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.” There are many treatment facilities available such as bipolar treatment centers for addressing specific issues, but get a second opinion to make sure you have received the correct diagnosis.
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).
Update: We’ve taken a look at 192 comments below and published a Top 20 Caffeine Allergy Symptoms article.
236 Comments
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I’m so glad that I’m not alone! I suffer with IBS and I mainly drink tea.I drink coffee, say 2 mugs a month on average. But I was trying to stay awake this morning and drank coffee like I’d never drank before, I had 4 large mugs! (Stupid girl, I know)! About 20 minutes after having the last mug, I suddenly started to suffer the symptoms of when I get a bad IBS attack, but without the bad stomach. Suddenly sweat started pouring from me, to the point that my hair was soaked. I thought I should try and get to the toilet, as I felt VERY sick, but my body told me as soon as I lifted my head, to quickly lie down again as I was going to faint. So I lay there for a good 10 minutes, (seemed like forever), unable to move and unable to get to any level of comfort. Just, sick, hot and faint. Then the icy cold sweats kicked in and then I must have just fell to sleep and woke 1/2 an hour later feeling as right as rain. It wasn’t an IBS attack, as I always get the bad stomach and that kicks off the above symptoms and I thought it could be a bug, but after waking and finding I was fine again, thought it can’t be. The only thing I can think of is the coffee and thought ‘nah it can’t be’! But thankfully I found all your shared experiences. I think it must be that and I’ll not be drinking that much coffee again, I assure you! Thanks for all making me realise that I’m not going crazy!
Took a one hour engery shot and i was sweating sick and fever like… it felt like i was super high my hands couldnt stop shaking same with my feets it was BAD
It is such a relief to find this site. I have never had a problem with a caffeine reaction until a few weeks ago. I am 68 and could always drink as much coffee as I wanted. The only side effect was I would get jittery after several cups. For the past several years I seldom drink coffee and then only one cup.
In the meantime, I started drinking green tea for the anti-oxidants. Recently, I have been drinking a can of Arizona Green Tea every day. About three weeks ago I started itching on my feet, ankles, hands and forearms. Then it progressed to a visible rash. I changed to organic soap, but the problem persisted.
By process of elimination, I thought it was the green tea and stopped drinking it. After several days the condition was getting better. Yesterday, I had a Mountain Dew with lunch and guess what. This morning the rash and the itch had returned.
That is what caused to search for caffeine allergy and led me to this site.
Hopefully, my conclussion is correct. Time will tell.
I’m so thankful for a place to post about caffiene issues like this. I’ve had some big issues, done my own research, and here is where I am at:
Some background: I am a very busy mom. Okay, I have 8 children, we homeschool (which I love, but requires some dedicated work/commitment)and we are involved in sports, music activities. BUSY! I admit that I have been in the habit of pushing myself to the brink. ie: Stay up late at night to get things done without interuptions. You know, super tired, about to doze off, press through, get another burst of “awake” for an hour… a couple times each night. Night after night. Then I’d crash and sleep too late in the morning. After so much of this I was starting to have issues. (I admit I was not a BIG coffee or tea drinker, maybe 2-4/week, but chocolate almost daily, or every-other day in something. But keep reading…)
I did not think it was caffeine related til more recently, but am thinking it is a MAJOR factor now. I had a “panic attack” episode, that sent me to the ER for emergency bloodwork, etc. Most everything was within the realm of normal. When my Dr. was saying that he did not know what was going on… and was done with testing, I KNEW there was something going on! When you feel like you are dying and needing more air/breath, you can’t just shrug it off. I went to a naturopathic Dr. who listened to my symptoms and helped me balance out a hormone issue (low progesterone), and he felt I had hypothyroidism. Then I began my own research. The progesterone certainly helped. BUT I know now that at least part of my major issues have to do with my adrenal glands being completely worn out (my own fault)… and they affect thyroid function, the ability to handle stress, producing adrenalin at an increased rate, and inability to handle CAFFIENE or stimulants like it.
NOW I realize that my main issue is my worn down state (weakened adrenals). I used to handle caffiene fine, but with a weakened adrenal state it is like my body saying, “Stop! Can’t handle this! Eject!” It is a last ditch effort to maintain general health. Your body can only handle so much stimulants when it can not moderate the adrenalin levels! Jitters, heart-racing, and then the panicy feelings. How do you not feel a bit of panic when you can tell your heartrate is thumping?!
