I Made The Mistake of Drinking Non-Decaf Coffee Last Night

severe elevation | high elevation | moderate elevation | slight elevation | normal | slight depression | moderate depression | deep depression | severe depression || anx : 0 , agit : 0

I stayed up until 4am this morning with a racing mind. Racing, racing, three hundred and eighty two circuits on a hundred kph, it takes the gold. All because I was so amused at the red cups that Starbucks brings out at this time of the year. And besides, I missed the taste of those sugary bits on the whipped cream of a toffee nut latte.

It was just a tall one. One little tall toffee nut latte.

But eep, it was a big mistake.


First of all.
An intake of caffeine after 3pm makes me sleep less, and if I'm not so fortunate, it makes me sleepless. And that's generally bad for me because it affects the mood swings and deepens the lines under my eyes the following day (someones not gettin any younger, you know). It's especially vile when I have to wake up early for something, because aside from going through the early-morning sleepy-sludge, I have to face Hubby's irritation. Hubby hates being late.

Secondly.
I just took a little yellow SAM-e the night before, which I know could tip me into manic symptoms if / when provided a trigger, even a small one. A shot of caffeine does not help in taming the racing mind, the hurried speech, the hyperactivity, the edginess, the anxiety, the irritability and the overwhelming desire to rule the world [insert evil laughter here].
Perhaps Hitler, Napoleon and Stalin had a bit to o much coffee during their manic episodes? Maybe I ... grrr. I shouldn't even think about it.

Thirdly.
I'm supposed have enforced a total caffeine ban on myself (or uh , well... a limit to caffeine intake, at least). Obviously, I forgot about that. Caffeine interacts with the Lithium - I forgot as well whether it increases or decreases the Lithium concentrations. If it was a decrease, I'm sure I can work with that; if it was an increase... uh ... I wouldn't know how to solve an overdose. Stoopid, careless mee.
[Opens new tab and Googles for "lithium" and "caffeine"]
Ah. Caffeine decreases lithium levels; withdrawing from caffeine increases it. Anyway, I better not waste our money on lithpills if I just piss it all away with the toffee nut lattes.

Fourthly.
Coffee, being a diuretic, overworks the kidneys. Lithium also happens to stress the kidneys. So.. does that mean Lithium + Caffeine = Kidney fatigue? That's why Lith should not be taken by those with kidney disease.
To worsen my paranoia, I've had a history of infection that may or may not have reached my kidneys (Darn it when doctors disagree on diagnoses; having a general surgeon for an uncle is very useful, but it could mess things up because he gives free second opinions). I was told that if the infection reached my kidneys, the damage would have been permanent. I'm more inclined to think that it did because ... uh ... well, I don't remember why. What I mean to say is that my kidneys aren't really in top condition to be entertaining difficult visitors.
Oh no... I'm actually feeling a bit of pain on either side of the small of my back ... ow ... ow... owowowowowow... But I'm not sure if that's an actual, physical, symptomatic pain or just something I imagined into being. I notice that I feel it only when I think about it.

Fifthly.
There isn't any fifthly really. I just like the look and sound of the word. Fifthly. Fifthly. I'm not even sure there is such a word anyway.


But hey, at least I enjoyed the whipped cream with those snowy sugary bits.

So though I was too tired to do anything else, I couldn't really get my thoughts to shut up, tortured by the caffeine and the thought of having drunk it.

I don't even like this year's planner.