes try some dangerous diets in order to lose excess weight. There are some dangerous diet pills and other medications that can cause serious health problems. While we will cover some of the risks here, you should talk to your doctor if you need more information about dangerous diets and how to lose weight safely. |
Diet Pills
Diet pills are becoming more and more popular these days as many people think they will be a safe and effective way to lose excess weight. Unfortunately, there are a number of very dangerous diet pills out there, including some that are available without a prescription. They can cause multiple medical problems and in some cases may even result in death. However, many people assume they are safe if they are sold without a prescription, and many also assume their doctor would not prescribe anything dangerous. Such assumptions can put you at great risk.
Many diet pills contain a combination of phenylpropanolamine and caffeine. These pills stimulate the nervous system and may reduce appetite. Unfortunately, they may also cause anxiety, nausea, diarrhea, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, dizziness and irritability.
Other diet pills may contain ephedrine. While this may also reduce appetite, it can also cause rapid heart rate, irregular heart rate, chest pains, dizziness, difficulty breathing, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, anxiety, seizures, strokes and even heart failure. Ephedrine has been linked to numerous deaths.
In the past, fenfluramine, commonly referred to as Fen-Phen, was commonly prescribed by doctors for patients needing to lose weight. It was eventually withdrawn from the market due to serious side effects, including lung disease that was often fatal. Fen-Phen was one of the most dangerous diet pills ever sold in the U.S.
Laxatives
Laxatives are not diet pills and they are not intended to be used to help people lose weight. However, some people following dangerous diets do use or abuse laxatives in an attempt to prevent weight gain or to lose weight.
Laxatives are available without a prescription and are meant to be taken only occasionally to relieve constipation. Some people mistakenly think that taking laxatives will cause food to move through the digestive system faster, preventing them from absorbing all the calories in the food. This is not true, however. The use of laxatives causes people to lose fluid, which might make them feel like they lost weight, but that feeling does not last long.
Abuse of laxatives can lead to severe stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, bloody diarrhea, dehydration and serious electrolyte imbalances. Ironically, severe constipation may develop as the bowels begin to have difficulty functioning with the stimulation of laxatives. With prolonged use, laxatives can cause permanent damage to the bowels. As with other dangerous diet pills, laxative abuse can be deadly over time.
Diuretics (Water Pills)
Diuretics, sometimes referred to as water pills, cause people to lose a lot of fluid. They are typically prescribed for patients that retain excessive fluids, such as those with heart disease or high blood pressure. When used by people on dangerous diets to try to lose weight, water pills can be very dangerous. The loss of fluids can lead to serious electrolyte imbalances and dehydration. Both kidney failure and heart failure may result.
While water pills may initially cause a temporary weight loss due to loss of vital fluids, the body will soon begin retaining extra water in an attempt to correct the resulting electrolyte imbalances and prevent dehydration. Then it appears that people using them are gaining weight, which may lead them to take even more diuretics. The more they are used, the more dangerous they become.
Syrup of Ipecac
Syrup of Ipecac is not a diet pill, but some people on dangerous diets use it to prevent weight gain. It’s a liquid medication meant to induce vomiting. It’s typically used when someone has ingested something harmful, like an overdose of certain drugs or some poisonous plants. You should always consult a doctor or your local poison control center before taking syrup of Ipecac for such purposes, though, because there are some substances that can actually cause more harm if vomiting is induced.
People with eating disorders may use syrup of Ipecac to induce vomiting in order to avoid absorbing calories from food they’ve eaten. Such use can be very risky, particularly if done often. It can cause damage to the heart muscle and may result in cardiac arrest. It has caused numerous deaths among people with eating disorders.
Dangerous diet pills, laxatives, diuretics and syrup of Ipecac are not safe or effective ways to lose weight. They can cause serious medical problems or even result in death. If you need to lose weight, talk to your doctor about the safest and most effective way to do so rather than relying on dangerous diet pills. If you have been following dangerous diets in an attempt to lose weight, see your doctor right away to make sure no serious damage has been done and to discuss safer, healthier weight loss methods. If someone you know is following dangerous diets, encourage them to see a doctor as soon as possible.
source : www.mirror-mirror.org
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