Why do I think this? When something startles me, or I am in a stressful situation (like going to the ER with a child in the middle of the night – last week!) I will not be able to come down from the adrenalin rush like I used to. I stay “keyed up” for quite a while. Nervous feeling, jittery, hard to get a deep breath, heart-racing, etc. I am putting 2 and 2 together and realizing that caffiene stimulates this adrenalin rush. The very thing I am not able to handle like normal just now. Because I’ve pushed and pushed through the exhaustion stage so often. So it feels as if my body is over-producing adrenalin and won’t shut off like it should. Caffiene, being a stimulant starts up the over-production, and I am jittery. Some days just a little… but usually I feel it most at night when I lay down. I will feel like a train is passing by, or there is a mild earthquake!
My symptoms have included: swollen tongue (on and off, and not sure why- still a puzzle, but I’m thinking it might also be caffiene related?), rapid heartrate, jittery, anxious, feeling panic, blurry vision, nervous tension, can’t sleep (not sleepy til early morning when the adrenalin has finally come down in my system), general TIRED, occassional wipe-out headache. Worse episodes include: hard to take in a deep breath, thumping heartrate, numb face, numb mouth, tingling fingertips, and hightened panic attack feeling.
My conclusion to date (still praying, trying to discern things as I go) is that my main problem is that I’ve just worn myself out with poor choices that have exhausted my system. The caffiene which I used to handle fine, is now too much for my weakened state… and the stimulant causes my body to have a bad reaction to the excess adrenalin produced after the caffiene got it going. Does that make sense? Caffiene stimulates adrenalin production (the fight or flight thing- burst of energy), my weak body produces adrenalin, but can’t shut adrenalin production OFF like normal… so the adrenalin “piles up” in my system and I have all the effects of a stressed out, crazy person who thinks she is about to die (because it really does feel like you might in the worst episodes!).
SO… all of this to say, I need to eliminate ALL caffeine to really test this theory. And that is hard. I can bypass coffee (though I like it), but pop is a bit harder, and chocolate… well, that one will be the toughest. But I’m thinking I really NEED to now. I’ve been praying for help, but I realize I need to cooperate if I really want to see if there is lasting truth to this. I’ve been thinking it is likely caffiene for some time. I’ve had varying degrees of symptoms, and I need to test this once for all. I’ve already connected the dots… but now it the ball is in my court to to stop caffiene and see if the symptoms drop off. I did stop all caffiene for about 3-4 weeks when I was really scared last fall, and I have to say I did feel better in general. Felt like I had hope to get better- back to normal. I watch caffiene intake now, but I do enjoy some daily.
Final note: The one thing that has HELPED me, for those of you that have asked if anything helps… In my experience take a daily Super-B vitamin supplement. I’ve tried this and that, but I NOTICE the difference when I take a daily multi-vitamin WITH a separate Super-B Vitamin Supplement. I just got a cheap bottle at first, and it made such a positive impact that now I buy these in bulk at Sam’s Club (or where-ever)! I do not miss a single day, or my nervous symptoms/jitters are much more pronounced. Try it! It does help! Take it in the late morning or early afternoon so the extra energy does not keep you awake. But the B-Vit. energy is not the jittery kind like caffeine, it just feeds your system so you have real energy. It actually helps get rid of the jitters.(I guess it feeds the adrenals… gives it what it is lacking to restore, and keep adrenalin levels in check.) If I know I’m going to indulge in a little caffiene I will make sure to take a Super-B vitamin right before or after. It is not a “super drug”, but it does help with symptoms. Hope this helps someone. This has been a wild ride for me! And I’m still eager to find new info. that will help me to improve more.
ps: Had a friend last fall that was in a real stressful place in life, jittery, couldn’t sleep, cried a lot, etc., and I bought her a bottle of cheap Super-B viatmins to see if it would help. She took one each day, and said it really DID help, and she takes one daily now. It can’t hurt to try it if you have severe issues with caffiene.
I suffer from nausea. If I drink an excessive amount of caffeine I become paranoid etc… kind of like the “someone’s chasing me and I have to find the nearest window so that I can jump out of it and save myself” (only occurred once.. i learned my lesson after that).
