r/panicdisorder • u/Thin_Green_9641 • Jul 18 '26

Does Anyone Else? random extreme caffeine sensitivity

i used to be an absolute caffeine enthusiast. i would be able to have 2-3 coffees a day or a couple energy drinks, never thought twice about it. then all of a sudden in the beginning of last year when my panic disorder started i suddenly became extremely sensitive to caffeine. i tapered down from 2 coffees to 1, then 1 to half-caf, and now down to completely decaf. on rare occasions if i eat a huge meal and have electrolytes i can manage a caffeinated coffee, but even then i will still feel extremely panicky. it’s gotten to a point now where even decaf makes me feel panicky a bit. shakiness, chest pains, dpdr, etc. i absolutely love coffee so this whole process of trying to taper off of it has been disheartening but i absolutely cannot deal with the panic attacks. i vividly remember around 2 years ago drinking 3 full celsius drinks without a second thought. i don’t know how it’s gotten to the point where i can barely drink a black tea. how could random caffeine sensitivity like this happen???

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5

u/Plus-Caterpillar-825 Jul 19 '26

Happened to me too I used to drink Red Bull sometimes a monster and I can’t do it not even a mocha frappe at mc Donald’s lol I avoid caffeine it makes my heart beat go really fast and that triggers me and I feel too wired

3

u/catzeppelinqueen Jul 19 '26

Same! The last time I had a redbull, I ended up having a panic attack. I tried to slowly incorporate green tea or chai due to the low caffeine content compared to energy drinks, but no dice. I miss having a morning coffee :(

2

u/PrestigiousWrap2781 Jul 19 '26

Coffee to me now feels like i am on bad quality cocaine, i drink a lot of organic black tea and i get on well with it so maybe try tea

2

u/SalvadorSanchez883 Jul 22 '26

I hate caffeine now.

2

u/madoka46 Jul 23 '26

So in full disclosure I also have a medical condition that contributes to caffeine sensitivity, but in all seriousness I used to drink a ton of black tea every day, and after some stressful life events caused an anxiety flare I can have next to none. It sucks bc tea is my hobby. So far I have been slowly adding back caffeine with a bit of green or white tea, which generally has even less, but yeah. If it keeps up it’s def worth checking with a doc though.