[medicalfox]

I'm don't like coffee, but I felt that I needed one today. The facility staff member made me a cup and I noticed a huge difference in my performance. I needed the boost since I was falling asleep because I worked a 10 hour shift, slept 5 hours, then got up to work my 15 hour shift. Lack of sleep is a huge trigger for my mania and my bosses keep giving me unrealistic hours. They made me get hospitalized 3 times so far from making me work way too much. I can't tell them my medical conditions because this is my only source of income and I don't want to be fired. I'm hoping coffee could save me and prevent mania by making me more awake and less stressed. Does coffee affect people with bipolar negatively? I wouldn't drink it everyday, I'd use it as a prn.

[BipolaRNurse]

Caffeine can make manic symptoms worse, although I don't think it causes them. I know some people, including myself, tend to drink a lot more coffee during a manic phase, and that doesn't help one bit. If you don't normally drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages, don't start a habit now! Instead, try to negotiate your hours with your supervisors......it's illegal to make a person work over 12 hours without at least an 8 hour break between shifts.

A few words of caution: Overwork and over-stress are also VERY big mania triggers, and you are much more apt to get fired if you lose it at work, than if you let your bosses know that for 'health reasons' you need fewer hours. (You don't have to specify what health reasons---they have no right to know, although they might ask anyway.)

You may also want to keep it in the back of your mind that the Americans with Disabilities Act won't necessarily protect you as much as you might think it does. I was let go early this summer after I had a breakdown due to the stress and anxiety caused by my job---my supervisors decided that they "couldn't" handle the reasonable accommodations requested by my pdoc, and that was it.

I wish you the best of luck. You are going to need it.

I pushed myself into a highly anxious state using dietary supplements with caffeine in them (I did stop them but it had already started things rolling) which fueled my spring hypomania . So though I don't think coffee in moderate amounts would be a bad thing necessarily, coupled with the lack of sleep it could become a problem, you just need to keep an eye on yourself. I agree with bipolarnurse about negotiating for better hours. I don't know if it would work in a business, other people here can say yes or no since I don't work, but when I had to drop out of student teaching because of my breakdown, my pdoc wrote a note to the college dean. He didn't specify what health problem I had but it worked to allow me to skip that semester and do my student teaching the following one. I don't think he wrote his md specialty in the note. Let's see what other people think of that idea, I could be way off base.

[Anneinside]

Not really on topic but my sister is a psych nurse and they are understaffed. They are constantly required to stay on duty for a double shift which is 16 hours. Then they have 8 hours off before they have to go back to work. There is a limit on how many 16 hour shifts they can work in a week (I don't know what it is). The 12 hour rule may only be a state law so other states will have different limits. Nebraska allows for double shifts.

[medicalfox]

I have a set schedule that I designed to accommodate my disabilities without explaining to my bosses the reason for it. I told them it was for school (which is partially true). They have been calling me non stop for overtime, but I honestly can't handle it. They keep trying to schedule me 10-16 hour shifts daily and I can't do it. I have to accept some of the shifts because we (the cnas) can be fired for denying overtime. I work third shift (self accommodation) so if I go manic no one is there to witness my melt down since the client is asleep. I don't believe any organization would help me during a crisis at work so I'm not relying on any of those acts. People do whatever they want and there is always loopholes :/

I steer well clear of coffee and caffeinated drinks. They make me anxious and if Im on the way up it affects me like a low dose of speed. I get a far worse hangover from caffeine than I get from alcohol or anything else. I can and do have them occasionally but I monitor my mood and only have caffeine when I am not going to be negatively affected by it.

[medicalfox]

I rarely drink coffee and caffeinated drinks so I don't know how they affect me. I love soy chai lattes which I get every so often when I visit my favourite cafe though. I was hoping that this would be beneficial as a prn for when I'm tired or not motivated.

[Confusedinomicon]

I think it's fine as a prn if you don't drink it all the time. Once it's a habit it can suck. I get caffeine headaches if I quit cold turkey.

Its also okay if you don't experience acid reflux. Stress can contribute to that which will make your stomach upset which isn't a good experience. If you have a sensitivity it will make you anxious. Just listen to your gut and don't drink it a lot.

I work in fast food and people are given 15+ hr shifts if they need to cover hours for someone else. You can request two 30 minute breaks after 8 hours.

[medicalfox]

Originally Posted by Confusedinomicon

I think it's fine as a prn if you don't drink it all the time. Once it's a habit it can suck. I get caffeine headaches if I quit cold turkey.

Its also okay if you don't experience acid reflux. Stress can contribute to that which will make your stomach upset which isn't a good experience. If you have a sensitivity it will make you anxious. Just listen to your gut and don't drink it a lot.

I have GERD (Gastro-Esophageal reflux disease), can I still have coffee as a prn? I take 150mg of zantac x2 daily so I don't have heart burn often.

