Alternatives to coffee?

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Med01

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Any suggestions for alternatives to coffee if one needs to stay up for those time-crunched exams packed together?

I don't like coffee because it makes me jittery.
 
On call trick: key to alertness = hydration.
 
Hydration works great. Eating apples has been shown to keep you alert. Personally, during exam crunch time, I consume large amounts of orange juice. I don't know why, but it just works for me - maybe the sugar keeps the brain going?
 
Adequate sleep, proper diet, and paced studying.
 
There is no alternative. Coffee is the life-blood
 
Psssh adderal is kiddie stuff. Nothing like a good line of cocaine to get the neurons firing.
 
You could try hot or iced tea. I plan on switching to tea over x-mas break.
 
Cocaine leave tea is really great to keep you going and not addictive

Alternatively, since it's hard to find the leaves in the U.S. water, hydration as mentioned before.
 
You all are forgetting the obvious. Straight up Nodoz. Also, grocery stores usually sell generic caffeine tabs for those of you who don't like brand name drugs.

That jittery feeling goes away after about a week of 3 doses/day.
 
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Too much coffee sometimes causes me to have rapid pressured speech. my favorite is RED BLAST - its a vitamin type pill.
 
AmoryBlaine said:
On call trick: key to alertness = hydration.
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Except if you are doing a procedural rotation, and a few hours into a long surgery and you are dancing around to keep from relieving on yourself. In such cases dehydration is definitely the way to go. You'd rather be tired than damp.
 
Diet Coke
 
Law2Doc said:
Except if you are doing a procedural rotation, and a few hours into a long surgery and you are dancing around to keep from relieving on yourself. In such cases dehydration is definitely the way to go. You'd rather be tired than damp.
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Have the med students give you a foley, right after the patient :laugh:
 
I love energy drinnks. Tab's my fave. Pretty much has the same side effects as caffeine, though, unfortunately.

Mmm thanks to a lovely ulcer I'm going to have to be cutting back. Boo.
 
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Go the natural way and when you're starting to get tired, get a brief workout in. Go up and down the stairs for a few minutes, pilates, yoga, pushups, etc.

I also second the hydration. Drink lots of water. Things with sugar and caffeine will give you the brief high but you'll crash after.
 
Cocaine is a hell of a drug...
 
excedrin. gets rid of your headache and makes u feel peppy. wash 2 down with red bull if u need an extra rush. habit forming.
 
Adderall works great at getting you focused but it might get you focused on the wrong activity, ie making your apartment spotless. Coffee has a similar effect on me, it makes me focus, but (often) occasionally on the wrong stuff.

Coffee bothers me as well, heartburn and jitters, but I prefer to have heartburn and jitters while focused -- I don't care on what -- than being sleepy all day long.

Try decaf.
 
Crystal Light makes a caffeine powder (60mg per half bottle) for your water.. its quick and way cheaper than Starbucks
 
markboonya said:
excedrin. gets rid of your headache and makes u feel peppy. wash 2 down with red bull if u need an extra rush. habit forming.
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That's the caffeine they put in there. If you don't need the ASA and acetaminophen, might as well just get the caffeine another way.

Paul Erdos was a machine of a man who published more math papers than anyone and was a big meth proponent.

Methamphetamines are far superior to cocaine if you want to be as productive as possible. This is probably not what you were looking for though.
 
One of my profs suggested nodoze and he said he would use them back in the day by crushing them snorting about 3 then eating 5 so the three gave an instant wake up effect and the 5 kicked in once the 3 snorted ones wore off.....then he mentioned they started adding menthol because this was a trend....if you can stand the burn nodoze in the nose. I prefer mochas made by my 20 dollar espresso machine mr coffee at walmart 20bucks. Life saver
 
ghostfoot said:
Methamphetamines are far superior to cocaine if you want to be as productive as possible. This is probably not what you were looking for though.
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Hypothetically speaking, if some idiot were to try this, could said idiot use this "caffeine alternative" without getting addicted? In other words, would this idiot be able to use this approach a for a few consecutive days before a test and then stop for a few weeks until the next exam rolled around? Or would this idiot try this once, immediately become addicted, and wind up dropping out of school?
 
