Coffee talk

I posted during the previews. I'm not one of "Them"
I took my daughter to the new Ice Age movie. It wasn't bad for a sequel

On coffee: My very good friend, but I can only have 1. On chocolate: Dark chocolate, mmmmmmmmm. On coffee and chocolate together: Starbucks mocha, heaven.

So . . . is there anyone in the audience who is not a coffee drinker but me? I'm not anti-coffee for the rest of the world; drink whatever you want as far as I'm concerned and I have no anti-caffeine predjudices. But I HATE the taste of coffee.

I come from a long line of devout German Lutheran coffee drinkers. My parents drank/drink coffee daily. Coffee was the beverage of choice at all social and religious gatherings (okay, behind beer at the social gatherings; usually but not always before beer at the religious gatherings). My husband is a coffee drinker. But my sisters and I never liked the stuff and never picked up the habit. I, in fact, pride myself on having no idea how to work the coffee maker and refuse to learn. My mother repeatedly says she was a complete fairly as a parent on this aspect of our lives.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Do you like black tea?

Nope. I'm really not much into hot beverages at all. Occasionally hot chocolate on a particularly cold day, but that's about it. Now, hand me a tall glass of iced tea and I'm all about it. I just can't grasp the appeal of a hot beverage when I live in a place that is well over 100 degrees a good portion of the year. Give me iced tea. Give me a diet cola. Give me lemonade. Give me a margarita . . . .

Nope, Farmergirl, you aren't alone in the no coffee department. I despise the stuff. Coffee, tea, and anything remotely resembling them. (Hot chocolate is okay, tho, if it's the right brand.) I prefer my drinks cold and preferably in a Pepsi can.

Oh good. An ally against hot beverages!

Since tomorrow is today...again... I'm rethinking my coffee addiction. It's almost 4 am. Arrrgh. Feels like right now it's either cut down the caffeine or up meds to compensate. Neither one of those options is appealing. Not likely I'll give it up for long, but it is a reasonable thing to consider in current state of mind. I see some of you get along just fine without it. Any suggestions?

I'd like to avoid another webisode

you might be havin' a few too many cuppas' there wheels. I don't drink coffee but also I'm not a great role model for rational healthy...I still drink beers in the evening to cope or something

oh...yeah, I have had plenty of 'webisodes'....not good for the self confidence them nope

If you're going to cut down your coffee, I recommend do it in stages, or you will have a MAJOR headache. Switch to half regular/half decaf for a while, then decaf only after about 4 pm. You can play with what time you need to stop the caffeine and go to decaf, depending on your usual bedtime.

Hehe, you know, you can drink iced coffee! Yum!

I always enjoyed coffee but, beer? BLecgh.

But that coffee taste is disgusting hot or cold!! Ick!!

LOL, I'll be another ally that doesn't drink coffee, Farmergirl. Yuck! Everyone told me when I had to stay up late studying that I would pick up the habit. Nope. Then they told me when I had kids I would. Nope. Just can't stand the flavor!

Well, for one thing, I just felt sooo-oo-oo-o much better not having it in my diet, and I was able to drop Lamictal altogether and use just 10 mg. Prozac now. It's the lows that come after the central nervous system jolt has dissipated that I don't miss AT ALL!

Hope you're successful if you really want to break the addiction.

I don't even like the sound of that word "addiction". Never again for me for caffeine and coffee. Try a hard piece of candy in place of it for a few days--it will give you a high, too, but it won't develop into an addiction immediately. It really isn't too difficult to stop. It was far more difficult for me to stop cigarette smoking.

Genetic

Cigarette smoking is another thing entirely. Never gonna happen!

You were really able to drop lamictal? I wasn't looking that far ahead. Only to cut down or at least not go up on seroquel.

I have cut down already. There was a suggestion here to mix equal parts reg and decaf. I like that-I still get to enjoy it. Thank you.

Saw my therapist on Tuesday. Surprisingly she asked me if I still needed coffee. I said "just look at me" I was an exhausted slouch. She laughed.

I think if I can find a good mix of vitamins, find energy from another source, I may be able to balance. And, surprise, I never exercise. Not purposely anyway. It is not quite an addiction, but a habit that I continue when it isn't needed or is counterproductive to leveling out. Maybe just being more aware will help. It may sound silly to put so much thought into, but I have been less stable lately. I have also stopped taking sudafed, which is a big nono in bipolar, but my allergies are constant. The zyrtec barely touches them.

I know the cigarettes have a huge impact on my overall day to day moods. And they are so damn expensive! The thing is they go so well with coffee

Allergies plus cigarettes...I know...

I am another huge coffee fan here. I love coffee and I rarely drink any other beverage except for water. I have cut back drastically to a healthy coffee intake. I have upped my water intake a load but not enough to the point where I am over hydrating. I must say I do feel alot better. I still do love my coffee tho.

I did get a lot of headaches at first but that soon cleared up, and being fully hydrated definatly helped. I do 90 min of hot yoga a day, sometimes twice a day so I really need that water and electrolytes also. You might want to look into electrolytes as well. I take a few vitamins and I also take vega protein shakes. I gotta say after all that and cutting out gluten and dairy ( allergies ), I feel like 500 years younger. And I'm not exaggerating. I'll never look back because I couldn't stand to feel so worn down physically again.

