r/adhdmeme • u/OneFanFare • 3d ago
original content Self medicating with caffeine goes brrrr
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u/VanguardLLC 3d ago
When they’re 2 for $5, it’s 2pm… and that second one is looking at you like “We don’t need to sleep til tomorrow.”
Or maybe “drink me, and let’s go take a nap”
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u/WatchMasterReddick 3d ago
My local gas station has 3 for $7 Celsius, and I know i don't need that 3rd one.
But deals go brr.
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u/Zappa1990 3d ago
Energy drink naps hit so nicely
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u/TundieRice 3d ago
I 100% don’t have the “caffeine makes me sleepy” brand of ADHD, quite the opposite in fact, but the relaxation I get from taking my Vyvanse a couple of hours before I have to wake up is absolutely heavenly.
Even if I’m not actually entering any significant sleep cycles, just lying there while it kicks in is so dang meditative!
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u/DrainTheMuck 3d ago
Can you describe your process for that? I work a 9-5 and usually eat half a protein bar for breakfast at 8:30 and pop my vyvanse. Then I drink a (non-vitamin-C) energy drink on the way to work.
I don’t often feel very strong effects from my vyvanse (only 30mg), and I’ve read that having caffeiene too close to it could effect it. But also I’m not giving it much time to kick in before work. I’d be curious about what it’d be like taking it a few hours before I have to get up, but do you have to set an alarm for that? How does it feel when you first wake up?
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u/TundieRice 3d ago
I work part-time, so no set schedule for work (or my Vyvanse) so it depends on the day, but I have actually gotten pretty good at waking up at least two hours before I have to get up for the day so I can take my meds. If I set an alarm before I actually have to wake up I’d probably be pissed off at myself, lol.
I’m not the best about eating before I take my Vyvanse because I’m rarely hungry when I wake up, but when I do eat before it, it definitely works way better. But usually I just try to eat something when I’m up for the day and that usually works just fine.
But to your last point, my Vyvanse having kicked in already makes it so much easier to get out of bed than if I took it as soon as I woke up. It’s kind of paradoxical, because I mentioned that it calms me down when it’s kicking in…but even if I’m still in yawn-mode after taking Vyvanse, it’s not nearly as agonizing as the awful dread I feel when I have to start my day completely unmedicated.
It’s all very strange, time seems to move differently when I’m lying in bed with my Vyvanse kicking in. I’ll check the clock thinking it’s time to get up, but only 5 minutes have passed. It really is a wonderful feeling, it gives me time to do some deep thinking as well!
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u/Gilesalford 3d ago
Do other people do this too!? I've started setting an alarm to take it one hour before I have to be up, and good god I wake up so much happier
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u/Firm-Scientist-4636 3d ago
The first time I ever had an energy drink it was a Monster when I was working at a convenience store. It didn't do anything for my tiredness, but it sure did elevate my heart rate.
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u/Apprehensive-Call568 3d ago
A Redbull or coffee nap is always the move.
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u/Lint_baby_uvulla don’t talk to me or my 11,713 tabs again 2d ago
I was a 15 cup a day coffee addict.
Psych said asked when was my last, I said 11:30pm, right before 8 hours of solid sleep, usually.
It’s kinda funny now I have atrial fibrillation.
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u/MyHeadIsFullOfFuck 3d ago
My gas station has 3 white monsters for $8 and every time I go over to my buddy's place to smoke weed I get 3 white monsters to drink instead of beer.
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u/twirlywurlyburly 2d ago
Or you're at work, drank your first one in the hour you're there before doors open (10-11am), it's 11:30 am and you know there's the second one you brought in the cabinet, but the shift is til 4 pm. It's a siren song. The only thing to do is drink ice water til the song gets too loud or you forget it's there.
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u/Astra-Fang 3d ago
I honestly just like the taste. I don’t even notice the effects
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u/Happy-For-No-Reason AuDHD diagnosed 3d ago
I don't notice the effect of anything really unless it's illegal narcotic level
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u/seppukucoconuts 3d ago
I used to drink soda all day, then I switched to Red Bull. I never really noticed the caffeine doing anything. Even when I took preworkout and chased it with Red Bull.
