Lets talk about caffeine

OK so I am considering going back to regular coffee. I have been thinking about not being so strict with the decaf thing. I know what the spin docs say about caffeine; what I want to know is- what are your personal experiences with caffeine? Positive and negative comments please. I am not planning to OD on the stuff :) Just reconsidering my banishment of it. Thanks!

I find that coffee helps to relieve my pain.

Donnaeil

i used to love coffee, but now i find that it gives me that buzz that ginny talked about. i get terribly antsy and my heart goes wild and feel super keyed up and buzzy like i'd done drugs or something. it also gives me awful heartburn, so i've had to say so long to coffee.

i do miss it, especially on sunday mornings...:(

still, everyone is different, so it's quite possible that you'll go back to drinking it no problems. hopefully it works out for you! :)

Hi,

To drink or not to drink, that is the question!!!  

Wow, I have to have my caffeine or I can't motivate.  I find it actually helps me to stay awake with my CFS.  A cardiologist I went to a few months ago told me my heart was fine but the caffeine had to go.  He said it was the only problem I have, not Fibro & not CFS.  If I can get good sleep then my pain would go away & my memory would come back & fog would be gone & on & on.  I told him that I don't get a caffeine buzz but it keeps me functioning.  Anyway, I went off of it & boy was I miserable.  No withdrawal, no bad headache just total fatigue, in bed unable to function.  I stayed off it for 4 days with no improvement so I had a cup of coffee.  Within half an hour I was up & cleaning.  I did the dishes, did laundry, took a shower, pacing myself as I went.  A few hours later the caffeine was gone & I was back in bed miserable.  same the next day.  So, that's my story, I am back on the caffeine but I do limit myself.  We are all so different sometimes it's hard to believe we all have the same thing.  But we do & we have to take care of each other as best we can.  Hope you find the right answer for you.  Love & hugs, Denise

I mix my caffiene with decaf. Two scoops caffiene, one scoop decaf. I have been out of my decaf and noticed the difference, I am more tense and it really effects the pain that I have. It is a nervous stimulant so it will cause more pain. Try mixing, it keeps your blood pressure down and you still get a little energy from the caffiene part of it. And it still tastes good. Plus you can drink more if you want. Plus it doesn't bother your stomache like full caffienated coffee would.

Best wishes for a wonderful day.

Hugs, Karen

I used to drink coffee but got shakey and couldn't sleep.  I switched to tea.  The caffeine in a cup of tea isn't as great as in a cup of coffee.  This will help wake me up but not play around with my nervous system.

 

Sherrine

On the issue of possible caffeine symptoms. Does drinking coffee seem to temporarily increase the following.

Anyone have dizziness type issues, maybe from the medications. I am not sure its the meds because I used to get them taking no drugs. I am not even sure dizziness is the right word, but its something of a combination of brain fog, hard to focus and straight, long walking seems off. Only seems to happen walking a straight distance, or prolonged standing. If I am sitting or laying down, I don't get it, or if I am moving around inside with allot of posture changes or only standing up for a short time I don't get it.

Anyhow, I get this every morning, it usualy last for an hour or two, and the coffee seems to increase it for awhile. I can't tell if my balance centers are just messed up, or low blood flow to the brain, or neck problems or what it is. All I know is that after I drink the coffee, for a little while it gets worse. If I walk out of air conditioning into a hot day it instantly comes on. When I first started going to a massage therapist I would stagger to get my cloths back on and feel totaly off walking to my car and driving home. That part has calmed down quite a bit after months of massage work and a Chiropractor adjusting my neck every week for months.

Whatever it is, I have checked it against my blood pressure and blood sugar levels and found no correlation. The only constants I can find is that Caffeine makes it worse in the first couple of hours in the morning, or walking out into the heat, or walking a straight line distance, or standing allot.

I can use my Inverter when I am way off, turning myself upside down for a couple of minutes and it goes away for awhile, so I feel like I am either increasing blood flow to my brain, or I am resetting my balance centers, or its the traction on my neck.

If I had insurance I would be out getting a CT or MRI or both, but this has been going on for 13 years. The difference is that it used to go away for months at a time, and the last 4 years its been a daily constant. I am wondering if its the long term effect of the medications on the Central Nervous System and the coffee temporarily throws it off even more.

Hi Sera-

I drink two cups of coffee in the morning and a half a cup after supper or I would not have the energy to do anything. If I drink any more than that my body gets the worse "buzzed" feeling.

GamJill

I have 1 or 2 cups of coffee in the morning. Other than that, I usually don't consume any more caffeine during the day. My morning coffee gives me the "jolt" I need to get moving. Blessings, Julie

Have any of you tried a new product called VIV? pronounced "vive" .....Its an all natural, caffeine-free alternative to coffee and caffeine/sugar based energy drinks. Schizandra berry is the primary ingredient. It works synergistically with several other adaptogenic botanicals to fight fatigue and combat stress. I've been using it for about a month and a half now, particularly during the afternoon hours when I sometimes get a little drowsy; and while it doesn't give me that "buzz" as coffee does, it does seem to make me more focused and restores my energy levels. For me, I just needed to get out of the sugar/caffeine cycle that never seems to provide me with any sustained energy.

I used to have 1 caffeinated drink a day, until I started having tons of palpitations, so I quite drinking it (for now). It may not even have anything to do with the palps I'm having, but they scared me so much, I didn't want to make them worse.
I have ADD, and maybe that's why I tend to get "addicted" to it so easily. I can think soooooooooo much more clearly, and have soooooo much more energy, when I drink that one caffeinated drink. But....what's interesting, is that after about a month of doing this, then it starts making me really tired. Maybe its the sugar in Classic coke. But I can't drink Diet Coke, because without the sugar, it gives me really bad shakes and hypoglycemic symtpoms.
It does tend to make my muscles hurt a little more.
I feel like, if you only get good responses to it, 1-2 drinks a day isn't bad. But......for me....even if I only have one little drink of caffeine in the morning, it makes me wake up more at night. So be sure it doesn't affect your sleep.
Oh...and it does make me have worse urinary frequency and urgency.
When I go without it for awhile, and then have it, it must be how people feel on Cocaine!! It makes me soooooo happy. Too bad we can feel like that all the time, without any bad side-effects!

Wow! Thank you everyone for your input on this issue. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the number of responses, I suppose since I banished coffee from my life I also forgot how much people either love it or despise it :) So- here's how my research shook out- I have a cup of regular about half an hour after I get up. I am weaning myself of off all sugar subs, and I don't need it in tea now, but it will take a while for my coffee to be sweet free. Thanks again for your info.