How too much caffeine can be too much of a good thing

I have a heart condition but when I was in the ER recently, I noticed a sign advising nurses not to give cardiac patients any caffeine. I thought the “no caffeine at all” policy was a little extreme and didn’t really take that sign seriously. But now I think that I should have!

 

I am a big coffee drinker so I pretty much threw caution out the window yesterday when I was guzzling one cup of coffee after another while happily typing away at the computer. But soon I wasn’t feeling so happy anymore; I started feeling sick. So sick that I had to go to bed and started contemplating calling 911 as my symptoms (nausea, headache, rapid breathing and stomach pain) got worse and worse. Eventually, I made it through that experience and came out of it okay, but it was definitely a big wake-up call that caffeine intake, especially for people with a heart condition, needs to be taken VERY seriously.

 

And as I learned later on, there really is too much of a good thing when it comes to caffeine!

 

Later, on Facebook, I checked out an article on how too much sensory overload was bad for the brain. After I finished reading that, I read someone’s comment about how too much alcohol can cause a bunch of health problems, too, and someone else commented that something that is legal causing so many health problems should be made illegal. I saw that and just rolled my eyes. Yes, alcohol is legal, but so are cigarettes and so is caffeine. The issue here – and the thing that causes the health problems – is when it is "too much." Overdoing any one of those things can cause health problems, especially when you overdo them long-term. Moderation is key.

 

I used to think you can't really go overboard with caffeine, but I have learned that you can. I now know that too much caffeine can be harmful to a person's health, especially if they have a heart condition.

 

And because of what happened, I did a bit of research about this. I was surprised to learn that a person can actually overdose on caffeine. I DID NOT know that!

 

And here are some other things I didn’t know could happen from consuming too much caffeine.

 

When you consume too much caffeine, any one of these things can happen:

 

*diarrhea and loose stools

*high blood pressure

*frequent urination

*seizure

*irregular heartbeat

*hormonal imbalance

 

And while caffeine overdose is extremely rare, it has been known to occur. These are the symptoms of a caffeine overdose:

 

*chest pain

*confusion

*dizziness

*fever

*hallucinations

*headache

*irritability

*shock

*trouble breathing

*uncontrollable muscle movements

*vomiting

 

In very rare cases, a caffeine overdose can also cause death mainly resulting from the symptoms.

 

In my research about this, I also learned that longterm high intake of caffeine can cause something called “caffeine-induced anxiety disorder” (CIAD). This is a heightened form of anxiety.

 

One other thing that I found out was that caffeine restricts blood flow to the brain. This made me wonder if this was why my head was hurting so much. If the brain doesn’t get enough blood, that can cause brain ischemia, resulting in damage to brain tissue, or a stroke.

 

And while it is rare, a condition known as "Rhabdomyolysis” can also occur from consuming too much caffeine. With rhadomyolysis, damaged muscle fibers will enter the bloodstream and this can lead to health problems such as kidney failure.  

 

I was thinking of calling a 24-hour nurse hotline but one of the articles I read suggested calling Poison Control: 800-222-1222

 

However, if someone is experiencing the more severe symptoms of caffeine overdose, it is really a good idea to call 911.

 

So, it turns out that I got something good out of this experience. I now know that there can be “too much of a good thing” when drinking caffeinated coffee! Everyone is different with how much caffeine they can tolerate, and some people can tolerate more caffeine than others. But not everyone is the same with their caffeine tolerance. Too much caffeine really CAN cause health problems for certain people. While I was doing research for this, I came across an article in which the writer claimed that it’s okay to drink as much caffeinated coffee as you’d like. I now know from personal experience that this is NOT true.