Yes, You Can Be Allergic To caffeine.
Some people have asked if people can be allergic to caffeine. I’m no doctor, but yes. Yes, you can be allergic to caffeine. And it’s not something a lot of doctors have known to look for. The effects of caffeine allergy look like some more severe mental disorders.
When you’re suffering from an allergic reaction to caffeine, one or more of the following things can happen: “loss of focus, intellectual deterioration, delusions, loss of judgement, and other symptoms of poisoning.” Because many people don’t properly recognize the caffeine allergy, they continue to ingest it (and why wouldn’t they?), and that can damage the brain and make things worse.
With symptoms like loss of focus and delusions and symptoms of poisoning, it’s no wonder the reaction often goes improperly diagnosed. What is diagnosed? “ADHD, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, OCD, TMJD, PMS, and other conditions.”
If your doctor diagnoses you with any of the above, and you ingest a lot of caffeine, make sure he rules that out as a cause before putting you on a lot of drugs.
Source (Note that this is PRWeb, so it’s not a real news story. It’s just a press release from a company trying to sell books).
163 Comments
I am not sure if i am allergic to caffeine or not… but whenever I drink a lot of it, I get weird pains in my legs. I also feel really jittery. Is this just what caffeine does to people, or am I weird?
Okay. I have been looking at a lot of articles about caffeine allergies and none of them address my issue. Allergies are something that can form over time. I may not have always been allergic to pet dander or pollen or caffeine, right? So, before one has been intoxicated with caffeine to cause psychosis, what are the beginning symptoms? There must be a baby stage, before you become saturated. What would one’s symptoms be like at the first series of allergic reactions to caffeine?
i am allergic to caffeine - my reaction is fairly simple - i get a very very bad headache and stomach pain and then my body rejects the caffeine by vomiting it out - but for a while after i am trapped in a horribly angry mood
I think I might be allergic to caffeine…my tongue has been swelling kind of on and off over the past year or so. I don’t think its only caffeine (I don’t have it much) but I’ve recently noticed that when I drink coffee my tonge seems worse for a day or two. Has anyone experienced (or heard of) anything like this?
I believe I am allergic to caffeine also. I have noticed symptoms for the last couple of years, but they weren’t so bad so I ignored them. But the last couple of months have been awful. I am very nervous, jittery, dizzy and can’t focus on anything. I only drink 2-3 cups in the morning. My mother developed a caffeine allergy when she was in her twenties also. I almost feel at times that I am going to have a panic attack, like I am crawling out of my skin. I just need to know how to get this poisen out of my system????
I have also been diagnosed as being allergic to caffeine. When I drink it I will retain water which is strange since coffee, tea, etc, are suppose to be a diaretic. I also noticed my skin begins to itch as well along with the jittery-ness, headaches, tingly legs. If you drink a lot of water it helps with the affects. Also I heard eating certain foods, such as pasta, bread, carb based foods help with the side effects because they absorb caffeine in the body. But they may backfire since it takes longer to digest.
Hope some of this helps.
I do sneak in a Starbucks once in a while, but it is often too much. I stick with Ginger Ale. Caffeine free!
I don’t want to know about your gross health problems!…..well, I’ll probably thank you later for telling me about them but I DON’T WANNA KNOW! LALALALALALALAAYOUCAN’TMAKEME!YOUCAN’TMAKEME! But really…this isn’t about you other dudes who are telling us about your non-caffiennated lives….no offense, but if I said the same sort of stuff that was about problems that you know for a fact aren’t caused by caffiene, well, then, you’d probably think the same thing.
You know what really annoys me? People like you. You think you’re so smart. Well, it just so happens that this site was created to talk about caffeine poisoning, and if you don’t like that, then go drink some caffeine!
My allergy is now extreme. The smallest amount will set off an ugly and prolonged reaction, with debilitating stress levels, panic and the like. It stays that way for weeks. I am alcoholic and cafes were the way out from bars and clubs \. Th relished the cappicinos etc - It was really hard work to rid myself of that way of life. Today life is “normal”, with lots of yoga and an effective energy enhancing technique. Caffeine is my enemy. They say there are a 100 million people employed in all aspects of just coffee alone! What a mad planet we live on…….
I just got a job at a coffee shop and now I am learning to be a barista. Anyways…I had to learn about the different taste of the espresso when it came out into the shot glasses well I guess i had about four and I felt ok and went home and about 3 hours later I have this massive headache and I feel like I am starting to get the flu and im all nausiated and getting jittery and i wake up in the morning im not that nausiated but i still feel jittery. It’ll be a little weird working in a coffee shop being allergic to coffee, but thats if it was the espresso…
Kevin, the tongue swelling is definitely a caffeine allergy. I developed it a few years ago and went for blood tests which came up negative (although they didn’t specifically test for caffeine), by trial and error I then determined that my swollen tongue was caused by caffeine. Sometimes it gets so swollen that the teeth make serrated indentations around the edge and the back of the tongue gets sore from rubbing on the jaw. It is tea, coffee and coke that make it worse. Decaf coffee is just as bad and has some addtional other side effects.
