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ADHD. Turns out I was self medicating this whole time.
Me too.
Some people have a gene that makes them hyper-sensitive to caffeine. You either try lowering the dose or just no amount may work for you.
By developing a caffeine addiction so it stops affecting me. Also ADHD.
Flashback to all those high school nights slamming monsters and passing out like nothing happened. If only there were signs so I could have been tested earlier.
develop a dependency
L theananine for me to, works great though consult a doctor if you need.
Mindfullness/quiet thinking - its important to understand youself to help calm down
Lots of water can help regulate your system better
Having it regulalry and slowly more and mor. I used to get anxious on coca cola. But i started moving to a small coffee, then a medium and now a large usually doesnt give me anxiety unless i have a strong shot
L-theanine! Personally I drink black tea every day and it feels much more pleasant. Of course, the methy feeling of coffee is fun, but I'm sweaty and anxious till I crash.
The FDA has certified 1200 mg/day for six months straight to be a safe dosage if L-theanine. That’s just the most extreme dose they studied so it could be safe beyond that too.
I mean … if you trust the FDA. I know some don’t. But I doubt Big Theanine has much of a thumb on those scales.
As others have said, not everyone has the same reaction to caffeine. Some people (esp. with ADHD) find it refreshing and even soothing, while others with a sensitivity have a strong reaction like racing heart, anxiety, and difficulty sleeping.
You didn't really give much info, but I'm guessing by the question you are in the latter.
If you enjoy it, switch to tea or decaf (which still contains a small amount of caffeine). If you don't enjoy it, then some people get an energy boost from ginseng or the like.
I’m sorry I didn’t clarify, but I’m doing my best responding to the comments you guys make.
Maybe my questions are meant for in general?
No worries! That's why I tried to give the most general response I could.
I’d it’s just the caffeine that’s a problem, there always decaf. There are some surprisingly good decafs out there.
What are the good decafs? The only one I know of is Blue Bottle Decaf Noir, and blue bottle is owned by Nestle so fuck blue bottle. Plus I can't find it where I live now.
I had a hard time finding whole bean decaf. Counter culture: slow motion and magnolia coffee co: Brazil decaf are too options that I like fairly well.
My sensitivity to caffeine varies. When it starts to bother me, going to approximately half decaf and half normal beans is a good way to cut the caffeine without having the shock of suddenly switching to decaf only.
Half caf is great if you can deal with it. The older you get the harder time your body has processing caffeine. I've gotten to a place where I can't drink almost any caffeine except early morning (due to the longer half-life in my body) or I can't sleep, which sucks because I love the flavor of coffee, especially French roast, which is highly caffeinated.
Are you sure it's the caffeine? I ask because I have no problems at all with caffeine, but coffee in any real quantity, eg. more than in a Coffee Crisp or coffee cake, gives me stomach cramps, but I can take a 200 mg tablet on an empty stomach and have no problems at all.
Everyone's different, and I'm curious if this is another of those.
Drink enough of it and you'll wonder how to better tolerate not having caffeine when the headaches start.
Yeah, this question is confusing and backwards.
Eating something. Caffeine while on an empty stomach is no beuno at least for me anyways
Same. I get the shits after my 3rd cup in the morning if I haven't eaten anything.
That's the neat part, I don't.
If you need the caffeine to function, you should maybe talk with a doctor if you can. If you just like coffee you can start to dilute it with milk or a creamer. A hot coffee tasting beverage is all I need.
You know, you don't have to. Try having a goal to feel as good as possible as often as possible. If caffeine helps, so be it, if it harms, so be it.
Caffeine in which context? Coffee, tea, energy drinks...?
Coffee, tea, and soda are what I drink.
With consistency. Whether I have 1 cup of coffee in the morning, or drink caffeinated beverages all day, the key for me is to do that consistently, or suffer dire consequences. Ramping up, I can't focus and anxiety attacks. Ramping down I get migraines.
Woe betide me if I am on a ramp down and find myself having to take an Excedrin or three. That spike keeps me up for days.
Ramping down is probably giving you withdrawal symptoms. They shouldn't last more than a week. Painkillers will help, but if you're trying to get away from caffeine, make sure they aren't in your painkillers, too. A number of extra strength painkillers have 50 mg caffeine (Excedrin has caffeine). Of course, everyone is different, even ignoring how ADHD interacts with caffeine, so no one solution is perfect.
As someone who has maintained a consistently low caffeine addiction for decades, these are important factors. I keep it low so it isn't required to function normally and I still get a kick with reasonable results when I need it. And I like the taste of Coca-Cola.
Practice?
If I've been feeling the effects of coffee I switch to teas for a few days. But I much prefer coffee so I end up switching back once I gel better. So maybe change up your caffeine medium of you're having issues?
Try developing an uncommon sleep disorder that basically makes you immune to the effects of caffeine. Tolerance won't be an issue after that.
L-Theanine.
I have one cup of coffee per day and maybe one soda if I need it later. If I have any more caffeine than that I feel like I'm going to jump out of my own skin
I limit myself to the caffeine equivalent because I don't want to build a tolerance. As long as I stick to medically safe levels of caffeine I don't seem to have any side effects, just more alertness/energy, so having to take more to keep withdrawal symptoms at bay as well as having to take even more to see any benefits just seems like a bad idea.
Practice
I’m unable to process caffeine normally. The effects last 8 hours or more in my case. Let me know if you figure this out.
When I drink caffeine, it sometimes tear up my stomach even though I drink it just fine.
Try making a rich hot cocoa with a raw cocoa. Cocoa contains theobromine which can give a somewhat similar surge of energy as caffeine, but I find it less harsh.
Oh man, that sounds delicious!
I use lactose free whole milk, maple syrup, a generous amount of cocoa, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and sometimes a touch of nutmeg.
My wife likes to go really heavy on the cinnamon and adds some cayenne pepper for more of a mexican chocolate style drink.
Delicuous indeed.
Cocoa does contain some caffeine, so people with no tolerance at all might not be able to enjoy it, but it's something like 10% the amount that's in coffee.
If i have more than 2 homemade-sized cups i drop a little cbd in to kill the jitters.
Why do you ask? What sort of intolerance are you having?
I don't drink it until I've been up a few hours and not within a few hours of sleeping, that works for me.
When young though, nothing felt better than sleeping on amphetamines or caffeine. So many dreams and so refreshing. I can't do it now, too close to sleeping just makes it hard to sleep.
Sometimes, when I have my second cup of coffee, my chest gets tight, but I don't always have that.
Maybe tea would suit you better? It contains the L-Theanine others here have recommended, and usually has less caffeine.
You could also just make smaller servings if you want to drink coffee twice, literally just use a smaller cup, or don't fill it all the way?
Aeropress might be good too - it makes a nice strong tasting cup of coffee but the water is not in contact with the coffee for as long as it is for drip coffee.
Two ways:
- meditate to develop awareness of when you’ve entered and when you’ve exceeded your optimal stimulating level. When you do enter, or leave, the state, stop and pay as much attention to how good or bad it feels. Soak up the awareness of the feeling. This conditions your subconscious to feed you the right amount of caffeine, enhancing the subtle signal of anxiety levels and optimal flow, to overpower the more direct “addictive substance = take more!” reflex your brain wants to do.
- When you’ve accidentally overcaffeinated, take some L-theanine to utterly destroy the anxiety/avoidance feeling of the overcaffeination.
??? I couldn't so I eliminated it. It can be hard given how available and addictive the drug is, but I cope much better without it.