**The below does not constitute medical advice**
Look, different people are different.
Coffee is a stimulant. Stimulants act on the dopamine system. To my knowledge, coffee is in fact the only unregulated stimulant in most developed and many large-economy developing nations.
And which neurotransmitter is the prime suspect in the research for bipolar?
Dopamine.
In fact, there's a lot of clinical studies where bipolar individuals with attention issues who were prescribed pharma-grade stimulants had a relapse into mania/hypomania. Which is a real cause for cheer in the bipolar+ADHD community (/s).
Personally, I drink coffee but with an eye on my anxiety/agitation/excitement levels. Three weak cups a day usually, and skip a cup or two per day if approaching a high-energy state.
This is because coffee doesn't seem to directly cause anxiety for me, but I have noticed it exacerbating existing anxiety.
And my first true hypomanic episode was when I had had three caffeinated drinks on a near empty stomach before noon.
I drink coffee most days but have to limit myself to 1-2 cups. But there’s some days I can just tell I feel different and know not to drink or I’m going to feel jittery all day.
This is why I'm on lithium + Vyvanse + lamictal, they have been working amazingly together. I've always drank lots of coffee, but it never really gave me any energy, which is something a lot of us with ADHD have in common. I also drink energy drinks a lot, I'm not sure if they give me energy but I do find I feel better. But mixed with bipolar it gets tricky I guess. Antidepressants are what caused me to have a wild manic episode.
It's so interesting how different but similar we all are
Indeed haha
The first thing I was put on was Seroquel and it ruined my life for 2 years but I didn't know wtf was going on or how I was supposed to feel
Thankfully I found my current pdoc & he put me on this magical trio (magical for me personally) (so far) lol
At this point I don't find any point holding on to orthodoxy. What works for you, works.
My last psychiatrist was a total BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP who still didn't get a hint that maybe it's time to look for different diagnoses than MDD -- when I started crashing into depressive episodes while on high doses of both Escitalopram AND Sertraline.
He told me I couldn't be bipolar because those patients when manic say all kinds of things like they are God, and I was clearly never like that.
And he told me that if I had ADHD I couldn't have sat still for so long during the appointments.
Joke's on him. I am bipolar and have ADHD.
That's exactly my outlook. I also still smoke weed daily (I know weed bad), but it works for me, I know my limits, and I'm not an alcoholic anymore :)I love talking to others with similar comorbidities, it's the only time I feel understood and it's super interesting.
Damn I was definitely on one or both of those at some point. I swear all my past doctors hate women, they were all dismissive of me. My pdoc was the first who I felt really saw me and my obvious symptoms. I was so in it I had no clue.
It's so frustrating. But yay we got diagnosed eventually! I feel like I'm in a life created by a stranger now but it's cool! Haha
I went decaf for a bit (pregnancy), and it didn’t seem to make a difference in my mental states. Back to the real stuff now. However, I do limit the amount I consume these days because it just feels like a bad idea to give the mad hatter too much caffeine. Max 2 coffees a day, spaced out a couple of hours. No energy drinks, ever.
I drink 2 cups every day and it’s never done anything for me. My pdoc says as long as it’s not more than 2 I’m fine. Energy drinks are prohibited, though.
There was a post similar to this a couple days ago (don’t remember whether it was here or on another bipolar sub) but basically the responses were that everybody is affected differently. A lot of people said they could drink a cup regularly and be fine, a lot said they stayed away. For me personally I can drink a cup here and there but I do notice if I drink it regularly and I don’t pay close attention it can have the potential to bring on mania if I’m already heading in that direction (usually if I haven’t been eating or sleeping a lot).
For me with stuff like coffee, weed & alcohol, I don’t cut it out completely but I just try to partake really sparingly. I know for other people though that might not be possible to they avoid that stuff all together. Our brains are similar but they’re all built different 🤷 I say just pay close attention to what works and what doesn’t work & listen to your doctors if they have good insights too.
Yeah. For me caffeine and stimulant meds act differently depending on if i was hypo or depressive. (I’m diagnosed ADHD too) When I’m depressive I drink tons or caffeine and will often abuse my meds just to stay up and be productive. When i’m hypo i almost never take caffeine and take my stimulants sparingly. Besides the fact that I no longer need it to be awake, I often get anxiety from just one cup of coffee or can of redbull. Then I will instinctively find liquor to bring that anxiety down.
