*34 - Caffein Withdrawal

Just been through 3 diabolical days... Oh god... I'll never do it again !!! (i think)

Tues night 10/3 - I slept on 7am to catch up on Pharmacology and posted a CRAP blog entry.
Wed night 11/3 - I slept on 5am, finish off my Management.
Thurs night 12/3 - Dinner i had a shot of nescafe. Finish my MGM exam at 10pm. Relax myself till 12am. Continue on my Pharmaco (exam next morning 9am). Had one cup of concentrated Old Town white coffee. and i DIDNT SLEEP AT ALL !!! 7am we went for breakfast in Sri Serdang and there i go, had another shot of nescafe~

I seldom experience insomia from caffeine. I never use coffee to keep myself awake before this. For the sake of Pharmaco, i daringly took 3 shots of caffeine in bout 12 hours. I dont think my body can tolerate that. Certainly i experience stimulation of my central nervous system ^^

The problem came after i finish my pharmacology test. I feel nauseous, headache, irritability, depression and best of all, whole body muscle TWITCHING (i thought i may have sudden insufficient of dopamine which cause Parkinson's). After a while then i started to experience shortness of breathe and TACHYCARDIA !!! What i was thinking was: Am i dying? Everything goes off after i skipped my lunch and went to sleep the whole afternoon.

Later, i was juz joking with NTY that i experienced caffein WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME until now, i found that there's definitely a psychiatric disorder called caffein withdrawal syndrome that there were even researchers to suggest it to be included into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). (Lloyd de Vries, 2004)

According to Griffiths, R.R., Juliano, L.M., & Chausmer, A.L.. 2003. Caffeine pharmacology and clinical effects. Principles of Addiction Medicine. 3rd Edition (pp. 193-224):
Signs and symptoms of commonly reported withdrawal symptoms:
1 Headache
2 Fatigue -- (e.g., fatigue, tiredness, lethargy, sluggishness)
3 Sleepiness/drowsiness -- (e.g., sleepy, drowsy, yawning)
4 Difficulty concentrating -- (e.g., muzzy)
5 Work difficulty -- (e.g., decreased motivation for tasks/work)
6 Irritability -- (e.g., irritable, cross, miserable, decreased well-being/contentedness)
7 Depression -- (e.g., depressed mood)
8 Anxiety -- (e.g., anxious, nervous)
9 Flu-like symptoms -- (e.g., nausea/vomiting, muscle aches/stiffness, hot and cold spells, heavy feelings in arms or legs)
10 Impairment in psychomotor, vigilance and cognitive performances

DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and in ICD-10 (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Edition, World Health Organization), Caffeine intoxication has long been recognized as a discrete syndrome associated with excessive caffeine use. Caffeinism is an older term that has been used to describe the toxic effects of caffeine resulting from acute or chronic use. Caffeine intoxication is currently defined by a number of symptoms and clinical features that emerge in response to recent consumption of caffeine. Common features of caffeine intoxication include nervousness (anxiety), restlessness, excitement, insomnia, rambling flow of thought and speech, gastrointestinal upset, tremors, tachycardia, diuresis, muscle twitching, periods of inexhaustibility, and psychomotor agitation. In addition, there have been reports of patients with caffeine intoxication having fever, irritability, tremors, sensory disturbances, tachypnea, and headaches. High dose caffeine toxicity is very rarely fatal. However, caffeine can be lethal at very high doses (i.e., 5 –10 g).

And so, my symptoms definitely fits. I definitely has caffeine intoxication with caffein withdrawal syndrome afterthat =.= I will never attempt that again... It feels damn similar to a drug withdrawal syndrome, its so torturing !!! Hope everyone that read this, stop popping caffeine like drugs. In fact, its definitely a DRUG !!!