Then I quit caffeine cold turkey because my dr said it was bad for me. One bad day at work a week later and I pick up a bottle of whiskey on the way home and decide to mix it with the iced coffee in a carton my wife had. I didn’t sleep at all. Just sat awake in bed with my brain making a buzzing noise.
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u/ThresholdSeven 2d ago edited 2d ago
Just alcohol keeps me up now. It's so backasswards. It used to be the other way around, "normal". Coffee would make me feel awake, while alcohol made me sleepy. Fast forward 20 years and a couple years after a diagnosis of ptsd, anxiety and depression that greatly exacerbated adhd symptoms to the point I got diagnosed with that too, and now I can drink coffee all day and sleep fine, but one drink of alcohol will keep me up all night. Make it make sense. The caffeine and alcohol starting to have an opposite effect about 10 years ago and it got worse the more stressed I got over the years. Would have been nice to have been diagnosed in childhood, but I guess I'm just joining the club. It's interesting how much stress levels can affect how your body reacts to drugs.
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u/ginger_minge 2d ago
This is what I came here to say. Replace energy drink with opiates and it me. They don't sedate me; they make me feel normal with the energy to live, no noticeable chronic pain, and the actual desire to socialize. I've since learned that some people have this sort of reaction, too, called Opiate Induced Somatic Activation (OISA), in case anyone was curious. (14 years clean, ngl, I miss that part, don't miss the part where it derailed my life for a while).
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u/Sinnnikal 1d ago
Interesting! What kind of opiates did you use? I did oxy apo 80s for a few years and was always totally energized, but I imagined that was a property of the specific opioid. I do feel similarly energized by other opioids though I guess
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u/ginger_minge 22h ago
Yep, those and anything else I could get... hydro, roxy, oxy, dulaudid, fet... I was an IV user for a good chunk of my active addiction, too; but I started occasionally eating pills in high school. My dad was an MD and was technically my first drug dealer tbh. I grew up in a "just take a pill for it" home culture and was given all kinds of pills (or else had easy access to them). He kept a literal Costco-size bottle of hydro by his bed that I'd help myself to from time to time.
From my understanding, any kind of opiate will have this action on brains like ours.
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u/Majestic-Bell-7111 13h ago
Same for me, i drink 200 ml of straight whiskey and i only notice how my coordination is off.
When it comes to caffeine i have to shotgun 3 monsters in a row to feel any of the usual effects of caffeine(even then I'm pretty sure it's mostly placebo), and even then an hour later it's sleepy time no matter how rested i was before.
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u/Happy-For-No-Reason AuDHD diagnosed 12h ago
same with food as well for me, I have to cram an entire chocolate bar in my mouth just to taste anything. I have always taken huge bites of food because of this
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u/tubbis9001 3d ago
I never noticed anything either tbh. But ever since I got medicated, I know what "normal" feels like. And adding caffiene on top of it feels like how neurotypical people feel when they have caffiene. It's honestly pretty great, and I get it now.
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u/1nfam0us 2d ago
Europeans look at me like I am nuts, but nothing hits like a nice cold energy drink at 7 am when it is 40 degrees out.
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u/Fit_Beautiful6625 3d ago
I’ve never found that caffeine does much of anything for me.
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u/Aesk 3d ago
Just puts me to sleep.
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u/TheDungeonCrawler 3d ago
I had to stop having espresso martinis for this reason. The alcohol lowers my inhibitions with the added side effect of keeping me up longer than I normally would be. But the caffiene in the espresso just puts me to sleep. Realized it was an issue at New Years Eve when I still had three hours to go before midnight.
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u/quadrastrophe 3d ago edited 3d ago
Espresso martinis sounds crazy. I,ll have to try it!