[Confusedinomicon]

I get heartburn from drinking coffee if I do it too often. It also depends on stress.

[Phoenix_1]

Coffee is like eating too much sugar. It brings you up, and then you crash and burn. It's only a temporary fix, and it's highly addictive. I drink no more than 2 cups a day, and I make sure I eat when I drink my coffee, preferable something with protein.

After my second daughter was born, my body chemistry changed and I had to avoid coffee for 3 years - it gave me panic attacks.

And like Confused said, it can cause heartburn and other digestive problems. My father-in-law ended up in hospital with bleeding ulcers from too much coffee.

Try tea instead. Tetley has a very nice tasting herbal tea called Vitality with hibiscus, lemongrass, orange, gingko (for your brain), blueberries, and ginseng and other ingredients. Ginseng is a natural adaptogen. It gives your body what it needs, no matter what it needs. The Chinese have used it for 5000 years. American ginseng and Siberian ginseng are not true ginsengs, although they can be useful. Korean red or white are "real" ginseng, and the white is less strong than the rest. The only reason I mention the Tetley is because I was pleased at how good it tastes. Any Chinese or Korean ginseng tea will give you a boost when you need it, and calm you down when you don't need it. Ginseng helps your body adapt to stress.

If you want caffeine, try black tea or even green tea. They're not as addictive and not as hard on the stomach as coffee.

And as a caveat, whatever you choose to drink, don't go to extremes. Two or three cups a day is plenty.

[Confusedinomicon]

You get less of a crash with tea because it goes through your nervous system. Plus tea is a helps the digestive system and isn't as harsh as coffee.

Ginseng helps nausea and upset stomachs. Tastes great candied or in tea.

Phoenix post is really good.

[Blue_Bird]

Coffee is more of a mental thing for me, I drink it in the morning to get myself going with my day and sometimes I drink it while reading just to relax a little. In reality I don't know if it gives me energy or not but I do enjoy it

[Phoenix_1]

Originally Posted by Confusedinomicon

Ginseng helps nausea and upset stomachs. Tastes great candied or in tea.

Ginger is good for nausea and makes great gingerbread cookies and cake. I take ginger capsules when I have stomach flu instead of gravol.

Ginseng is also a root, but very different.

[medicalfox]

Originally Posted by Phoenix_1

And like Confused said, it can cause heartburn and other digestive problems. My father-in-law ended up in hospital with bleeding ulcers from too much coffee.

Try tea instead. Tetley has a very nice tasting herbal tea called Vitality with hibiscus, lemongrass, orange, gingko (for your brain), blueberries, and ginseng and other ingredients. Ginseng is a natural adaptogen. It gives your body what it needs, no matter what it needs. The Chinese have used it for 5000 years. American ginseng and Siberian ginseng are not true ginsengs, although they can be useful. Korean red or white are "real" ginseng, and the white is less strong than the rest. The only reason I mention the Tetley is because I was pleased at how good it tastes. Any Chinese or Korean ginseng tea will give you a boost when you need it, and calm you down when you don't need it. Ginseng helps your body adapt to stress.

If you want caffeine, try black tea or even green tea. They're not as addictive and not as hard on the stomach as coffee.

And as a caveat, whatever you choose to drink, don't go to extremes. Two or three cups a day is plenty.

Thanks for the info! I will go to my local co-op and look in the tea/natural remedies section

[Amelie10]

I love coffee, the smell, the taste, the experience of drinking it, all of it. I do have to be careful sometimes especially in the winter when i want more of it. But I think in moderation it can be a good thing for some people.

It certainly is for me. Sometimes when in a depression, it is the one thing that makes me want to get out of bed.

[Phoenix_1]

I love coffee too. I just have to be careful not to overdo it. 2 jobs ago my boss bought only Starbucks for the office. I used to add hot water to the Verona to make it less strong. Mmmm good coffee.

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[Hoping4aCure]

I can have coffee when I'm depressed but it makes my mania worse. I have to be careful because sometimes I have mixed episodes with psycosis and paranoia and the caffeine is no good then.

[lawrenman]

I think caffeine is only useful during depressed phases. During mania its best to stay away from uppers.

[medicalfox]

Originally Posted by lawrenman

I think caffeine is only useful during depressed phases. During mania its best to stay away from uppers.

What are "uppers"?

[Phoenix_1]

Uppers are anything that speeds up your metabolism. They can increase mania and hypomania. Speed, meth, some cold remedies like sudafed. I'm not really familiar with street drugs, maybe someone else can add more to this list.

[Charly1]

Coffee makes me tired for some strange reason.

[medicalfox]

How can speeding your metabolism affect mania?

[Phoenix_1]

It also speeds up your nervous system I think.

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[newtus]

i am in love with coffee with Nth degree. quite seriously.