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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by fluffykitty on September 24, 2001, at 14:24:00
I started taking the pills when I just couldnt make myself a decent cup of coffee at home and got tired of Tasters Choice (although I still drink it sometime because to me its the best instant that tastes almost like real coffee and also has a good caffiene jolt!). I also wanted to stop intake of so much sugar and milk/cream etc. to try and lose weight. Didnt help in that regard however still probably better not to take in all that sugar and whatnot.
Anyway the other thing I like about the pills is that you can, like with a drug, regulate how much you are getting or want to take at a given time. Its hard to do that with coffee if you get it from different places or shops. Like pot the actual potency for a given quantity varies a lot. Ive also found that different brands have differing effects and potency. The best one I have found so far, better than Vivarin and NoDoz are the generic "Stay Awake" pills. They are round yellow tablets and are sold in supermarkets and drugstores like CVS as the generic brand. Im really mad because one of our supermarket chains that sold it was bought by a larger market and stopped selling it. However I found them in CVS but with a different coating. They are the most potent caffiene pills I have found. You take it and get a really good caffiene jolt high. Its incredible.
I tend to break it up in half or in quarters. For example I took 1/2 this am to get going and a 1/4 at about 1pm to pick me up and man I was flying and getting more work done!!! :)
I think perhaps I may be more sensitive to how my body reacts to food and drugs than some people. So some people may not notice how sugar or different caffiene pills affect them. They may not notice a difference in pills. I do. Vivarin is very weak. NoDoz is better. But these generics are so much better!!!
I still like a good cup of coffee though. Its a treat. There are a couple cafes around that I like to go to when I want the real thing. And when Im lazy there's Tasters Choice! :)
fk
Posted by kregpark@yahoo.com on September 25, 2001, at 1:38:01
In reply to Caffiene Pills, posted by fluffykitty on September 24, 2001, at 14:24:00
fluffykitty:
I buy caffeine pills too and agree with you on convenince. I just don't like coffee (I tried), but do like diet soda.
I'm 34 and have loved caffienated soda since my social phobia symtoms started really kicking in during late teens.
I now buy 'Jet Alert' at Target when I can. About 1/3 or 1/4 the price of No Doz, which was the cheapest I'd
found to date. I consume (depending on how much Provigil I take that day) - nowadays anywhere from 800mg to 1500mg a day.
That would be about 4 to 7.5 nice cups of coffee a day.Since severe SP appears to have dopamine dysfunction (low dopamine generally)
involved as well as other factors, caffeine can be helpful.
In fact, I've found caffeine reduced my craving for the light smoking I did.
And the Provigil made me want to stop totally. (I did actually stop totally for 2 months now)
I was 4 cigarrettes a day or so for 10 years, ultra light but would have liked to smoke more if safer.
Now no craving with provigil.Anyway - rambling off topic a bit except for
possible ties between dopamine, caffiene, parkinsons, smoking, etc
(SP'ers get 5 times more Parkinsons later in life.)
Heavy coffee drinkers (5 cups a day) have 5 times LESS parkinsons
than non coffee drinkers.Also, heavy smokers have 5 times less parkinsons (but lots of lung cancer!!!!!!!)
At age 27 I was diagnosed and new to the world of psychiatry. My first med was Prozac, for 2 years.
I think I was drinking even more sodas ever since Prozac and everything since then.
I started caffeine pills> I started taking the pills when I just couldnt make myself a decent cup of coffee at home and got tired of Tasters Choice (although I still drink it sometime because to me its the best instant that tastes almost like real coffee and also has a good caffiene jolt!). I also wanted to stop intake of so much sugar and milk/cream etc. to try and lose weight. Didnt help in that regard however still probably better not to take in all that sugar and whatnot.
