Caffeine Allergy/Intolerance

[Kelly_Fitz]

I have had a serious problem with caffeine ever since I got the Gardasil vaccine. Whether or not the two are related, I have no clue, but I was an avid coffee drinker, soda drinker, what have you, before I got this vaccine. About two days after I received the vaccine I started to suffer something I cannot even accurately describe--my hands would tingle, I would feel like I was dying, I felt like I had the flu and I had a horrible fever. Beside the fact that I was having a bad reaction to the vaccine, I didn't realize that at the same time I was having a bad reaction to caffeine. All of the sudden, any time I had any coffee, soda or anything, I had a horrible panic attack and felt like, for lack of better words, like I was going crazy. I have suffered this since February of 2007. Just today I had HALF of a diet coke, no kidding, HALF, and the entire day couldn't even exist in my own skin. It is as if my body cannot metabolize it properly and it honestly makes my blood pressure go sky high---i'm talking like 150s or so without me even being anxious. What do I do??? What caused this?? Does anyone else have a similar experience??

From someone who is completely lost and feeling like they have no answers, there has to be someone else who has experienced what I have. And if not, then maybe I have no hope of anyone helping me explain what happened....I went to the dr. who administered the vaccine, who wouldn't help me, and countless others who dismissed my problems. But this is a last ditch effort to find someone else who either shares this problem or who can help me out.

Thanks.

[Mazzarino]

Hi everybody,
i'm in trouble since 7 months, not only with caffeine, but also with DECA, tea and probably with chocolate too.
I discover it -out of the blue- "thanks" to panik attack, which are very close to what is probably "hell".
MD doesn't seems to have an answer so we better protect our-self by avoiding most of these very "common" substances..
Good luck everybody,
Sal. (italy)

[caffeine_allergy]

I have the same problem! When I drink caffeine, my heart races, my skin crawls, I start to feel really drunk, I throw up and I have diharrea. It feels like my skin is literally crawling all over my body and I feel like I want to jump out of my skin. Also, if I drink a lot of caffeine (like an energy drink) I black out. Its like my eyes go into tunnel vision, everything goes completely dark, and then I faint.I can still hear everyone around me, but I can't see or control my body. I'm only out for a few seconds and then I usually stand up and vomit immediatly. I have also hallucinated because of an energy drink.

Like you guys, I haven't always had this issue with caffeine. It seemed to hit me around age 21. It occured around the same time that I started taking birth control and a presription for acid reflux. I don't know which one triggered the allergy, but I think it was probably one of those. I am no longer on any medication, but I still have severe reactions to caffeine. This morning, I ordered decaff coffee (for the first time in years) and I am not convinced that it was decaff because I am having these same symptoms. Pretty much, my entire day is ruined! I will end up lying in bed alone all day because I am too drunk feeling and sick to go have fun with everyone on Thanksgiving and I definitely can't even think about eating anything because the thought makes me vomit :( I would love to hear an opinion from a doctor who doesn't brush this all under the rug or think that I am crazy.

[ameden]

First off in general I am glad I am reading this post, sometimes I am thinking I am going crazy too. I know this post is old but I too am experiencing some weird things as well that are driving me crazy. Everything started about a year ago for me which all I can relate to at the time or at least what I think started everything was coffee.

I used to drink coffee (about a pot to a pot and a half everyday). Before that I used to drink diet Pepsi (about 30 cans a day, YES I said 30 cans) but I quit that years ago. I suffered with my weight all my life and lost a ton of weight and no longer drink soda now for years. Even though once in a while Ill squeeze one in here and there its pretty much gone. Anyways about a year ago I started experience a weird symptom when I drank coffee. I would start too feel which I can only describe as a tightness in my lower esophagus, near the bottom part of my throat. That would happen gradually and get worse. Then one night I was laying in bed and my right arm started to tingle, freaked the crap out of me. Then my left arm that night started to tingle and it tingled/numbness for months after that. I continued to drink coffee. Along with that my heart would feel tight which of course freaked me out. I had multiple EKG's, Blood work labs and CAT scans and everything came back negative. After all that I just ignored my symptoms even though they were driving me crazy. Then about a few weeks ago I started to feel like I was getting itching/pain in my veins  It seems to follow a vein of some sort and I was getting abdominal pain. Now I think "maybe" I have an ulcer issue and that could be the problem. Who knows, I have a Dr. appointment next week to rule out the ulcer (or maybe that's what it is). Even now as I type this I have a slight tightness in my chest near my heart. I'm not freaked out because I am used to it.