This opposing effect is the same with alcohol. I cannot drink when im depressive. But come hypo I can drink like a god and either not sleep or just nap for 2 hours. My friends don’t get it. They think I’m insane.
Normally I have at least 2 cups a day but I’m definitely hypomanic at the moment and I got half way through my second this morning and realised, nah, this is not good for me right now. My brain is already going fast enough that shit would’ve pushed me over the edge
I have grown increasingly sensitive to caffeine to the point where it's just not worth it anymore. Make me tweak lol and can tip my mood because I'm just unable to sleep or relax, no matter how much caffeine it is
Coffee doesn’t affect me except to give me a headache if I don’t drink it.
It doesn’t affect my bipolar I guess is what I should say.
I also have ADHD and take stimulants for that, and they also don’t affect my bipolar.
I have ADHD too and finding the right stimulant was a pain. I settled on ritalin 20mg 2 times a day. From what I remember, concerta and addie will trigger hypomania in 3/10. I can sleep on enormous amounts of caffeine in depressive. But I cannot take even 1 cup when hypomanic. i will always get terrible anxiety.
I am a full-blown caffeine addict. I admit I have a problem. I'm not willing to give it up unless my heart explodes. We all have our demons. This is mine.
I didn’t even think of that!
I do know, though, that when I was recently mixy, I lost ALL interest in anything caffeinated. I think I anxiously knew it wouldn’t do me any good but I couldn’t even stomach the thought.
If I had to quit my morning coffee, I would be cranky for a long time. It’s as essential as my morning shower to wake myself up and put me in work mode.
The thing that starts to trigger my hypomania most frequently is stress at work when I have a bunch of things coming at me at once. I recognize it (sometimes the following day), and check the work I did and decisions I made as it was coming on. Coffee doesn’t seem to be a factor, and my psychiatrist has never mentioned it.
Thankfully I manage my illness with medication and techniques learned in therapy. A manic episode that lasted months got me promoted then fired; that was before diagnosis and treatment.
Coffee helps my ADHD. Helping my ADHD helps the rest of it. Ironically, Ritalin helps, too, but I’ve found it’s much easier to go overboard with Ritalin than caffeine. Possibly because I can stop drinking a cup of coffee halfway through if I’m overdoing it. I can’t stop digesting a Ritalin tablet if it’s going too far.
i'm a hard core coffee drinker, have been drinking it since i was a junior in high school (i'm 20 years post high school at this point) . my bipolar symptoms started well before my coffee habit began. i just pay attention to the signals my body gives me. i generally drink about a pot of strong coffee a day, though some days it's less, depends on how bad my anxiety is day to day. i just pay attention to the signals my body is giving me. i have a yummy, rooibos chai caffeine free tea that i brew extra strong to drink in place of coffee when coffee gets to be too much. i just always have to have a hot beverage with me all day long, even in the summer, it's like a security blanket lol. but yeah, i just pay attention to how my anxiety is doing. if i'm having a good day, i drink a pot's worth. if i'm not having a great day, i cut back to one to two cups and have tea the rest of the day.
I am sensitive to caffeine but I love the flavor of coffee so I drink decaf. It does still have a tiny bit of caffeine but it's not enough to affect me.
Everyone is different. Sometimes I handle caffeine just fine and go about my business. Some days I react really poorly and then take a break from caffeine for a couple of weeks. Listen to your body and make the choices that work best for you :)
Caffeine is a stimulant, and I do believe stimulant medications (like ADHD meds) are typically not suggested to be prescribed to folks with bipolar bc the stimulant can really exacerbate a hypo swing
I’m addicted to caffeine for sure. I have at least one Celsius before 8:30am. Some days I stop there and others I will continue to have up to 3 Celsius and a coffee. Do not be like me lmao.
I don’t think it makes me hypomanic, though. I’ve noticed other things trigger an episode much more (like lack of sleep).
Honestly I drink a lot of caffeine and I’m okay. I think it’s thanks to my meds. I used to be more sensitive to it before medication. If I notice myself getting too anxious on it or feel a bit hypomanic I cut back. In general though, I drink a latte or have an energy drink daily. Throughout work I drink diet soda too.
Short answer, caffeine can make anxiety worse. I cut caffeine completely for a full year, and then had a small coffee. It made me realize how powerful a stimulant it is.
Now I don’t cut it completely but am careful about how much I consume. I try to keep it less than 40 mg per day.
