3 ms·

Am I the only one who isn't a fan of taking "performance-enhancing" drugs to stay more alert, get things done, etc? Do we even know the long-term affects of ta

Am I the only one who isn't a fan of taking "performance-enhancing" drugs to stay more alert, get things done, etc? Do we even know the long-term affects of taking such drugs? (I know it was only a small reference in the article, but it's the only thing that bugged me about the entire piece)

ivankirigin 17y ago
It's certainly prudent to avoid things before long term effects are known, if that's what you mean by "isn't a fan". That isn't the same as declaring others are wrong for doing it. Risk tolerance (and the reward for doping) vary wildly between people. Do you drink coffee?
- truebosko 17y ago
  I do, but coffee and a new drug approved by the FDA are two very different things. I guess my initial comment should have been worded a bit more differently, as Coffee IS a drug ;) My bad.
  - ivankirigin 17y ago
    Coffee is grandfathered in, like aspirin. Aspirin probably wouldn't pass FDA screening today, because of the stomach problems it causes so many people.
tokenadult 17y ago
Am I the only one who isn't a fan of taking "performance-enhancing" drugs to stay more alert, get things done, etc? I put off starting my coffee habit until I was almost forty years old, but now I wonder why I waited so long. The only time my coffee habit (rigidly just one cup of coffee each morning, every morning) was inconvenient to me was once when I had a business trip to Salt Lake City. I didn't have a coffee-maker in my room in my hotel (operated by the Mormon church). I couldn't get my local host (a high official in the Mormon church) to take me somewhere where coffee was served. As my sick headache from caffeine withdrawal developed, I was handed off to another local host, also a Mormon, but also a medical doctor, and he told me that sometimes the Mormon health code allows physicians to administer caffeine "medicinally"--that's really how he said it. He took me to a convenience store that sold caffeinated Coca Cola, and that is how I got my fix. Other than that, I think I have gained somewhat in concentration and productivity in my caffeinated years compared to my noncaffeinated years, although I am hardly an objective observer of myself.

ivankirigin 17y ago

It's certainly prudent to avoid things before long term effects are known, if that's what you mean by "isn't a fan". That isn't the same as declaring others are wrong for doing it. Risk tolerance (and the reward for doping) vary wildly between people. Do you drink coffee?

truebosko 17y ago
I do, but coffee and a new drug approved by the FDA are two very different things. I guess my initial comment should have been worded a bit more differently, as Coffee IS a drug ;) My bad.
- ivankirigin 17y ago
  Coffee is grandfathered in, like aspirin. Aspirin probably wouldn't pass FDA screening today, because of the stomach problems it causes so many people.

tokenadult 17y ago

Am I the only one who isn't a fan of taking "performance-enhancing" drugs to stay more alert, get things done, etc? I put off starting my coffee habit until I was almost forty years old, but now I wonder why I waited so long. The only time my coffee habit (rigidly just one cup of coffee each morning, every morning) was inconvenient to me was once when I had a business trip to Salt Lake City. I didn't have a coffee-maker in my room in my hotel (operated by the Mormon church). I couldn't get my local host (a high official in the Mormon church) to take me somewhere where coffee was served. As my sick headache from caffeine withdrawal developed, I was handed off to another local host, also a Mormon, but also a medical doctor, and he told me that sometimes the Mormon health code allows physicians to administer caffeine "medicinally"--that's really how he said it. He took me to a convenience store that sold caffeinated Coca Cola, and that is how I got my fix. Other than that, I think I have gained somewhat in concentration and productivity in my caffeinated years compared to my noncaffeinated years, although I am hardly an objective observer of myself.