Why no caffeine?
 

Why should I not drink coffee while I have PCS symptoms? I've read it on this forum

Less stimulation is better
 

I guess my reason for not drinking it is that I am willing to give up anything if it would help and I don't want to be taking anything that doesn't help me to deal with PCS.

Also, I feel that the problems that I have, and I think that this is common, are that my nervous system feels too stimulated already, rather than not stimulated enough. As caffeine is a stimulant I tend to avoid it for this reason. I also find that it makes my hands shake, although this happened a bit even before I got PCS. I guess finding what works for you and what is a hindrance is the important thing. I don't think that everybody's brain injury is exactly the same.

Personally I like to drink coffee, but now I just drink decaff, and that seems to work pretty well.
CS

The reason people feel fatigued when they are sick or in pain is that the body is trying to force them to conserve energy for healing or fighting pathogens. It is not a direct effect of illness or injury, rather it is the result of hormones secreted into your bloodstream from the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in the brain when they sense high levels of inflammation (signifying damage to the body) in the bloodstream.

This means that the extreme fatigue we get after head injury is usually not a coincidence, or a symptom which we should try to overcome - it is the brain itself telling us that it needs us to rest.

Caffeine messes with this safety mechanism and makes us energetic when we would otherwise be feeling tired. The brain is telling you to rest and caffeine overrides that natural response, making you excited and energetic.

That's why I'm on the decaff too! If my brain is telling me to rest, I want to know about it.

I would add that in some more severe brain injuries fatigue might be caused by parts of the brain's arousal systems being damaged - in this case what I said before about it being a deliberate healing strategy would not apply, and caffeine may perhaps be useful.

In addition to the very good reasons already mentioned, caffeine is a diuretic and also contributes to dehydration. Keeping your brain properly hydrated is the first step to keeping it healthy.

Caffeine is an excito-toxin. Google excito-toxin or excitotoxin. MSG and Free Process Glutamate are also excito-toxins.

As it is brought up, you may as well know some of what else contains Excitotoxins:

From the American Nutrition Association.

Aspartate should be on the list also, but those sites with some good information are so self serving with sales pitches, I won't post them. Google the Aspartate with Excitotoxin and the information is there for your perusal.