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AIBU?

To not understand caffiene drinkers

151 replies

Frazzld · 05/10/2022 10:02

I had a cup of tea yesterday at 10am.
I was still having palpitations at midnight, and was wide awake. Didn't sleep until 1am.
Is it just me who is this crazy sensitive to caffiene? How do so many people chug coffee all day and not have any problems?

I'll never forget the time I had an energy drink at the library once when I was at uni, and had to go home shortly afterwards to lie down!

OP posts:
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Am I being unreasonable?

422 votes. Final results.

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megletthesecond · 06/10/2022 08:01

I can drink tea but I can't have fancy cold remedies with caffeine in them as it gives me palpitations. Found out I do actually have a very minor heart issue which means I can't handle big doses of caffeine.

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wonkylegs · 06/10/2022 07:55

I'm not sensitive to it at all, doesn't really even pick me up and never has. I've stopped drinking coffee in the evenings because it gave me heartburn (along with a whole host of other things) but drink tea instead or hot ginger.
The only thing I would say is when I have a sinus infection or migraine (often as my RA treatment makes me more susceptible) I take my paracetamol with coffee as it works better. It's a well known effect as caffeine acts as an analgesic adjuvant and enhances the efficacy of paracetamol.

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StapFooterin · 06/10/2022 00:43

Thatboymum · 05/10/2022 23:47

Never mind the horrible heart palpitations, 20 mins after a caffeine drink and I’m on the toilet with the ring of fire 🤣💩

Oh no! I'm going to hell for laughing at that😅😅

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Thatboymum · 05/10/2022 23:47

Never mind the horrible heart palpitations, 20 mins after a caffeine drink and I’m on the toilet with the ring of fire 🤣💩

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Hankunamatata · 05/10/2022 23:45

Dh swears ringtons caffine free teabags are identical to caffeinated ones. He couldnt tell the difference. I dont work for them just have an elderly relative who buys random items from ringtons man.

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OrangePomander · 05/10/2022 23:41

Posted too early! To me (though no doubt it’s the norm!) DH is the same too.

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heartbroken22 · 05/10/2022 23:41

So what do u have in the mornings and tea time? Juice?

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OrangePomander · 05/10/2022 23:39

I’m fine with drinking multiple strong coffees a day, if anything it relaxes me.
The shaking and insomnia thing is a mystery to

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Bathbomb99 · 05/10/2022 23:26

I can’t chug coffee all day, I get shakes and feel weak if I have 3 or 4 close together. I usually have 2 to 3 a day, but I can have one late at night and still sleep no problem.

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Susurrar · 05/10/2022 23:21

I have ADHD and I can have a double espresso and fall asleep 10 minutes later. I love the taste of coffee though and drink loads. A few
months ago I got a cold brew at a cafe, finished it and had the owner approaching me, very distressed because I had been given pure cold brew, no added water (by mistake, of course). He
was seriously concerned that I could be unwell,
get palpitations, faint etc. Nothing happened.

No experience of energy drinks - they all have a funny smell to me and I don’t think I could stomach one.

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PeloFondo · 05/10/2022 23:10

Trying to think how many mugs of tea I drink.. on a work day maybe 6 big mugs? They're about 2/3 of the size of a sports direct one!
My mum mainlined tea her whole life, she was either drinking one, making one or just finished one. Weirdly when she got dementia she stopped drinking it totally, went off the taste

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Sunnytwobridges · 05/10/2022 23:06

I've been drinking tea since I was a little kid, maybe 7 or 8. When I first started drinking it, it would keep me awake but over time my tolerance has built up and now I can drink caffeine right before bed and go straight to sleep lol

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JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 05/10/2022 22:53

I drink decaf tea and coffee. I don't tolerate caffeine at all. Can't even drink coke... makes me feel so I'll.

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LesOliviers · 05/10/2022 22:44

It depends on your tolerance. I tolerate tea fine and I drink approx 6 mugs of strong tea across the course of the day. As soon as I have one coffee I feel completely wired and the effects last for hours. I cant drink coffee after 5pm or I'd really struggle to sleep but i drink tea up until bedtime. I also have similar effects from cola and I'd never dream of touching energy drinks - I'd have palpitations for days!