I also suffer from caffeine allergy and today I slipped up at lunch. The iced tea looked so good. But now I am stuck with horrible reaction. My heart is racing, my body temperature is elevated, my skin is itching, my focus is shot and i have a terrible headache. The only relief I know about is to drink lots of water.
For many years i was constantly getting excess mucous discharge from my chest and i had to keep spitting it out and everytime i drank tea, i would end up with a yellow tongue and a horrible taste in my mouth. i have now stopped all caffeine intake and i am much better. I never knew you could be allergic to tea as i loved drinking tea.
It is interesting to know what symptoms people suffer from having caffeine, i find that when i have caffeine i have stomach pains which my doctor told me could be related to IBS, i also vomit as my body rejects the caffeine. Colpermine i think thats how you spell it, is a herbal tablet which has helped me live a normal live. It is possible to grow out of an alergy such as this, it effected me when i was 7 and from the age of 17 i now have no problems. However i do avoid drinking fizzy drinks when possible and dont drink hot drinks.
Is anyone else MUCH more sensitive to coffee than to tea? I can drink tea, not tons of it, but a small to moderate amount. But I really can’t drink ANY coffee. It leaves me agitated, spacy, totally unfocused, reactive, rottenawful mood, oppressive-ominous-black-cloud feeling.
I am allergic to caffeine. After I drink it, I can’t think straight and completely lose focus. Kind of like a really bad food coma.
When I drink tea or coffee with caffeine my gold jewelry turns ny fingers, neck, wrist black. Can this be another allergy symton to caffeine?
I am allergic to caffeine. I can’t even eat chocolate. If I ever consume something even a little bit of caffeine (this happens every now and then), I am bed ridden for the better part of a day. I’m in a constant “fight or flight” condition: heart racing, mind racing, sweating, breathing quickly. The most I can do when I have a reaction is to lie in bed and wait for the reaction to pass.
I have the sore sensitive tongue and inside my mouth, broke out in red itchy welts along my lower back. I also have the headach that will not ease up. My allergy first started with a coated tongue.
Kevin. Have you thought of a milk allergy. If you drink coffee with milk that is. i suffer a similar reaction to any lactose, and I vomit coffee aswell. These may be two allergies running symbiotically
I am addicted to caffeine. I cannot stop, even after several attempts. I can only stop for a few days at a time. I don’t know how to quit completely. Coffee is everywhere! Caffeine affects my moods and causes me physical pain.
Help!
I was searching for information on chest pain related to ENERGY DRINKS, and wasn’t really coming up with anything but thought it could be the high levels of caffeine. (I only tried 1 can of like 3 brands over a period of many months, thinking it was the brand itself.) Not only did I get each time the intense 1 minute of CHEST PAIN (and down toward my abdomen) but also the incredibly ITCHY/PAINFUL SKIN in my neck and chest area that a few folks have already mentioned. Has anyone experienced this combination of symptoms? I do not have either of these reactions with coffee, tea or anything else… except this meal-supplement shake I drank years ago (and hasn’t been made for years) that did the same thing to my skin (but didn’t give me the gripping chest pains.) If I drank it slowly, I was OK. Thanks for any relevant thoughts!
I just quit for six days recently and started one morning with for cups. Then, the next day at 5 am I drove to the corner chervon and bought a four pack of red bulls. Two are already gone. I guess you could say I fell off the wagon. Anyone else out there not able to quit??????
—EJM
Hello all~ I have been perplexed as well as debilitated by several symptoms I believe may be caused by coffee intake. Fatigue, confusion, dry eyes, exhaustion. I have come to realize there are many factors that come into play. Most of the time coffee will produce symptoms. I have found some companies spray their beans with DDT or other pesticides which may be causing different symptoms for us all. So each cup of coffee is not the same. I then decided to brew my own organic coffee with a mixture of decaf. Symptoms were not as severe but I did get an overall feeling of fatigue and headache. Mind you I only drink one cup a day. It is amazing given our symptoms we don’t just kick this habit. I have found comfort in green tea. Especially knowing it is actually good for me. I also find chocolate can make me sick as well. I never had any of these problems until I hit 35. So perhaps this was the time my symptoms just became more problematic. I do believe we should all try to replace coffee with another beverage for several weeks and try to stay strong. Let a friend know and support you. We should be enjoying our lives to the fullest and not be brought down by a dreaded bean that smells great and makes us feel terrible. These symptoms last for days and days! We should concentrate more on our good health. Good Luck to you all. Thank you so much for your comments, they have convinced me even more to avoid coffee and stick with juice and tea.!
