caffeine pills?

Question

can taking a 200 mg maximum strength caffeine pill do anything to harm you?

Answer 1

If you take too many of them yes. I had a bad reaction to over use of caffeine pills when I was in college and got the shakes. Plus, you are building up a sleep deficit and it will come back to haunt you.

The body doesn't heal itself well until it has had time to sleep. The mind uses its sleep time to process the information of the day and determine what needs to be stored in its long-term memory storage.

My advice is to take some naps of 20-40 minutes, that's what the US Army Medical Corp recommends for people who have to be on the go for a long period of time. I also recommend that you read your class notes right before taking the nap, you will have a better chance of imprinting in your long term memory.

The more sleep deficit you build the worse your performance will be, until your body can't take it any more and starts to fail. For me it was a bad case of the shakes. You could suffer that or something worse like hallucinations. Eventually your body will force itself to make up the sleep deficit before death. Along with the sleep deficit you will be throwing your body’s natural rhythms off and that can make it harder to get sleep when you finally do lie down, it will also increase that morning sluggishness.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#Caffeine_intoxication
"Caffeine intoxication
An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of 250 milligrams (more than 2-3 cups of brewed coffee), can result in a state of central nervous system overstimulation called caffeine intoxication. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication may include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation.[29][32]

In cases of extreme overdose, death can result. The median lethal dose (LD50) of caffeine is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats.[33] The LD50 of caffeine is dependent on weight and individual sensitivity and estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass, roughly 140 to 180 cups of coffee for an average adult taken within a limited timeframe that is dependent on half-life. Though achieving lethal dose with coffee would be exceptionally difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from intentional overdosing on caffeine pills.[34][35][36][37]

Treatment of severe caffeine intoxication is generally supportive, providing treatment of the immediate symptoms, but if the patient has very high serum levels of caffeine then peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis, or hemofiltration may be required.

Anxiety and sleep disorders
Long-term overuse of caffeine can elicit a number of psychiatric disturbances. Two such disorders recognized by the APA are caffeine-induced sleep disorder and caffeine-induced anxiety disorder.

In the case of caffeine-induced sleep disorder, an individual regularly ingests high doses of caffeine sufficient to induce a significant disturbance in his or her sleep, sufficiently severe to warrant clinical attention.[38]

In some individuals, the large amounts of caffeine can induce anxiety severe enough to necessitate clinical attention. This caffeine-induced anxiety disorder can take many forms, from generalized anxiety, to panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, or even phobic symptoms.[38] Because this condition can mimic organic mental disorders, such as panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, or even schizophrenia, a number of medical professionals believe caffeine-intoxicated people are routinely misdiagnosed and unnecessarily medicated when the treatment for caffeine-induced psychosis would simply be to withhold further caffeine.[39] A Study in the British Journal of Addiction concluded that caffeinism, although infrequently diagnosed, may afflict as many as one person in ten of the population.[40]"

When you take that 200 mg of caffeine you don’t mention what else you are taking. Do you drink coffee or Coca-Cola? Do you take Excedrin for headaches (it contains caffeine)? What about Red Bull or tea, those contain caffeine as well, sometimes more than a cup of coffee, how many of these do you drink? Your actual caffeine dosage might be higher than you think it is, and you could not be aware of it. Even some chocolates contain caffeine.

Abuse of Caffeine Pills WILL cause you to develop a sleep deficit; it can cause severe anxiety (akin to a psychosis), sleep problems, caffeine intoxication, or even death. As your sleep deficit builds you will need more caffeine pills to remain awake and that can lead to Caffeine intoxication, you are approaching that point now. Since your body’s metabolism is off your body might mot be using all of the caffeine that you take it and a residue could build up which could lead to a sudden caffeine induced crash.

Take it easy on the caffeine pills, you are hurting yourself and actually making it harder for you to learn. You can go on for a while, but a crash is in your future and you don’t want that to happen in the middle of class. It is better for you to sleep the same hours every day and make better use of your time. Study on the weekends (before you go out and blow off steam); don’t go to the dorm or you apartment between classes; use that time to go to the library and study. Read your notes after class, take them with you to lunch and read them while you are eating. Time Management is a better way to handle your study requirements than the over use of caffeine. If you need to stay awake at night drink some coffee, cokes or a Red Bull. Don’t abuse the caffeine and don’t fall into the trap of sleeping away your weekends and staying up too late to study on the weekdays. If you get sleepy then take a nap and get back to studying.

Answer 2

Caffeine is a substance which occurs naturally in several plants or can be chemically synthesized. It is found in relatively high doses in coffee, some soft drinks (e.g., cola), and a variety of medications. It is also found in lesser amounts in tea and chocolate. 200mg is not a large dose. Three cups of coffee is considered a moderate dose of caffeine for an adult. However, you can best gauge whether or not you are getting too much caffeine by being on the lookout for symptoms of caffeine overdose. If you are trying to cut back on caffeine, you may start experiencing withdrawal symptoms within 12 hours after stopping your intake. Withdrawal symptoms are at their worst 24-48 hours after the last cup of coffee (or other caffeine-containing substance), but can last for a week. For this reason, it's usually better to cut back on caffeine slowly over the space of several days.

Symptoms of Caffeine Overdose

Adults

* Insomnia or Difficulty Sleeping
* Muscle Twitches or Spasms
* Confusion
* Losing/Regaining Consciousness
* Hallucinations
* Dizziness
* Convulsions
* Increased Urination
* Increased Thirst
* Fever
* Nausea and/or Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Difficulty Breathing
* Irregular Heartbeat
* Rapid Heartbeat
* Death

Infants

* Tense Muscles Alternating with Relaxed Muscles
* Tremors
* Shock
* Deep Rapid Breathing
* Rapid Heartbeat
* Irregular Heartbeat
* Low Blood Pressure
* Nausea and/or Vomiting
* Death

Symptoms of Caffeine Withdrawal

* Irritability
* Restlessness
* Difficulty Concentrating
* Muscle Stiffness
* Hot Flashes and/or Chills
* Headaches

Answer 3

It's the same amount of caffeine as two cups of coffee. I don't drink coffee and I have one every morning. No ill effects that I'm aware of.

If you take it orally, as I do, it should be okay. However, I can't say what happens if you insert it into other body cavities. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I drank coffee fifty years without a problem. I quit seven months ago and lose about six hours a day to being kind of zombie like. Hope to solve problem with caffine pills. The gain is about four hours sleep but still need kick started.

Answer 5

Caffeine is a drug. An over abundance of any drug can harm you. Chances are that your stomach would never allow you to ingest a large enough amount of caffeine to do any real damage.

Answer 6

I've taken them quite a bit one day I took one on my way to work and 2 more when I got there and later on that day my hand wouldn't stop shaking. That only happened once though and I've taken them many times.

Answer 7

No Doz can be found @ any big drug store.. CVS, Walgreens, Brookes, Rite Aid They are usually in the same isle with tylonol & other pain medication. Look on the lower shelves.

Answer 8

YES , NOW I WANT 10 PTS ..THEY WILL CAUSE STOMACHE UPSET AND HYPERACTIVITY PLUS CAN CAUSE STROKE , HEART ATTACK !