What to do for tolerance to caffeine?

[ArkansasHogMD]

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I seem have a tolerance to caffeine. When I was a kid I had severe ADHD was on ritalin and then adderal from age 3 to 12. I tried to take adderal the night before a test once and I fell asleep. I always have a mountain dew before I go to sleep. What would you guys suggest I do once school starts to stay awake? Has anyone else had this problem? Lets limit our answers to legal solutions please.

 

[bydotte]

prepare for class and sit in front and stab yourself in the leg with a pencil.

 

[BrickHouseMD]

Get a good night's rest. Med school's not that bad that you can't assure yourself a solid 8 hrs (saving surgery in 3rd year I hear). Be serious about school, be serious about taking care of yourself. Start adjusting your day to bankers hours now if you're the type to sleep in late. Otherwise don't worry about it. You'll adapt.

 

[ArkansasHogMD]

Get a good night's rest. Med school's not that bad that you can't assure yourself a solid 8 hrs (saving surgery in 3rd year I hear). Be serious about school, be serious about taking care of yourself. Start adjusting your day to bankers hours now if you're the type to sleep in late. Otherwise don't worry about it. You'll adapt.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[phospho]

I seem have a tolerance to caffeine. When I was a kid I had severe ADHD was on ritalin and then adderal from age 3 to 12. I tried to take adderal the night before a test once and I fell asleep. I always have a mountain dew before I go to sleep. What would you guys suggest I do once school starts to stay awake? Has anyone else had this problem? Lets limit our answers to legal solutions please.

I'm confused, why would you take adderall the night before a test? I could've sworn that most people take it right before the test (or a couple of hours before if its extended release). Also, why would you have a mountain dew before going to bed? What's the point of that?

 

[ThinkTooMuch]

sounds like you should ask your doctor for some provigil. 🙂

 

[ArkansasHogMD]

I'm confused, why would you take adderall the night before a test? I could've sworn that most people take it right before the test (or a couple of hours before if its extended release). Also, why would you have a mountain dew before going to bed? What's the point of that?

I took it stay awake and it obviously didn't work for me and mountain dew helps me fall asleep. Weird I know.

 

[Narmerguy]

I took it stay awake and it obviously didn't work for me and mountain dew helps me fall asleep. Weird I know.

I believe that's because caffeine has the reverse on a small minority of people for whatever reason. I've talked to many people who are affected by it the same way you are.

 

[WellWornLad]

I believe that's because caffeine has the reverse on a small minority of people for whatever reason. I've talked to many people who are affected by it the same way you are.

Or perhaps it's because OP has a high tolerance to caffeine, coupled with a sugar crash.

OP, why don't you start by stopping your caffeine/stimulant intake altogether. Then take care of your sleep hygiene: get into a nice long, regular sleep cycle. If you're trying to stay awake the night before a test, you're probably not giving sleep the sort of priority it deserves.

Modafinil is an option if you can rope a doctor into prescribing some (note how I'm excluding illegal options here), but sort the basics out first.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I agree with the caffeine vacation idea. Plus, cut out the Mountain Dew. All that sugar is terrible for your teeth and future health. At the very least make it Diet.

 

[silas2642]

Get off it, withdraw and then get back on it.

 

[cuckooclock]

Get off it, withdraw and then get back on it.

agreed👍

 

[MilkmanAl]

Or just get off it altogether. I'm on the no stimulant bandwagon. Eff that. Sleep well, eat right, and exercise. That's all you need.

 

[Excelsius]

I believe that's because caffeine has the reverse on a small minority of people for whatever reason. I've talked to many people who are affected by it the same way you are.

Do you have a link to a study? I think this could be just psychological, i.e., placebo effect. To test it out, the OP should be administered two pills: caffeine pill on one night and vitamin D on another night (without knowing which is which). If there is no difference in terms of sleep after 20 or so nights of testing, then caffeine has no effect.

After being on stimulants for so many years, maybe your receptors have adjusted accordingly. If you don't have any classes this summer, it will be the perfect time for coitus interruptus. Don't take any caffeine or stimulants for the entire summer and see how you do. Theoretically, when you restart taking the pills in Fall you should respond to them better. And to control the amount of intake, you should really take caffeine pills. Mountain Dew only contains 50mg of caffeine. That's 1/4th of a cup of coffee. Do you really expect it to keep you up? If that's your only source of caffeine, I suggest you give the 200mg pill a try and see if you still fall asleep. I think you won't. If you do, then commence the withdrawal sequence. Mountain Dew is not particularly healthy either and it is much more expensive than a bottle of pure caffeine pills.

I don't know how long it will take for your receptors to return back to normal. I haven't seen any studies on the speed of plasticity either.

 

[ensuii]

Eatting constantly works for me...in college I ordered 2 mediterrean specials (pesto sauce, green olives, feta cheese, bell peppers, artichoke hearts) and was able to pull off 2 back-to-back allnighters.