I have had at least 5 cups of something with caffeine since I was like 11, so thats about 12 years now. Recently I had been overly tired and decided it was time to STOP drinking this stuff. I have ADD so Caffeine has the OPPOSITE affect on me then it’s supposed to. It acts more like a sedative then an upper. I was pretty much done with it for 3 days and got an extreme migraine. Assuming it was from caffeine withdrawl I decided to have a couple mountain dews. I also took some pain medications (I think it was alleve) I was better for another 24 hours. So this was a Friday, Saturday went very well and then that night I decided to have some coca cola when I was out with some friends. The next day I had another one with breakfast and another with lunch. Granted this is less then I normally drink it was a lot for having close to that much in a week. Immediately I felt as though I couldn’t breath. It stayed like that all day and the next day. Finally come Tuesday I was ok and went back to work. After drinking water all day I really wanted something carbonated so I grabbed a Mountain Dew on my way home, HUGE MISTAKE. I am still having problems but for a good hour afterwards I felt as though I was going to suffocate and I felt like I was bloated beyond belief. I now am pretty convinced that either I am allergic to caffeine or SOMETHING in the pop.
hello everybody
HI DR NICK!!!
well…
Watch the simpsons….
About 14 years ago I collapsed and ever since I’ve been allergic to caffine.
Unfortunately I didn’t discover the actual cause for about 7 months - just though it was my generally bad student lifestyle. Basically I felt dizzy and weak all the time, couldn’t focus/concentrate and generally just felt rotton. Regularily I’d feel like I was going to pass out. This completely ruined my 3rd year of college and I ended up dropping out.
Doctors didn’t have a clue what it was, and as an offhand comment one told me maybe it was something I was eating. Luckily in the first group of things I quit caffine and after a few days of bad aches things started to get better.
If I had a caffine drink now, basically the symptoms would return with about 30 minutes, and would last into the following day (the once I tried). Happy to steer clear of the stuff.
Question:I am allergic to caffeine. Are there any cures yet for this allergy? The symptoms that I get are the following:It drives my blodpressure to dangerous levels,especially if I were to drink regular coffee or tea,digestive problems,can’t think clearly,and I also cannot sleep without taking a sleep aid like melatonin or some other sleep aid. I really wish there was a cure for caffeine allergy. I few cups of coffee could basically kill me. Please E-mail me back if you have any information for me.
Thankyou,
Jeremy Belcastro
So I just had my tird cup of the day. My right arm is now covered in small welts which look like mosquito bites and it itches like you would not believe. They will disappear completely in a little bit.
In general I get these welts on my feet, chest, and wrists. I’ve always had a little of this problem, but in the past month mafor skin problems. For those of you who get itchy skin and have skin problems, does this sound familiar?
I too have been breaking out all over. Little red bumps that look like mosquito bites and itch something awful. I drink 1-2 caffeinated drinks per day, but I’m wondering if this break out is caused by Chocolate. I have had this rash for the last 3-4 days and have had chocolate and caffeine each day. I have never had allergic reactions to anything in my life.
I can’t find anything on the web about allergic reaction to chocolate… but I hope that’s what it is. I can give up chocolate. I don’t want to give up my Mt. Dew.
Anyone have any ideas on this?
I have a weird one: every time I drink caffeine, I get weird menstral-like cramps whether or not I have my period. Am I crazy, or have any other women had this??
I get swellen glands in my neck and throat after drinking anything with caf, ANYTHING. Also various Rx drugs do the same thing. Docs dont know why, many think I am crazy. Its been determined that I have boarder line addisons disease.
It would be great if we could pull together and give each other support to kick this habit. I quit for 10 years and went back…been about 10 years back on, and my throat hurts like a (cant say that here) COMMENTS INVITED. Can we start a support group on line for this?
Sometimes I get headaches from caffeine and it usually depends on what or how much I am drinking. The headache is always just behind and above my left eye and if it’s severe it is the same on the right side. Cheap coffee like Folgers will really set it off or syrupy sodas like Coke. If I accumulate too much caffeine I will be very lethargic. I had a grande coffee last week and was down for the whole weekend. I once had a coffee ice cream shake from Coffee People and a half hour later I passed out.
I’m allergic to caffeine. It’s a trigger for a skin condition I have called eczema. At first I thought I was allergic to work but then I realized pretty much the only time I drink any meaningful amount of caffeine was at work. I weaned myself off it and my eczema hasn’t flared up since.