Has anyone made it through premed without caffeine?

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Do you need caffeine on a regular basis to get work done?

  • Of course

  • Nah

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Lifeblood_20

Lifeblood_20

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Might seem like a random question out of curiosity, but I am seriously thinking about it because I don't drink coffee and sometimes get too tired to get things done.
 
Flying Penguin said:
Might seem like a random question out of curiosity, but I am seriously thinking about it because I don't drink coffee and sometimes get too tired to get things done.
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Never liked Coffee or Pop much. Eat healthy and get 8 hours of sleep and I've had no trouble studying effectively. Cant even remember last time I had a coffee, and have pop about once a week.

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There is a meme for this!

"when you tell me you're not a coffee drinker I'm just going to assume you do a ____ton of cocaine because that's humanly not possible."

In all seriousness one friend of mine is an MS-3 who doesn't drink coffee at all and he seems to be doing alright. He says he's "playing life on hard mode"
 
Flying Penguin said:
Yeah... if only.
Stay up late one night because lots of work -> tired next day -> unproductive -> stay up late that night -> tired next day ->...
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To be fair you asked if it's possible and he managed to do it. Although it may not be totally realistic or easy, people definitely do it. When I became a type 1 diabetic (late in life autoimmune) I was forced to schedule my entire day around meals and man it has totally changed my work ethic. I schedule 4 productive hours a day for school work and of course more when tests are present and I can easily maintain a social life, good grades and some solid ECs. It is possible! Definitely not easy though
 
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Flying Penguin said:
Might seem like a random question out of curiosity, but I am seriously thinking about it because I don't drink coffee and sometimes get too tired to get things done.
Click to expand...
I got through med school and residency without caffeine. Then private practice happened.
 
Yeah. I don't drink coffee/tea/caffeinated drinks. I've made it through all of undergrad, a bit of a career, and a post-bacc without it.
 
tiramisucheese said:
Yeah. I don't drink coffee/tea/caffeinated drinks. I've made it through all of undergrad, a bit of a career, and a post-bacc without it.
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That's awesome. I don't want to succumb to what seems like a less-than healthy habit but wondered what is the "norm."
 
Flying Penguin said:
That's awesome. I don't want to succumb to what seems like a less-than healthy habit but wondered what is the "norm."
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I mean I think it's healthier not to rely on caffeine to get through the day, but the norm seems to be to drink coffee. If coffee helps you succeed, then stick with it!
 
tiramisucheese said:
I mean I think it's healthier not to rely on caffeine to get through the day, but the norm seems to be to drink coffee. If coffee helps you succeed, then stick with it!
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I think the norm is to drink coffee as well lol. Which I guess is probably the easier way out, thought definitely depends on the person.
 
WingedOx said:
I didn't really start drinking coffee until med school.

/now I can't function without it.
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I know people who get debilitating headaches without drinking coffee for a morning... Seems like a dangerous path to go down. 😕
 
I made it through 5 years of working full time on night shift, with 4 of those years flipping from nights to days for full time grad school all without caffeine.

I think it allowed me to get better quality sleep when i had the time. My fellow night shifters who drank coffee or energy drinks, etc all seemed really drained a lot of the time.
 
I've succumbed to nicotine and caffeine over the course of three years.
 
If you don’t like coffee, try tea, zero calorie monsters, or v8 energy.
 
I only drink coffee for the taste, maybe 3 times a year max. I’m a sucker for those sweet coffee drinks.

It doesn’t really wake me up. I’m just tired with palpitations.
 
I don’t like coffee but can live with or without caffeine. That said, while it doesn’t make me feel more alert, it definitely messes with my sleep if I drink it past 1 or 2 pm. So I get none of the benefits with only the less than stellar side effects.


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Coffee is delicious, the caffeine is just a bonus. To me this thread reads as "can you get through premed wearing a hair shirt?" Sure you could do it, but why punish yourself? Plus who says coffee is bad for you?
 
STcmOCSD said:
If you don’t like coffee, try tea, zero calorie monsters, or v8 energy.
Click to expand...

mcloaf said:
Coffee is delicious, the caffeine is just a bonus. To me this thread reads as "can you get through premed wearing a hair shirt?" Sure you could do it, but why punish yourself? Plus who says coffee is bad for you?
Click to expand...

I seem to be pretty sensitive to caffeine... One cup of black tea keeps me super focused for the night.

Uh I didn’t mean to start a debate on whether coffee is bad for you. I have nothing against coffee. I’m not a big fan of the taste but caffeine is helpful sometimes so I take it.
 
