Question:
For years I suffered terrible anxiety disorder, and had frequent panic attacks for seemingly
no reason. I figured the stomach trouble was being caused by the same stresses
that caused my panic attacks, but I went to the Dr. anyway. He suggested that to relieve
the excess acid that I give up caffeine.
So, Could all anxiety disorders be "cured" by giving up caffeine?
Answer:
I had to stop drinking coffee due to the PAs, even before I knew they were
PAs, because that beerage that I liked so much would make me feel instantly
sick. Now that it's been a couple of months since diagnosis and some
medication, I'm feeling a lot better (but still not at 100% -- dull
weather seems to send me into an instant depression these says). So, I
decided to try some de-caf. I don'T know if it was psychological or what, but
my heart starting fluttering like at the beginning of a PA. No more de-caf for
me, at least for a while.... And oddly enough, a couple of cups of black tea
don't seem to cause any damage at all. In my case, I'm suspecting that
something incoffee itself (in addition to or instead of the caffeine) causes
me problems.
I too had some of the same symptoms that you speak of. It was
suggested that I give up the caffine and it made things considerably
better for me personally. It definately reduced the frequency of the
PA in my life. I too loved my iced tea and Coke. Luckly my local
quickmart sells a decafinated tea and Coke has one without caffine. I
got really turned on to fruit juices and I am sure they are better for
me anyhow.
I gave up caffeine about two years ago, and it has helped a great deal.
Since my husband still enjoys "leaded" coffee, we bought a single-serving
automatic drip coffee maker, and we both enjoy our favorite brews (except
I can enjoy mine late in the evening, and hubby can't!).
We also switched to decaf sodas -- Caffeine-Free Diet Coke and diet black
cherry soda (my favorite).
I've searched high and low for good decaf products -- most fruit-flavored
sodas are caffeine-free.
Almost all the citrus-flavored sodas are okay except for Mountain Dew,
which has a *big* shot of caffeine.
One cola that has *never* had caffeine, but doesn't mention that very
prominently on the label -- is Diet Rite.
I also love iced tea, and I used to buy the Lipton powdered tea, but I
stumbled on to a liquid concentrate called "Ready Brew," and it is the
best.
I normally have a sensitivity to caffeine but have found that I don't get
wired or edgy when having a cup or two of green tea. Also, there are
several brands of caffeine-free Earl Grey (which is my favorite tea) as
well as others on the market. Seems as though you can find just about any
"free" version of anythig on the market these days...........except
calorie-free!
Celestial Seasonings also have caffeine free tea that is very good and
comes in bottles! A little pricey, but still- Diet Mt. Dew has a caffeine
free version that isn't *too* bad. When push comes to shove, I guess water
is still the best - blah!