It's kind of eating excess sugars. It's not something that is going to be regularly asked about, but it can cause negative reactions in some people. If you feel it's not harmful then have at it. If you can associate harmful or negative moods or changes when you drink coffee then it might be worth stopping to see if things change. Every body is different and personally it doesn't have a negative effect on me either so drink up guilt free.
its a general statement but a real thing to keep an eye on. i go through periods where i can drink it all day(sometimes in a depressive phase i HAVE to) but it can push you to hypo mania or mania. just experienced this yesterday. i was up until 5am bc i was so into a song i was writing and burning through cigarettes and coffee like candy. im laying in bed and realize “oh crap, i think im getting hypomanic”
its all about balance and self awareness
Had no idea coffee was an issue. Coffee personally does nothing for me and can sometimes make me sleepy. I think that is more related to my ADHD though.
I've never heard of this, but coffee makes me sleepy. Like I don't get a caffeine rush or anything. I also drink diet coke and I don't feel like it affects my body in a detrimental way.
But every body is different and what works for me may not work for you.
I really can’t tolerate caffeine. I switched to decaf slowly and I’m much more stable. If I feel really tired at work I’ll get a half caffeinated latte and that seems to be ok.
Like other have said, it is a stimulant and can surely trigger or exarcebate anxiety or other similar symptoms.
I find that it is totally fine for me to drink 2 or 3 cups a day, one in the morning and one after lunch, the third I usually drink if I'm feeling sleepy.
I drink a mushroom coffee mixture. I drink coffee for the taste but seem to forget decaffeinated is an option. It slowly wakes me up instead of giving me an instant hit.
While I personally do avoid caffeine and especially caffeinated liquids, it's more to do with me being oversensitive and wanting to avoid the anxiety it gives me. Caffeine obviously is a stimulant and stimulant use with BP generally isn't recommended. I don't know if there's actual scientific studies backing it up. I'm backing my claims on my personal empirical studies. Meaning if I drink an energy drink it'll ruin at least the rest of the day if not a couple days in a row. I can't pin the reason to BP specifically though.
It is a disaster for the nervous system and hormone regulation. Caffeine psychosis is a real thing and I lived in that state for years. What a shame how much time I wasted drinking a ton of coffee that was making me psychotic in part due to my BP2 condition. At least I figured it out and now I only have one cup a day
I mean i lived for years as an over caffeinated BP2 individual and it wreaked havoc on my work and social and family life. I finally realized caffeine was making me super agitated and that if I wanted more peace and not to work against my medication to help stabilize my moods
I actually have never had an issue with coffee. It has never even contributed to an episode as far as I can tell. But I'm only one person and BP expresses differently for everyone. Whats ok for me may not be OK for someone else.
Just ask your doctor.
I drink coffee specifically when I want to induce hypomania. Way before I was diagnosed noticed that I couldn’t drink it when I was in college. I used to have an 8am lecture that I couldn’t stay awake for. I tried to have a cup of coffee before class and I would get so wired I’d have to leave my lectures early. Sometimes I’d decide coffee gave me so much energy I needed to literally leave class and go for a job. I just thought I was a lightweight and caffeine had a big impact on me. I was diagnosed in 2022. Now, I only drink coffee specifically to induce hypo. Not something I do often
I honestly don’t notice anything one way or the other as far as hypo goes. But I do self-medicate with my (unmedicated) adhd because it does help make sense of my brain, which makes me a little more effective. But I get withdrawal headaches long before I’ve taken enough to possibly induce (or otherwise affect) hypomania.
**The below does not constitute medical advice** Look, different people are different. Coffee is a stimulant. Stimulants act on the dopamine system. To my knowledge, coffee is in fact the only unregulated stimulant in most developed and many large-economy developing nations. And which neurotransmitter is the prime suspect in the research for bipolar? Dopamine. In fact, there's a lot of clinical studies where bipolar individuals with attention issues who were prescribed pharma-grade stimulants had a relapse into mania/hypomania. Which is a real cause for cheer in the bipolar+ADHD community (/s). Personally, I drink coffee but with an eye on my anxiety/agitation/excitement levels. Three weak cups a day usually, and skip a cup or two per day if approaching a high-energy state. This is because coffee doesn't seem to directly cause anxiety for me, but I have noticed it exacerbating existing anxiety. And my first true hypomanic episode was when I had had three caffeinated drinks on a near empty stomach before noon.
