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hummm.....okay.....so reading most of this is about as clear as reading through mud to me.

Basically, it's saying it's caffiene intoxification IF the symptoms are not better explained by another reason such as a mental illness or other.

And then there's this part:

Patients with bipolar disorder are at risk for an exacerbation of manic symptoms when they consume large amounts of caffeine. This is due both to its direct psychostimulant properties and secondary to increase renal excretion of lithium.

i'm bipolar II, rapid cycler.
i NEED the caffiene to function in the morning/early day. It does NOT cause me to switch into hypomania or mania. If i was bipolar I, then.....who knows?

But, UNTIL they have personally ever slept 23 hours a day for a week or longer WITHOUT it being caused by any meds or anything else.....THEN they can talk to me about what i can do to possibly function better/healthier without it.

That quote also assumes ALL bipolars take Lithium and we don't.

Severe depression is correlated with high blood-caffeine levels.(emphasis added)

what the heck does that sentence mean really?

That those of us in severe depression episodes tend to have a lot of caffeine in our blood? And that "(emphasis)" is added because that's important to the writer?

Well....my thoughts are: DUH!!!!

You try working a 50+ hour work weeks and living on your own while going through a major depressive episode and just SEE how well you are able to function at ALL without the use of caffiene!! LOL It's just not gunna happen, nope, nope.

People with panic disorders may consciously decrease caffeine use.

Huh? Are they saying that people who panic over things will decide for themselves to lower their intake? If so, then that i can see....since i do agree that caffiene increases your heart rate and all that jazz.

Physical
The observable signs associated with caffeine consumption are dose dependent. For most individuals who consume caffeine in the average range, the physical stigmata will include arousal signs. Expect to see nervousness, elevated heart rate, increased respiratory rate, flushed face, and an exaggerated startle response. Caffeine is a mild diuretic and may contribute to vague gastrointestinal complaints. In rare cases where an individual's dose exceeds 1 g/d, the picture changes. Gross muscle tremors, highly disorganized speech, and possible arrhythmias herald a more sinister outcome.

Mental Status Examination

Many of the effects of caffeine consumption are expressed in behavioral manifestations. The most common is anxiety, with its associated fidgetiness, distractibility, poor eye contact, hesitating speech, and prolonged bursts of energy.

Caffeine's effect on mood is complicated and not fully understood. Although initially it may promote some improvement in mood, notably identified by some slight euphoria or focused attention, this pattern may give way to a chronic dysphoria. This mildly depressed state may be a consequence of withdrawal.

Any complaint of sleep difficulty should begin with a careful assessment of beverage consumption.

Caffeine would not produce perceptual problems such as hallucinations, alterations in thinking (such as delusions, disorientation, memory problems), or raise safety concerns such as suicidal or homicidal tendencies.

while i believe a persons level of anxiety is probaby increased by caffiene consumption, i don't think it's enough to really worry about. I think anxiety issues are mostly having to do with underlying causes and i think PaperDolls said it best in her thread about why she's probably been so much more anxious lately (and myself included) and that's because she recently quit smoking (as did i) which was an anti-anxiety method/coping mechonism.

A leading theory suggests that caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist.

Adenosine is an inhibitory neuromodulator affecting norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin activity.

Caffeine's putative antagonism of adenosine would increase those neurotransmitters promoting psychostimulation.

The same neurotransmitter systems are implicated in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric disorders.

i don't know about you guys, but even with my studying this stuff for the past 4-5 years and knowing what neurotransmitters are and dopamine and serotonin........that's just a whole different language being used right there!



Jenna