Thursday, May 29, 2008

Migraines and caffeine.

The New England Journal of Medicine writes on caffeine:

Results Among nonsmokers, more spontaneous abortions occurred in women who ingested at least 100 mg of caffeine per day than in women who ingested less than 100 mg per day, with the increase in risk related to the amount ingested (100 to 299 mg per day: odds ratio, 1.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.9 to 1.8; 300 to 499 mg per day: odds ratio, 1.4; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.9 to 2.0; and 500 mg or more per day: odds ratio, 2.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.3 to 3.8). Among smokers, caffeine ingestion was not associated with an excess risk of spontaneous abortion.


At the same time I see something totally different on Baby Center:

After years of controversy over the issue, most researchers now believe that, although caffeine does cross the placenta, moderate amounts (less than 300 milligrams a day) won't harm your baby.


American Pregnancy gets right down to it and becomes the non committal advice altogether:

Myth: Caffeine causes miscarriages.

Fact: A few studies have shown that there may be an increase in miscarriages among women who consume more than 300 mg (three 5 oz cups of coffee) a day. Other outcomes include preterm labor and low-birth weight babies. Again, it is safer to avoid caffeine as much as possible.

Myth: A pregnant woman should not consume ANY caffeine.

Fact: Experts and studies have stated that "moderate" levels of caffeine have not been found to have a negative effect on pregnancy. The definition of "moderate" varies anywhere from 150 mg - 300 mg a day.


And these are just a handful of sites available at first glance on Google.

Since caffeine really helps my migraines at this stage as a preventive, I try to consume it in very small doses in form of coke, chocolate milk or sometimes just a sip or two of coffee. While it's a joke in comparison to how much caffeine I used to consume, my body has become a lot more sensitive to everything I take.

Currently if I take anything more than just a third of a regular can of coke, my heartbeat increases drastically and while I do become more alert and my fatigue finally goes away, along with tell-tales of a migraine, but it makes me worry in the long run.

Since this is just my first trimester (the most important stage in kid's development, things like nerves, brains and all that good stuff form at this point) I got to be really careful.

I suppose staying away completely from it is a good thing, but until I see the doc it's hard to do things like staying awake while showering, walking, driving.

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