Side effects of drinking puerh

Do you mean like a stomach ache? Definitely a lot of people find that their system doesn't take kindly to a lot of young sheng. The particular tea seems to matter somewhat too. I wouldn't say that it's a hard and fast rule never to drink it, but I think it's a good rule to listen to your body - if a particular tea or type of tea doesn't agree with you, you should probably avoid it. Personally, I don't drink that stuff (dry-stored young sheng) very often or in large quantities. Other people do and seem to have no problems with it. Definitely avoid drinking young sheng on an empty stomach if possible. If this is all with one tea (sounds like it is), you might also want to just try a different tea.

There are some TCM considerations - I believe the best explanation I've heard is that it's very, very cold qi (more so than normal green tea). There was a good discussion about it on the Livejournal community, which featured some comments by someone who knows a lot more about this than I do, but last time I looked for it, I couldn't find it.

I would try some other types of puer (some well-stored aged (>15 years) sheng if you can afford some small samples, some decent shu with a couple of years on it, and maybe some 5-10 year old sheng with a little more wet / humid storage) -- all of these will likely be mellower and earthier than what you tried, and also easier on your system.

An interesting side effect when drinking some ripe Haiwan 2009 No.1/901 was that I got very, very lethargic afterwards. I had not had that happen before.  Usually I am energized.

I'm a bit late in the game here, but I have a few thoughts.

1-Try chocolate! I know it sounds weird, but for the puerh stomach and heach aches, a Master in Malaysia recommended chocolate, and it works for me. Maybe it will help you?

2-A lot of people actually get sleepy from puerh. It was explained to me that it has to do with how the bacteria change the chemical structure of the tea, causing the caffeine to metabolize differently. Puerh jazzes me up, especially old sheng, but I know many people that have the opposite effect! I recently spent some time with Liu Bao for the first time, and despite my puerh tolerance, it hit me like a neewb! I was teadrunk all day!

3-Everyone is different. I know a guy who fall asleep when he drinks coffee. Maybe you just don't respond to puerh, or maybe something is wrong with your body, and puerh just highlights it. I recently tasted a cousin to the tea plant (it only grows on this one remote Chinese island) called "1 leaf tea", and if your body is balanced it is supposed to have a sweet taste, and if your body is out of whack, a bitter taste. Or something like that.

Good luck and happy sipping!

My stomach did not get upset, but I started getting flutters on my neck and feeling lightheaded.  I really wanted to be able to drink this tea, because of its benefits, but I could not handle the caffeine in it.  I think I'm too sensitive to caffeine. is there anything else I can drink that has similar benefits?

If it's the sensitivity to caffeine then try to skip the first 2 brews. Generally most of the caffeine will be extracted in the first two steeps. Ideally of course you would like to be drinking with friends to avoid wasting the first steeps. I generally tend to brew lighter brews in the evening by reducing the steeping time. This might be also a good one for you.

I haven't even thought of this. What are the possible side effects to look for?