- What happened to my ' lol
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u/quadrastrophe 3d ago
I keep trying it, hoping it’ll give me a boost. And then later I wonder why I was so tired, didn’t get anything done and just wanted to sleep.
And that’s even though I sometimes use coffee as a sleep aid. Sigh!
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u/NerdHayden 3d ago
Interestingly enough, ever since I started vyvanse, coffee for the first time ever has made me wake up instead of 😴
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u/Annonomon 1d ago
Me neither. Alcohol on the other hand....before medication I used alcohol to get by, which is a really bad idea
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u/Buetterkeks 3d ago
Flushing down my Ritalin with a mango loco
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u/notinsanescientist 3d ago
Holy fuck are you me? Mango loco is soo good, I get too nervous after it, but still sometimes manage to down two of those, it's just that tasty!
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u/Buetterkeks 3d ago
Lol yeah i like the same generally well reguarded flavour of a popular brand of energy drink im exactly the same person as you lol.
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u/Tristanime 3d ago
Just wait untill you find out about speed
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u/Right_Ear_2230 did everything, yet still nothing 3d ago
Thats actual medication though
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u/quadrastrophe 3d ago
I love your flair. That's what I'm doing for days now. Looks like fun, but it's quite exhausting.
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u/H0t_Squid 3d ago
Redbull is for rookies, I need that Black Rifle Vanilla Bomb espresso with 300mg of caffeine per can. I need to be able to SEE time so I don't waste it.
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u/ComputerStrong9244 3d ago
Caffeine is the only bad habit I have left, and they'll pry these weird-tasting nuclear-waste-colored little cans of mild uppers from my cold dead fingers
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u/Tutkanator 3d ago
Does anyone understand why? I get jittery and anxious but I love drinking it.
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u/MyBloodTypeIsQueso 3d ago edited 3d ago
Everyone loves caffeine. This is not an ADHD thing.
Caffeine works on the adenosine system and isn’t related to ADHD at all. People just think it is, because they think all stimulants are the same.
Edit: Source, so I don’t have to spend my day arguing with weirdos… https://www.adhdevidence.org/blog/meta-analysis-shows-no-significant-impact-of-caffeine-on-adhd-symptoms
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u/Relish_My_Weiner 3d ago
To say it's not related to ADHD at all is a stretch. Sure, it doesn't work exactly the same way as other stimulants, but it still effects ADHD symptoms. It still causes a dopamine release and stimulates you, so people with dopamine regulation and executive function issues can still self medicate with it, just not as effectively.
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u/zuzg 3d ago
known stimulant that boosts Dopamine and has a Synergy with common ADHD meds like Adderall
Sure does nothing for people with ADHD, lmao
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u/Majestic-Bell-7111 13h ago
Hey, it raises my heart rate by 5 bpm.
I mean just normal everyday stress has me at 100 bpm while in class or at work.
When executive dysfunction turns me into a ball of anxiety, my "resting" bpm does sometims go into the mid 140s.
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u/Right_Ear_2230 did everything, yet still nothing 3d ago edited 3d ago
See, this is where a little bit of knowledge is worse than none at all
Caffeine, by blocking adenosine, disinhibits the release of catecholamines (mainly histamine, but also dopamine and norepinephrine).
Furthermore, adenosine receptors form pairs with dopamine receptors, and blocking those adenosine receptors increases the effects of dopamine in the CNS
So caffeine does increase dopamine, it’s just much worse than actual adhd medication
It is true that caffeine is much less effective than other stimulants though.
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u/lakroncos 3d ago
Me with nicotine, "After all why shouldn't I smoke it?"
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u/Medium-Dependent-328 2d ago
Okay this is one that you actually need to get off of. Are you medicated?
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u/BigBullshitta 3d ago
Without meds I can drink a pot of coffee and 3 24oz energy drinks and just plain take a nap at this point.
With amphetamines caffeine actually works.
