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Caffeine use disorder

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Re: Caffeine use disorder

#101

Post by strlen »

Personal suggestions:

1) Dark roast coffee has less caffeine and is (in my subjective opinion) tastier. So if one wants the taste of coffee without less of the effects, consider an espresso or a Turkish coffee. The latter is just called "coffee" in much of Eastern Europe, one can pick up a beautiful cezve on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3D...

2) Yerba Mate is 75 mg of caffeine per serving: higher than tea, but less than coffee. Can be made in an French Press or a tea pot and served like conventional tea.

3) Caffeine gum: not particularly pleasant to chew, but comes in a more precise dose (100mg) and is "kicks in" faster.

Personally, I'd like to see more genetic studies on this: I am not particularly affected by caffeine: I've never experienced withdrawals (despite consuming caffeine heavily -- from coffee and energy drinks for a long period of time) nor do I see coffee raise itself in potency after a week or two of abstinence. This is different for others and I would really like to understand why.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#102

Post by danieltillett »

TTPrograms wrote: post #71
danieltillett wrote: post #10

The thing to remember with caffeine is its half-life in non-smokers is 8 hours (it is 3 hours in smokers). I have a rule to never have any drink with caffeine after midday - if I break this rule even by an hour I suffer that night and the next day. Caffine is a morning drug.

There's also a gene that determines if you're a fast or slow metabolizer, I think it affects half life by around a factor of two. 23AndMe checks the associated SNP.

Yes this is true. I should have added these times are averages, not constants.

Metabolism of drugs like caffeine is genetically quite variable and is quite an issue for pharmaceutical companies.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#103

Post by Odin78 »

mdip wrote: post #39

I discovered that if I only consumed caffeine when I had a Migraine headache, that it was the most effective medicine I could take provided I didn't already have a tolerance built up so I gave up caffeine in my 20s. Frankly, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was plagued with minor but persistent headaches for almost a month and was exhausted most of that time since I was used to grabbing a cup of coff…

How many cups of coffee did you drink per day?

I limit myself to one cup a day and I feel like it has very little impact on my alertness and energy levels. Do you think just one cup a day already makes your body build a tolerance?

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#104

Post by joslin01 »

strlen wrote: post #101

Personal suggestions: 1) Dark roast coffee has less caffeine and is (in my subjective opinion) tastier. So if one wants the taste of coffee without less of the effects, consider an espresso or a Turkish coffee. The latter is just called "coffee" in much of Eastern Europe, one can pick up a beautiful cezve on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3D... 2) Yerba Mate is 75 mg of caffeine per…

> I've never experienced withdrawals

I don't believe you. How long have you gone without it? When did you start drinking caffeine? What's your definition of withdrawal?

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#105

Post by mchahn »

Kenji wrote: post #19

Caffeine has such a strong effect on me (physically and psychologically), I can even tell its effect in some (not fully) decaffeinated coffees. This started one day, I've been a regular drinker before. Since then, almost only decaf.

I am lucky to have a nervous disorder that keeps me from drinking caffeine. Any amount and I get a headache. I can even tell how much is in something by the intensity of my headache. It is surprising how many things have caffeine.

The worst soft drink is orange soda. There were orange soda ads many years ago that used the Beach Boy's "Good Vibrations".

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#106

Post by hellbanner »

mdip wrote: post #39

I discovered that if I only consumed caffeine when I had a Migraine headache, that it was the most effective medicine I could take provided I didn't already have a tolerance built up so I gave up caffeine in my 20s. Frankly, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was plagued with minor but persistent headaches for almost a month and was exhausted most of that time since I was used to grabbing a cup of coff…

Try massaging yourself with heated sesame oil when you have a migraine. It's worked for me 4 times now.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#107

Post by adrusi »

Odin78 wrote: post #103
mdip wrote: post #39

I discovered that if I only consumed caffeine when I had a Migraine headache, that it was the most effective medicine I could take provided I didn't already have a tolerance built up so I gave up caffeine in my 20s. Frankly, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was plagued with minor but persistent headaches for almost a month and was exhausted most of that time since I was used to grabbing a cup of coff…

How many cups of coffee did you drink per day? I limit myself to one cup a day and I feel like it has very little impact on my alertness and energy levels. Do you think just one cup a day already makes your body build a tolerance?

Yes, your body will build a tolerance to any amount of anything you put into it, if you're doing so frequently. It's easier to form a tolerance to small quantities than large quantities. The best way to avoid forming a tolerance is to use large, infrequent doses. In other words, drink a few energy drinks once a week for an all-nighter instead of cup of coffee every morning. Heavy, infrequent use also makes it easier to reflect on how your drug usage is impacting your life. The same logic applies to most things, although with some other drugs there are additional factors that come into play and complicate matters.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#108

Post by rdl »

I wonder if a low dose of modafinil or an amphetamine is less physically damaging than an equivalently effective dose of caffeine.

Re: Caffeine use disorder

#110

Post by dikdik »

have_faith wrote: post #15

My old co-workers would drink coffee throughout the day and constantly complain about not having enough energy and they would look physically drained. They required it to feel normal. Reminds me very much of people I know who smoke weed to feel normal because they are so used to it. As another commenter mentioned, not drinking caffeine makes it's effects much stronger when you actually need it. I don't drink tea/coff…

I was drinking 8-10 cups of coffee a day for a couple years, but on the weekends I wouldn't have any and I would be fine. I thankfully did not have averse health problems, but I ended up being put on adderall as my doc thought I might have ADD. I immediately cut my intake to 1, maybe 2 cups a day as anymore would make me sick.

I went off adderall as it was not a great solution, turned out I was mostly miserable and bored at that company. I was trying to keep myself engaged by getting high on caffeine. After quitting, I drink 3-4 cups a day and some days none.

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