Caffeine - Good or Bad for your body

all I know is that when Pool boy and I were ill with a tummy bug, our worst pain was there terrible headaches. The doctor laughed and said they were probably caused by lack of caffeine. I didn't think we abused it, but he said that even missing your few "hits" could cause this horrible headache.

We decided to be good and never miss our caffeine.

Though the kidney stone thing!!! After reading about Pesta!

OUCH!
 
kittynh said:
all I know is that when Pool boy and I were ill with a tummy bug, our worst pain was there terrible headaches. The doctor laughed and said they were probably caused by lack of caffeine. I didn't think we abused it, but he said that even missing your few "hits" could cause this horrible headache.

We decided to be good and never miss our caffeine.

Though the kidney stone thing!!! After reading about Pesta!

OUCH!
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That is true. I have had the caffeine headache that wont go away with pain killers but something a soda can kill in 15 minutes. Thats not what I was trying to get at. I know about all the side effects of caffeine and that it does display a few of the 5 or 6 traits needed to be classified as a dangerous drug. But I have heard so many different opinions and news articles about this its amazing. I started this thread because I had a planned doctors appointment and was going to ask him about how my caffeine pills and caffeine in general affect the body.

My doctor told me that their is a big misconception about caffeine pills; that its a huge dose of caffeine "injected into your blood stream." Because its time release, he explained that it effects you over the period of 4 to 5 hours which is why it also causes sleeplessness. Its the same if you drank coffee over a 4 hour period. As for caffeine in general, he explained that there has never been a reported case of death or overdose from caffeine; that the amount need to overdose on it is extremely large. He also explained that if you are in good physical condition and eat relatively good that caffeine poses no danger. He said that drinking and breathing in second hand smoke is much worse.
 
kittynh said:
all I know is that when Pool boy and I were ill with a tummy bug, our worst pain was there terrible headaches. The doctor laughed and said they were probably caused by lack of caffeine. I didn't think we abused it, but he said that even missing your few "hits" could cause this horrible headache.

We decided to be good and never miss our caffeine.
OUCH!
Click to expand...


The last couple of overnights in the hospital, they did offer coffee- caffinated! And I was in there for heart problems too. Who needs headaches on top of chest pains? I guess they finally learned to make a patient comfortable.
 
kittynh said:
all I know is that when Pool boy and I were ill with a tummy bug, our worst pain was there terrible headaches. The doctor laughed and said they were probably caused by lack of caffeine. I didn't think we abused it, but he said that even missing your few "hits" could cause this horrible headache.

We decided to be good and never miss our caffeine.
Click to expand...

Not sure about in the US, but lots of OTC medications here for cold, flu, headache etc. also include caffeine - not sure if this is there to perk people up, or to stop the withdrawal symptoms :D
 
jon said:
Not sure about in the US, but lots of OTC medications here for cold, flu, headache etc. also include caffeine - not sure if this is there to perk people up, or to stop the withdrawal symptoms :D
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Ive read that caffeine actually helps open up airways or dialates them, that's why a lot of the over the counter allergy medicines contain caffeine.
 
jon said:
Not sure about in the US, but lots of OTC medications here for cold, flu, headache etc. also include caffeine - not sure if this is there to perk people up, or to stop the withdrawal symptoms :D
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I was told by a doctor that the "extra-strength" ingredient in a lot of the extra-strength pills is caffeine. One of the things caffeine does is cause the small blood vessels to shrink somewhat...... He said that is why no caffeine can cause headaches, the small bloodvessels swell slightly and inside your bony skull there is no place for the pressure to go. Instead you get a terrible headache.

I learned all this while handling dynamite. You should never let dynamite touch your skin. (For those who care about such things, this would be the normal "TNT" sticks of sawdust impregnated with nitroglycerin.) The nitro can get into your bloodstream and cause your blood vessels to expand. This gives the most horrid headache. The small town we were in did not have the drugs to relieve the pain although they were on order. The doctor told us to drink a lot of caffeine-filled soda! It worked.......
 
I have a cousin who had convulsions and tachycardia after taking guaraná extract, that is very rich in caffeine. She took it during college exams, so that she could be awake studying. It was a serious business, and the doctor said that she had way too much and could have died of it. But yes, of course it was an extreme case.
 
Amapola said:
I was told by a doctor that the "extra-strength" ingredient in a lot of the extra-strength pills is caffeine. One of the things caffeine does is cause the small blood vessels to shrink somewhat...... He said that is why no caffeine can cause headaches, the small bloodvessels swell slightly and inside your bony skull there is no place for the pressure to go. Instead you get a terrible headache.

I learned all this while handling dynamite. You should never let dynamite touch your skin. (For those who care about such things, this would be the normal "TNT" sticks of sawdust impregnated with nitroglycerin.) The nitro can get into your bloodstream and cause your blood vessels to expand. This gives the most horrid headache. The small town we were in did not have the drugs to relieve the pain although they were on order. The doctor told us to drink a lot of caffeine-filled soda! It worked.......
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ah - I thought caffeine could *cause* headaches, but this is more likely to be the withdrawal, then.
 
My fault, jon, I recalled headaches as a symptom of caffeinism, but I was incorrect.

From Cancerweb's online dictionary here:
caffeinism
Caffeine intoxication characterised by restlessness, tremulousness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushed face, diuresis, and gastrointestinal complaints, brought on by the ingestion of substances containing caffeine.

