Does coffee makes you sleepy? | ADHD Information

Yeah, I went off the adderall, then they put me on antidepressants and felt I was going crazy, then back to adderall, then to antidepressants, antiepileptic, and mood stabilizers.....rggggg... truth is I am just happy the way I am, and adderall works just fine to help me concentrate... My family is so eager to change my "irresponsible, goofy attitude, and MAKE ME GROW UP" that they have subjected me to so many medications and they have altered they way I feel and have even induced manic depression.

I am happy the way I am, laughing at everything, being a silly little kid (at 27)..... I am only sad because they seem so uncapable to UNDERSTAND !

coffee makes my ad/hd husband sleepy...Can anyone please tell me if I am the only who falls sleeps after drinking coffee?

I don't fall asleep, but it doesn't particularly perk me up either.

I do find it harder sometimes to sleep at night if I've had a few coffees during the day.
If I'm wound up by end of day, I find coffee helps me get sleepy so I can go to bed. I assume it's the effect caffeine has on ADHDers. I'm back to using coffee to self-medicate, and slow my constantly 'spinning' mind.

Ivette, I've forgotten, are you on meds right now?

Taag Man,

Thanks for your scientific explanation about why coffee makes me fall sleep. You are right! In addition to coffee, Ritalin also puts me to sleep...

I actually have an untouched two-months-supply of ritalin on my shelf. Right now, I am on Adderall and is working wonders for me.

Does anyone know how this reaction to coffee relates to ADD?

Thank you all for your replies

No, coffee keeps me awake and more hyperactive than ever. I don't really think there is much correlation between ADHD and someone's reaction to coffee. [QUOTE=Ivil_Ivette]

Taag Man,

Thanks for your scientific explanation about why coffee makes me fall sleep. You are right! In addition to coffee, Ritalin also puts me to sleep...

I actually have an untouched two-months-supply of ritalin on my shelf. Right now, I am on Adderall and is working wonders for me.

Does anyone know how this reaction to coffee relates to ADD?

Thank you all for your replies

[/QUOTE]

It is not healthy to use a stimulant to fall asleep... your mind needs to rest, and use your sleeping time to clean up all the mess the stimulant makes...

The relation between ADD and the coffee reaction is actually quite simple. ADD people have two few Neurotransmitters, whos job is to transport information between the braincells. Those transmitter hormones is produced in the Hypothalamus, and the two most important hormones is called Dopamin and Noradrenalin. Coffein, Ritalin and Adderall all stimulate the Hypothalamus to produce more of those drugs... there you are, plain and simple

[QUOTE=cheekydeeky]No, coffee keeps me awake and more hyperactive than ever. I don't really think there is much correlation between ADHD and someone's reaction to coffee. [/QUOTE]

Have you been diagnosed, or are you medicated?

Personally, I prefer to REAL simple explanation why coffee works with ADHD.....it's a stimulant, stimulants help ADHDers. Period.

Coffe does not help me concentrate - does that mean Ritalin probably won't work for me?

I wish concentrating was as simple as downing a good cup o' joe.

bcgirl197838432.6740277778

[QUOTE=Ivil_Ivette]Can anyone please tell me if I am the only who falls sleeps after drinking coffee? [/QUOTE]

You can't be the only one... Caffeine makes dopamin, wich makes you relax... some people even take a Ritalin to fall asleep... (don't do that!)

A cup of coffee always helps me fall asleep.Well, it doesn't really do all the things meds do, but it's a definite plus for me to help slow my mind a bit. It doesn't act like a stimulant as coffee would for "normal" folks, especially lots of java.

Does that make sense, bcgirl?

[QUOTE=bcgirl1978] Coffe does not help me concentrate - does that mean Ritalin probably won't work for me?

I wish concentrating was as simple as downing a good cup o' joe.
[/QUOTE]

I can't sence that my concentration increases when I drink coffee... it is not as effective as Ritalin... at all... caffein is a very mild stimulant... and in your case, I'm quite sure that Ritalin will help you...

