Every time I drink coffee, I feel so good, but I get terrible mood swings and have low energy for three days after that. Is that normal?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “can coffee change your mood“
Every time I drink coffee, I feel so good, but I get terrible mood swings and have low energy for three days after that. Is that normal?
You can check the answer of the people under the question at Quora “can coffee change your mood“
I had a Bipolar II diagnosis for 25 years because of my coffee habit. My time was spent 60% depression, 20% hypomanic and 20% mood-normal. All that stopped when I quit coffee cold turkey.
I had been a coffee-addict since university so I never suspected that being mood-healthy was so possible. Instead I spent a couple of decades taking pills and talking to psychiatrists, all to no effect.
My advice to you would be simple: stop drinking coffee. Additionally watch out for chocolate – its active ingredient Theobromine is chemically very similar to caffeine. Also be aware if caffeine can affect you it’s quite likely other foods and drugs can too. My own list includes L-Tryptophan, grape seed oil, Imipramine, Lomotil and Imodium. All cause devastating mood changes.
The root cause of this? Genetics, and in my case because of my extreme reaction to L-Tryptophan I suspect a defect in a serotonin uptake pathway.
For three days, I’m not sure. Low energy? Definitely. Mood swings? Oh yeah. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay.
Though coffee can taste great and make you feel amazing, it can be horrible for you. Small to medium doses are usually fine, and can actually be beneficial. But large amounts make you feel like crap afterwards.
You feel good because coffee makes your body dump adrenaline, giving you a temporary high. This is also why many people like being scared, because the adrenaline gives you a rush. Coffee, especially too much of it, can lead to the release of stress hormones, digestive problems, and disrupt sleep patterns. Those three can be the cause of your mood swings.
The low energy is likely from coming down from the high. It is common to experience low energy after drinking coffee, as it’s like a sugar crash. Because of the duration of your symptoms, it’s likely you’re more susceptible to coffee’s affects.
You’re highly unlikely to experience long-term or serious effects from drinking coffee, but slowly lowering your intake of coffee is probably best for you.
I hope this helps!
OP: Every time I drink coffee I feel so good but I get terrible mood swings and have low energy for three days after that. Is it normal?
There are three levels of caffeine sensitivity (hypersensitive, normal, and hyposensitive).
It sounds like you are hypersensitive towards caffeine.
Caffeine Sensitivity
1. Hypersensitive to Caffeine
These people react to very small amounts of caffeine. Even at amounts less than 100 mg, people who are hypersensitive to caffeine can experience overdose symptoms such as insomnia, jitters, and an increased heartbeat.
For these people, it can take as much as twice as long for caffeine to metabolized.
Caffeine & Mood Swings
Depression
Depression may occur as you are coming down from caffeine and all the stimulant effects are wearing off. You might also experience depression if you are attempting to wean yourself off of the substance or quit cold turkey. According to Dr. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, a psychiatrist with the Mayo Clinic, depression is linked to people who are sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Depression can make you feel sad, confused, fatigued or restless. You may also experience physical symptoms such as headaches and stomachaches.
Adrenal Fatigue
The adrenal glands are endocrine glands that sit above your kidneys. They are responsible for regulating the body’s main stress response through synthesizing stress hormones including cortisol and adrenaline. Since caffeine stimulates the excretion of stress hormones, it can overwork the adrenal glands and eventually leave them fatigued. Adrenal fatigue can cause mood swings, dizziness, low blood pressure and intense sweet cravings.
If you are hypersensitive, you should not be consuming caffeine. Caffeine is a toxin that we all react to differently.
Hypersensitive is listed above and as you can see these people have a quick response/reaction to caffeine. Normal is where most people fall.
Caffeine Sensitivity
2. Normal Sensitivity to Caffeine
People who show normal sensitivity to caffeine can usually have 200-400 mg of caffeine daily without any adverse reactions. These people have no trouble sleeping as long as the caffeine is consumed early enough in the day.
The majority of humans fall under this category and this group is what the recommended daily safe dose of caffeine has been established for.
Hyposensitive people process caffeine so efficiently that they never really feel the effects, which can easily lead to caffeine overdoses.
Caffeine Sensitivity
3. Hyposensitive to Caffeine
About 10% of the human population are hyposensitive to caffeine. They process caffeine so efficiently that these people report taking large doses ( >500 mg) without much effect at all. Those hyposensitive can also consume caffeine shortly before bedtime and still get a good night’s sleep.
These people are more prone to consuming large doses of caffeine in order to get the desired effects.
Caffeine is in a lot of things, not just coffee. Center for Science in the Public Interest has a list of how much caffeine is in some common things we consume. Besides coffee (that is the top section of that link) there are:
energy drinks
tea
soft drinks
snacks
candy
ice cream/yogurt
OTC medications
If you have the same reaction every time you have caffeine, you really need to avoid it. You can get energy by eating healthy and getting enough sleep.
This is exactly what I have. The most interesting part is you menion that you are on Citalopram and so am I!!!!
I seem to be more prone to this if have drank any alcohol the night before. I wake up have my coffee and feel almost too good (very hyper) then after a couple of hours and coffees my mood drops through the floor and stays bad for 3–4 days then resets.
I have been searching for anyone with the same thing and I have also often wondered in the citalopram is causing this issue
Not that I know of. It seems that you are making an association that does not make much sense.
In case you are ingesting large, huge amounts of caffeine— which includes those that are present in cola beverages— excess caffeine could cause irritability, nervousness or restlessness. On average we are talking about more than 4 big cups a day. So this would depend on your intake of coffee.
Other possibility would be that if you were a regular drinker but had to stop for a few days, you would be experiencing coffee withdrawal symptoms (fatigue, headache, difficulty concentrating) . Coffee is not known for inducing low levels of energy, much to the contrary. It is also not known for producing mood swings. And, by the way, how old are you? How long have you been drinking coffee?
There might be another culprit for your low levels of energy. Check it out!
Lots of variables here. A cup of coffee is quite complex with over 750 ingredients (not including natural sugars, artificial sugars, flavorings, etc.). Is the cup of coffee just a cup of coffee by itself or part of a healthy, balanced meal? What is the brand/source of coffee? What you report is not unheard of although the low energy for three days is unusual. Part of the answer to the question involves neurology and the pancreas of the body. The topic has been studied in depth dating back to the 1950s when a number of medical doctors wrote about the introduction of soft drinks in America (WWII, etc.) and possible consequences to some Americans/diabetes precursors, etc. X-ref: Ideals: better nutrition, organic nutrition, pure water, clean air, etc.