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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by grapebubblegum on August 16, 2001, at 9:11:44
Here's another one I hope someone can tackle:
Can anyone comment on the common usage and usefulness of caffeine as a self-administered treatment for depression? I've been told that many people don't realize they are self-medicating, because caffeine has some antidepressant qualities, even if it is probably not the best there is in the pharmaceutical world.
My father shared the same sort of condition I suffer from, and you would think that anxious depressives with panic attacks would be the absolute worst candidates for heavy caffeine usage. However, my doctor has said that there is some mechanism of neurotransmittor regulation (and of course I can't remember what it is) that many people find helpful and that is why so many people all over the world are literally addicted to their morning (or all-day) fix.
My father mentioned that he used to be an 8-cup a day drinker, and I've held steady at two mugs a day, but those mugs are monsters made with I-don't-even-care-to-say-how-much coffee. Here's the paradox: The times in my life when I had clusters of panic attacks or persistent anxious states seem to coincide, when I take a good look, with times that for whatever reason I decided I should cut out or cut way down on the Joe.
How could a stimulant that would purportedly make one more anxious or jittery be helpful to a PA-prone person, and how could withdrawal (not rapid, but even gradual) of that substance make a predisposed person prone to a relapse into long-dormant panic symptoms?
I'm really making y'all work today, huh?
Posted by Mitch on August 16, 2001, at 10:09:43
In reply to And as if THAT question were not hard enough, posted by grapebubblegum on August 16, 2001, at 9:11:44
> Can anyone comment on the common usage and usefulness of caffeine as a self-administered treatment for depression? I've been told that many people don't realize they are self-medicating, because caffeine has some antidepressant qualities, even if it is probably not the best there is in the pharmaceutical world.
Coffee for the most part is simply a mild psychostimulant. I drink a couple of strong cups in the morning with my Neurontin and nortripytline dose and I can be fairly attentive in an hour or two. I am on my 2nd cup of Java right now!
> How could a stimulant that would purportedly make one more anxious or jittery be helpful to a PA-prone person, and how could withdrawal (not rapid, but even gradual) of that substance make a predisposed person prone to a relapse into long-dormant panic symptoms?
Well, others here are better at the neurotransmitters et al, but my theory on that is TCA antidepressants which are commonly used for panic disorder and agoraphobia tend to increase the amount of norephinephrine to help alleviate depression. I suspect plain old caffeine indirectly is doing something similar. My guess is that people who are getting panicky on *stopping* the caffeine are people that are having panic as a result of a major depressive disorder rather than a primary anxiety disorder.
Mitch
Posted by grapebubblegum on August 16, 2001, at 10:26:15
In reply to Re: And as if THAT question were not hard enough » grapebubblegum, posted by Mitch on August 16, 2001, at 10:09:43
Thanks, Mitch. I think you are onto something because I do remember distinctly that she (my doc) said there is a disinhibition of norepinephrine going on with stimulants like caffeine. I've never had a panic attack that felt like it was triggered by stimulant (caffeine) use but I did have one that may have been triggered by a steroid shot that a doctor gave me without asking or caring about my psychiatric history (some M.D.s consider all that to be irrelevant, you know.)
Posted by ccass on August 16, 2001, at 10:48:47
In reply to And as if THAT question were not hard enough, posted by grapebubblegum on August 16, 2001, at 9:11:44
> Here's another one I hope someone can tackle:
>
> Can anyone comment on the common usage and usefulness of caffeine as a self-administered treatment for depression? I've been told that many people don't realize they are self-medicating, because caffeine has some antidepressant qualities, even if it is probably not the best there is in the pharmaceutical world.
>
> My father shared the same sort of condition I suffer from, and you would think that anxious depressives with panic attacks would be the absolute worst candidates for heavy caffeine usage. However, my doctor has said that there is some mechanism of neurotransmittor regulation (and of course I can't remember what it is) that many people find helpful and that is why so many people all over the world are literally addicted to their morning (or all-day) fix.
>
> My father mentioned that he used to be an 8-cup a day drinker, and I've held steady at two mugs a day, but those mugs are monsters made with I-don't-even-care-to-say-how-much coffee. Here's the paradox: The times in my life when I had clusters of panic attacks or persistent anxious states seem to coincide, when I take a good look, with times that for whatever reason I decided I should cut out or cut way down on the Joe.
>
> How could a stimulant that would purportedly make one more anxious or jittery be helpful to a PA-prone person, and how could withdrawal (not rapid, but even gradual) of that substance make a predisposed person prone to a relapse into long-dormant panic symptoms?
>
> I'm really making y'all work today, huh?hi
I read somewhere that drinking coffee in the morning is actually good for depression because it gives that person a bit of energy to get going on there day. I did try stopping drinking coffee once and after about 4 days I read this and realized heck thats probably why I am absolutly tired the whole day so I started drinking my couple of cups in the morning and I am fine again.
Cassandra
Posted by grapebubblegum on August 17, 2001, at 20:18:37
In reply to Re: And as if THAT question were not hard enough, posted by ccass on August 16, 2001, at 10:48:47
Sorry, just another shameless self-thread-promotion. I'm just hoping someone else will have 2 cents (or more) to share.
This is the end of the thread.
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