When you have Grave’s disease, your body is already “making a couple pots of coffee” on its own, so it is best that you avoid putting more into your system. Caffeine can work to actually amplify the symptoms of Grave’s disease, specifically the palpitations, the nervousness, tremors, anxiety and sleep disturbances.
Basically, your body has an inability to handle the caffeine you are now putting into your body, and it actually hits you harder. So, it’s a good idea to avoid them entirely even if you were tolerant before. This includes: coffee (even decaf), tea (except herbal), chocolate and any “herbal” energy products. These are all stimulants for a body that is being overstimulated, so it is best to avoid them.
If you are off the coffee, you might notice your symptoms going down by one half, or even two thirds – which is pretty substantial. The symptoms are not being caused by the coffee, but the caffeine is impacting your body like never before.