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The Shakes
Caffeine
Citation:   A. Hamilton. "The Shakes: An Experience with Caffeine (exp15678)". Erowid.org. Jul 26, 2005. erowid.org/exp/15678

 
DOSE:
1800 mg oral Caffeine (pill / tablet)
BODY WEIGHT: 140 lb
I never really considered caffeine a drug prior to this experience. I was aware of its addictive capabilities, but when I begin to lose control of my body and have a detached mindset, well, then I are in trouble.

Let me start from the beginning. My friend took caffeine pills regularly simply because he liked the speedy effects. Because of this, I decided to try them myself. Taking one or two at first, I soon found he was right. They were okay. I often felt alert, stayed up later if needed, and could start my day better with couple pills rather than brewing coffee. No big deal.

I was curious how high my dosage could go. Feeling competitive, as my friend’s record was six, I decided to take eight. The experience started out fairly normal, with moderate shakes in my fingers and feeling very uppity and ‘on the ball’.

I had eaten a fairly large meal before this experience, maybe ninety minutes prior, but I got the urge to puke regardless. Being very experienced with alcohol, I knew the worst thing I could possibly do is try to hold it back, so I vomited up my entire dinner.

This, suffice to say, shocked me. Looking into the toilet bowl - tingly and amazed - I saw everything I ate, but no pills. Every single caffeine pill had somehow beat my dinner through my system. I flushed the toilet, then got a severe urge to go to the bathroom. Then everything began to get frightening.

Sitting on the toilet bowl, I first became extremely hot. I felt feverish, and, for fear of crapping on the floor, took off my clothes while still on the toilet. I grabbed a nearby book and started reading it. The shaking got worse, and it became actually difficult to hold the book. I found myself reading the same lines over and over again.

I lost my sense of time and my feet fell asleep. This was normal, but I tried to wiggle my toes and realized I couldn’t. I became nervous. I started to get a pounding headache, and all this time the need to puke or go to the bathroom did not go away.

I dropped the book and clutched my stomach as the shakes took over. I decided to give up going to the bathroom and put my clothes back on, but I found I couldn’t stand up. I was asleep from the waist down and completely certain I would die as the paralysis slowly crept up my body. I had mental images of my family finding me dead on the toilet like Elvis.

My heart began to beat faster and faster. I feared I would have a heart attack. The world appeared to be grainy and pixelated. I felt extremely hot, and I opened the bathroom door to get the air moving; I didn’t care if anyone would see me.

I threw myself on the floor and waited for my blood to circulate. Eventually it did. I pulled on my underwear and pulled myself up to a standing position using the sink. I felt shaky and woozy at the same time, and it was all I could do to walk to my bed. I was unable to walk in a straight line like a drunk and I was incredibly dizzy. I fell on my bed.

I looked at my clock and realized that the entire experience took about six hours, from taking the pills to laying down on the bed. About five and a-half of those hours were spent sitting on the toilet in pain. I passed out.

I slept for about two hours, then got up and went to school as usual. Though the tingling was gone, I had shakes and mild nausea for most of the next day - something of a caffeine hangover.

Losing control of my body was not cool, but I still take caffeine in liquid form. I took tons of caffeine before this experience, and I had no idea I could lose control of my body like that. I have not taken pill-form caffeine since the incident.

Exp Year: 2001ExpID: 15678
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jul 26, 2005Views: 22,530
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Caffeine (11) : Alone (16), Overdose (29), Health Problems (27)

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