autism and caffeine - your experience?

Post Reply New Topic

Lately I've discovered that caffeine appears to help with some of the more adverse symptoms of my autism.
Some days when I'm at work I'm just extremely irritable and grumpy and I don't entirely know why. Could be subtle sensory influence, could be a sign of autistic burnout, could be something not at all related to autism.

On these days, as I'm required to be nice to customers, I will buy an energy drink (usually Monster), and within minutes my mood does a complete 180. Instead of being sullen and withdrawn and exhausted beyond measure, I'm suddenly able to be cheerful and energetic with customers.

I don't do this every day, and try to avoid it unless I absolutely need it. I do not want a caffeine dependency. I'm hoping I don't already have one.

a test for ADHD long has been if a person relaxes when given caffeine, that is my experience. NTs tend to get jittery with large doses of caffeine, but not me.

^ I'm the same. I can have a strong coffee right before going to bed and drop off to sleep easily. I don't do this often though. I do have a caffeine addiction to Coke No Sugar, however.

I've never tried an energy drink. I smelt Red Bull once and didn't like it. Does Monster come in different flavours?

It's a family trait that none of us can have caffeine without nearly passing out. My auntie used to pass out, literally, and need revived if her tea steeped for too long. The rest of us get really strong heart palpitations. I can't do coffee especially now that I'm on ADHD stimulants. I asked my ADHD doctor if this means I don't really have ADHD and he said no. According to my medical history he thinks it's because of a congenital heart defect that I have. Caffeine sends too many electrical signals or whatever and my heart can't keep up.

I can have one cup of tea a day and I don't always finish it.

I've never had an energy drink as they sound horrifying. Coca Cola used to make me "drunk" and I was considered a cheap date for that reason. The only soda I can drink is Canada Dry Ginger Ale, which is caffeine free.

I've never noticed much of an affect that caffine has on autism
In a heavy social situation, I avoid caffine because it makes me more anxious than I already am, but that could be due to anxiety rather than autism
If I'm with a friend, a coffee over some banter seems to be beneficial, I find that I am able to better articulate myself and collect my thoughts in real time.

I did go through caffine withdrawal and it's not good, irritability and migrane like headaches were the worst of it.

As with everything, moderation is key

Not good.

I like the taste of coffee and certain carbonated drinks.

But it affects my head in subtle ways.
I used to drink coffee everyday out of pleasure.

As I grew older, I seem to be 'less tolerant'.
Not the energy aspects; I basically do not feel more awake as soon as I consume caffeine -- but with symptoms associated with being wired; tremors, heart palpitations, etc.
To a point that it can overwhelm me.


Now I quit taking caffeine on a regular basis, as sad for me to say good bye to the varying flavors of coffee and soft drinks...
I only can afford to take decaf. Caffeinated stuff can already affect me with few sips...

It varies with the brand, strength and quantity I consume in a single sitting.
Even with a single cup alone; ranging from diarrhea, insomnia, hyperacidity, tremors, restlessness, heart palpitations...
Sometimes my breathing patterns are affected, sometimes the way I relax. Sometimes it gives me brain fog. Sometimes headaches -- I'm not talking about withdrawals. Sometimes it did gave me a form of anxiety -- sometimes, I get the opposite.

While it can boost my mood for a moment, the effects for days would be emotionally more intolerant and easily more dysregulated.

Worst case is internal overwhelm, being numb in the inside. It is as if caffeine short circuited something in my head.

Gained Number Post Count (1).
Lose Time (n).

Lose more time here - Updates at least once a week.

I don't generally consume caffeine. When I do have it it helps focus me, i get more done, but I get depressed afterwards so it isn't worth it for me.

coffee is my best friend. I have tried quitting several times over the years and I just don't function as well without it. It seems to help processing for me, I think more clearly and understand more, some antihistamines help too, but am limited in what I can take due to blood pressure issues. Too much coffee gives me the shakes and anxiety, but 2 cups (16 oz) a day works very well for me taken first thing in the morning. I don't sleep if I take it after noon. Effects seem to last 8 to 10 hours for me.

Can’t handle caffeine. Loved coffee and tea when I was younger, but found it was giving me hot flushes, palpitations, jitters. I only have a cup of sweet tea very occasionally now if I’ve had an emotional shock or something as it seems to help in that case. Otherwise hot water is strong enough for me

Caffeine acts as a CNS (central nervous-system stimulant). But the mechanism (number of chemical changes) is complicated. Like a pool trick shot where the cue ball hits one ball which hits another (etc. etc.) Meds for adhd tend to be more direct and more specific (many, not all are also CNS). Caffeine is also a mood elevator. But like most stimulants, what goes up must come down. Sometimes caffeine helps with social anxiety for me. But I have to be careful. Too much and I get much worse anxiety as it wears off. Caffeine has about a 3 hour half life. So does Ritalin.

My experiences with caffeine are pretty normal I would think. It's been known to give me a certain amount of euphoria but it's hard to achieve the Goldilocks zone where I'm pleasantly lively without making my heart start thumping, which naturally takes the fun out of it.

As I drink a lot of tea and not much else, I have to regulate the dose by mostly using decaffeinated tea, just drinking the other sort when I want the caffeine. I've been known to add caffeine powder to decaffeinated tea in order to precisely regulate the dose, using measured amounts of a carefully-prepared stock solution of caffeine in water, but I don't currently do that, I just drink a cup of non-decaffeinated when I first wake up and usually leave it at that. I think even if I regulate the dose very precisely, I tend to react differently to it depending on the state of my body at the time. So sometimes a given dose is too little, other times it's too much.

I drink at least four cups of coffee at the office every work day. I have a coffee cup warmer in my office. Occasionally I have one before I leave home for work. It is really a comfort item for me. If I want it to help up pick up my energy, it will. If I don't, it won't. Probably the most autistic thing about coffee drinking for me is my commitment to it.

Though I love the smell and taste of coffee, my body and brain hate it. So I switched to back to tea.