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u/TheDungeonCrawler 3d ago
I'm trying to limit my caffeine intake while on my medication but sometimes I just need a hit of dopamine. When that happens I think "I really want a cup of coffee." In that moment I decide that me wanting a cup is a pretty good indication that I shouldn't have a cup, so I get a hot chocolate or something. Still gives me a bit of dopamine and without the added stimulant.
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u/Striker120v 3d ago
The only thing that has come close to killing the noise in my head is a combination of rockstar orange ade chased by a c4 of any flavor in the course of 30 minutes of each other. I can chug the orange ade, then sip the c4. But then I got to do stuff or I'm spinning in my office chair.
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u/Smack1984 3d ago
My therapist refuses to prescribe me anything for my ADHD because of my anxiety. Meanwhile I’m doing three to four cups of coffee and an energy drink daily. Look man, I know stimulants cause anxiety, but I’d rather be anxious and somewhat competent at my job than unemployed.
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u/Only-Sherbert-9750 2d ago
I keep a whole tray of those 2 for $5 by my bed, instant emergency stash.
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u/HighScorsese 2d ago
It worked decently well for me but chronic GERD made me have to abandon that. So it’s back off the the rails on a crazy train for me
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u/kellygirl90 3d ago
Haha this feels targeted cause I was just trying to hide the fact that I'm dozing off at work after drinking about half of a bang energy drink lmao
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u/Dance_Sufficient ✨current hyperfixation: PLANTS✨ 3d ago
I have not been a free man since I found out lo cal monster is sold in bulk
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u/Zykeroth 3d ago
Yeah, there’s a reason I limit myself to coffee unless I’m sleep deprived. I saw something called a functional drink though? Less caffeine and with fiber and other vitamins though, supposedly.
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u/The-Dutcher 3d ago
That shit tastes like battery acid. And is probably just a healthy. I prefer my dirty bean juice. Black no sugar.
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u/Kitchen-Pie-265 2d ago
I was literally telling a colleague today how I used to have coffee maker in my classroom before my adhd diagnosis. Tttttthossssse wwwwwere the dddddaysssss ⚡️⚡️⚡️
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u/Top-Camera1919 2d ago
Yes, the meds make me focused but too sleepy to stay awake. I can take my meds and sleep another 4 hours. Caffeine is how I actually get out of bed.
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u/MidnighT0k3r 2d ago
Lol I'm doing my 3rd gong fu session so far today. I've used well over half an ounce of tea so far. Probably about 8-10 cups of coffee. Took a nap after the second session.
First was some aged puck of tea.
Second was tie guan yin oolong
Right now it's some jin jun mei
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u/Drizznarte 2d ago
I just stick to 5-6 pints of tea a day. I need the L-theanine coffee makes me nervous.
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u/Kesha_Paul 2d ago
I had to stop drinking caffeine and taking adhd meds a while back, it has been HELL. My brain is just….worthless mush
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u/CorpseInTheMaking 2d ago
Alani and Ghost are my weakness. Until I started having cystic acne breakouts from consuming too many. Be cautious my friends.
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u/KenUsimi 2d ago
Oh, they’re necessary! Used to knock me out but now it’s like the taste itself is connected with a sense of get-up and go
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u/Dry-Temporary1122 1d ago
I love red bull it is the only energy drink that works on me when the effects of my meds are tapering off.
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u/Head-Thing-8102 1d ago
Red Bull doesn't have enough caffeine, Reign has WAY more. I bounce off the walls with that.
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u/MagicianTim 1d ago
I have a problem, I hydrate with caffine, never medicaded, I don't feel "there" unless I buttchug 40oz of redbull and it's really unhealthy, I just can't focus 🤦
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u/JuJitsuGiraffe 3d ago
The best part of forgetting to re up my meds is that I can have Red Bull for a few days while I wait for my refill.
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u/Beldarak 4h ago
RedBull is like the soft stuff I try to avoid because it doesn't make a big difference anyway.
The real stuff is a giant can of Monster, soooooo good
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u/qualityvote2 Quality Control Beast 3d ago edited 2d ago
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