Caffeine and PCS headaches
 

HI everyone, so my only PCS symptom are chronic headaches 24/7. I've abstained from all caffeine except in teas. I would just like to know the consensus on if caffeine is good for my situation or not? I've heard that caffeine can help with headache symptoms and so my acupuncturist told me to drink some coffee or tea if I have symptoms.

What should I do? Thank you!

I've been told no caffeine
 

I's stop the caffeine and see if that helps. I think it's a no no for people with PCS, though I can't remember why. I'm sure someone else will chime in!

no caffiene
 

Nope, maybe one cup of tea a day -- but I cut it all off. In getting off caffeine, that can cause headaches for a while, but they will go away.

I think caffeine constricts blood vessels to the brain or something... I can't remember why, but it isn't good for PCS

Wishing you well

Poetrymom

Thank you to both of you.

I used to drink 4 cups of coffee a day! I was a coffee freak! But since quit afer my injury, but I still drink copious amounts of green tea! I'm sorry about this silly question...but does the caffeine in green tea count too! I'm Japanese so it's sooo difficult for me to give up the green tea:( I was telling myself maybe the antioxidants in green tea will do good things for me..

Thank you so much.

no green tea
 

I know green tea has less caffeine than coffee, but work to get yourself down to 1 cup a day.

You could do this over a week or two -- cut it down by half for a while, and then half again.

I loved my tea too, but I just drink herbal tea.

Actually, I am pretty proud of being caffeine free and my kids think this is good too.

you can do it!

Poetrymom

bluehiroko,

You'll have to try and see how caffeine affects you, I still love my espresso drinks and have found that using decaf espresso beans will satisfy my need without twitching like a chihuahua for hours afterwards.

I, too, have tried green teas, but they also contain caffeine, but there are some decaf green teas too. Try various kinds and see how they taste.

For me, caffeine makes my sensitive brain too zingy and twitchy so I only have maybe one cup of caffeine a week, otherwise it's decaf.

Mike :grouphug:

Hi Mikey,

Thanks for your reply.

I noticed in your signature that you also suffer from headaches and that you'er on nortiptalyn as well as some other meds. How are your headaches doing on the meds? How are they in general.

I'm still in the toughing out headache phase going on 2.5 months...but i'm seriously considering perscription meds now..

Thank you so much!

I, too, have replaced caffeinated coffee with green tea. It helps with the fatigue, and I find relaxation.

I was worried about PCS and green tea, but the following report notes a study (non-human, however) that showed cognitive/memory improvement in neurological functioning of mtbi and green tea:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3205506/

As with all, moderation is key. If I feel like I am having too much green tea, and with our hot weather, I've been drinking cold mugi (wheat) tea or kampoyaku (herbal) tea they sell at Mitsuwa. :)

bluehiroko,

My headaches have been pretty much reduced to zero as soon as they found the level of Nortriptyline which would take care of the constant headache, this was in late 2010. I had very bad headaches, in combination with lots of anxiety, dizziness, and cognative fog.

They started out with levels of Nortriptyline of 10mg but that didn't help, and currently I'm at 100mg, taken at night. For comparison, I'm a guy, about 180 lbs, and used to be an endurance athlete, so my health was pretty good a few years ago.

Currently, I get very bad headaches when I exercise. This far into PCS I don't know if that will ever go away. If I ever overstep that headache threshold I can take Naratriptan to get rid of it. All other symptoms have pretty much resolved and I'm working full time, driving, and my cognative endurance is almost back to where I was at.

Work with your doctor, and good luck!

Mike

hi all!,

drink CHAMOMILE Tea!!!!!!! it has no caffeine tastes delicious and is great for relaxing your muscles and it helps a lot with anxiety WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO