Chronic caffeine poisoning.

Based on my experience as a convalescing victim of chronic caffeine poisoning, and because caffeine is probably the most common cause of panic disorder, I present my theory of the mechanism of panic disorder as a symptom of caffeine-dependency-induced chronic caffeine poisoning. I do realize that there are most likely other causes as well, and I hope my work can be used detecting them.

Chronic caffeine poisoning alters the brain chemistry very slowly; it can take years before depression and generalized anxiety can be diagnosed in persons with genetic or other predisposition to this type of symptoms.

The most interesting symptom of chronic caffeine poisoning, in my mind, is panic disorder. I have hosted this symptom for over 20 years; and now, 10 months after caffeine cessation, I have reached the point in the development of this syndrome where I've come to understand its mechanism of action.

Paraxanthine is known to accelerate Na+ pumps of skeletal muscles. When caffeine ingestion has been going on long enough, tissue will become saturated with paraxanthine, and it starts to return to the system via lymph vessels. Paraxanthine then starts to accumulate sodium to skeletal muscles. When tissue becomes saturated with sodium, it too starts to leak back to the system. When the sodium level of the lymph is high enough and a larger pulse enters the bloodstream, it creates a brief episode of mild hypernatremia, which is amplified by anxiety caused by trimethylxanthine; this is what we call a panic attack.

A sodium pulse can be triggered by natural response to a stress factor; it can be based on personal phobias or virtually anything that causes even a minute amount of stress or discomfort. It's the "butterflies in the belly" reaction: muscles contract and squeeze a sodium pulse from the lymphatic system, anxiety increases, muscles contract more until lymphatic system is drained enough, symptoms start to fade, and the blood sodium level is slowly restored to normal.

Sodium pulse can be caused by any activity that adds pressure to lymphatic veins. Many foods can free sodium from the tissue; garlic is in my experience an effective cleaner, and can be used to clean the tissue fast and safely if the lymphatic fluids are drained from the system.

This accumulation mechanism is probably the cause in many other conditions where the symptoms originate from the CNS [central nervous system]. Chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis [MS] are, in my opinion, likely candidates among other conditions with similar symptoms. I have compared my symptoms to those I have learned from diagnosed MS patients and found similarities that point to the same probable cause.

Sodium pulses may form a larger pattern with distinct periods of depression and hypomania; they also induce clear paranoid and psychotic impulses, dementia and generally irrational thinking, and reacting to impulses.

Caffeine Withdrawal Symptoms 10 Months after Cessation

It is now more than 10 months from cessation, and I have got the first lab result proving I'm on to something. Last night, when I was sitting at my computer, I started to have symptoms, which I later learned to be hyponatremia. There was extreme sweating of palms and feet, nausea, pressure in the head, confusion, memory losses, agitation, very strong taste of salt in mouth and lips, and slight swelling of facial tissue and in the hands. During the other type of symptoms, I have clear signs of dehydration. The symptoms got worse in warm conditions and when lying down. I managed to drive to the hospital, and forced the doctors to check my blood sodium level; if I remember right, it was 131--at least, the doctor said it's hyponatremia.

This is a bit odd, because the symptoms were very much different from those I had before, and the taste of salt was also a new experience. The symptoms also started very rapidly, from zero to peak in 15 minutes or so. I got my brain working this morning and began to think, and found that the only explanation for this can be that paraxanthine stored in tissue had been released in too large a volume, and accelerated the Na + pumps of skeletal muscles, creating the situation. Checking my notes and my memory, I soon realized that there are two kinds of states, one makes me think hypernatremia, and the other is now proved to be hyponatremia.

The sodium and paraxanthine probably come from my right foot with goutlike symptoms. Walking triggers the symptoms, and rest keeps them at bay. There were very strong pains in the foot last night as the other symptoms started, burning sensations, that were located close to the joint of big toe, around the heel and on the outer edge. The symptoms vanished with symptoms of hyponatremia.

The advantage of this experience is that I now know the difference between these two different syndromes caused by caffeine cessation, and can react accordingly. I now carry a small holder with salt and a water flask with me all the time. I don't know how long it is going to take for the tissue to clear from the slag, or whether I'm going to survive this or not, but this is rather interesting.

Further, I have noticed while observing my symptoms that it is trimethylxanthine that causes anxiety and depression, because these symptoms vanished about 6 months after cessation, as the brain chemistry returned from the depression/anxiety state.

I have noticed now that it is paraxanthine that causes toxic dementia, memory losses, learning difficulties, etc.

If you find patients with these disorders and a caffeine dependency, test lymph for sodium and paraxanthine; this will be an answer to many health problems and give many new directions for further studies.

Regards from Finland,

Kari Luoto

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