Well... it doesn't have me bouncing off the walls like it does to some people I know... I can't even say it wakes me up any more than I already am. But it certainly doesn't make work any easier either.
[QUOTE=Taag Man]I can't sence that my concentration increases when I drink coffee... it is not as effective as Ritalin... at all... caffein is a very mild stimulant... and in your case, I'm quite sure that Ritalin will help you...[/QUOTE]

I certainly hope so.

hey North American friends!

I've heard this phrase "a cup of Joe" a few times recently. Why is a coffee called that?

[QUOTE=eliza]

hey North American friends!

I've heard this phrase "a cup of Joe" a few times recently. Why is a coffee called that?

[/QUOTE]

LOL! I'm not entirely sure.... I think it became a nickname for "java". And don't ask me where that came from!

As a sidenote, I'm surprised the google ads on the side aren't loaded with coffee stuff.
bcgirl197838432.6976967593

Taag Man kinda looks like a doctor.

[QUOTE=Ivil_Ivette]

Taag Man kinda looks like a doctor.

[/QUOTE]

Hehe, thank you... I think...

But I'm not

Last night I watched TV until 11:30, still was not tired, so I made a strong cup of espresso, and was sleep by midnight!

Make your own deduction.

And for those smart alecs we've grown to love: Yes, I also drank it!

GypsyWomyn38436.4611458333I was hyperactive as a child but just recently I've been diagnosed as ADD WITHOUT hyperactivity. So perhaps that explains the caffeine. Plus, I have that heart condition. What can I say? I'm weird. Strattera has been frusturating but the cardiologist is too scared to put me on stimulants so we'll see.

[QUOTE=cheekydeeky]I was hyperactive as a child but just recently I've been diagnosed as ADD WITHOUT hyperactivity. So perhaps that explains the caffeine. Plus, I have that heart condition. What can I say? I'm weird. Strattera has been frusturating but the cardiologist is too scared to put me on stimulants so we'll see.[/QUOTE]

I have never really understood that they would rather put people on Strattera when they have a heart condition... it blocks the reuptake of "Fight- and fleehormones".... efficiently working everything including your heart even harder...

Coffee seems to make me more jittery now that I started Concerta. Before starting concerta I would drink coffee all day long and didn't have trouble sleeping but that's because I take Deseryl for sleep. Right now, I wish I could sleep!!

[QUOTE=mrsmikey] Coffee seems to make me more jittery now that I started Concerta. Before starting concerta I would drink coffee all day long and didn't have trouble sleeping but that's because I take Deseryl for sleep. Right now, I wish I could sleep!!

[/QUOTE]

So, have you cut back partially or entirely with your java? I would imagine that would help. I also used to drink coffee all day before Concerta. I now have one in AM and sometimes one in afternoon. I have been sleeping better. And you're still taking the Deseryl and it's not helping?

Awww, I feel for you. How long have you been on Concerta...because it took a couple weeks for me to start sleeping better, and of course less coffee helped too. [QUOTE=Taag Man]

[/QUOTE]

Because Strattera is a non-stimulant, and stimulants pose a much greater risk to the heart than non-stimulants do.
Hmmmmm. I just know that "stimulants" including coffee, slow my mind down to "normal." And that's what I want being ADHD. Not so sure about others who claim to be hyperactive ADHD who "speed up" on stimulants. Sometimes I wish I could feel that, but it's not in my chemistry. In fact, visa versa, if I take a (legal) painkiller that's suppose to slow me down, so I can rest and get well, it will speed me up.

So I actually don't have anything I can take, even strong coffee, when I want to stay up. Any suggestions?GypsyWomyn38433.7298263889Taag Man, you know I've been diagnosed and I'm on Strattera, silly.

[QUOTE=cheekydeeky]Taag Man, you know I've been diagnosed and I'm on Strattera, silly.[/QUOTE]

Hehe, I can't remember everything about who are diagnosed, and what they take... to many people...

Strattera doesn't affect the same kind of hormones as a Stimulant does... If Strattera really helps you with your ADHD, you aren't a typical example... I belive most ADHD people lack Dopamin and Noradrenalin, wich is what Cafein stimulates the production of.... that you react like a normal person, is perhaps because you have the right amount of those drugs in the first place...

