Caffeine Therapy?

[LymeEnigma]

Okay ... so you guys know I've been in a self-experimentation mode these past couple of weeks (going off the cat's claw); I don't advocate playing doctor with oneself ... but my drive for knowledge and understanding sometimes pushes me to go a little over the edge....

I have been playing around with techniques and tricks to manage the gastroparesis. For example, I started drinking Ensure instead of eating a solid dinner on evenings when I felt unsure about the possibility of full emptying, and I've been trying to eat earlier and smaller portions. Exercise and massage sometimes help get things going. I'm also got the idea in my head that drinking a small amount of coffee before and after dinner might offer some therapeutic effects.

So ... I decided to turn myself into a Guinea pig again. I started drinking small amounts of coffee all day (totaling the equivalent of five or six cups), watered down with tons of milk or soy, the last two servings being right before and after dinner. So far, it seems to be keeping my stomach stimulated well enough to process dinner each night. Coincidence?

I did a little research on caffeine. It turns out that caffeine has a direct impact on the vagus nerve (the increased heart rate caffeine causes is due to vagal nerve stimulation) ... but for some reason, coffee and all other caffeinated foods and beverages are listed as to be avoided in cases of gastroparesis.

jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/127/7/1422
www.fortherecordmag.com/archives/ftr_080904p32.shtml



I did a little more digging. These substances are to be avoided because they can add to the upset experienced when one is suffering acid reflux, not because they have a negative effect on the actual gastroparesis, itself.

I wonder if low-dose caffeine might actually be a viable treatment option for gastroparesis and other issues involving a depressed vagus nerve...?

For those interested, I will also be posting a hypothetical study on caffeine and gastroparesis.

[LymeEnigma]

lymeenigma.proboards104.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=hypothetical&thread=649

[LymeEnigma]

I am still using caffeine to combat my gastroparesis, and so far it has proven very successful. There have been a couple of days in which I failed to drink the 5-6 cups and noticed a significant slow-down (stomach still full several hours after eating, along with heartburn and nausea), but I have not had a vomiting episode since starting this little experiment.

However, I'm wondering if an increased caffeine intake might be responsible for the horrific headaches I'm now getting. They're worse if I'm standing or sitting upright, and they start off close to nonexistent in the morning, slowly progressing to throbbing by the afternoon or evening. I have been reduced to bed rest for the better part of this week, the fatigue also getting worse anytime between the early afternoons and the evenings.

Perhaps this is why coffee is not recommended to those predisposed to migraines?

[cobweb2]

I would avoid SOY before I avoided caffeine. 5-6 cups is too much for me. I do have a heart condition. But since I have been feeling weller(?) I have allowed myself one cup coffee in the am and one in early afternoon.

No adverse effects so far that I have noticed on any body systems that I am aware of.

[LymeEnigma]

I am a coffee addict. If my heart went bad, I'd switch to full decaf (I drink half-caff right now) and continue my habit where I left off. I had cut way back before this experiment, drinking one or two cups a day. My stomach is doing better, but I'm not sure if it had helped anything else that much.

[cobweb2]

I thought caffeine was supposed to help headaches?

Found this:
Caffeine can be both beneficial and harmful for a headache sufferer. It can serve as a treatment or, in some cases, can cause withdrawal or rebound headaches.
on www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/guide/triggers-caffeine - 135k

This site also gives a good list of other meds that contain caffeine and meds it may interact with.

[itsybitsyone]

Cobby...

Caffine does help my headaches, keeps my digestion moving, and allow me to be more focused in the morning at work.

However, YES, complete caffine withdrawl can cause a migriane. Been there, done that.

[LymeEnigma]

Thanks for the link, Cobby! Rebound headache was my big fear, but given the fact that my headache finally waned to nothing yesterday I'm currently reassessing. I'm wondering now if it was just a Lyme headache that didn't make it to the back of my head (although my period isn't due for about a week), as it was not a migraine or a cluster but the pain was something in between the two: on one side of my forehead, above the eye, radiating to the top of my head. The pain got worse when I got out of bed.

Knock on wood ... I think it's gone.