No headaches :)
 
I work at Starbucks, and as much as I love it, I'll be the first to admit that most of the corporate literature is propoganda. (The webpage devoted to healthcare for employees boasts about how caffeine has helped some employees manage their health issues!) So, I'm always on the lookout for non-biased information. From what I've seen, caffeine is like most things: Good in moderation, dangerous in excess.

Working at Starbucks has upped my caffeine intake significantly (well, how else am I going to pull off those 4 a.m. shifts?), but I have lost weight since I started working there, mainly because I walk either to or from work each day. I haven't given blood in awhile, but the next time I do, I'll be able to see whether it has significantly changed my blood pressure.
 
Forty-Two said:
I work at Starbucks, and as much as I love it, I'll be the first to admit that most of the corporate literature is propoganda. (The webpage devoted to healthcare for employees boasts about how caffeine has helped some employees manage their health issues!) So, I'm always on the lookout for non-biased information. From what I've seen, caffeine is like most things: Good in moderation, dangerous in excess.

Working at Starbucks has upped my caffeine intake significantly (well, how else am I going to pull off those 4 a.m. shifts?), but I have lost weight since I started working there, mainly because I walk either to or from work each day. I haven't given blood in awhile, but the next time I do, I'll be able to see whether it has significantly changed my blood pressure.
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Starbucks is evil
 
I say Starbucks is a CIA front.

Think about it...they're all over the world. No one thinks it's suspicious to slip into a Starbucks and read a paper (that was conveniently already sitting on the table when they arrived, with a dossier or airline tickets hidden inside). You'll see them everywhere, even across the street from each other (provides better angles for hidden surveillence).

I'm telling ya, I'm on to 'em.

42 is a government shill!!!

:D
 
MilwaukeeMike said:
Starbucks is evil
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*sigh* Do you mean evil in an, "Oh, no! A company out to make money! Business is bad!" sort of way, or an, "Oh, no! Feeding people caffeine and sugar! Enabling high blood pressure and obesity!" sort of way, or an, "Oh, no! They charge a lot, but for whatever reason I'm still willing to pay for it!" sort of way? If you don't like them, don't spend your money there. :rolleyes:

In any case, this probably isn't the thread for that discussion.

In other news, I was visiting my parents in the Chicago area, and I stopped into the local convenience store, White Hen. They now offer a coffee with 50% more caffeine added!
 
Huntsman said:
I say Starbucks is a CIA front.

Think about it...they're all over the world. No one thinks it's suspicious to slip into a Starbucks and read a paper (that was conveniently already sitting on the table when they arrived, with a dossier or airline tickets hidden inside). You'll see them everywhere, even across the street from each other (provides better angles for hidden surveillence).

I'm telling ya, I'm on to 'em.

42 is a government shill!!!

:D
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I think your right. They are also putting something in the coffee (if you can call that ◊◊◊◊ coffee) that at a time of their choosing will all turn us into zombies controled by the "Smoking Man." :cool:
 
Whrn I was in college in Massachusetts the local stores sold caffeinated bottled water. Two of the brands were called Zapped and Crank2O. Does anyone know if they are still available?
 
Forty-Two said:
*sigh* Do you mean evil in an, "Oh, no! A company out to make money! Business is bad!" sort of way, or an, "Oh, no! Feeding people caffeine and sugar! Enabling high blood pressure and obesity!" sort of way, or an, "Oh, no! They charge a lot, but for whatever reason I'm still willing to pay for it!" sort of way? If you don't like them, don't spend your money there. :rolleyes:

In any case, this probably isn't the thread for that discussion.

In other news, I was visiting my parents in the Chicago area, and I stopped into the local convenience store, White Hen. They now offer a coffee with 50% more caffeine added!
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Hahaha, its an evil, blood sucking corporation secretly run by Dick Chenney who is throwing government contracts their way to supply troops with coffee. hahaha... Seriously, I have no problem with how they run their company or what they sell. I just hate the kind of people who sit in their and spew verbal vomit about pointless stuff while suckin down a pound of sugar. Go running or something. But yah this is the topic for another thread.
 
MilwaukeeMike said:
I just hate the kind of people who sit in their and spew verbal vomit about pointless stuff while suckin down a pound of sugar. Go running or something.
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Yeah, I'm with you there. Trust me, I'm the person who has to dish out their quadruple grande half-caf, two-and-a-half pump vanilla (because they swear they could tell if it were three pumps), 191 degree (never mind that health codes won't let us serve them hotter than 190; they won't notice the difference anyway), nonfat, no foam lattes, and why on earth isn't our organic milk nonfat, and so on. It's not so much Starbucks as Starbucks customers; for some, this is the one area in their lives in which they feel as though they're in control, so they make the most of it.

I work in a small, West Coast town (a town of 14,000 with about six successful coffee shops other than Starbucks), so most of our regular customers are absolute sweethearts and the obnoxious customers are the exception rather than the rule. But I've covered shifts in other stores...yikes.

Also, I've seen the difference in customers in the Midwest stores versus those on the West Coast. Now, I'm a good Midwestern girl and a proud Chicagoan, but Starbucks isn't nearly as ubiquitous out there, so they're usually only found in upscale neighborhoods and are therefore treated as more trendy. In California, they're in every neighborhood, so people no longer perceive them as some elitist, hip place where obnoxious people go to been seen -- It's just a place to get coffee.
 
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