Do you guys find Caffeine makes symptoms worse?

[nothingbutbluntz]

I have been drinking one or two cups of coffee a day for 2 years now. I would not consider myself addicted but I do find it helps me get up in the morning. I started experiencing HPPD symptoms a few months ago, and have kept drinking coffee however I have stopped using psychedelics and have significantly reduced my cannabis use, cutting it out completely after this weekend. My question to you, as obvious in the title of the post, is do you find caffeine makes your symptoms worse? I don't know what affect it has on mine, because again I have been drinking coffee since before I developed HPPD.

 

[junior]

I quit drinking diet soda right after I started to feeling HPPD, and started drinking it again about 2 months after I quit. Well it didn't seem to affect me, and after about 6 months I lived my life for a while not feeling HPPD at all really except for VS and DP 24/7, but I was used to it so I didn't really notice it. After about a year of HPPD, I decided to begin smoking pot. I realized that pot literally did not do anything to me, except for making me paranoid about how its going to make my HPPD come back harder, it didn't affect me for the first 5 or 6 times, but on my 7th time smoking which was about 4 months after my 6th time, I really didn't get high again, just went to sleep. The next day I had bad anxiety and that night when I was trying to go sleep I literally felt like I was floating/flying and couldn't fall asleep. 2 weeks later I had an anxiety attack, a week after that my DP hits me HARD, and I mean HARD. Harder than it did when I first got it. Things (especially people/cars) start to breathe again, I have depression/anxiety and insomnia. I am seeing double on all bright objects.

 

So I quit all drugs, just hoping to get back to normal. I cut out my chewing tobacco, diet coke, pot, and alcohol. Hell I don't even take allergy medicine when my allergies start up. Now, about a month later, I am feeling back to normal like it was before that one time smoking, except for the double vision on bright objects, which is annoying, but I can live with it.

 

If you are hoping for a full recovery, I think it would be best to cut out all drugs, including caffeine, nicotine, pot, and even allergy medications/other otc medicines when possible...Good luck to you and your recovery!

[nothingbutbluntz]

Thank you so much :] Anyone else? having what may be my last coffee :C

[onedayillsailagain]

Coffee makes my HPPD much worse, as well as anxiety. I was actually hooked to drinking 20+ coffees for a while after I acquired HPPD, because I'd stay up all night researching. Once I stopped, my symptoms improved.

You could try reducing your intake to 0.5-1 cup in the morning. I do miss coffee. If it wasn't for the anxiogenesis, I'd probably still drink it regardless of visual symptoms.

[Kellen]

I quit coffe/caffeine altogether. I felt it increased my anxiety at times. Also it messes with my stomach so I just drink herbal tea now. I do miss that extra boost but over all the pros out weigh the cons of quitting.

[1998]

About 80% of the time coffee works great for me. The other 20 it just raises my anxiety for an hr. but no real problems.

 

When too tired to do anything, I'll drink caffeine and exercise it's def. worth the tradeoff. Even if it does give me anxiety for a while, I'll run it out of myself to release endorphins.

[bpl4269]

It caused a relapse of one of my symptoms on two seperate occassions. I am extremely sensitive to it. The second time it caused a relapse of one of my symptoms it wasnt even regular coffee. It was decaf.

[Blunderbuss89]

Have you tried red tea or chai?  They're naturally caffeine-free and if you make a routine of drinking them in the morning you might be able to trick your brain into accepting them as coffee-replacements. I try to stick to these and if I do feel like I really need a cup of coffee I try to keep it down to 1/3 of a cup diluted with 2/3 milk.  It's probably just a placebo at this point.

[cwatson1414]

In the beginning it was a huge asset to me. I would not have been able to graduate without it. It made me feel energized and happy, and I was able to hold conversations with people. I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine though. After a pretty intense and ill-advised drinking binge it isn't as helpful. I know it does aggravate my symptoms even on days it helps.

 

EDIT: Like, I may have a serious mood-lift, but my visuals will intensify.

[hppd24years]

I had to stop because it intensified my after images/tracers and tinnitus. Dam they are bad enough without stimulates. I've had this disease of distortions for 24 long years. when I first got it it was a walk in the park in comparison to what it is now. Is there any antidote that keeps ur sanity known and proven out there on the horizon???

[hppd24years]

I had to stop because it intensified my after images/tracers and tinnitus. Dam they are bad enough without stimulates. I've had this disease of distortions for 24 long years. when I first got it it was a walk in the park in comparison to what it is now. Is there any antidote that keeps ur sanity known and proven out there on the horizon???

[415_stylee]

Caffeine makes the visuals worse temporarily for me. At the right dose caffeine is a good relief for my ADHD, and I get better sleep quality when I drink one large cup before sleep. So I would say it outweighs the HPPD increase a lot. Though if I drink to much I get increased DP/DR and faster heart rate so it has to be within certain limits.

[wooshka]

Too scared to try it, also, never liked Coffee PRE-HPPD anyways, haha.

[Jay]

Yes! Caffeine does trigger HPPD and anxiety attacks. I’ve had to completely stop any and all sources of coffee. Including chocolate. Unfortunately even decaf caffeine and decaf tea triggers it for me. So please avoid all caffeine. 

And red tea isn’t naturally caffeine free as someone else mentioned. But in my experience I can manage a quarter cup of the red tea / chai periodically without going nuts. 

Wish you total recovery my friend.