One of the big problems with Ephedra/Ephedrine and especially an
Ephedra/Caffeine combo (EC stack) is that it's a stimulant and you need
to ramp up to the dosage slowly over days or weeks.  If you are in the
midst of an asthma attack you just take the 12 mg dosage and deal with
the heart racing, but if you're trying to use it long term you need to
start out by cutting the pills in half and just taking one half in the
morning for a few days and maybe doing 1/2 twice a day for a few days
and then go up to a full pill in the morning and 1/2 a pill after
lunch... but never take it in the late afternoon or you won't sleep!

Most of the problems people had with the Stacker products were because
the stimulant was, um, stimulating.  In other words, because it behaved
exactly as you'd expect it to behave.  Packaging instructions give max
doses after building up and that's disturbingly bad info for most
people.  Then again, if you don't know what it is you're taking then you
probably ought not to take it.

I buy Ephedrine HCl in 8 mg pills (a primatene tablet is usually 12 mg)
and I start by taking just one.  I'm now at full dose for tax season and
that's 24 mg in the morning and 16 mg after lunch for me and that is as
high a dose as I ever do.  (For comparison, Stacker products typically
say 24 mg three times a day and asthma meds say 12 mg every 4-6 hours.)

I've gotten completely away from maintenance drugs for astham.  I
figured out what my triggers are and I avoid those, and I do the EC
stack which helps mild episodes, and I also have my kid's nebulizer and
use his Xopenex when I'm really dealing with a more serious episode for
a few days once or twice a year.  I also have a Ventolin MDI for
"rescue" sitations, but those almost never come up.  I used a
preventative dose before my 10 degree race a few weeks ago.

Actually, my sons are off of Intal, too.  We really only have asthma
episodes when we're viral-triggered and I can spot when that's coming on.

Dally, who is quite fanatical about hand-washing