 

[Corbeaux]

Eatting constantly works for me...in college I ordered 2 mediterrean specials (pesto sauce, green olives, feta cheese, bell peppers, artichoke hearts) and was able to pull off 2 back-to-back allnighters.

YUM.

Sounds like one of the more pleasant ways to stay awake.

Caffeine makes me sleepy too. I always guessed it was because my body doesn't feel the effects of the drug but feels the crash afterwards. Although... I know Ritalin works by overstimulating certain areas of the brain in order to have a sedative effect. Maybe that's the pathway your body's taking?

I need at least 7 hours of sleep a night. 6 is pushing it. And my body won't let me cheat... I pull an all-nighter, and my functioning the next day is totally shot. 😴 So I feel your pain.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Its funny. I was actually having this exact conversation with one of the residents at the ER where I am doing research.

My hours aren't a whole lot different from their's, and I feel like I am getting pounded, deliverance-style.

 

[engineeredout]

I went cold turkey on caffine for the past two months in the hopes that if I need it again it will actually WORK

 

[OPPforlife]

I think day time fatigue has every thing to do with the quality of sleep you are getting. If you have trouble staying awake/ being alert, it could be because you do not sleep properly. Sometimes, wakefulness or improper sleep is not due to psychological reasons. You may be experiencing poor sleep due to improper ventilation while subconscious. Have others complained that you snore? Do you take daytime naps? Have you caught your self dozing off in the middle of a movie or a tv show? These could all be signs of sleep apnea. I suggest you contact a pulmonologist and request that he/she sign you up for a sleep study. A sleep study would help them diagnose sleep apnea...or maybe even restless leg syndrome or some other problem. Either way Good luck! I hope you are able to regain your energy prior to medical school!

 

[Rendar5]

I think day time fatigue has every thing to do with the quality of sleep you are getting. If you have trouble staying awake/ being alert, it could be because you do not sleep properly. Sometimes, wakefulness or improper sleep is not due to psychological reasons. You may be experiencing poor sleep due to improper ventilation while subconscious. Have others complained that you snore? Do you take daytime naps? Have you caught your self dozing off in the middle of a movie or a tv show? These could all be signs of sleep apnea. I suggest you contact a pulmonologist and request that he/she sign you up for a sleep study. A sleep study would help them diagnose sleep apnea...or maybe even restless leg syndrome or some other problem. Either way Good luck! I hope you are able to regain your energy prior to medical school!

or anything else. there are dozens and dozens of reasons for day-time fatigue.

 

[shiftingmirage]

Find a different caffeine source. I can drink 400 gallons of soda, and it doesn't wake me up. But a meduim (i guess it's grande now) latte, will make me jittery for the first hour, and keep me going all day.

 

[Hayden2102]

Find a different caffeine source. I can drink 400 gallons of soda, and it doesn't wake me up. But a meduim (i guess it's grande now) latte, will make me jittery for the first hour, and keep me going all day.

Well the caffeine as a compound is going to be the same thing, so unless there is just a massive massive dose in your latte, and small doses in your soda, that doesn't make a lot of sense...

 

[MossPoh]

Detox it for a bit. Hunker down with something for headaches if you get them like me. At the end of each semester I avoid caffeine like the plague for at least a week. I take little mini breaks during non-critical parts of the year. You can try a spike shooter or endorush as well. I had one of those before my workout and I was moving at hyperspeed. Even with a high tolerance for caffeine, that should get you going. I was sitting here last night about 2 hours after my workout and I Just wanted to run a couple of miles to burn off energy.

 

[Diksha]

Well the caffeine as a compound is going to be the same thing, so unless there is just a massive massive dose in your latte, and small doses in your soda, that doesn't make a lot of sense...

It's the psychological effect. Lattes put me to sleep. Black coffee makes me feel wakeful. Same amount of caffeine, different taste. I think if it tastes like sh*te I stay awake because my mouth is in a shock.

 

[reedman]

caffeine increases your epinephrine. so does exercise. try doing some push ups when you feel tired and foggy. Plus you get more blood flow to your brain and it will increase your blood sugar a little (ok caffeine also increases your blood sugar). i have noticed that a short bout of exercise is a much better for wakefulness than caffeine because you never build a tolerance to it and it doesn't keep you wired longer that you meant it to.

 

[TopSecret]

I seem have a tolerance to caffeine. When I was a kid I had severe ADHD was on ritalin and then adderal from age 3 to 12. I tried to take adderal the night before a test once and I fell asleep. I always have a mountain dew before I go to sleep. What would you guys suggest I do once school starts to stay awake? Has anyone else had this problem? Lets limit our answers to legal solutions please.

Reduce your caffeine intake 20% each week until you're down to 50 mg of caffeine in the morning. You'll feel much better. Also, try to get more sleep since being wide awake in the morning will increase your learning efficiency. Sleeping at least 8 hours a day will make you learn much faster than sleeping 5-6 hours a day for weeks on end. You'll probably age slower, too.