[QUOTE=eliza]

hey North American friends!
I've heard this phrase "a cup of Joe" a few times recently. Why is a coffee called that? [/QUOTE]

Drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a cup of coffee became known as "a cup of Joe," and more specifically:

Named for Josephus Daniels (18 May 1862-15 January 1948) was appointed Secretary of the Navy by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913. Among his reforms of the Navy were inaugurating the practice of making 100 Sailors from the Fleet eligible for entrance into the Naval Academy, the introduction of women into the service, and the abolishment of the officers' wine mess. From that time on, the strongest drink aboard Navy ships could only be coffee and over the years, a cup of coffee became known as "a cup of Joe."

Now, how's THAT for an answer, Eliza? I even learned something myself. GypsyWomyn38432.7833449074

Coffee doesn't make me sleepy, but I can drink a whole pot and not feel the so-called "jitters" that some people get. I can drink it in the evening and have no problem falling asleep.

Something else strange, that I wonder if any of you have experienced is a strange effect of Valium. It actually keeps me awake for nearly a day. I have only tried it twice, as it didn't have the desired effect to say the least. My mom, who also shows many, many ADD symptoms has also found that Valium keeps her awake. Any relation to our wierd ADD internal chemistry?

Umm.. a dentist prescribed one Valium for me once, when I was 19. He wanted me to take it about half an hour before my appointment, because I was having two wisdom teeth pulled and I wasn't being knocked out for it.

It did NOT make me sleepy. It did, however, make me extremely giggly. You'd think I had just smoked a joint. My mother laughed at me in the car the entire way to the dentist. Then, as soon as my ass was in that dentist chair, the effect was gone.

It lasted all of about 15 minutes, from the time it took effect to the moment I was in that chair.

In retrospect, maybe it didn't affect me at all. Maybe my giggle fit was just a subconcsious cover up because I was nervous.

I have always noticed that drugs that are supposed to cause drowsiness never do for me. Most people I know get very groggy when they take Neo Citran for a cold, but I never do.
bcgirl197838433.4683333333

Any one ever take flexarill? (maybe spelled incorrectly)....THAT'S SOME GOOD STUFF!!!

I had to take it cuz I was in an car accident and my back was strained and I had tight muscles, and this stuff is a muscle relaxant....I had to take it right before bed.....I FELT LIKE I WAS SLEEPING ON A CLOUD! BEST NIGHTS OF SLEEP I EVER HAD!!!

When I drank coffee all day long( minimum 1.5 Liters or 2 plus a day man for years) it didnt wake me up or make me sleepy unless I went to starbucks and got some booku powerful coffee then it would give me heart palpatations and make me feel edgy not sleepy. If I really, really, caffeinated it was a bit of a motivatar for me but physically it made me feel icky then and the rebound from too much caffeine sucks for me. I dont drink it al all now.

Ritalin doesnt make me sleepy at all in fact, it does the opposite if anything. I dont get the edginess of caffeine but I am much better able to focus and complete/remeber/stay on a task. Physically, I slow way down. I don't have the "urge" to leave whereever i am and donot shke the leg, tap the pen, doodle, play with stuff in my hands 20th as much as I do w/o medicine. Even now as an Adult I am much more hyper than inattentive. I don't space out so much as jump from thing to thing to thought to thought. I pay complete attention too verything...3 seconds at a time w/o medicine. Maybe it has to do with the type of adhd one has and the brain areas effected?

although... when i was a kid they gave me prescription actifed for congestion from an ear infection and I busily buzzed along for about a day and a hal..it was hell for my folks. I have never taken anything like beneadryl or actifed since and always list it was a potential " allergy" and tell the Dr. what happened. I guess it's similar to your coffee dilemma since that medication puts most people to sleep.[QUOTE=Taag Man] Strattera doesn't affect the same kind of hormones as a Stimulant does... If Strattera really helps you with your ADHD, you aren't a typical example... I belive most ADHD people lack Dopamin and Noradrenalin, wich is what Cafein stimulates the production of.... that you react like a normal person, is perhaps because you have the right amount of those drugs in the first place...[/QUOTE]

Ahem! Dr. Taag Man, oh, that's right, you did admit you were not a doctor...I personally know many ADHD adults and children who are successfully medicated on Stattera, and have had excellent results. And also coffee does help some, including myself. And I AM diagnosed severe ADHD and used caffeine for many years before I was on meds. Of course, it wasn't as effective as medication, but it certainly helped me function, although not necessarily as a "normal" person.
GypsyWomyn38434.5784027778 [QUOTE=Taag Man]

[QUOTE=cheekydeeky]Taag Man, you know I've been diagnosed and I'm on Strattera, silly.[/QUOTE]

Hehe, I can't remember everything about who are diagnosed, and what they take... to many people...