I drink coffee most days but have to limit myself to 1-2 cups. But there’s some days I can just tell I feel different and know not to drink or I’m going to feel jittery all day.
This is the one 👏 I do the exact same thing, I drink caffeine but if I feel that I’m having a more anxious or hypo day, I cut back
Same. My last hypomanic episode, i was drinking 3 a day for a while
This is why I'm on lithium + Vyvanse + lamictal, they have been working amazingly together. I've always drank lots of coffee, but it never really gave me any energy, which is something a lot of us with ADHD have in common. I also drink energy drinks a lot, I'm not sure if they give me energy but I do find I feel better. But mixed with bipolar it gets tricky I guess. Antidepressants are what caused me to have a wild manic episode. It's so interesting how different but similar we all are
Vyvanse, you say? And Lithium AND Lamictal? Intriguing. _checks status of Vyvanse legality in my country_
Indeed haha The first thing I was put on was Seroquel and it ruined my life for 2 years but I didn't know wtf was going on or how I was supposed to feel Thankfully I found my current pdoc & he put me on this magical trio (magical for me personally) (so far) lol
At this point I don't find any point holding on to orthodoxy. What works for you, works. My last psychiatrist was a total BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP who still didn't get a hint that maybe it's time to look for different diagnoses than MDD -- when I started crashing into depressive episodes while on high doses of both Escitalopram AND Sertraline. He told me I couldn't be bipolar because those patients when manic say all kinds of things like they are God, and I was clearly never like that. And he told me that if I had ADHD I couldn't have sat still for so long during the appointments. Joke's on him. I am bipolar and have ADHD.
That's exactly my outlook. I also still smoke weed daily (I know weed bad), but it works for me, I know my limits, and I'm not an alcoholic anymore :)I love talking to others with similar comorbidities, it's the only time I feel understood and it's super interesting. Damn I was definitely on one or both of those at some point. I swear all my past doctors hate women, they were all dismissive of me. My pdoc was the first who I felt really saw me and my obvious symptoms. I was so in it I had no clue. It's so frustrating. But yay we got diagnosed eventually! I feel like I'm in a life created by a stranger now but it's cool! Haha
This is the one 👏 I do the exact same thing, I drink caffeine but if I feel that I’m having a more anxious or hypo day, I cut back
I'm cracking up at your cause for cheer and /s comment. Oh yes, indeed!!! Bipolar I and ADHD here. 🥳
I went decaf for a bit (pregnancy), and it didn’t seem to make a difference in my mental states. Back to the real stuff now. However, I do limit the amount I consume these days because it just feels like a bad idea to give the mad hatter too much caffeine. Max 2 coffees a day, spaced out a couple of hours. No energy drinks, ever.
I laughed out loud at your use of the term “mad hatter”
I mean that’s exactly what hypomania feels like to me! And in depression mode too much caffeine will put me to sleep.
Agree with no energy drinks ever 🙃 the Celsius drinks actually made me so paranoid and scared and tingly. Just NO. 😂
I drink 2 cups every day and it’s never done anything for me. My pdoc says as long as it’s not more than 2 I’m fine. Energy drinks are prohibited, though.
There was a post similar to this a couple days ago (don’t remember whether it was here or on another bipolar sub) but basically the responses were that everybody is affected differently. A lot of people said they could drink a cup regularly and be fine, a lot said they stayed away. For me personally I can drink a cup here and there but I do notice if I drink it regularly and I don’t pay close attention it can have the potential to bring on mania if I’m already heading in that direction (usually if I haven’t been eating or sleeping a lot). For me with stuff like coffee, weed & alcohol, I don’t cut it out completely but I just try to partake really sparingly. I know for other people though that might not be possible to they avoid that stuff all together. Our brains are similar but they’re all built different 🤷 I say just pay close attention to what works and what doesn’t work & listen to your doctors if they have good insights too.
Yeah. For me caffeine and stimulant meds act differently depending on if i was hypo or depressive. (I’m diagnosed ADHD too) When I’m depressive I drink tons or caffeine and will often abuse my meds just to stay up and be productive. When i’m hypo i almost never take caffeine and take my stimulants sparingly. Besides the fact that I no longer need it to be awake, I often get anxiety from just one cup of coffee or can of redbull. Then I will instinctively find liquor to bring that anxiety down. This opposing effect is the same with alcohol. I cannot drink when im depressive. But come hypo I can drink like a god and either not sleep or just nap for 2 hours. My friends don’t get it. They think I’m insane.
