caffeine
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| Thu, 09-21-2006 - 12:41pm |
Four years ago I woke up in the morning out of a sound sleep and started feeling all the symptoms of a heart attack...the feeling that something bad was about to happen, arm tingling, chest pain, then scary fast heartbeat. I thought this was it. I took an aspirin and drank a bunch of water and called 911. By the time they arrived at my apartment I was fine though, and a little embarrassed.
I was frightened enough by it that I went to the emergency room. Since I work at the university associated with the ER I got the royal treatment. I was tested for everything under the sun, got an excellent cardiologist who did an EKG and had me wear a monitor for a week. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I suspected caffeine, although I don't drink but a cup of coffee a day, and I hadn't had any the day it happened. He said that it wasn't caffeine.
Subsequently I had several more episodes, and learned from doctors I worked with how to control my breathing to stop the racing heartbeat, which scared me the most. However I wished the "heart attacks" would stop completely, because they were frightening to me. No one could convince me that it wasn't a real heart attack.
After one week where I was constantly aware of my heartbeat and my left hand kept going numb (yes an entire week), I decided to try something...completely cut out my one cup of coffee. Immediately I felt better, except for the severe, daily headaches I suffered with for nearly 2 months straight. That was three years ago now; once off the caffeine I haven't had a "heart attack" since. Instead of coffee now I substitue hot chocolate (only 5mgs/cup in hot chocolate prepared from scratch with cocoa and sugar instead of 140mgs/cup caffeine in brewed coffee).
Besides the very occasional caffeine-free buffered aspirin for headaches, I don't take any meds, vitamins, minerals. Nothing.
I'm now reading about panic attacks and the DSM-IV criteria and it sounds like I was having panic attacks...with the exception that they were completely resolved by not drinking coffee, to which I was obviously extremely sensitive, given that only the one cup caused a severe withdrawal symptom of headaches for 2 months. Has anyone had a similar experience?? I'm thinking...how lucky I am to have figured this out!!

Hello! Nice to see you;) That is awesome news that you were able to stop these spells by eliminating the caffeine & breathing techniques. Many folks have talked about how caffeine has contributed to anxiety/panic. Here's a thread you might want to read:
Thanks! That's interesting! I was aware of the caffeine in meds, but didn't realize there was that much. Wow.
No medical doctors I ever relayed this info to ever even suggested that I was having panic attacks, although they fit the description to a tee. I guess since it's not an ongoing problem in my particular case it was largely chemical and only a small component was psychological. It really helps to know that 1) it's not a diagnosed heart problem and 2) you can control it.
Sounds interesting. I'm wondering if people even try this. It actually saves you money, can't hurt anything to try (as long as you have been cleared of any heart problems), and it might actually work!
Edited 9/21/2006 4:47 pm ET by goddess_juju
Not to be too alarmist about this, but there's maybe much more to it than just the stress hormones now...did you read the recent journal article about the common genetic defect (half the population of 4000 studied!) that may actually increase one's susceptibility to caffeine-induced heart attacks?
Just 2 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 36% increase in heart attacks in people with the genetic defect. Those under 50 years of age were actually *four times* more likely to have a heart attack. TWO CUPS OF COFFEE.
Apparently caffeine impairs the body's ability to protect against tissue damage (ouch!) and the genetic defect causes caffeine to be metabolized more slowly.
Check it out http://cbs2.com/health/health_story_066142655.html
It was published in Journal of the American Medical Association in March. I mean it's all preliminary, but if true it would make all previous research in this area (cardiovascular effects of caffeine) somewhat spurious because probably half of previous study populations had the defect but no one screened for it before.
Anybody else read it?
Edited 9/21/2006 4:40 pm ET by goddess_juju
If I have ANY caffeine at all, I have anxiety & often panic.
Sheri Ann