I smoke too . I used to tell myself I'd never be able to quit. But now with all the other lifestyle changes I've been able to change and sustain. I think my mindset on that "never" is turning into an " I will ". I'm not there yet, but I'm keeping my mind open to the idea that I can.

Besides feeling 500 years younger my once unruly severe bipolar has become stable and life has become pleasant. Enjoyable even and peaceful. It's so hard to change these things sometimes. But you just pluck away at it slow and steady. It takes a long time to change old habits. Be gentle on yourself.

I see it that way, too, Anika. I'm so glad you're feeling much better. It really does make a difference, doesn't it? (For those of us who are sensitive to it!)

Genetic

I don't drink it. Not because of the taste- I used to drink it- but because even decaf gives me a migraine. I thought they were withdrawal migraines but nope. I can not drink it for a year and then if I have just a little bit, MIGRAINE! So I just don't drink it. Or energy drinks. Though I did try that Neuro brand- "white". It made me so buzzy and weird and no headache. Tastes pretty blech though.

Genetic and Anika,

The hard candy. Could it be something like a vitamin c drop or is that overkill. Hard candy has helped me quit smoking before. Quitting smoking has never helped me though

Electrolytes. Is there a drink or a mix that you can recommend specifically.

I've always known that things can improve tremendously with diet and other changes. But haven't had specifics like these before.

Yes, I know exercise is a huge one. Have fallen off that more than a few times.

Maybe if I can make the other changes you mentioned I'll get back on.

Thanks

Well, for each of us it's going to be different, probably. I use vitamin C throughout the day for food allergies--gluten, dairy, etc.

In addition, I take a high quality multiple vitamin-one daily- and a B12 shot once a
month. I've added the Omega 3-6 fatty acids which helps--1 pill per day and a
separate vitamin D pill--one a day.

Adding a large, fresh salad daily is a must for the electrolyte help for me. There are many that are available at places like Vitamin Shoppe or your better pharmacies. Your pharmacist can probably recommend one that is good. (I didn't find that as helpful, however, as the buffered vitamin C--that has been the greatest help to me, but we all vary on our nutritional needs, I think.)

In some ways, I think it's very much like a puzzle trying to learn through trying different things what works best for each of us.

Using fresh foods and cutting out processed foods is helpful for me.

Shewheel, I requested that my psychiatrist prescribe Deplin 7.5 mg., 1 daily. It's a form of folate (condensed from folic acid) which can cross
the blood-brain barrier and that has been strongly beneficial for me.

I was never tested to learn if I did have the genetic missing enzymes that make it impossible to convert folic acid into a useable form in the brain;but my doctor felt that, if it benefitted me, there was no need to have genetic testing done. (That's a topic that's interesting in itself for improvement in serotonin transmitters in the brain.)

Well, the list can go on and on, but you have the idea of how to start your search for what works for you.

Glad to see you posting, Shewheel; hope your last psychiatric appointment went well.

Genetic

Thank You, Genetic!

All of these things make perfect sense and will be so easy to do. I do the multivitamin when I remember and that makes a huge dif in short order. I forget how much I love salad and so easy. Vit C easy. Omega 3 I was huge on natural sources when I was pregnant. A supplement so easy!

I will look into Deplin. Sounds great and I know you have been able to cut down on the other.

I have to put a lot of evidnce together before i ask the pdoc. I'm sure she'd be all for trying- she is very open minded, but she might wonder why i got all researchy as it's not like me

If I start acting "not me" .... well

There are some studies done on bipolar and bovine caesin and gluten. I think there is a connection, but not enough studies done. There are more studies on gluten and schizophrenia and autism tho. I'll find them for you because you might find it interesting.

I use "nuun" tablets for electrolytes. You can also get it in the form of Hymalayan sea salt. The reason I do that tho is because I'm very active and sweat a load while doing so. But it's good to make sure they are in balance. Or just eat lots of leafy greens like spinach.

I also stick with mostly whole foods, fruit, veg, chicken, and fish, although I really don't eat a lot of meat, nuts, seeds, there is just so much whole foods out there to try.

Something fun to do is to pick up one fruit or vegetable at the market that you've never tried before. And just try it, might be bad might be fantastic. So many different tastes, colors, shapes to pick from.

I use a B complex vitamin, along with fish oil I don't like to rely too much on supplements as they can't beat the real thing. But there is so much stuff out there to pick from.

Like Genetic said, it's really what works for you in particular. It's going to be a little different for everyone. But one thing I think it to make one change at a time. If you try to change it all at once it's overwhelming and harder to sustain in the long run.

Good luck, I wish you the best!

I know we're not really supposed to be drinking it, but I've been a bit mixed hypo lately, so last night I drank some coffee, and it felt like it pushed me up into just feeling that nice euphoric hypomania and my depression went out of the mix. Not even sure if that's even possible, it might have just been in my head, but who cares lol I felt good :P

Glad you felt good hmm I dunno I've never had that with coffee and depression, but if I can't have any coffee at all I feel depressed. Sometimes I think it's just in moderation.

For electrolytes, I recommend Vitalyte. It is an old formulation made by Bill Gookin, a former marathoner and biologist, who is now very old but still very active. I have seen him live a few times and been very inspired by his level of activity into old age. Same to all of us!