For those of you who use meds, in particular methylphenidate:
Do you consume caffeine? What’s your experience been with it?
I take methylphenidate and drink a lot of caffeine. I talked to my psychiatrist and she said caffeine effects ADHDers differently and to keep an eye on your intake but shouldn’t be a problem.
That’s what I was told. I’m not a doctor and don’t even play one on TV. Everyone’s body chemistry is different as well.
What’s even stranger is that I can drink hi-caff beverages before going to bed and sleep like a baby. Go figure!
Mixed results. A pot of black tea spread out over the day seems to keep my head clear, at least usually. A can of energy drink or a mug of coffee frequently does nothing or indeed makes me fall asleep. It’s all a bit hit and miss.
I find that tea, especially hi-caff tea is better than energy drinks, but energy drinks are easier and more convenient.
My non-neurospicy friends can’t believe how much caffeine I drink. It seriously don’t work the same for me as it does for them.
Have you tried L-theanine pills?
I was on dexmethylphenidate for years and consumed coffee sometimes. What I found was that adding the coffee would at times give me a “buzzy” head. It turns out that feeling was coming from blood pressure spikes. That was the only occasional side-effect I noticed.
before methylphenidate I never had the kick of anxiety people feel with caffeine, now with methylphenidate (Concerta ER) I do from time to time
Hmmm never thought of that.
I drink quite a lot of caffeine (four or five strong coffees most days) and i’ve not had any problems, or noticed much of a difference on terms of ‘over caffinated’ symptoms compared to pre-Methylphenidate.
In fact, the one time I tried to cut back on coffee (I’d been really ill for a week and had stopped drinking coffee, so I decided to not restart the habit) I found that without coffee my medication didn’t seem as effective. After two weeks of no caffeine I wasnt feeling caffeine withdrawals, I wasn’t tired in the morning or craving coffee, but I just felt like i was on too low a dose for my ADHD. My attention, focus, willpower were all back to being a struggle. Then I read somewhere online saying that this could happen, and that caffeine increased the effects of the meds. For some people, I guess that means that too much coffee would lead to an overly strong dose. But for me, I’d much rather have a couple of cups of coffee than have to move to a higher dose of Ritalin. So I started having coffee again and things went back to normal.
I am on lisdexamfetamine and I like my morning coffee. I feel like it wakes me up faster (ie caffeine addiction needs are met) but I think that is largely psychosomatic. I have used decaf and it’s just fine but I feel a little groggy a little longer.
I try to minimize my caffeine consumption. Being on two types of stimulants isn’t great for the body. I absolutely do not consume caffeine after noon in any format, not that I’m a big fan of Cola etc.
I’m quite sensitive to caffeine so if a take them together I get all hyper, followed by a HUGE crash.
Yes. I picked up the habit at my (former) job (IT). So I drink a few cups throughout the day. I don’t really feel anything unless overdo it and drink like 4 cups before noon, in which case I get slightly jittery. But I can’t say I’ve noticed any “synergic” issues from combining equasym & caffeine.
Come to think of it, my meds are specifically slow-release. There are versions of methylphenidate that act more immediately.
I don’t really notice a difference during the day, but I have noticed I have a harder time going to bed if I drink even soda with caffeine in it too late. Not that I don’t feel tired but I don’t get sleepy enough to realise it’s time for bed. So I avoid caffeine after 15. Never noticed this before meds.
I take the ER version of methylphenidate and drink at least a couple cups of coffee each day and the coffee works like regular people describe it to be a little energy pick me up instead of calming my mind like it used to.
