Caffeine

Has anyone benefits cognitively from having caffeine?

I can't seem to workout whether it's good for me or not. I just feel like i can't get out of bed and function unless I have one...but then again if it's causing a cycle of shitty symptoms to go round then I really should stop. I definitely feel more alert and in a better mood after having one.

Has anyone benefits cognitively from having caffeine?

 

It worsened my twitches and shakes, but I felt it helped my cognition (and I enjoyed the warmth and flavor).  So I did a cup most mornings.

Has anyone benefits cognitively from having caffeine?

 

Using in moderation. I was suffering early withdrawal symptoms of extreme fatigue in the morning and throughout the day, which

led to binging on multiple caffeinated beverages throughout the day to fight the fatigue and function , not realizing why I was so fatigued to begin with. Caffeine kept me going for many months until I started to become sick with more debilitating symptoms.

I would probably try and drink decaf if you can, caffeine blood levels that most would not consider very high can probably result in a neurotoxic reaction, especially if you are tapering. This study describes the increase in neuronal cell death as a result of combining caffeine and isoflurane (a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor, similar to benzos) in fetal macaques.

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23560-7

 

"Caffeine Augments Anesthesia Neurotoxicity in the Fetal Macaque Brain

 

Abstract

Caffeine is the most frequently used medication in premature infants. It is the respiratory stimulant of choice for apnea associated with prematurity and has been called the silver bullet in neonatology because of many proven benefits and few known risks. Research has revealed that sedative/anesthetic drugs trigger apoptotic death of neurons and oligodendrocytes in developing mammalian brains. Here we evaluated the influence of caffeine on the neurotoxicity of anesthesia in developing nonhuman primate brains. Fetal macaques (n = 7–8/group), at a neurodevelopmental age comparable to premature human infants, were exposed in utero for 5 hours to no drug (control), isoflurane, or isoflurane + caffeine and examined for evidence of apoptosis. Isoflurane exposure increased apoptosis 3.3 fold for neurons and 3.4 fold for oligodendrocytes compared to control brains. Isoflurane + caffeine caused neuronal apoptosis to increase 8.0 fold compared to control levels but did not augment oligoapoptosis. Neuronal death was particularly pronounced in the basal ganglia and cerebellum. Higher blood levels of caffeine within the range considered therapeutic and safe for human infants correlated with increased neuroapoptosis. Caffeine markedly augments neurotoxicity of isoflurane in the fetal macaque brain and challenges the assumption that caffeine is safe for premature infants."

 

Some excerpts:

 

"Analysis of the relationship between CAF blood levels and apoptotic brain injury revealed that ISO-induced brain injury increases sharply as CAF blood levels rise above 17 mg/L. This suggests that there may not be a wide safety margin for exposing very preterm infants to CAF in combination with other apoptogenic drugs. "

 

" It was recently reported that very preterm infants exposed to surgery have an increased risk for neurodevelopmental impairment22,23, and MRI evidence for structural brain injury22, which is particularly prominent in a region referred to as deep nuclear gray matter. "

 

"For procedural sedation very preterm infants are commonly exposed to a SAD in the benzodiazepine class, either intermittently or continuously for prolonged periods (days, weeks, months) while they are often also exposed continuously to CAF. Our previous research demonstrates that prolonged SAD exposures produce higher amounts of neurotoxicity in both the non-human primate3,43 and rodent44. These findings together with our newest observations suggest that intermittent or continuous SAD exposures when combined with CAF may be particularly dangerous to the developing infant brain. It has been demonstrated in infant mice that a 4-hour exposure to a sub-anesthetic dose of midazolam45 or diazepam33 induces a significant neurotoxic reaction, and when CAF is administered together with either drug, the neurotoxic action is significantly augmented33,34. "

 

"While recovering from ISO anesthesia, CAF exposed dams appeared more alert and active as compared to animals that did not receive CAF treatment. No lingering effects were noted during routine veterinarian evaluation 24 hours following the experiment. "

 

Caffeine in a regular cup of coffee: around 95mg

Caffeine blood levels at which neurotoxicity significantly increased in this experiment: 17mg/L

Number of litres of blood in the average human body: around 5L.

Apoptosis = programmed cell death.

 

 

 

It eventually just ends up exacerbating symptoms for me and causing more panic like symptoms than anything.

Caffeine in coffee, eventually just builds a tolerance and you eventually need more.

I think using anything habitually to induce a chemical change in the body is not helpful long term.

So, use sparingly and when needed, if anything.

Tea is less overstimulating IMO because of other plant properties and such.

Love, Heather Eli

It eventually just ends up exacerbating symptoms for me and causing more panic like symptoms than anything.

Caffeine in coffee, eventually just builds a tolerance and you eventually need more.

I think using anything habitually to induce a chemical change in the body is not helpful long term.

So, use sparingly and when needed, if anything.

Tea is less overstimulating IMO because of other plant properties and such.

Love, Heather Eli

 

True, avoiding stimulants is important. But there's just so many of them.

I didn't drink it or anything with caffeine on my taper. But I missed coffee! I missed feeling picked up and jazzy and cognitively bright! Also I love the taste. So I started trying decaf, than half caf . . .  then when I realized I felt fine, I switched to all caf. I haven't had any bad effects. But everyone's different. Coffee was something I loved pre-benzos; it was something I did not want taken away from me post-benzos.

 

Cheers,

 

Katz

Coffee goes out of style and comes back in. It's bad for you, then it's good for you. I've drank it all my life and it is one of life's harmless indulgences. If it bothers you, don't drink it.

Major coffee junkie. I quit for 6 months straight and my husband said I was more miserable without it. I would like to quit but right now just doing what I have to till I'm benzo free.