Caffeine

JACQUI2005 · 02-20-2005, 08:45 PM

I just wanted to know how many of you girls have been told that Caffeine alone can cause many of the symptoms of PCOS?

I've been suffering insomnia, loss of periods, weight gain, acne and hairiness for 2 years now....the insomnia was so bad at one point i was sleeping 3 hours per night and this lasted for over three months.

Having been told by my GP's that it was stress over and over I began my own research. First i took away certain foods and noticed that if i removed carbs my digestion (hence metabolism) was a lot better. If I ate just a couple of pieces of bread during the day i would be constipated at least for two or three days.

Within the first two months of this sudden illness i somehow gained 5 kilos.....when i again approachhed my GP and asked 'how is this possible when you have to eat an extra 7000 calories to gain 1 kilo!' He told me I was just overeating. I could not believe his attitude...he jusst wanted me out of his office. The fact that I was gaining weight, not digesting food, not sleeping, suffering from high blood pressure and hadnt had a period for three months really did not matter to him.

So I carriied on with my research. I came accross the symptoms of PCOS and could not believe that many of them matched mine. So I cut the sugar, continued to exercise, stopped coffee (but only because that contained sugar!) and lived a very healthy life. For the first couple of weeks there was no change ....and although I was exercising crazily and worked a ten hour day as a teacher I did not lose a pound. Then during week three i noticed that I was feeling sick all the time and had a sore throat and my energy levels were dropping. To cut a along story short by week 6 I was lighter than ever before. I was amazed and so happy. And two weeks after this my periods returned. So i started eating the carbs again and was happy to see that i wasnt gaining any weight.

I now put everything down to stress. It couldnt be PCOS....I had been the same weight when all these symtoms started. My entire life returned to normal and so did my diet and routine. I introduced coffee again without even considering this to be a problem and for two of three weeks there was no dramatic change. But then over the next week i noticed my stomach swelling up again...I was sure it was my pancreas. I asked myself what i had done now and started cutting out the food again. Unfortunetely I never cut the coffee. Another month later and I was done to eating 400 calories a day, those being from fruit and veg with a few eggs here and there, sleeping between 3 and 5 hours, swimming for an hour every night and working my usual ten hour teaching job. I was in a total frenzie...i didnt want to go anywhere...i didnt want to eat or see anyone...my face just looked bloaated and i felt like i was filling up with water. My periods stopped and this stage lasted for another 12 months. Sometimes I'd gain a bit sometimes I'd lose.....i visted GP they told me it was IBS or PCOS....they checked my blood sugar and said it was fine...i showed them my stomach and explained that 'i could not digest anything....protein or anything...' by now i knew that it wasnt just carbs it was all foods...it was just that if i avoided carbs i would get some sleep at least...i still hadnt made the link between coffee and my problems.

Finally this year, it hit me and I cut the coffee out....not the sugar just the coffee. I went crazy for two weeks, wanting to eat everything in site...i couldnt be satisfied with any food. One day i would be crying and the next would feel great. Then after two weeks i started to feel sick again. After 4 weeks i started to lose weight again. After 6 weeks my periods returned and my stomach is 100% recovered!!!

If only one person had know what coffee can do to some people. I had drunk coffee all my life and had suffered some of these symptoms before but not known why. It all began when I had taken coffee out for six months prior to my story!!!!
anyone else heard or anything like this. I still cant believe something can cause so much damage and not be known about!

bexshines · 02-21-2005, 04:48 PM

I was told that cutting out sugar is a good thing, and that decaf is much better than normal coffee. I also suffer with insomnia, but I have found that the decaf doesn't cause a problem. I take 'valarian root' sometimes as it aids natural sleep.

Bex

xxx

moonshadow · 02-25-2005, 11:03 PM

i haven't drank caffeine in years. i get a bit from the occasional piece of dark chocolate. i was diagnosed with pcos long after i cut out caffeine from my diet.

pleasantlyblew · 02-25-2005, 11:52 PM

I have a theory about this which is based on my research as a Buteyko Practitioner (I teach a Russian breathing technique mainly to asthmatics).

Caffeine is definitely something which can have a profound effect on many people. My work teaches clients to reduce their volume of breathing, as according to Prof Buteyko hyperventilation (over-breathing) is the cause of all disease. Caffeine can very much increase hyperventilation and some people are very susceptible to its effects (including myself). I avoid caffeine as much as I can, opting for caffeine-free colas and decaf coffee (decaf still contains a small amount of caffeine) and this helps.

To demonstrate the effects that caffeine can have on people, during one of my course days, I give participants one small square of chocolate and assess their breathing half an hour later and the majority of people are shocked to discover how much their breathing has increased - a fairly subtle effect which they had previously not noticed. Many people experience a sharp increase in their pulse rate too. When your pulse rate is very fast (more than 80bpm) you will find it almost impossible to sleep (hence the insomnia) because caffeine can have a very similar effect to adrenaline it makes sleeping almost impossible. Adrenaline is the body's 'fight or flight' hormone - think about the way your heart rate sharply increases if you have to slam on your brakes to avoid a collision - that is caused by the adrenaline rush, known as the fight or flight response - the adrenaline gives you the ability to either fight a danger or run away from it! Now imagine if someone then told you to lay down and try to go to sleep - it would be impossible as you would be far too 'wired'. If you consume caffeine on a regular basis it can put your entire body under a huge amount of stress and at the very least can result in people feeling unbelievably depressed and sluggish (very often doctors underestimate the power of caffeine!)

Therefore, I am not surprised at your experience with cutting out caffeine - caffeine very much puts a stress on your body causing you to hyperventilate which means that your body is less well equipped to deal with health issues, thereby allowing diseases to manifest. By contrast if you can reverse the hyperventilation, many illnesses can be successfully reversed. I have seen amazing recoveries in people with severe and chronic health problems all through changing their breathing patterns, from asthma and the more advanced COPD and Emphysema to depression, anxiety, phobias and even hypertension!

I hope this helps explain things a little. Stick with what you are doing - it sounds like you are finally on the right track!

Nikki x

mimi83 · 03-05-2005, 02:06 PM

your story is fasinating , as since i hvae been diagnosed with pcos only about 2 -3 weeks ago, i have cut out coffee also and have been leading a very healthy lifestyle, I have kinda tested my self even tho its early on, to see if its making a difference(i have no patince) the other day i decided to have a coffee and two cups of tea, recently tho i hva ebeen drinking no caffine herbal teas, but i had real coffe and real tea and didnt eat any friut and had some black chocolate that day also, by the end of the day i felt bloated and horrid! the next morning i woke with spots and i couldnt stop going to the loo. then the day after i returned to my health kick , and felt again so much better, since i have cut out coffee / caffine i hvae found that i dont go to the loo as much and that my eyes and skin are looking so much brighter, i feel really tired but im sure this is just withdrawl symptons from the caffine! and with time and loads of fruit i will overcome this and hopefully feel better than i ever have! I have also been eatring loads of cucmber for the water retention and i seem to feeling a difference will hopefullyt see one on the outside too soon!