Coffee?

[Treeman]

Hi, can I ask, do you drink coffee?

I used to drink it but gave it up after I became a bit of an addict. I used to get great boosts from it, but as many crashes and that's why I stopped. Your experiences and advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Sarahloudobby]

I do drink coffee but only in the form of lattes, I try to drink water in between but I find that I do get a small boost from caffeine

 

[Wishful]

Coffee--or rather, caffeine--never gave me any sort of boost. Strong coffee would make me jittery and cause insomnia, but it never made me feel more energetic. I did drink regular, albeit weak, coffee most of my life, but switched to decaf 5-10 years ago because my sleep became more sensitive to caffeine. I did give coffee up entirely for a few years, just in case it was a factor in my ME severity, but there didn't seem to be any correlation.

 

[ljimbo423]

Hi, can I ask, do you drink coffee?

I used to drink it but gave it up after I became a bit of an addict. I used to get great boosts from it, but as many crashes and that's why I stopped. Your experiences and advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I don't drink coffee but I take 100 mg tablet of caffeine every morning (no more) with 75 mg of N-acetyl-L-tyrosine.

Both the caffeine and NAT give me a small boost of energy and alertness. Just enough to give me a jump start in the morning.

 

[nina22]

I did start drinking coffee specifically because of my CFS. I don't drink it everyday but It gives me a boost of alertness when I need extra, even sometimes overcoming my brainfog. But it also keeps me up at night which causes more brainfog later... tricky.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

I enjoy one cup of weak coffee on average days when not crashing. It does give me a brief lift during my daily window of Maybe I Am Sort of Awake For Now.

When I'm feeling worse, I am unable to even imagine having that cup of coffee.

so it serves as a good early morning indicator of- how the day will be going.

 

[xebex]

Can’t drink coffee, but I do drink black tea and don’t get the same jitters. I’ve given up tea anfew times to see if it causes crashes but always go back to it m, it seems to help and I don’t crash from it.

 

[Mimicry]

I've been ill for 15 years and never stopped drinking coffee. I drink it every morning and afternoon, and my afternoon cup actually seems to help me sleep better (my AmazFit says my sleep quality is better during those nights, I wonder if it has something to do with my presumed ADHD). Sometimes coffee makes me jittery and anxious if I don't eat enough and obviously I can't drink too much, but in moderate amounts (2 mugs a day) it seems to help with mood and mental energy, if not physical. I don't really crash from it either because it doesn't give me false energy as such, it's more of a mood boost.

 

[Wishful]

it's more of a mood boost.

Given how our lives are, mood boosts are important.

 

[Judee]

I wonder if it has something to do with my presumed ADHD).

I think that's what it helps me with.

It calms me so I can sleep and makes me less forgetful so I don't go into rooms saying, "Now what did I come in here for?" all day long. (I still do that but it's 10x worse when I'm off of coffee/caffeine.)

 

[Wishful]

"Now what did I come in here for?"

Just assume that you came in for another cup of coffee. Problem solved!

 

[Judee]

Just assume that you came in for another cup of coffee. Problem solved!

Yep...lol

 

[Mimicry]

Given how our lives are, mood boosts are important.

100%!

 

[borko2100]

Coffee has almost no effect on me now, same for energy drinks. I think it helps a bit to wake up, but I never notice a boost or something like that. I drink it out of habit mostly.

In the past, when my CFS was worse I had a period of about 2-3 years when I was suffering from severe food hypersensitivities. Foods with histamine, MSG, caffeine, etc. would give me all kinds of scary and weird symptoms. Back then I couldn't even drink a cup of coffee or green tea or else I would get a rapid heartbeat, dizziness, anxiety, etc.

I think stimulants in general don't work for us. I've tried stronger herbal ones and pharmaceutical ones like Ritalin and the results were quite underwhelming. Ritalin for example keeps me awake, so I don't have to nap during the day, but it does not give me any physical energy. I guess it gives you a slight mental boost and focus, but nothing amazing or life-changing.