How much should schizophrenic take coffee?

That never happened to me until a couple weeks ago when I started Invega. Now I need 3 cups to get through the day. I have 2 cups when I wake up, and then another cup about 3 hours later before going to the gym. It’s got to be the Invega.

How do you not end up in the bathroom for hpurs? Caffeine makes people pee and coffee is a laxative for many!

1 Like

I’m not sure. I actually have to take medicine every day for constipation. I do pee like every 2 hours though so maybe that’s too much.

1 Like

I prefer to not drink coffee not even tea. I become insane, angry, violent and disinhibited.

2 Likes

I think it’s the amount you are comfortable with. Me personally, I am suspicious that it could be a contributor to psychosis in myself. Therefore I try to avoid it when I can.

I also read something about coffee intake and calcium loss. Perhaps not the case for everyone but for me that freaks me out a little.

2 Likes

I think the actuaries are saying moderate coffee drinking is healthy. No coffee or too much coffee are not as good as moderate coffee.

People who drink coffee in moderation live the longest.

2 Likes

Do The papers mean that caffeine improve
negative symptoms and cognition of the people who have schizophrenia ?

None as far as I’m concerned. It tastes awful, IMO. I would rather get my caffeine in pill form.

1 Like

No,

The first paper says that
The Adenosine hypothesis that A1Rs and A2Rs differential effect on neurotransmitter systems. The hypothesis states that because adenosine has interactions with nmda and dopamine systems dysfunction/dysregulation of adenosine could be the cause of schizophrenia. This hypothesis is partial based on the observed effects of allopurinol which raises adenosine levels. Caffeine is adenosine antagonists but it is complicated by the differential effects of different receptirs.

The second paper says that
Caffeine acts as a NMDA antagonists which because of the glutamate hypothesis is a bad thing for schizophrenics.

It’s complicated because it’s theoretical in the sense that they are no directly testing Caffeine on symptoms in schizophrenics. My interpretation is that it would point towards Caffeine being a bad thing, in any case it isn’t going to be helpful for your symptoms. Backing this up the are numerous reports of Caffeine causing psychosis and this is well known.

People thing using Caffeine is okay because it ubiquitous and socially acceptable in society. It is the same case for alcohol and cigarettes. In the instance of being schizophrenic I think Caffeine more broadly isn’t a good thing.

As with everything I think the poison is in the doseage. You are also going to differential responses in the population as with any drug. If you gave people mega doses of caffeine I think maybe that could more easily recognise the harmful effects it can have in terms of inducing positive symptoms. I don’t think the fact that coffee is often chronic daily use is going to be great either.

The flip side of all this is that the medication is sedating. Access to legal stimulants is restricted and near impossible for people with schizophernia. Caffeine is a stimulant which is why people enjoy it, its just not the best choice

1 Like

I think caffeine is probably ok in moderation for some schizphrenics. Caffeine is good for keeping you awake, attention and even cognition to a certain degree. If you are teetering on the edge of a psychotic break, then no, I wouldnt suggest you gorge on 20 cups of coffee. I take a caffeine pill most days though, and I see no ill effects from it. It did cause a tiny bit of anxiety in the beginning but that has seemed to pass.

But, you’re right. Technically it’s not that great for sz positives. When I was in a institution/group home for people with mental illnesses and other problems, you were not allowed to have caffeinated coffee or soda on the premises. People would actually sneak in such products.

If I don’t get my caffeine pill, I will often nap throughout the day. Not ready to give it up.

3 Likes

Avoid that ■■■■. It’s like THC. Only causes trouble

3 Likes

There was a French writer named Balzac that drank 50 cups of coffee a day. It killed him. He died of caffeine poisoning. His place in the annals of great literature is secure, though. I think he wrote like 80 novels. I’ve read three of them.

2 Likes

Balzac kind of sounds like ball sack, i wonder if he was a troll.

1 Like

Hmmm. I drink one cup in the morning now and that is it. But there was a time years ago where I was drinking it all day and it was strong and i thought some pretty wild stuff at the time.

1 Like

The difference for me between getting positives that ruin my day is drinking matcha vs drinking coffee. I definitely get dose dependent effects, so I think cutting out soda if you enjoy it is maybe going too far. Also drinking coffee is more of an issue then taking a tablet since it’s impossible to control the dose otherwise. There is probably an amount that you can tolerate. However since I cut out caffeine I haven’t had a single day of positives so to me the effects are really night and day astounding. Caffeine isn’t the devil but I think what is insidious about it is that its a habit which most people do everyday without thinking about. It certainly took me longer to figure out that caffeine was a trigger for me then it should have. It’s an easy trap to fall into thinking it’s good for you because there is a somewhat healthy and normalised culture around it and then it is also super accessible. For me it was something that I did everyday without stopping to think about it as I had no reason to quit and there was no evidence to do so. I don’t think people necessarily need to stop caffeine so much as they need to realise like anything else it is a drugs and to reflect about how it effects them so they can make an informed decision. There are also going to be differential effects across the population.

Staying operational with complex MH is somewhat of a strange balancing act. For every year you stay in the mental health system there is a half life until you get another pill or another diagnosis. As mental criteria are ultimately the opinion of the clinician every clinician has a different opinion. You go to one person you get one drug, you go to a different person you get a different drug. I’m personally not against stimulant useage but you also have to understand it is playing with fire. Everyone is different at their own place with their journey and everyone has a different risk tolerance. Taking stimulants in a fashion where you can accurately control the dose isn’t super accessible especially with a history of psychosis. Pragmatically mainly it comes down to what you can get your hands on to counter the sedation. That said I think bupropion or modafinil are much better agents. I also think stimulants are generally abused like for example 25mg of modafinil is heaps. The half life of modafinil is also far too long, so there are pros and cons with everything. It is important to recognise there is no free lunch in any of these things.

2 Likes

I stopped coffee and tea when I realized they were making me overly anxious!

1 Like

There’s no such thing as too much coffee.

– twitch –
– twitch –
– twitch –

Nope.

[ slurps ]

– spasm –

2 Likes

I drink 2 cups a day plus some zero calorie soda with caffeine and i’m fine

I make 4 cups a day in the pot and drink it every morning. But it’s only two cups out the cupboard. So I don’t know if I should say two or four. I don’t have big coffee cups.