Concerning what Fulci said I felt I needed to respond to you which also makes me wonder and I am going to research, but you mention the weird feelings you have when you sleep. Like your body falls asleep before your mind does. Let me tell you that this has happened to me my entire life every night including when I was a young child, but it wasn't until I was 18 when I finally figured out what it was. It sounds like you have something called "Paralyzed Sleep" or "Sleep paralysis" Google it and it will blow your mind. It's a form a narcolepsy. Its basically when your body falls asleep before your mind does. Do research to find out if that's what you have.

I find it fascinating that this was mentioned with this topic since its what I have. According to research those who suffer from this or narcolepsy it is known that over stimulates can make conditions worse. I wonder if there is a correlation to narcolepsy and caffeine. Anyways I could go on forever, but I would have loved if someone told me what I had a long time before I found out. So I hope that helps.

[coolestmasiulis]

Ohhh I am sooo glad to have found this community!  I am a 31 y/o female and I just started having this intolerance within the past few years.  Like many of you coffee didn't used to have this affect on me --  but now even a half of a cup can make me feel like I'm having a heart attack.  Mine seems to be triggered when I am extremely tired and/or hungover, which usually leads me to think I need a coffee pick me up.  Its weird because when I am awake, the coffee doesn't bother me, its after I go to sleep. I just had an episode this past Sunday.  I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at midnight with my heart racing.  Dizziness, muscle fatigue, panic attack, hyperventilation, diarrhea, fever sweats... I feel like I'm on the verge of death!  The past few times I have taken a 0.5 mg of Xanax and it seems to help me fall back asleep and when I wake in the morning all seems to be fine.  I take no other medications (other than the Xanax on only a need basis, probably every few months) and I am completely healthy with no underlying health issues.  I am prone to anxiety and I feel like this could definitely be related to the coffee issue, although, the night-time coffee episodes are worse than any panic attack I've ever experienced. I drink green tea every morning, which obviously has caffeine in it, and if I drink green tea at night with dinner or something it doesn't have an affect on me either.  Neither do sodas.  Just coffee.

I wish there was more information or insight I could provide because these episodes are nightmarish... and again, out of the blue!  I feel for all of you!  Stay away from coffee and talk to your doctor about Xanax.  Good luck, I feel for all of you and I hope for some more insight.  

[Smithy1185]

I was a big ice tea drinker, woke up April 13, 2011 and had all the same symptoms have not had any caffeine since May 1, 2011 and I feel great.  I hae spent probably hundreds of hours trying to research why overnight i cannot tolerate caffeine and came up with nothing.  I went to 8 doctors had countless blood tests, cat scan, any other tests and all doctors said your fine come back in 6 months and don't have any caffeine.   One doctor did find a stomach polyup and removed it and a esophgus ulcer which is now healed.
I was also under alot of stress at the time.

I would rather never have caffeine again than experience for a moment how bad I felt back then.  I felt like I was dying for 4 months before I felt better in July 2011, even after stopping caffeine about 2 weeks after I started feeling bad in April 2011.  It took about two weeks to figure anything with caffeine would make me feel extremely bad.

[wenweb]

Hi.  I've read many of the posts here and it's nice to know I'm not the only one with this weird, out of know where problem.  It seems most of the posts here are from women.  I am 32 and just started having episodes in March of this year.  Out of know where I had what I thought  was a heart attack one morning after drinking only half of a cup of decaf coffee.  I wasn't stressed, just relaxing on my couch watching TV.  I went to the ER and they checked me out.  They couldn't find anything and told me to follow up with my doctor and avoid caffeine.  I've been to many doctors since and have cut out caffeine, but no answers on why the sudden caffeine intolerance.  I will say though, I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, low Vitamin D, and mitral valve prolapse (MVP).  My cardio said in fact that MVP is common and I could still have caffeine.  So I had a little decaf off and on and still got palpitations.  I'd also feel like I would be in a hypoglycemic state, extremely weak, like I'd pass out, so I'd eat protein and lie down for 20 mins. or so and feel better.  
I've done a lot of research and I'm wondering if there are underlying causes that make us all so intolerant of caffeine all of a sudden.  I wonder if there's any connection between liver function and estrogen dominance that is causing this.  Your liver is where caffeine and many other substances and hormones are metaboloized.  So if your liver is not functioning effectively, I would think that toxins would build up in the liver, metabolize much slower and make you more sensitive to foods, chemicals, etc.  Also, I read that caffeine increases estrogen in the body and interferes with the liver's ability to metabolize estrogen, which can cause the body to have too much estrogen.  In addition, the adrenal glands indirectly produce progesterone which counteracts the effects of estrogen.  When caffeine is consumed in excess, that burdens the adrenals which can in turn lower progesterone levels.  The combination of this Estrogen Dominance and impaired liver function may very well be contributing to caffeine sensitivity/intolerance.  Does anyone else have low Vitamin D and/or endocrine or autoimmune diseases here that is experiencing this caffeine intolerance?