Hi Andrew! I hope you start feeling better soon...I know going back to school is tough, especially if you anticipate stress and more symptoms once you get there. I totally sympathize with you about needing to stay up late to study; I'm in school too (I go to Pitzer College in Claremont, CA, if anyone has heard of it) and I'm a Human Biology major so my schedule is always tough. The yerba mate is a little sketch; I have read in two different places that it can increase blood pressure and that it may not actually provide as many of the health benefits it claims (can't cite these sources though, sorry). I found a website that looks professional from the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine: Yerba Mate which lists some helpful information, including prescription drugs that interact with Yerba Mate. I would recommend drinking green tea, or white tea, if you need to stay awake; they have very little caffeine and also have the benefits of antioxidants. I am so sensitive to caffeine that even the green tea makes me nauseous and shaky, but if you are used to it they may be a good option. Also, if you can get vegan cocoa powder and make hot chocolate with soy/rice milk or something, chocolate does have a small amount of caffeine as well.
For what it's worth, I didn't have IBS until I went off to college. I personally have decided that my first two years of sleepless nights and constant anxiety over schoolwork were just not worth the physical/psychological pain and stress. This past semester I made it a point to get 8 hours of sleep almost every night (much easier since I also moved from dorms to an apt  ) and I still pulled off grades that I was satisfied with. Not surprisingly, I felt much better.
Regarding the weather, I had two weeks where I felt especially uncomfortable in October, and an acupuncturist told me it was probably due to a sudden bout of rainy weather...However, right now it has been pouring where I live for like 2 weeks and I don't think it has affected me that much...it could also be a result of being less active when it rains, who knows? Sorry this got kinda long, good luck with everything!
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~Angela
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Re: Yerba Mate
