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Neurologist says caffeine won't keep you from healing is this true?


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I have a neurologist who knows about benzo withdrawl I asked him about caffeine he said in moderation one to two cups is fine... Is that true or will it keep you from healing?
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I don't think it will keep you from healing. Some people can not tolerate the stimulating effects of caffeine however. I drank coffee throughout my taper but could not after I jumped off, my adrenalin was already high as a kite.  About 4 months off I started drinking decaf and then regular coffee at 7 months off. I'm not a big coffee drinker, just one nice cup in the morning mostly.

 

pianogirl

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Im not a big drinker just one in the morning some days it helps some days I causes head pressure so I'm so confused by it but at 16 months I don't want to do anything to effect healing so if my neurologist is wrong I want to stop drinking it. However I have spoken to people on here who healed and never stopped drinking it so I'm confused
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I didn't drink coffee my first four months off of benzos simply because it tasted so bad to me. I was very sensitive to things back then. Starting at four months I began having my one morning cup of coffee again. I pretty much only drink one cup a day, always first thing in the morning.

 

I don't think it has had any negative impact on my recovery. If anything, it's helped to "jump start" me on a couple of mornings when I just could not seem to be able to get going.

 

I tend to think that pretty much every "in moderation" is OK. I have a beer now and then (no more than once a week or so) and it hasn't caused me any problems. Earlier on, I was drinking a couple of shots of bourbon 5-6 times a day for anxiety. I quit that and soon after I noticed my thought processes improved and my clarity of the "here and now" also seemed to improve. So, no more bourbon for me!

 

I just don't see how 1 or 2 cups a day can cause anyone to take longer to recover from benzos.

 

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I'm about 5 months out andI've been drinking various levels of decaf (weak to strong, but mostly weak).  I've attempted weak regular coffee and that has a tendency to rev up symptoms, but I'm hoping as time goes by I'll be able to increase the strength of coffee on a regular basis.  Occasionally I'll have green tea which contains caffeine and if I stick to only one I can sometimes get away with that.

 

WWWI

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I've cautiously tried adding a little real coffee to my herbal coffee (coffee has always helped keep me "regular" ahem) and it has helped my cog fog. I haven't noticed any rev up in symptoms -- no adrenaline rushes, no increased heartbeat. So I may keep on doing this.

 

Hope this info helps someone . . . but we all react differently of course.

 

Okatz

 

 

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I stopped drinking caveine the first day of wd.  Sometimes I will have a cup of soda without caffeine and it makes me really hyper.  Prolly because of the sugar in it. I can't believe I used to drink soda with caffeine such as mountain dew which used to be my favorite.  I can see how it made the tolerance WD I was in for over a year worse.

 

Peace and Blessings

 

Snufi

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Hello

I am 28 months and cannot even drink tea . Coffe  is absolutely no no for me .

Drink coffe  due my taper , after quit  super sensitive .

 

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My guess is that caffeine is one of those things that has gotten an undeserved reputation over time. There is a big difference between "flares symptoms" and "prevents healing". I don't doubt that caffeine has caused people's symptoms to flare and I think that probably created the whole "don't consume caffeine or you will never heal" thing you see popping up from time to time.  I think alcohol has a much greater potential to interfere with healing but it is probably the same kind of deal with that as well.
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Caffeine is a stimulant and is also dehydrating. If you have low energy it is much better to improve your diet to get all the nutrients you need for energy. Caffeine disturbs sleep by keeping the brain active instead of allowing it to slow down and go into the deep stages of sleep. Therefore memory can be impaired, as a good night's sleep is critical for forming memories.

 

I think it could slow healing from benzos the same way alcohol and a bad diet do. If you want to be well, the best thing to do is give your body the absolute best you can.

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I guess I should have tempered my statement by saying that everything should be in moderation. Obviously if you metabolize caffeine slowly (as I do) you don't want to be drinking too much of it or drinking it late in the day or it probably can have an indirect effect on healing by disrupting your sleep.
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Caffeine is indirectly a GABA antagonist. In theory it should speed healing but ONLY if you can tolerate it. I started drinking it in the mornings. It does rev up my symptoms a bit but not uncomfortably so. I believe that a certain amount of discomfort is required to make your brain make adjustments (i.e. heal). Since I drink it in the morning it is out of my system by night and doesn't adversely affect sleep. Some medications greatly extent the half life of caffeine so if you are still on medications be careful about interactions.
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I drank caffine-free or low caffeine tea while I was tapering because I didn't want my heart to pound any more than it already was. Once I was off the Xanex, I went back to drinking about a cup of coffee in the morning (caffeinated). It has not been a problem for me. I haven't had any increased anxiety from it, and I find it enhances my mood and helps me get alert (same as I was before taking Xanex).
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