I just recently realized that I have, what I believe to be, a caffeine allergy. I always get very jittery after having just one cup of coffee in the morning so I usually try eating a lot of food in an attempt to absorb it…which is not a good habit. The jittery feeling is accompanied by fluttery feelings in my chest, slight blurred vision, inability to concentrate/focus on one thing, feelings of panic, and sometimes even hot-flashes. I have also been gaining weight lately and I’m not sure if I should contribute it to the coffee or not.
I am a blood-donor and when I don’t donate, the blood center is calling non-stop…I had never been turned down except for the last 3x times I’ve tried to donate. Each time, I was turned down due to an elevated heart-rate. Finally, I got to speak with a nurse at the blood center who finally detected that I have an irregular heart rate. I started researching because it seems that I only notice that fluttery feeling in my chest after drinking even the smallest amount of coffee.
I am extremely addicted to coffee and enjoy the habit, so I am sad to have to quit. I found this caffeine-free “coffee” (NOT decaffeinated, caffeine free), which is not really “coffee,” but made of nuts, dried fruit, figs, etc. I haven’t ordered any yet, but it has been recommended to brew with small amounts of ground coffee to slowly kick the addiction. It’s called Teeccino; I haven’t ordered any yet because it’s expensive, but I really want to try it because there is no way I’ll survive quitting cold-turkey!
I went to doc and he told me not 2 drink caffeine because when I drank it my boobies would get sore. he said it was swelling the lumps I have in them. i tried 2 stop but because of my hectic schedule..i need it sometimes. well i noticed other symptoms like when i would drink caffeine, my face would break out. when I didnt drink it..my face would be clear. My heart would palpitate and my face would get itchy. I would get irritable and couldnt focus. If I drank alot of it, then I would feel like I was getting sick. Just 2 make sure, i went a whole week without drinking caffeine and it was the best I felt IN A LONG TIME!
I’ve been undergoing cardiac ultrasounds, ekgs, blood tests, etc to try to figure out what’s going on with my irregular and sometimes very scarey heart rythems. I stopped drinking caffeine and my symptoms went away. I was a very light caffeine drinker too. One cup in the morning of home brewed or a shot of espresso. I now drink alot of Macha Blend Green Tea and even though it contains a small amount of caffeine I don’t have any symptoms with it. I’m self-diagnosing that I’m alergic to caffeine in coffee form.
After realizing i could be allergic to caffeine it is indeed true. When i consume caffeine I tend to have a hard time breathing properly for a few hours, I get depressed, i tend to lag, have a hard time thinking and anxiety i.e- feel like a weirdo around people.
I’ve been feeling like this for years and I never thought it would be caffeine until I figured I might be allergic to caffeine . I used to drink 2 cups of coffee every day.(what the hell was I thinking) I’ve been doing research for the past few days and im shocked to to learn about all of this, this is a great site, only wished I did this research years ago! Anywho, no more caffeine for me!!!
I’ve been hopelessly addicted to caffeine since I was a kid. If I have just a little in the a.m. i’m ok,if and when I O.D. I feel like I’m losing my mind. Most people I know can drink coffee morning till night and feel and sleep just fine.
hey, im taking these weight loss tablets called Curvelle and they contain cafeine, i took two yesterday after i felt sick, bad headaches, my mouth hurts, i slept for an hour, i knew straight away it was the tablets, did my homework and im starting to think its the cafeine im not a coffee, tea drinker so yea if your allergic.. Stop immidiately!
I’m a coffeeholic — already on my second Nespresso machine. But there is absolutely no doubt I am allergic to it. While drinking five to ten cups a day for the past 30 years I have been dogged by:
Palpitations
Godawful skin — with spots like a teenager
Mental health problems, starting with moodiness and culminating in a complete breakdown four years ago — with paranoid episodes, the works.
Having spent decades trying every antibiotic going for the skin I finally began to suspect my habit was the real problem. It all came to a head — if you’ll forgive the pun — after a free coffee machine was installed at work about three months ago.
Naturally, I couldn’t keep away. Soon — in addition to the normal spots I had spent every day battling — I was suddenly getting whiteheads all down the side of my chin.
Like any junkie I still couldn’t face the thought it was my fix causing me all the grief — my go-to explanation to myself being shaving rash or something.
But binning my old razor and replacing all my after-shave gear did not seem to help.
Finally I experimented with giving up coffee. A few days later I would then try having a few cups again.
The spots would clear up — THEN COME BACK.
