A cup of coffee anyone?

[aggiebiker]

OK, I am interested to hear from those with experiences with caffeine and PD. Due to the nature of shift work and a love of Diet Cokes I was a pretty heavy consumer of caffeine. After a little suffering I have given up the Diet Cokes and am down to "Half Caff" coffee and only a cup or two in the morning. I haven't noticed any difference, has any one had any experience with caffeine consumption and their PD symptoms (bad or good)?

[Jerebet]

When I drink caffeine I shake like a PWPD. Oh wait, I am a PWPD (Person with Parkinson's Disease) I love Coffee,I love Tea,I love the Java jive and it loves me.LOL, but seriously , I switched to decaf because my meds say NO Caffeine. Azilect and Amantadine both advise not to consume caffeine.. I have switched to decaff but occasionally enjoy the "leaded" variety.

Results of case-control studies and of a prospective investigation in men suggest that consumption of coffee could protect against the risk of Parkinson's disease.Researchers examined the relationship of coffee and caffeine consumption to the risk of Parkinson's among participants in 2 ongoing studies. The study population comprised 47,351 men and 88,565 women who were free of Parkinson's disease, stroke, or cancer at baseline. A comprehensive life style and dietary questionnaire was completed by the participants at baseline and updated every 2–4 years. During the follow-up (10 years in men, 16 years in women), we documented a total of 288 incident cases of Parkinson's disease. Among men, after adjustment for age and smoking, the relative risk of Parkinson's disease was 0.42 (95% CI: 0.23–0.78; p for trend < 0.001) for men in the top one-fifth of caffeine intake compared to those in the bottom one-fifth. An inverse association was also observed with consumption of coffee (p for trend = 0.004), caffeine from noncoffee sources (p for trend < 0.001), and tea (p for trend = 0.02) but not decaffeinated coffee. Among women, the relationship between caffeine or coffee intake and risk of Parkinson's disease was U-shaped, with the lowest risk observed at moderate intakes (1–3 cups of coffee/day, or the third quintile of caffeine consumption).

[aggiebiker]

Jerebet, thank you very much for the info. So if I am reading that right caffeinated coffee appears to be beneficial?

[MichaelOM]

Here's a twist. My doc WANTS me to drink coffee or cola with my meds on an empty stomach because he believes they flush the meds through the stomach and into the small intestine where they are absorbed. I do think that when I follow this regimen that my drugs work faster and better. Now if I can only remember to have an empty stomach every three hours and get my sons to stop drinking my Pepsi. How much? I have three cups of coffee in the morning (which also helps me with mt bowels. sorry, ladies), and then just small amounts of Pepsi (my preference vs. Coke) with each dose.

[soup]

Don't worry, ladies have bowels too!

[MichaelOM]

They do?

[Hidden]

I like coffee for two reasons. Studies say it helps, plus I have a coffee group I meet with every morning. They are wonderful people. They never pass up to include my PD in some little joke. The power of friendship and laughter are a welcome side effect of coffee for me.

[Susie01]

I have researched so much that I don't remember where I read this study, might be able to find it. Of course, every study could be biased.

They were using IV infusion of caffeine on PD patients, and no, it did not look like coffee or diet Coke! The study I read had positive affects on energy level with folks with PD.

When I was diagnosed and before I read this study, I had stopped caffiene consumption. After I read it, I tried having the diet cokes again and did well with them. Coffee has about 3X the amount of caffiene as diet coke, I love the aroma of coffee, but never have develped a taste for it.

Typically I will have three 12 oz cans a day.

Again, I look at the changes in my ADHD daughter and caffiene. In people with ADHD, caffiene beverages act in an opposing way than non ADHD. It can have a calming affect on them. I have a friend who is and MD with ADHD, instead of meds, he uses caffiene.

[dottie]

I've always under the impression that caffeine is the one known preventative against Parkinson's. I was on a decaf kick for awhile about 15-20 years ago, have had Parkinson's for 10 years, and now have 1-2 cups of coffee with caffeine. I figure maybe it will slow the progression?But it's also to help counter the sleepiness I get from my meds. My head hits the pillow and I am out cold.

Hope these help!

From Pubmed medical abstracts (which I can't get into because I am no doc): "Convergent epidemiological and pre-clinical data suggest that caffeine may confer neuroprotection against the underlying dopaminergic neuron degeneration, and influence the onset and progression of PD. The available data also suggest that caffeine can improve the motor deficits of PD and that adenosine A2A receptor antagonists such as istradefylline reduces OFF time and dyskinesia associated with standard 'dopamine replacement' treatments."

Links:

scientificamerican.com/arti...

healthbulletin.org/herbs/he...

cbsnews.com/stories/2000/05...

news.harvard.edu/gazette/20...

ninds.nih.gov/news_and_even...

[shakenlady]

I heard nicotine prevents PD. Would you rather have lung cancer? My docfor says if the caffeine makes you feel better - drink it.