Background: I am a total coffee addict, BUT I am totally off caffeine. I am one of those people that yes, actually enjoys coffee outside of mochasuperfancychinos. At one stage in my life I was a complete slave to caffeine (consuming about two pots of coffee and a few diet cokes every day), but after some heart scares I detoxed from it. That was my senior year of high school, about 4 years ago, and although I occasionally lapse (during exams, or when I have to make a long drive), I've been good about not succumbing.
During the Caffeine Years I was almost immune to the stuff, I always had a cup of coffee about half an hour before bed. Now that I'm "clean," however, I am SUPER sensitive to it. One cup of coffee in the morning will keep me jazzed all day long.
So, we get back to today: when I ordered my drink I emphasized that it needed to be decaf, said it at least THREE times. Got my coffee, took it to lab, consumed it...and about 20 minutes later, realized there had been a mistake. Heart going crazy, queasy stomach, weird feeling in my head. Yup, I had consumed a large Americano with an EXTRA shot (making that five espresso shots) at 5 PM.
It's going to be a long night.
I have to say, though, that I'm reminded of why I was hooked on this stuff for so long. My system stayed a little freaked out until I got home and had dinner (I'm not sure if any studies have been done on whether food can "mop up" caffeine in your system, or just get the stimulation a little stabilized? anecodotally, seems to work for me). But despite the fact that I only slept 4.5 hours last night, I had no problem focusing on my reading, etc, and I absolutely tore through the routine with my post-dinner workout. I didn't do anything extra, but I went through it with tons more energy than usual, felt awesome. Power, power, power! Screening Lady would be proud!
Except I seem to have overdone it, because now my muscles feel depleted from my overenthusiastic workout, but at the same time I still have the java jitters. My stomach still feels a little queasy, too. That might be because I drank tons of water when I got home, even more that usual b/c caffeine makes me especially thirsty, and I also reasoned that it would help flush the stuff out of my system.
I suppose I should go channel this nervous energy into something productive (grants, thesis, etc). This little episode has made the day much more interesting, but I am still pretty unhappy with the barista, even considered calling to complain, but I decided against it. Tomorrow will be a struggle. Whenever I have caffeine I get stimulation "hangover," not only do I stay up extremely late but I find myself wide awake earlier than usual also. I'm just glad I don't have any exams tomorrow or Friday, because I am anticipating a high degree of zombie-ness.
5 comments:
ugh. How annoying that they messed that up?! Hope you're able to get some rest tonight :)
Cammy,
I'm a huge coffee fan (get beans from an amazing independent coffee house), and like you, I used to be able to drink coffee at 10 pm and then go right to sleep if I needed. I now limit my intake to a cup in the morning, split between decaf and reg (french press). But my partner ONLY drinks decaf because he has a tremor (his hands shake) and caffeine aggravates it. So, I'm sorry that you had a full-throttle experience yesterday. Hopefully you'll be able to get back onto a regular schedule sooner rather than later.
Isn't this the second time or so that they have given you regular versus the decaf you asked for? Or was it a different place?
In any case, I know I feel the effects of being "wired" on regular coffee these days.
It is a shame you have to go through the physical effects when it was their mistake. Hopefully, you'll detox quickly from it and won't be too zombified.
Hnads up to still being a complete coffee addict! That and smoking are my two last vices, both I'm cutting down on, but less successfully than the ED. Still love my coffee though. Think I might have more Java than blood....
Lola x
Ooooh, I get hooked on coffee every few months, but it HAS to be decaf. I also cut back to 1-2 ddp's a day.
AND STILL NO SLEEP!
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