Feeling weird after coffee

[Jon]

In the last year, I thought I might have a heart condition. Occasionally, while going through the supermarket, I have felt peculiar and rather ill. I've had to crouch down and "rest" there for a couple of minutes or so. It is an unsettling feeling and alarming. I've been keeping an eye on it this last year, to see if it goes away, stays the same or gets worse.

It hasn't gone away.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a commonality that puzzled me. It nearly always seemed to happen when I was shopping. It was always midday, or thereabouts. I just couldn't figure it out. Then recently, I thought to myself, "I wonder if it has anything to do with caffeine?" I always have my coffee around 10:30am, and often go food shopping afterwards. My usual coffee has 2 shots of espresso, or 3 shots if I go for a medium cappuccino. I also have a red bull energy drink first thing in the morning, which is equivalent to 1 shot of espresso (much less than most people assume).

There is a guy in my local Costa coffee that said he was feeling weird after drinking coffee, so has stopped coming in very much at all. But now I think the same is happening to me! It must be the caffeine.

I have changed my routine by cutting out the red bull first thing, and I nearly always have a small cappuccino anyway. So instead of having up to 4 shots, I am on 2. I have noticed when, at the weekends, I have a medium cappuccino with 3 shots, that I feel "something" afterwards. I never used to get this. Perhaps due to age, I have developed a mild sensitivity to caffeine.

Since I cut out the red bull, I have not had one of these "funny turns", although this experiment has only been running a couple of weeks now. If you don't hear from me again, I have misdiagnosed myself.

Anyone here felt funny after coffee before?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Red Bull contains caffeine and the coffee contains caffeine. You were having a reaction to too much caffeine. It IS, after all, an alkaloid poison. You can look that up if you need to. Other caffeine relatives are used to control your heart rhythm - e.g. belladonna, a natural source of the alkaloid called atropine. In fact, the U.S. military issues kits of atropine injectors for soldiers in areas where they might be exposed to nerve gas, because atropine kick-starts the nervous system. But here is food for thought: Yet another alkaloid is strychnine, which is used as a rat poison. Gives the little buggers a heart attack! Then there is nicotine, and we know what THAT does. And one of the more addictive versions (even more than nicotine) is morphine.

That whole FAMILY of chemicals is physically and/or psycho-active. For that reason, you might wish to be aware of how much caffeine you consume. A small amount isn't bad. A larger amount becomes an issue. How much is "a larger amount" depends on your body size, general health, and any specific sensitivities.

 

[Bee]

I agree with Doc, it sounds like you can probably process the coffees you have been having, but the Red Bull is the real culprit. It's so bad for you. So bad.

You could always try decaff coffee? I have coffee with a friend every Friday morning and she starts with a normal caffeinated coffee, then her second is a decaff.

 

[Jon]

Why does she have decaff for #2?

 

[Bee]

Because she's had her caffeine limit in #1 but to continue to enjoy the taste, ambience, company etc she has a decaff for #2 so she doesn't then get palpitations and anxiety.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Yep, decaf coffee isn't for waking up. It is for socializing. Even in New Orleans (which has the reputation of being a major coffee-drinking city) we have that scenario quite often. When I was working with the Navy, I would use decaf instant coffee to help with fluids (had to stay hydrated) and because I liked the flavor. One could also argue it solved a "flavor hunger" because in evolutionary terms, Man evolved to be constantly eating tidbits. The idea of a big meal three times a day is a cultural thing, not an evolutionary thing.

 

[Jon]

I had a friend who years ago bought himself a new espresso machine. He was playing with it and tried different things out. Think he had about 12 espressos in half a day!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Your friend was probably "wired" for several hours after that. Two normal cups of Navy coffee (non-decaf) was enough to make me feel different.

 

[Jon]

Yes, he said his heart was pounding. I wonder if there have been cases of people overdosing on coffee with serious consequences.

Incidentally, it is the weekend so I am on a medium cappuccino instead of a small. That means 3 shots, not 2. I will monitor symptoms. I feel like a crack addict!

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Alkaloids ARE addictive. Caffeine, nicotine, morphine... all of them can hook you severely.

 

[Jon]

I did feel a bit weird again in the supermarket, right after my coffee. First time I've had that funny feeling for a while. So, it is definitely the coffee! Looks like I can only have 2 shots of espresso. At least I didn't have to crouch down this time. In the past, I would have had one shot from a red bull and 3 from the cappuccino. I wonder if I can build up a tolerance with training??

 

[Bee]

You wouldn't be building a tolerance, you'd be feeding an addiction.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

It is possible to make it seem as though you have developed a tolerance, but the truth is that when you try to break your habit, you have a stronger reaction. And the more it seems you have developed your tolerance, the harder it will be to break the habit.