Caffeine and Ephedra Triggers

[Guest]

I suffered from my first panic attack after taking cold meds with pseudoephedrine and drinking a cup of coffee. I had no idea what was happening when my heart rate shot through the roof so it developed into a full-blown panic attack. I became reluctant to do anything that would raise my heart rate, and I had two to five attacks every week last summer. When I graduated from college my heart beat so fast my arms were numb and I had to fight myself to not run out of the auditorium. Since that event the attacks come on less and with less frequency, but there are times I feel I can't control my thoughts and I feel like I may be going crazy. I have noticed that caffeine, ephedra, and alcohol trigger attacks for up to 24 hours after so I have cut myself off from all of these. That has helped but I still can't get over the constant monitoring of my heart rate. Has anyone experienced this obsession with heart rate?

 

[Guest]

I had something similar happen to me one day at Starbucks. I had taken a stacker2 (fat burner) earlier that day and I had some caffeinated tea at Starbucks. While enjoying the tea I remember the warning (about serious side effects with caffeine) and I could not get that out of my mind. I started to worry and worry more, my heart began to race and about 5 minutes later I told my girlfriend we needed to leave because I feared losing control of my actions. We went outside for a while and I felt better, but since that day I occasionally get scared I may be going crazy. Specially when I take caffeine or anything that speeds me up.