I can't wait until performance enhancing drugs are the normal supplements for all humans to the point where you can't even compete unless you take them. Nice healthy diet of steroids and meth starting in highschool.
 
Maybe try studying at a bookstore like Borders or Barnes and Noble....or a coffee shop/cafe like Starbucks/Panera. Sometimes just having some background noise and people around you can help keep you focused. Otherwise--try hot tea maybe? Candy? I think I consumed my weight in twizzlers last year.

If all else fails, grab your notes and take a walk--study as you are walking--
 
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hermit said:
Hypothetically speaking, if some idiot were to try this, could said idiot use this "caffeine alternative" without getting addicted? In other words, would this idiot be able to use this approach a for a few consecutive days before a test and then stop for a few weeks until the next exam rolled around? Or would this idiot try this once, immediately become addicted, and wind up dropping out of school?
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It probably depends on the idiot. Some seem to "have the gene" and get addicted. Other idiots might benefit from occasional use. Meth seems to be pretty darn addictive though; it's certainly not worth chancing.

But what you're describing is the typical routine for most meth addicts. They binge for a few days and then don't touch it for a while.
 
hermit said:
Hypothetically speaking, if some idiot were to try this, could said idiot use this "caffeine alternative" without getting addicted? In other words, would this idiot be able to use this approach a for a few consecutive days before a test and then stop for a few weeks until the next exam rolled around? Or would this idiot try this once, immediately become addicted, and wind up dropping out of school?
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This would be a good way to find out how many of your relatives have/had trouble with substances, because when you get out of rehab, you'll start hearing all the stories that your family doesn't tell without a good reason.

If meth works for you once, then why would you stop using it? On rotations you'll want that energy and you'll want it every day. And then residency is a magnitude more demanding...

2-3 days of usage is enough that you'd likely need time to come down from it. What I see 95% of the time is that a well-intended user will stop, get an incredibly bad respiratory infection which doesn't respond well to the first course of antibiotics, get the worst acne they've ever had in their life, and this stress gives you reason to pick up.
 
My brother swears by this chlorophyll drink, you can buy it in health stores and mix it with water. It's like 10 bucks a bottle. He says it makes him feel really alert without the jitters. I have been thinking about trying it since it is a healthy alternative as well. Also people say vitamin B12 helps, I haven't tried this either. I drink Mt Dew everyday, but it really is just to keep away those pesky caffeine withdrawal headaches. It doesn't make me feel any more alert than normal. I find the biggest motivator is pre-test anxiety--I don't get much sleep so I just study instead. 🙂
 
Katya00 said:
My brother swears by this chlorophyll drink, you can buy it in health stores and mix it with water. It's like 10 bucks a bottle. He says it makes him feel really alert without the jitters. I have been thinking about trying it since it is a healthy alternative as well. Also people say vitamin B12 helps, I haven't tried this either. I drink Mt Dew everyday, but it really is just to keep away those pesky caffeine withdrawal headaches. It doesn't make me feel any more alert than normal. I find the biggest motivator is pre-test anxiety--I don't get much sleep so I just study instead. 🙂
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Chlorophyll? More like Bore-o-phyll.
 
shantster said:
Go the natural way and when you're starting to get tired, get a brief workout in. Go up and down the stairs for a few minutes, pilates, yoga, pushups, etc.

I also second the hydration. Drink lots of water. Things with sugar and caffeine will give you the brief high but you'll crash after.
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I dont think so in such cases I am too tired 2 go up and down and in case of yoga I may fall asleep will performing it😴
I've never tried hydration but I will this night🙂
 
A7madeus said:
I dont think so in such cases I am too tired 2 go up and down and in case of yoga I may fall asleep will performing it😴
I've never tried hydration but I will this night🙂
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Is "hydration" what people are calling hydrocodone these days? It's a great drug, but definately not a caffeine alternative.
 
ghostfoot said:
Is "hydration" what people are calling hydrocodone these days? It's a great drug, but definately not a caffeine alternative.
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I am not quite sure of did they mean by "Hydration" but I think it either means to drink a lot of water!! or using it in washing our faces when feeling sleepy😀😴
Can any body help us?
 
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Katya00 said:
Also people say vitamin B12 helps, I haven't tried this either.
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This quarter, I learned that rabbits need to eat their own, er, "pellets" in order to get B12. 👍
 
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