The past week or so I’ve practically given the stuff up — limiting myself to a single up on the odd day here and there and no more.
After an entire adulthood plagued by terrible skin, I am now reeling that the answer was staring me in the face every time I raised a mug to my lips!
I dread to think about all the anti-acne prescription drugs I have pumped into myself — for nothing. Even more terrifying — I am still on heavy duty meds for my depression. What if THAT was all down to coffee too?
I cannot believe this damn nightmare has never been cottoned on to by the medical profession.
@larry- that doesn’t sound like an allergy to me but just over consumption. Some days you have at least 1000mg of caffeine! I’m not sure how you have your coffee, but if you use sugar and milk, that is probably worse for your skin than the caffeine itself.
Really strange allergy, I found my throat having bumps in side nearly causing me to choke, I also suffered morning mucus as would a smoker sufferer as I was for 50 years. so I expected some horrible results, But not from drinking tea. After testing myself from all the foods I ate, this was the last test on drinks. Monday stopped drinking tea and by Wednesday the swelling had gone and by Friday no coughing up the normal crap. ( I gave up smoking a year ago) What the real cause is in the tea is any ones guess. My Doctor is baffled!
I don’t know if anyone has ever experienced this before, but I have recently noticed something that happens when I drink caffeine. I work at a coffee shop, so I have plenty of access to it.
I find that when I drink anything stronger than 10 oz of straight coffee, my head feels very bloated, I have trouble breathing, and I have a strong desire to consume simple sugars (almost as if I’m hypoglycemic). It has gotten to the point where I become so anxious from the caffeine that I feel like I am going to pass out at any minute.
Maybe its all in my head, but has anybody else ever experienced this?
@ Tony February 14, 2011:
Yes, I get the exact same symptoms from ingesting large amounts of coffee (larger than a big cup). Head pressure – or BLOATING, like you said, is a more proper word. Neck tension combined with this can get me badly dizzy to the point where i’m afraid of passing out…
About the problems breathing, I think it’s caused by the stomach getting irritated by the acids in the coffee which fires off a kind of heart/stomach centered anxiety. I belch to the extreme even after very small amounts of coffee.
I most definitely have to get off this bullshit drug. It’s turning out to be harder than I thought… the pot is always on in any office workplace and ready to get abused.
I think it’s crazy that Tina on the first page of this forum said nauseated. She did spell it wrong, but she said it. i don’t know about anyone else in this world but I can’t stand when people say “I’m Nautious” it’s not even a word. NAUSEATED, NAUSEATED, people!!! Pass it on to your friends because this is the real word.
I was diagnosed with an allergy to caffeine becouse i was suffering palpatations and migranes. I now drink decafe and eat diabetic chocolate and feel great \;0
I think I may have a reaction to caffeine, but I am not sure. When I was 19, to stay up all night cramming for a test, I took Vivarin. Ever since then, I have periodically had trouble with shortness of breath. Sometimes it is worse than others, it feels like I can’t get a full breath, I have to yawn or gasp for air. It’s really scary when it happens. At first the dr’s told me it was Panic Attacks, which didn’t seem to fit. A little while later they said I had mild asthma, and prescribed me an inhaler. That didn’t seem to fit either, the inhaler really didn’t help. I have thought maybe it is the caffeine, I do consume quite a bit. Does that sound like an allergy? I’ve noticed it seems like my heart races, too, but I wonder if that’s due to me not being able to breathe properly.
I’m a 33 year old guy. I love coffee, but I think it’s time to repent of that love.lol. I’ve drank coffee since I was in high school. Now 16 years later my reaction to caffeine is crazy. When I drink it I can’t catch a full breath every breath I take, hours at a time seem like an eternity. I get dizzy,lightheaded,can’t focus correctly, talk too much. At first I thought it was something else, so I went to the Dr. He gave me anti depresants. (lexapro) So now I was drinking coffee with meds. WOW! crazy. this mixture made me want to die seriously. I was drinking coffee every, every day.No more I asked JESUS to help me. He made me realize it was the dam coffee. So now I dont drink caffeine any more. Sometimes I like feeling high and it seems like I miss the side affects crazy huh. I’m sure there are some out there that agree with me.lol. So I drink a little coffee now and thenlol. Does anybody know of a cure. because I want my coffee again without the affect? GOD BLESS, your friend FIDEL…