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RiftGibbon · 05/10/2022 22:42

Coffee affects me far more than tea. I could easily drink 6-8 cups of tea with no ill effects. 2 coffees would have me on the brink of having the jitters, fidgeted and feeling unsettled.

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ZenNudist · 05/10/2022 22:36

@Frazzld I am super sensitive like you. If I have a cup of caffeinated coffee any time (when a coffee shop gets my order wrong) I bloody know about it. I get all jittery. I start to "come up" from the coffee mid cup and then feel almost panicking and breathless all afternoon. Even if I don't notice it (less strong coffee) then I'm insomniac at 4am thinking ah maybe that wasn't a decaf. I've been known to complain by email to highlight to shop staff how unpleasant the palpitations, stomach upset and insomnia can be.

I love diet coke and will drink it occasionally even though it ruins my sleep.

In the past caffeine and alcohol mix set my heart racing. I went from sat in a restaurant drinking a glass of wine to putting my head on the table because my heart was pounding.

I don't really understand how others can drink so much of it but I understand that for the regularly caffeinated they build up tolerance then need caffeine to get to the same state of alert that uncaffeinated people remain at all the time. I don't need a tea or coffee to get going in the morning.

I gave it up in my 20s because drinking coffee at work started to affect me. Then my tolerance reduced so I really felt it.

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pimlicoanna · 05/10/2022 22:33

Sounds like you're overly sensitive to it. I'm on the other side of the spectrum. I've been given a cup of coffee at bedtime all my life though out my childhood from when I was a toddler. Caffeine has zero impact on me now unsurprisingly.

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QueSyrahSyrah · 05/10/2022 22:14

I'm also one who could have a red bull now and be asleep by 11.

It'll take more than a bit of caffeine to stop me sleeping Blush

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ObjectionSustained · 05/10/2022 22:11

That's definitely not my experience.

I could drink a cup of coffee/can of red bull and then go straight to bed. Caffeine doesn't seem to have any affect on me at all, in fact it's quite the opposite.

Strange!

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TastesLikeFlavourlessFizz · 05/10/2022 22:05

I got insomnia when I STOPPED drinking espressos all day, including before bed. A weird quirk of ADHD.

But I also know many neurotypical folks who drink cup after cup with no issues.

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Atmywitsend29 · 05/10/2022 22:04

MayISuggestSomeThickCutSteakChipsToGoWithThat · 05/10/2022 22:00

I can drink a coffee before bed, without any problems yet give me a can of monster and I feel dizzy and jittery and totally spaced out

Bed time coffee is one of my favourite things!!

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Atmywitsend29 · 05/10/2022 22:03

I need it to function.
I had to fly out to grab some milk the other morning, 7am, no coffee, drove to the shop.
Got out the car at the shop and got out and walked into building. I'd left the engine running, keys in ignition.
Thank fuck I have an automatic handbrake.

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NumptiesIncorporated · 05/10/2022 22:02

There are two genetic variations that have been shown to affect how people cope with caffeine.

People that are very sensitive (like you op, and like me), often have both. There are things you can do to help - like eat brassicas when you have caffeine. But honestly, I don't think it's worth the effort. Water for the win!

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MayISuggestSomeThickCutSteakChipsToGoWithThat · 05/10/2022 22:00

I can drink a coffee before bed, without any problems yet give me a can of monster and I feel dizzy and jittery and totally spaced out

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NeverDropYourMooncup · 05/10/2022 21:59

User34352515 · 05/10/2022 10:16

I started drinking coffee at about 8

You started drinking coffee aged 8?!

I was drinking Mellow Birds' aged 3.

Didn't make any noticeable difference to my sleeping, apparently, and it was the only way to get me to drink anything apart from tea as I detested milk, hated water and wouldn't touch squash or Ribena if my life depended upon it.

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