I didn't become a regular coffee drinker until I started my current post-grad desk job, at which point it became a part of my morning ritual (get to office -> coffee -> email -> procrastinate on SDN -> work?). Physically I can do fine without it (rarely drink it on weekends, for example), the fact that not having it means something is off about my morning routine is probably a bigger deal than the caffeine itself.

However, NOS energy drinks did get me through several long nights during college. And I generally keep an emergency Red Bull in my car for long drives.
 
Flying Penguin said:
I seem to be pretty sensitive to caffeine... One cup of black tea keeps me super focused for the night.

Uh I didn’t mean to start a debate on whether coffee is bad for you. I have nothing against coffee. I’m not a big fan of the taste but caffeine is helpful sometimes so I take it.
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Haha my post was mostly tongue in cheek. If you are sensitive to it or don't like it then it's easy enough to get by without it as a premed. That caffeine sensitivity could come in handy when you're a medical student on your surgery rotation.
 
Flying Penguin said:
Might seem like a random question out of curiosity, but I am seriously thinking about it because I don't drink coffee and sometimes get too tired to get things done.
Click to expand...

Anecdotal, but my old PI was an MD/PhD transplant surgeon who had never touched caffeine. He made it though med school, PhD, gen surg residency, transplant fellowship, and a very busy attending position with nothing but herbal tea and sprite.

So...it CAN be done. God knows I'd never do have that kind of will power though.
 
27.2% of people depend on coffee to survive the application cycle, and 72.8% of people are liars
 
Don't need caffeine, but I love coffee. I also have very mild reactions to caffeine - I could have an energy drink and go right to bed, no problem. In the winter I drink tons of tea to stay warm.
 
The Knife & Gun Club said:
Anecdotal, but my old PI was an MD/PhD transplant surgeon who had never touched caffeine. He made it though med school, PhD, gen surg residency, transplant fellowship, and a very busy attending position with nothing but herbal tea and sprite.

So...it CAN be done. God knows I'd never do have that kind of will power though.
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Hahahahaha Sprite... Oh man. Sprite out of all unhealthy energy drinks. Kudos to him. It sure takes will power.

Premed2295 said:
27.2% of people depend on coffee to survive the application cycle, and 72.8% of people are liars
Click to expand...
No reason to the poll seriously lol. I just made it so it’s more fun this way.
 
Premed2295 said:
27.2% of people depend on coffee to survive the application cycle, and 72.8% of people are liars
Click to expand...

Coffee is gross. Even if I needed the caffeine, I wouldn't get it from coffee.
 
Hardly had a drop of coffee until I was midway through my junior year of college. I liked it! It made me feel alert. Then a few weeks or so later, I felt a little tired in the afternoon. I said to myself, "Would it be disgusting to have two cups of coffee in one day?" And the rest, as they say, is history. *Glances at enormous pot of coffee brewing on the counter*
 
I'm an M2 and I've never touched coffee. The smell makes me nauseous so I imagine the taste would be even worse.
 
Coffee was a huge part of my undergrad. For me, it is a magical and a life saver drink!! However, I usually drink coffee because I like the taste of it and not just for the caffeine.

Also, drinking coffee is proven to have health benefits over the long term, however, make sure not to exceed the daily recommended dose of caffeine.
 
No, but I stopped in Med school. No problem.


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I occasionally drink coffee. When I had orgo and biochem exams, finals, or papers, I'd drink Monsters during all-nighters. Can't do it now, because the caffeine from energy drinks gives me jitters and I can't focus.
 
TempuraOreos said:
I occasionally drink coffee. When I had orgo and biochem exams, finals, or papers, I'd drink Monsters during all-nighters. Can't do it now, because the caffeine from energy drinks gives me jitters and I can't focus.
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I haven’t pulled any all nighters but have gotten through exam days on <2 hours of sleep without caffeine...
I’m thriving on tea tho. Can save some of that coffee for the tougher road ahead.
 
Flying Penguin said:
I haven’t pulled any all nighters but have gotten through exam days on <2 hours of sleep without caffeine...
I’m thriving on tea tho. Can save some of that coffee for the tougher road ahead.
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Hated trying to get through tests on few hours of sleep. The funny thing is caffeine would be such a hit or miss for me. Some days it'd work and I'd be super productive and other days nothing/crash in middle of night. Since the first time I got jitters, I've kept off heavy amounts of caffeine. Wasn't good for me in the first place anyways.
 
Used to LOVE coffee, drank a couple cups a day. Now coffee gives me terrible reflux. Oddly enough, I can get away w a couple caffeine pills spaced out during the day. Even tho it’s the CAFFEINE in coffee I thought was supposed to cause reflux, decaf coffee gives me heartburn in seconds but as long as I don’t go overboard, caffeine pills are okay.... sadness


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