[/QUOTE]

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that caffeine doesn't effect noradrenaline levels. I know there's an initial short-lived dopamine release during consumption, after which caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which prevents the "I'm sleepy" signals from getting through and also triggers the release of adrenaline. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It would seem to me the dopamine release would make ADD people feel relaxed and normal, but the adenosine blocking and adrenaline release might make them feel stimulated... but I'm not sure to what degree you can develop a tolerance to the effects.

[QUOTE=GypsyWomyn]
Ahem! Dr. Taag Man, oh, that's right, you did admit you were not a doctor...I personally know many ADHD adults and children who are successfully medicated on Stattera, and have had excellent results. And also coffee does help some, including myself. And I AM diagnosed severe ADHD and used caffeine for many years before I was on meds. Of course, it wasn't as effective as medication, but it certainly helped me function, although not necessarily as a "normal" person.
[/QUOTE]

My silent observation was that most ADHD persons responds badly to Strattera... that might be wrong, but that was not the point... the point was that cheekydeeky might have another experience with coffee than we do, because she lack a different hormone that we do... and when she get coffee she gets overstimulated like normal people...

[QUOTE=RandomUser]I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that caffeine doesn't effect noradrenaline levels.[/QUOTE]

"In a study of seventy-two habitual coffee drinkers, the researchers found that subjects produced more adrenaline and noradrenalin and had higher blood pressure on days when they drank caffeine, compared with days they abstained. The two stress hormones are vital in helping the body react quickly in times of danger or stress, but they can damage the heart over a lifetime of heightened production, says James Lane, associate research professor of psychiatry at Duke."

[QUOTE=RandomUser]I know there's an initial short-lived dopamine release during consumption, after which caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, which prevents the "I'm sleepy" signals from getting through and also triggers the release of adrenaline. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It would seem to me the dopamine release would make ADD people feel relaxed and normal, but the adenosine blocking and adrenaline release might make them feel stimulated... but I'm not sure to what degree you can develop a tolerance to the effects.
[/QUOTE]

Well... that might be, but the only time my muscles are really relaxed, Is when I have been drinking cofee... I actually fall asleep more easily.... but you are right, I do not JAW hehe

I don't like the taste of coffee, but I drink Mountain Dew all day long, and I'm addicted to those energy drinks. Like Amp, No Fear, and Full Throttle. They get me crazy for a while and then I'm even more pooped out. But I find that if I don't have a dew by like 10am I start to get a headache. I'm already real fidgety and active, so I don't know why I need to have so much caffine, but I just can never stop. I've trade to and I always find myself still buying the high caffine drinks. But they don't help me sleep, almost nothing helps me sleep, some sleep pills do, but I will never wake up with them. Even pain killers, muscle relaxers, or weed don't help(all of which I'm working on quitting(not an easy task). Sometimes alcohol works, but I don't like to drink a lot. Even sex makes me hyper:) I hear must guys fall asleep after.
Oh, if I read something wicked boring that'll do it.

Taag man: You are very imformative, you have great infomation and I think you remind me of this guy Dr. Drew- From that old MTV show, I forget what it was called-loveline I think:)You know, I don't even really know if coffee does ANYTHING that I even perceive! I think I feel normal but a LITTLE bit more awake. Ritalin makes me feel like when I read, my brain is saying "thanks for the glasses dude!

" I'm JUST STARTING to notice the effects of ritalin, it's like I can see better or something. Coffee on the other hand, it does the job for the morning "awake" feeling! I don't drink a lot of coffee either just one or two cups in the am.