@avuko caffeine hits the same sensors as serotonin. It's why regular caffeine consumption can stop some people from sleeping. Melatonin build up makes us sleep. Serotonin is needed to make melatonin. Caffeine tricks the body into thinking it has lots of serotonin, so it doesn't produce more, which means it can't make melatonin.
Serotonin deficiency has been linked to ADHD (& migraines, which is what I've been deep diving on).
Serotonin is also like the one neurotransmitter to rule them all.
@avuko The neurologist I had my ADHD assessment with asked me
"have you ever noticed that cocaine calms you down?"
"no"
"hmm"
"no because I never tried it!"
"ahh. unfortunate."
Doctors.
@avuko hehe... my doc had a term for the amount of coffee I was drinking when I was formally diagnosed and started treatment (800-1600mg caffeine per day)
"We have a term for that, we call that Self-Medication"
Yeh, it's not fun - especially when it happens out of the blue just because I've turned over in bed. Fortunately though they've always gone back into place (more or less) really quickly.
And really I'm exaggerating a bit - it used to happen frequently but they've been much better behaved over this last decade.
@FrightenedRat@avuko@fbarton I have a mixed reaction to caffeine. It's as if, despite the physical jittery response, (palpitations etc), my brain feels calmed to the point where it can aid sleep. The calming reaction to stimulants generally is something I've heard a lot of ND describe. In my, ahem, experimental youth, I had a similar reaction to 'uppers'. As friends started bouncing around and nattering, I'd feel like bed 😂. But I'm unusually sensitive to many other drugs 🤷♂️
@avuko@FrightenedRat@fbarton Hmm, yes, the exceptional ability to mask has had that effect on my own tolerance levels. I hadn't thought of this before, but rather to my own detriment, it has, in my past, led me to excesses in pursuit of being able to let go, right up to the point where that control suddenly implodes under the weight of intoxication. A middle ground can seem unattainable
Interesting insight..masking isn't just for others. It's also a way of dissociating from one's ND self
@avuko to add another anecdote. I’ve been off adderall for ~ 8 months while trying different non stim meds with a new psych and now my life is a constant game of chance with caffeine. It either helps me focus or it makes me fall asleep. Thankfully I’m going back on the adderall soon because gambling with the outcome of my day is less than ideal lol
@trevor@avuko Here's my problem with Adderall - because of the "wonderful" US Health Care System 🤮 insurances will only cover generic meds.
Generics have to be from 80% 10 125% of of bioequivalence (there's some statistical measures that go into this that mean that it ends up tighter than this- but that's the rule)
Also, and this is where I ran into trouble - for extended release formulations, the extended release mechanism can be different (still, 90% confidence interval, pharmacokinetic testing)
but experimentally I know that my body metabolizes different things very differently (and not in a normal fashion)
During the Adderall shortage, there were noticeable and measurable differences from month to month based on the manufacturer that the pharmacy was able to get (And by noticeable, I mean that others were able to notice differences and comment on them)
My doc switched me to Vyvanse, which at the time was brand only - but 28 days ago, generic Vyvanse was approved... 13 different manufacturers... "here we go again"
@trevor@avuko I also have to sign a contract with my provider that I will only get my controlled substances at a single specific pharmacy (of my choosing)
@trevor@avuko I’m on stims and still everyday it’s a game of.. will the coffee it help motivate my day or will it force me into a mid-morning slumber. 💤
@avuko@erin for me it’s anywhere from 45mins-2 hours that I’ll just feel deeply exhausted, like a took a sleeping pill or a couple of Benadryl or something
@trevor@avuko thats’s exactly it! Usually within an hour of consumption and I’ll be so tired I could (and have) went back to sleep for a couple more hours.
@erin@avuko same! And I normally never remember my dreams but in the coffee induced sleep I’ll have wild dreams and will wake up remembering them vividly lol
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