>
> Anyway the other thing I like about the pills is that you can, like with a drug, regulate how much you are getting or want to take at a given time. Its hard to do that with coffee if you get it from different places or shops. Like pot the actual potency for a given quantity varies a lot. Ive also found that different brands have differing effects and potency. The best one I have found so far, better than Vivarin and NoDoz are the generic "Stay Awake" pills. They are round yellow tablets and are sold in supermarkets and drugstores like CVS as the generic brand. Im really mad because one of our supermarket chains that sold it was bought by a larger market and stopped selling it. However I found them in CVS but with a different coating. They are the most potent caffiene pills I have found. You take it and get a really good caffiene jolt high. Its incredible.
>
> I tend to break it up in half or in quarters. For example I took 1/2 this am to get going and a 1/4 at about 1pm to pick me up and man I was flying and getting more work done!!! :)
>
> I think perhaps I may be more sensitive to how my body reacts to food and drugs than some people. So some people may not notice how sugar or different caffiene pills affect them. They may not notice a difference in pills. I do. Vivarin is very weak. NoDoz is better. But these generics are so much better!!!
>
> I still like a good cup of coffee though. Its a treat. There are a couple cafes around that I like to go to when I want the real thing. And when Im lazy there's Tasters Choice! :)
>
> fk
Posted by 3 Beer Effect on September 25, 2001, at 2:57:53
In reply to Caffiene Pills, posted by fluffykitty on September 24, 2001, at 14:24:00
I usually take Bronkaid tablets with caffeine. They have 25 mg of ephedrine sulfate & 400 mg of guaifenesin- don't worry about the guaifenesin, it is supposed to be an expectorant but has never been proven to be effective and doesn't really seem to do much of anything. Ephedrine Sulfate is the closest over the counter drug you can get to amphetamines (Dexedrine) or Ritalin- Bronkaid tablets (Ephedrine Sulfate) are much stronger than caffeine, and are stronger & probably safer than the ma huang ephedra herb pills like xenadrine, mini-thins etc. A good effective dose is 50 mg combined with a caffeine pill- but be forewarned, it can cause heart palpitations- I don't worry about that too much since I am 23, but don't exercise after taking this stuff, you'll feel like you are going to have a heart attack- so old people & baby boomers, use with great caution! Keep in mind that ephedrine raises blood pressure much more per unit of high than methamphetamine (desoxyn) or amphetamine (dexedrine)- If you can get a prescription for dexedrine do it- It is prescribed for ADHD, Narcolepsy, & Obesity & is very cheap in price. Amphetamines are very safe despite slogans of the 1960's that "speed kills". Death from amphetamine overdose is quite rare by oral administration of the drug- The main things you have to watch out for are tolerance & psychological addiction which leads to dose escalation & to paranoid & anti-social behaivor.
Posted by fluffykitty on September 25, 2001, at 12:04:39
In reply to Re: Caffiene Pills » fluffykitty, posted by kregpark@yahoo.com on September 25, 2001, at 1:38:01
To both of you:
kregpark@yahoo.com:
> I now buy 'Jet Alert' at Target when I can.Jet Alert! Thats too funny! I gotta go to Target and check those out!!! AHAHAHA!!!! :)
> That would be about 4 to 7.5 nice cups of coffee a day.
Holy Cow! Id be through the roof and on the floor if I took that much. Hope it helps you though !
> Since severe SP appears to have dopamine dysfunction (low dopamine generally)
Thats interesting. Didnt know that. Ill have to start a new topic on that.
3 Beer Effect :
> I usually take Bronkaid tablets with caffeine.
>They have 25 mg of ephedrine sulfate & 400 mg of
>guaifenesin-Interesting.
When I dont want caffiene (usually at night) but I need to be more alert I take a 30mg sudafed tablet. Its also amazing. However you cant take them all the time due to the problems with taking a decongestant for too long.
However with Guefenisin thats another story.
Is this 25 mg of ephedrine sulfate
the same stuff as in 30mg of sudafed?>stronger & probably safer than the ma huang
>ephedra herbI would agree considering what Ive heard about people taking that stuff and having big problems.
fk
Posted by 3 Beer Effect on September 26, 2001, at 1:11:48
In reply to Re: Caffiene Pills/Dexies, posted by fluffykitty on September 25, 2001, at 12:04:39
>
> Interesting.
