Ahhhh, spring break. It's almost here, and so begins the hectic week of ab crunches, pill popping and hours at the Student Recreation Complex pumping iron in an attempt to fit into that itty-bitty bikini.
You can walk into any drugstore these days and fall victim to the diet pill companies, preying on young people who are striving to fit a cookie-cutter image so often seen in magazines. Pop a pill, they claim, and you will magically drop three sizes while still enjoying your 99-cent Wendy's double stack. Sounds good, right?
Wrong.
Recently, an ASU student took a trip to the Student Health and Wellness Center to figure out what the heck was wrong with her. Turns out, her pill popping led to a case of serotonin syndrome.
Serotonin, you ask, isn't that the stuff I heard about in psychology class? Sure is. And isn't that the stuff that ecstasy pumps into you, giving you that wonderfully euphoric feeling? Sure is. So what does it have to do with dieting?
Serotonin decreases the appetite, not to mention makes you feel good. What's not to love? Well, pump enough serotonin into your body, which is very possible considering most of the supplements aren't approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and you will be suffering some major consequences.
Forget puking all over the bar this spring break being your biggest concern. How about having diarrhea the whole time?
Other symptoms of the syndrome include drowsiness, rapid muscle contraction and relaxation of the leg and jaw, and rigidity (not the good kind, guys).
The chemical also messes with your head. Remember psychology class? A euphoric feeling is often felt by people "suffering" from the syndrome, not to mention the crazy mood swings that might follow.
In a way, we guess you could call it legal ecstasy. Forget the gym, grab your pacifiers and some glow sticks, and start losing weight today.
The drug the student took is one of several that increase serotonin levels to decrease appetites and "balance" moods. Hydroxytryptophan, which the patient took, as well as another drug called Meridia, both list serotonin syndrome as a side effect of taking the pill.
While we haven't seen a major overflow of girls running to the Student Health and Wellness Center grinding their teeth and running to the bathroom, it has definite potential to become a problem.
Don't go dying on us. Stick around for a while, someone needs to read our paper. Forget the get-skinny-quick plan -- if it worked, we'd all look like supermodels. Enjoy your curves, and if you're on a quest to lose weight, get off your fat butt and hit the gym.
Oh, and keeping away from the double stacks will also help.
