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View Full Version : Uppers? What do you use?



Carol
01-08-2009, 10:37 AM
On New years Eve I was very tired and not sure if I could do the usual NYE thing. With the help of 3 coffees I made it through to 1pm. That got me thinking - what could I use to "assist" me - One of the members mentioned Red Bull so i investigated NO Doz a caffeine stumulant in tablet form. On talking to the pharmacist - she asked me some weird questions first - checking me out!!!! - and basically said it's just another form of caffeine - perhaps not so socailly acceptable as drinking coffee or Red Bull.She did warn me that when it cuts out I may feel even more tired and must be prepared for that. What do others think? I havent bought the tablets yet.

MODIVIGIL - an acquanintance who has MS uses this prescription drug to stay alert and is extremely happy with the results when she knows she has a big day coming up. Research it for yourself. Its to stop daytime sleepiness.

Meditation is one of my valuable tools but it is time consuming.
Carol

andrew
01-08-2009, 11:59 AM
Like you did, I have coffee to keep myself alert. I watch how many I have though and try and keep it to two or three a day. If I have too many, I 'crash' and feel worse than I did when I started :)

From memory, NoDOZ tablets are equal to one cup of coffee each. It's easy to overdo it too. I steer clear of red bull and the like because my kidney's are cactus.

Sometimes though, a short stroll in the fresh air can perk me up. I work in an airconditioned office every day and it can dry you out and make you feel tired.

crackers
01-08-2009, 12:10 PM
i drink a lot of coffee but it doesn't help me stay awake.take today for instance.i had to have a ct scan and from the car to the dept was a 3 to 4 hundred yard walk mostly on a slight uphill incline.so by the time i'd walked there and back to the car i was ready to collapse.spent most of the rest of the day asleep.when the energy's gone it's gone and i'd be a bit concerned that taking something like that is like taking a loan from the bank.you've got to pay it back sometime.anyway good luck and stay healthy and let us know how you get on.
john.

Sangye
01-08-2009, 01:00 PM
Ho Boy.

John, you're right on with the idea about paying that loan back. Here's the way energy works. Your brain tells your body "Gimme energy," so it makes adrenaline, among several other hormones. But adrenaline is the #1 hormone in the energy-demand line-up. The more you demand, the more your adrenal glands (on the kidneys) make. In western culture our stress is relentless, so the adrenals never take a break. We're left wiped out. So we decide to add something to the mix--caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands to make adrenaline.

This goes okay for awhile, but then you notice that it takes you 2 cups to hit the same point as 1 cup used to. Then more and more. Then nothing does it. Red Bull steps in, No doz, whatever, it's all just amped up caffeine. Meanwhile, your adrenals are so overworked, they are actually shrinking in size. Your health is going downhill. Maybe you get allergies. Thyroid problems. Frequent colds. At that point you notice caffeine is making you more tired. That's because there's no more adrenaline to get pumped out.

This is the point where most of my patients came to my office for the first time. Totally wiped out, wondering why they always felt so lousy.

Now take Weggies who've been on pred. Pred rapidly shrinks the adrenals far more than the above will do. Almost entirely disables them, even for years after you go off it. They are incapable of producing anything more than necessity levels of adrenaline. That's why stress knocks us totally flat. And when you're this sick, stress means any physical stressor to the body as well (eg John's long walk). If you go throwing caffeine into such a system, much less the Red Bull/ No doz stuff, watch out. There's going to be hell to pay back-- infections, maybe a flare. If you're on pred, I'd say no to any caffeine. If you've been off and your energy is pretty normal, then very very limited caffeine.

Okay, now I'm done. I just couldn't go to bed with that on my mind.

crackers
01-08-2009, 01:24 PM
wow sangye now you've got me thinking about my coffee intake so i googled it and in future i think i'll stick to a sensible intake of tea.i've never really researched wg as sometimes ignorance is bliss but i think i may look into it more to get a bit more education.
john

Jack
01-09-2009, 08:51 AM
I could not get by without coffee. The only reason I restrict my intake is because my Potassium levels are already too high due to my limited renal function.