The fact that you can lose weight without changing your eating habits should be the first clue that something is amiss with Redotex, a diet pill available by prescription in Mexico. The second is that the United States, lenient about letting you import all sorts of prescription medications, will confiscate Redotex. The third is that Redotex combines stimulants and tranquilizers, a potentially lethal concoction, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
History
Redotex first became popular in the 1980s when more than 100,000 Americans drove across the border annually to gain access to a cocktail of amphetamines, depressants, thyroid supplements, diuretics and laxatives. It became trickier to obtain by the end of the decade when the United States started cracking down on its importation.
The Internet has made the drug easier to obtain but no less dangerous to take, and the Food and Drug Administration issued a new warning in 2009. Among complications from taking Redotex are high blood pressure, depression, psychosis, addiction and severe diarrhea. Deaths among persons taking Redotex have been reported but not conclusively linked to its use.
Ingredients
Redotex contains the following ingredients: 75 mcg of tri-iodothyronine, a hormone used to increase metabolism; 50 mg of norpseudoephedrine, an amphetamine-like appetite suppressant; 0.36 mg atropine sulfate, a respiratory and circulatory stimulant used to treat allergies; 16.2 mg of aloin, a laxative and 8 mg of diazepam, the depressant commonly known as Valium.
When Mexican doctors prescribe Redotex, they frequently also give their patients Ponderex, an amphetamine used as an appetite suppressant, and Moduretic, a diuretic used to reduce high blood pressure.
Border Control of Redotex
If you are caught at the border with Redotex, Ponderex or Moduretic, the items will be seized. If you ordered the drugs online and your shipment gets inspected at the border, the items will be detained. Unless you want to physically retrieve the drugs at the border and prove that you are taking them out of the country, you will lose the medication and the money used to pay for them. U.S. Customs will also seize three other drugs sometimes prescribed in addition to or in place of Redotex: Asenlix, Ionamin and Fluddro Furosemide.
On the other hand, you can import most prescriptions drugs as long as they are for personal use. This generally limits you to purchasing no more than a 90-day supply at one time. The prohibition against Redotex is based on concerns by the FDA that the "irrational combination" of drugs in Redotex could cause serious and potentially fatal adverse reactions.
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of Redotex is not in question. In the 1980s, the average patient taking Redotex lost 5 to 6 lb. per week, according to Donald Healton, a spokesman for the Food & Drug Administration's regional office in Dallas. Carmina Danini, a reporter for The Laredo Morning Times, called Redotex a "miracle cure" because you could eat all the hamburgers and pizza you wanted and still lose weight. The downside, she said, was that she regained all of the lost weight as soon as she stopped taking the drug.
Healthy Alternative
Redotex, sometimes called the Mexican Diet, may seem an enticingly easy answer to your weight problem. But if the purpose of shedding pounds is to improve your health -- and not to fit into a pair of jeans in time for a weekend party -- then it makes no sense to consider Redotex. You can lose weight effectively and permanently if you take it off gradually, adjusting calories and fitness activities to keep your metabolism properly charged. You can determine your healthy weight by using the World Health Organization's Body Mass Index and reach it by following nutritional guidelines by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
References
- "Newsweek"; The Mexican Way: Easy But Dangerous; Frank Gibney Jr.; Feb. 2, 1987
- The New York Times; U.S. Officials Trying to End Flow of an Illegal Diet Pill From Mexico; Robert Reinhold; Feb. 19, 1987
- Food and Drug Administration: Import Alert
- The Washington Post; U.S. to Stop Seizing Prescription Drugs Imported for Personal Use; Christopher Lee; Oct. 5, 2006
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Food Pyramid
- World Health Organization: Body Mass Index
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