FRIEND IS TAKING CAFFEINE PILLS

Dear Jellybean,

I have this guy friend and I'm real worried about him but I'm not sure if I should be. He's been taking caffeine pills, and he admits that he has overdosed on them (he took 5 times more than the recemmended amount on the pack) but he says it didn't do him any harm, and he needs them 2 concentrate properly cos he's so tired. I looked up this site on caffeine and it had symptoms u get when u overdose and he admits hes had most of them. but he still says he can look after himself and they arent doing him any harm. im not sure if its anything 2 do with it but his dad died of cancer in july, and thats the first time he mentioned these pills, but i didnt think anything of it then. now were back at school and thats when i found out he takes so many. hes told me now that he will cut down but im worried. what can i do???
-Flower

Dear Flower,

You're right to be worried, for a couple of reasons. First, caffeine pills can be deadly, as an unfortunate North Carolina student experienced in the late 1990's. He died when he took 90 caffeine pills and it overloaded his heart. Your friend may not be taking that many pills now, but this could still happen to him.

No one knows the magic number of caffeine pills that makes you die, but it's probably a lot less than 90 pills. Plus, a person's body build up tolerance to caffeine pills. That means if you used to take 5 to stay alert and awake, in a month your body would get used to that and it wouldn't work anymore, so you would have to double the dose of pills to get the same affect. And so on, and so on, until something terrible and tragic happens, like you die or have convulsive seizures.

Your friend should be aware of the true risks if he's taking caffeine pills, and he should read the news story about the boy at NCU, so he can be aware that he is playing will fire. Send him this link, or better yet, print out the news story from this page and hand it to him, along with a warning that you don't want him to die: http://www-tech.mit.edu/V118/N56/shorts.56n.html.

Also, whether he believes it or not, those pills your friend is so innocently buying at the drugstore are ADDICTIVE. He has already showed addictive behavior, like lying about how many he takes and saying he'll cut down but not quit. Your friend has recently gone through a very difficult loss, so I understand and sympathize that he needs help to cope. But taking drugs - because that is what caffeine pills are, like it or not - is not the answer.

I suggest that you give your friend some phone numbers (free to call in the U.S.) that I will provide here, for hotlines that help young people through grief and substance abuse issues. If your friend won't call because he says "he can handle himself", then you should call and get as much info as you can. If things still don't improve, it's time to talk to a teacher or your friend's mom/guardian to intervene and possibly safe your friend's life. Here are the hotline phone numbers, and I will be holding a good thought for you and your friend:

National Grief Recovery Help Line: 1-800-848-9595
Alcohol and Drug Helpline: 1-800-821-4357
Natl. Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependancy Hope Line: 1-800-622-2255