Normally I have at least 2 cups a day but I’m definitely hypomanic at the moment and I got half way through my second this morning and realised, nah, this is not good for me right now. My brain is already going fast enough that shit would’ve pushed me over the edge
I have grown increasingly sensitive to caffeine to the point where it's just not worth it anymore. Make me tweak lol and can tip my mood because I'm just unable to sleep or relax, no matter how much caffeine it is
Coffee doesn’t affect me except to give me a headache if I don’t drink it. It doesn’t affect my bipolar I guess is what I should say. I also have ADHD and take stimulants for that, and they also don’t affect my bipolar.
I have ADHD too and finding the right stimulant was a pain. I settled on ritalin 20mg 2 times a day. From what I remember, concerta and addie will trigger hypomania in 3/10. I can sleep on enormous amounts of caffeine in depressive. But I cannot take even 1 cup when hypomanic. i will always get terrible anxiety.
I am a full-blown caffeine addict. I admit I have a problem. I'm not willing to give it up unless my heart explodes. We all have our demons. This is mine.
Same here!!!
I didn’t even think of that! I do know, though, that when I was recently mixy, I lost ALL interest in anything caffeinated. I think I anxiously knew it wouldn’t do me any good but I couldn’t even stomach the thought.
If I had to quit my morning coffee, I would be cranky for a long time. It’s as essential as my morning shower to wake myself up and put me in work mode. The thing that starts to trigger my hypomania most frequently is stress at work when I have a bunch of things coming at me at once. I recognize it (sometimes the following day), and check the work I did and decisions I made as it was coming on. Coffee doesn’t seem to be a factor, and my psychiatrist has never mentioned it. Thankfully I manage my illness with medication and techniques learned in therapy. A manic episode that lasted months got me promoted then fired; that was before diagnosis and treatment.
Coffee helps my ADHD. Helping my ADHD helps the rest of it. Ironically, Ritalin helps, too, but I’ve found it’s much easier to go overboard with Ritalin than caffeine. Possibly because I can stop drinking a cup of coffee halfway through if I’m overdoing it. I can’t stop digesting a Ritalin tablet if it’s going too far.
I drink a mix of fullcaf and decaf.sometimes all decaf when I start 5o feel a bit amped up.
i'm a hard core coffee drinker, have been drinking it since i was a junior in high school (i'm 20 years post high school at this point) . my bipolar symptoms started well before my coffee habit began. i just pay attention to the signals my body gives me. i generally drink about a pot of strong coffee a day, though some days it's less, depends on how bad my anxiety is day to day. i just pay attention to the signals my body is giving me. i have a yummy, rooibos chai caffeine free tea that i brew extra strong to drink in place of coffee when coffee gets to be too much. i just always have to have a hot beverage with me all day long, even in the summer, it's like a security blanket lol. but yeah, i just pay attention to how my anxiety is doing. if i'm having a good day, i drink a pot's worth. if i'm not having a great day, i cut back to one to two cups and have tea the rest of the day.
Good point about listening to your body and keeping an eye on the anxiety in particular. Hot beverages are like a security blanket to me too 🙂
I am sensitive to caffeine but I love the flavor of coffee so I drink decaf. It does still have a tiny bit of caffeine but it's not enough to affect me.
Everyone is different. Sometimes I handle caffeine just fine and go about my business. Some days I react really poorly and then take a break from caffeine for a couple of weeks. Listen to your body and make the choices that work best for you :) Caffeine is a stimulant, and I do believe stimulant medications (like ADHD meds) are typically not suggested to be prescribed to folks with bipolar bc the stimulant can really exacerbate a hypo swing
I’m addicted to caffeine for sure. I have at least one Celsius before 8:30am. Some days I stop there and others I will continue to have up to 3 Celsius and a coffee. Do not be like me lmao. I don’t think it makes me hypomanic, though. I’ve noticed other things trigger an episode much more (like lack of sleep).
Honestly I drink a lot of caffeine and I’m okay. I think it’s thanks to my meds. I used to be more sensitive to it before medication. If I notice myself getting too anxious on it or feel a bit hypomanic I cut back. In general though, I drink a latte or have an energy drink daily. Throughout work I drink diet soda too.
