Tomorrow starts no caffeine day 1 - wish me luck

[raisedfist]

and feel free to hold me accountable and call me names if i fail

[Snoregone Conclusion]

Caffeine usage and dependence is readily comparable to running up a credit card bill with your body, and when you finally pay it back, it will be with interest. Chances are (unless you’ve otherwise caught up on sleep) you’ll find yourself dragging while you pay back that interest: people that depend on it have relied on it to push through their deficit that’s not really sustainable long-term naturally.

The side-effects caffeine-dependent people will likely see is an inability to push themselves through a hard, long night without sleep, or an intense enough endurance exercise bout after only a few hours of sleep, both being things that someone that’s not running on a chemically-induced daily endurance should readily be able to do at least a few times a year without it being that big of a deal, and do it without chemicals.

I didn’t think about this much until a conversation I had with a caffeine-dependent person I met at a developer’s conference in 2010 where I mentioned that due to nerves, I never got more than about 4 hours sleep the morning I run half-marathons. “That’s impossible, you’re lying, nobody can do that!” Well, if you’ve pushed yourself in the wrong way, perhaps. People would be amazed at what the human body can do if the mind doesn’t stop them from doing it. Yes, I didn’t run at maximum performance on that little sleep

I don’t drink coffee at all and avoid caffeine as much as I can for several reasons, including a degenerative inner ear condition: it’s not something you need for health, despite what some addicts would insist!

Good luck in getting over it, once you’ve sufficiently paid back that debt, you’ll feel much better and have more even energy levels on the other side.

[Gryphon]

You may think about tapering off vs. cold turkey - depending on the amount of caffeine you were consuming beforehand.

I was drinking a ton of caffeine over 18+ years ago... like 2 or 3 two litter bottles of Mt. Dew each day... I tried to join my family who drank way less caffeine on a "cold turkey" quit idea... next day I had a full blown migraine headache. I had to struggle to get to the grocery store at the bottom of the hill from my house to get caffeine in my system as quickly as I could, with in 45min or so my headache was gone. I kind of worked out from that point that I might have a problem so I started drinking the smaller 24oz bottles - then tapering down to 2 a day then 1 then none...

If you can quantify the amount of caffeine you were drinking... try cutting it in half each day till your down to only one drink - then you should be able to quit with out any major pain or major withdrawal. If you experience light sensitivity or headache add a bit more caffeine but only half more so the pain subsides. IE: if you were drinking a full thermos of coffee before lunch... cut that to half - then the next day go to a 1/4th... if you have a headache by that point - drink like half a cup to help but don't go back to a full half thermos. keep slowly cutting back like a half life till your down to one normal drinks worth - then try stopping it all together.

If you've already done something like this - or your just going to go for it no mater what.

I congratulate you and wish you all the best of luck. Keep working hard to reach your goal.

Rest well,

Gryphon

[David1447]

and feel free to hold me accountable and call me names if i fail

I've never had any issues in that department, but have you considered tapering off with green/black tea? Just a thought if you find yourself reaching for the coffee pot.

[chunkyfrog]

Caffeine is weird stuff, and not everyone has the same effect.
Many migraine sufferers think it is a miracle drug.

[Sheriff Buford]

How much caffeine do you consume?

Sheriff

[ChicagoGranny]

You may think about tapering off vs. cold turkey - depending on the amount of caffeine you were consuming beforehand.

Yes. If he has been drinking a lot of caffeine, he needs to taper off slowly. Cold turkey gives many heavy caffeine drinkers a bad headache.

[Chalkie]

Good luck with quitting caffeine. I am sure you will feel the benefits if you can stick it out.

I know I use too much some days and would be better off without it. I often feel there is no other way to get through, however.

I drink a lot of Barley Cup from the health food store - it tastes quite like coffee but is caffeine free.

[freetimecreations]

and feel free to hold me accountable and call me names if i fail

I agree with those that say taper off.
What I have done to decrease the amount every day was to use those 200mg caffeine pills also know as "No Doz" With a knife they are easily broken in half and quarters.
For me the pills prevented the headaches, I could check the amount of caffeine I had, and a big one for me I eliminated the taste craving for drinking coffee right away as opposed to the method of reducing the amount of real coffee I drank every day for a week or two.

Alas after a few months of no coffee I fall back and start drinking coffee again. UGH

[raisedfist]

How much caffeine do you consume?

Sheriff

I think about 16 - 20oz a day. I think what hurts me the most is that when I drink the coffee, I drink it instead of water because I don't like being so full on liquids. Stupid but it is what it is.

[palerider]

Pretty sure coffee counts as a liquid, unless you're just snacking on beans... Just saying.

[Mark55]

How much caffeine do you consume?

Sheriff

I think about 16 - 20oz a day. I think what hurts me the most is that when I drink the coffee, I drink it instead of water because I don't like being so full on liquids. Stupid but it is what it is.

That's not much, you shouldn't need to taper unless you feel like you need it. I go back and forth from drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day, to quitting totally for long periods of time. I have never had any really bad headaches from cutting it off cold turkey, but as usual,........YMMV.

Good luck!

[raisedfist]

How much caffeine do you consume?

Sheriff

I think about 16 - 20oz a day. I think what hurts me the most is that when I drink the coffee, I drink it instead of water because I don't like being so full on liquids. Stupid but it is what it is.

That's not much, you shouldn't need to taper unless you feel like you need it. I go back and forth from drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day, to quitting totally for long periods of time. I have never had any really bad headaches from cutting it off cold turkey, but as usual,........YMMV.

Good luck!

I get very bad headaches when I abstain, so I think I am just very sensitive.

[Sheriff Buford]

I'd suggest, like Mark stated, to wean yourself off gradually. Replace the caffeine with water.

Sheriff

[Grace~~~]

I have quit caffeine several times. I have never had any alcohol in my life and I don't drink soda but I do keep getting addicted to coffee.

I will quit for as much as three years at times and I swear it only takes one cup of coffee and I'm back addicted. I only drink it in the morning but I tend to start making it stronger and stronger and then using larger cups.

I get headaches when I quit but I always quit the coffee cold turkey but I replace the caffeine with BC powder which is super easy to monitor the amount and cut back.

The first few days I just take a full packet of BC whenever the first twinge of headache starts. The first day that could be as many as three BC packets. From there it is easy to cut the dosage of the powder ... it generally takes me about 10 days until I realize I have no headache and no caffeine.

...then years will pass ... and I'll think, "what's one cup of coffee? ... boy that smells good and everyone else is drinking it. I'll just have one cup."

~~~within a week of that first cup, I will be doing it daily again and addicted and believing all the "health benefits".

Side Note: The first time I quit was because breast cancer ran in my family and I was VERY scared. (unfortunately I was later diagnosed with cancer but not breast cancer, go figure ) ... anyway, in my 20s, I kept feeling lumps and tenderness in my breasts and WORSE ... my underarms, the glands there, were painfully swollen and very tender to even the slightest touch. After a long series of mammograms, sonograms and breast MRI, a top notch BC specialist told me to stop caffeine. Within a few months all tenderness was completely gone!

I never became addicted long enough to actually cause myself to re-experience those symptoms again but I remember being shocked as everything returned to healthy again once I stopped the coffee.

I know everyone's body is different though ... and I know there's all kinds of positive studies that say coffee is good for you ~~~

I'm off coffee again for the last few years ... but mmmmm ... I still love and miss it.