Posted by Rick on September 6, 2001, at 1:29:47
In reply to DOPAMINE - SP and Parkinsons Disease, posted by kregpark@yahoo.com on September 5, 2001, at 2:08:30
> CAFFIENE: Recent studies (made Newsweek cover or
> was it US NW Report?) show more coffee each
> day lower Parkinson's risk with heaviest coffee
> drinkers 5 times LESS likely to get Parksinson's.
> (I've always LOVED LOTS of caffiene - am I
> self medicating low dopamine levels?)
>
> (Rick: I recall that you don't benefit much or
> maybe negatively from caffiene? I thought you
> mentioned some panic type symtoms occasionally
> also? Anyway my comment was just that studies
> show than PANIC DISORDER patients respond with
> ANXIETY TO CAFFIENE and SOCIAL PHOBIA patients
> (no panic disorder) DO NOT normally get anxiety.
>Craig -
Caffeine can make lots of people nervous, whether they suffer from a clincal anxiety disorder or not. So it only stands to reason that in a *caffeine-sensitive* person with Social Phobia, caffeine-induced jitters will aggravate somatic SP-driven symptoms. I've learned that I *am* prone to jitteriness when I ingest a substantial amount of caffeine, so cutting back helped improve the consistency of my SP treatment a moderate but noticeable amount. I do miss my caffeinated coffee on weekdays, but I don't like it that much without cream and sugar anyway -- which I try to avoid to keep my weight down (losing weight helped me lose anxiety). But I'm a lifelong Coke-a-holic, and still drink lots of regular Coke and plenty of caffeinated coffee on weekends. (That's how I motivate myself to eat well during the week..."just a few more days and then you can eat and drink whatever you want all weekend.")
But yes, from what I've read and heard, caffeine is a powerful anxiety-inducer in most people with Panic. In fact, I think the caffeine reaction is sometimes used as part of a differential for diagnosis between PD and other anxiety disorders.
Rick
poster:Rick
thread:36517
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010902/msgs/77939.html