Java Jitters

To me, there is hardly anything better than a good hot cup of coffee. The aroma. The taste. The warmth, especially on a cool morning.

My coffee love began in high school. I started drinking it with more creamer and sugar than coffee until my dad challenged me to "drink it like a man." Why I wanted to be "like a man" brings up so many other issues, but from then on, I rarely used cream and never used sugar.Then I went to italy, where shots of espresso were served after each meal. The love intensified from that point on.

Coffee drinking became a very regular occurance. I never struggled with drinking caffinated coffee at any time of the day. I would drink a pot and fall a sleep an hour later. It was comfort.

When I went to Nebraska for college, my coffee drinking reached the point of addiction. I would make a pot of coffee in the morning - drink it all. Then I would make a pot of coffee in the evenign - drink it all. That was somewhere between 20-24 cups a day. I determined that I would never be that addicted again.

Since then, I have not been addicted and I don't need it like I used to. I still enjoy it and drink it frequently; but it is under control.

For the past few years, however, I have developed a new problem with coffee. The Java Jitters. It's more than jitters, though. My blood sugar has always been sensitive. If I don't eat normal meals and snacks, I will find myself with virtego, the shakes, hot flashes, claminess, and unable to focus or concentrate. Coffee seems to intensify these symptoms.

I used to combat it by eating dense food with the coffee, trying to combat the effects. In the past 6 months, however, I have learned that isn't even helping. If I drink more than 1-2 cups of coffee in the morning, I will go haywire in the afternoon. It is hard to explain, but I just feel weak and "not-all-there." I have my theories that caffiene causes you to metabolize faster and therefore the food that would normally keep me going for 4-5 hours, runs out after 3-4. I have no idea if this is biochemically accurate, but I feel like I learned that years ago.

Whatever the reason is, I don't know. But it happens. No matter if I make sure to eat good meals and snacks, or if I don't, the problem is still there. It just may have a different intesity level.

Does this make me stop drinking coffee? Absolutely not. I just deal with the java jitters.