Caffeine sensitivity?

I've always been really sensitive to caffeine - to the point where if I have even a small amount of chocolate any later than about noon, I'll have difficulty getting to sleep. I can forget sleeping if I have a piece of chocolate cake for dessert!

I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with sugar either - I don't have this problem with non-caffeinated sweets, and I do have this problem with teas, too.

I'm wondering if this might be related to having bipolar... does anyone else experience this?

Whenever I take a caffeine pill it knocks me on my *** for days and I know i am succeptible to depression.

You're already sensitive to chemical changes in the brain, and to me, i think, caffeine would only throw a brain that is already out of whack MORe out of whack.

I'm bi polar 1 Heavy on the mania side usually. I am extremely sensitive to caffiene in anything. I drink caffeine after noon I can kiss sleep goodbye. I eat caffeine after noon the same.

You are definitely not alone. I do believe I am more sensitive to it because of being bi polar.

I am not really sensitive to caffeine.

When I first started drinking coffee I was a little jittery, but that's it. Sometimes I can't sleep at night, too, but I take Seroquel now which makes me drowsy so I don't have any problems sleeping anymore.

I want to stop drinking coffee thought because it can be expensive u-u

I am really sensitive to caffeine since I started Lithium. I asked PDoc about this and he told me caffeine has a half life of 8-12 hours so if I used to drink coffee at 2 pm to get through the work day, fell asleep ok but would wake up and be wide awake at midnight. So once I stopped doing that it was better. So it may not be the BP, not sure. I also get bad headaches from eating chocolate or drinking too much coffee. I really like to do both, but had to cut back.

I can't have caffeine after 1 PM without it messing with my sleep schedule. That's been true for a long time. I used to seriously overdo the caffeine and that probably contributed to having much bigger mood swing problems in the past.

I've reduced my overall caffeine consumption to a 1.5-shot espresso in the morning, and with proper meds I can keep it there. Well, I do drink white/green tea sometimes, but they are fairly low caffeine compared to coffee or black tea.

The proper meds part is related to ADD treatment. Caffeine is a substitute stimulant that helps with focus, but for me it interferes more with sleep than amphetamines do, and makes me more jittery as well. I recently noticed I was consuming more and more caffeine later in the day - I told the PA about it as part of the justification for asking for an adjustment to the stimulant meds.

I can't have it at all....makes my anxiety go way...... out of wack.

I used to drink 3 pots of coffee per day and had no problems sleeping. But when I became perimenopausal I developed insomnia and I became sensitive to caffeine. Now I usually have <32 oz of coffee/day.

I drink a LOT of coffee. I know it's bad, it's an addiction. I Usually order a medium sized drink with three shots of espresso. I use an espresso grind for my coffee maker at home because I need the full strong flavor.

I can make a pot at 11 pm and be asleep by midnight unless of coarse I am manic. I never get jittery either. Coffee is almost the only beverage I drink besides water. I know sounds bad.

Caffeine has ZERO effect on me other than it tastes great. I always have a cup of coffee just before I go to sleep.
On the other hand, it REALLY affects my 'normal' sister.

Don't think it's a bp thing. Think its a people thing.

I am very sensitive to caffeine. I drink 1 small cup in the morning and that's it for the day

I often take a caffeine pill to get past the falling asleep in the morning after effects of my meds, and I do okay. Since so many of us have chimed in on this, I'd hazard the guess that it's not the bipolar that makes people sensitive, but the individual's chemical make-up. Just like we all don't use the same drug, we all have different tolerance levels to the caffeine.

I'm with Anika. I drink coffee all day long including right before I go to bed. I probably drink 3-4 pots a day. Plus I squeeze a couple of cups of English breakfast tea. Like others have said, I think it depends on the individuals body chemistry, not BP.

Yeah, I don't think it's a BP thing either. I'm fine with caffeine. Most of the time it's just a mild effect for me. Every so often (rarely), I'll get either uncomfortably wired OR get really sleepy! Go figure.

I drink 1 regular cup of coffee in the morning and that's it.
the rest of the day is caffeine free.

It makes my anxiety worse, pounding heart and I already have insomnia issues and it just makes them worse. I'll be a restless motor mouth and I will drive everyone around me crazy including myself.