> When I dont want caffiene (usually at night) but I need to be more alert I take a 30mg sudafed tablet. Its also amazing. However you cant take them all the time due to the problems with taking a decongestant for too long.
> However with Guefenisin thats another story.
> Is this 25 mg of ephedrine sulfate
> the same stuff as in 30mg of sudafed?
>
> Sudafed is pseudoephedrine, which was specifically designed to have decongestant effects with greatly weakened Central Nervous System stimulation as compared with ephedrine sulfate. In other words, Sudafed/pseudoephedrine hardly does anything at all to wake you up as compared to bronkaid tablets. To me, 2 bronkaid tablets (50 mg ephedrine sulfate) taken with one no-doz (200 mg caffeine) seem about equivalent to one of the orange Adderalls 20 mg and is a good alternative if you don't have access to Dexedrine, Ritalin, or Adderall (but these three ADHD medications are far superior to a caffeine/ephedrine combo both in wakefulness, efficacy, and focusing power).If you have trouble getting up for work in the morning, the best thing to do is to put a glass of water, a 200 mg caffeine pill, and two bronkaid caplets next to your bed. Set your alarm for an hour before you normally get up. When your alarm goes off take the pills and reset your alarm for your normal waking time- Knowing that you get to go to sleep for an hour more is one of life guilty pleasures- about a half an hour to 45 minutes later you will start to feel a tingling situation and you will probably jump out of bed, energized & ready to go before your alarm even goes off!
Note- buy bronkaid tablets instead of primatene tablets b/c bronkaids are twice as strong & cheaper.
Posted by 3 Beer Effect on September 26, 2001, at 1:34:36
In reply to Read this if u have trouble getting up for work !!, posted by 3 Beer Effect on September 26, 2001, at 1:11:48
Baby boomers & old people beware- ephedrine sulfate does cause a rise in blood pressure & can cause a hypertensive crisis in susceptible patients from a single 100 mg or more dose. And for heaven's sake, do not take ephedrine/ephedra & then go exercise- i'm only 23 and i've had heart palpitations from doing that!
Ephedrine raises your blood pressure much more per unit of "high" than the prescribed medications methamphetamine (Desoxyn), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), amphetamine sulfate (Adderall), or methyphenidate (Ritalin), all of which are safer medications than either ephedrine sulfate or ma huang ephedra, both of which are interestingly enough, readily available in over the counter medications- ephedrine sulfate= Bronkaid asthma tablets, ma huang ephedra- various diet pills like xenadrine, xetalean etc.
Normal dose- 25 to 50 mg ephedrine sulfate in morning and could probably take one more dose of 25 to 50 mg in the afternoon to get you through the rest of the day. 100 mg per day max! However, tolerance builds fairly quickly to ephedrine & ephedra.
Posted by fluffykitty on September 26, 2001, at 12:21:17
In reply to Read this if u have trouble getting up for work !!, posted by 3 Beer Effect on September 26, 2001, at 1:11:48
Seen this?
http://www.whatmeds.com/meds/dexedrine.htmlOk thanks its good to know the differences between sudafed and bronkaid etc.
>
> If you have trouble getting up for work in the
>morning, the best thing to do is to put a glass
>of water, a 200 mg caffeine pill, and two
>bronkaid caplets next to your bed. Set your
>alarm for an hour before you normally get up.Yea this is for people who have a serious problem getting out of bed. I have trouble but not like this. If I did this it would only require ten minutes before I got up and I would be on fire like a rocket after all that!!! :)
I am considering just having 50mg of caffiene next to the bed with water to wake up and get up then have more later.
Posted by Zo on September 29, 2001, at 2:29:40
In reply to Bronkaid tablets or Dexedrine better than caffeine, posted by 3 Beer Effect on September 25, 2001, at 2:57:53
> The main things you have to watch out for are >tolerance & psychological addiction which leads to dose >escalation & to paranoid & anti-social behaivor.
Which aren't really a problem on prescription doses.
Zo
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