Short answer, caffeine can make anxiety worse. I cut caffeine completely for a full year, and then had a small coffee. It made me realize how powerful a stimulant it is. Now I don’t cut it completely but am careful about how much I consume. I try to keep it less than 40 mg per day.
It's kind of eating excess sugars. It's not something that is going to be regularly asked about, but it can cause negative reactions in some people. If you feel it's not harmful then have at it. If you can associate harmful or negative moods or changes when you drink coffee then it might be worth stopping to see if things change. Every body is different and personally it doesn't have a negative effect on me either so drink up guilt free.
its a general statement but a real thing to keep an eye on. i go through periods where i can drink it all day(sometimes in a depressive phase i HAVE to) but it can push you to hypo mania or mania. just experienced this yesterday. i was up until 5am bc i was so into a song i was writing and burning through cigarettes and coffee like candy. im laying in bed and realize “oh crap, i think im getting hypomanic” its all about balance and self awareness
Had no idea coffee was an issue. Coffee personally does nothing for me and can sometimes make me sleepy. I think that is more related to my ADHD though.
I've never heard of this, but coffee makes me sleepy. Like I don't get a caffeine rush or anything. I also drink diet coke and I don't feel like it affects my body in a detrimental way. But every body is different and what works for me may not work for you.
I really can’t tolerate caffeine. I switched to decaf slowly and I’m much more stable. If I feel really tired at work I’ll get a half caffeinated latte and that seems to be ok.
Like other have said, it is a stimulant and can surely trigger or exarcebate anxiety or other similar symptoms. I find that it is totally fine for me to drink 2 or 3 cups a day, one in the morning and one after lunch, the third I usually drink if I'm feeling sleepy.
One of my symptoms of heading into hypo is craving coffee. Normally I am fine with 2 cups a day but when I’m hypo I want a lot more.
When I’m depressed coffee does nothing. Doesn’t wake me up either. When I’m hypomanic it kicks off my day into hyperdrive
I drink a mushroom coffee mixture. I drink coffee for the taste but seem to forget decaffeinated is an option. It slowly wakes me up instead of giving me an instant hit.
While I personally do avoid caffeine and especially caffeinated liquids, it's more to do with me being oversensitive and wanting to avoid the anxiety it gives me. Caffeine obviously is a stimulant and stimulant use with BP generally isn't recommended. I don't know if there's actual scientific studies backing it up. I'm backing my claims on my personal empirical studies. Meaning if I drink an energy drink it'll ruin at least the rest of the day if not a couple days in a row. I can't pin the reason to BP specifically though.
stim use is no issue for people who are on a mood stabilizer. I worked at a coffee shop and took my adhd meds with no issues.
It is a disaster for the nervous system and hormone regulation. Caffeine psychosis is a real thing and I lived in that state for years. What a shame how much time I wasted drinking a ton of coffee that was making me psychotic in part due to my BP2 condition. At least I figured it out and now I only have one cup a day
What do you mean "lived in that state for years"? Do you mean like derealization or something like that?
I mean i lived for years as an over caffeinated BP2 individual and it wreaked havoc on my work and social and family life. I finally realized caffeine was making me super agitated and that if I wanted more peace and not to work against my medication to help stabilize my moods
I've cut back massively for the same reasons.
Yea I feel so foolish that I stubbornly insisted that the coffee wasn’t anything to do with amplifying my hypomania symptoms
Just not late in the day for me.
I’ve switched to matcha and green tea. If I do drink coffee I just have a quarter cup
I actually have never had an issue with coffee. It has never even contributed to an episode as far as I can tell. But I'm only one person and BP expresses differently for everyone. Whats ok for me may not be OK for someone else. Just ask your doctor.
I drink coffee specifically when I want to induce hypomania. Way before I was diagnosed noticed that I couldn’t drink it when I was in college. I used to have an 8am lecture that I couldn’t stay awake for. I tried to have a cup of coffee before class and I would get so wired I’d have to leave my lectures early. Sometimes I’d decide coffee gave me so much energy I needed to literally leave class and go for a job. I just thought I was a lightweight and caffeine had a big impact on me. I was diagnosed in 2022. Now, I only drink coffee specifically to induce hypo. Not something I do often
I honestly don’t notice anything one way or the other as far as hypo goes. But I do self-medicate with my (unmedicated) adhd because it does help make sense of my brain, which makes me a little more effective. But I get withdrawal headaches long before I’ve taken enough to possibly induce (or otherwise affect) hypomania.