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Quitting Caffeine

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Re: Quitting Caffeine

#121

Post by ctrijueque »

geebee wrote: post #91
nkkollaw wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus, that's like 10 espressos! I'm at >= 5. Pretty bad. I also feels like caffeine doesn't have much effect anymore. Any way to make quitting easier?

I quit a heavy coffee habit recently. I cut my caffeine in half each day (and went from a quarter cup to zero) I did experience some withdrawal symptoms, including headache, lethargy, and some mild but notable depression. The worst of it was over in a couple of days, I'd say the full deal took about a week and a half. Not a load of fun but honestly not that bad considering I was a heavy coffee drinker for 30 years. I…

I've been out out caffeine since January because I did something similar (and got similar withdrawal symptoms): I started by mixing regular coffee beans with decaf ones. First two weeks I used a 25/75% decaf to regular mix, next two weeks 50/50%, then 75%/25%, etc.

The key for my was finding good quality (and expensive) decaf coffe beans. After triying differente brands I settled with Lavazza.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#122

Post by projektir »

> A caveat to all of these points: I also now consume very little sugar and alcohol and I meditate regularly.

Things like this generally make me wary. Not so much because of them causing side effects that are harder to disentangle, but their adoption indicating that the author is fairly stabilized, which is a giant side effect in itself.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#123

Post by 0xbear »

skrebbel wrote: post #120

Quitting caffeine is hard, but I found a workaround: get the flu. If you're like me, when you're sick in bed, the last thing you'll want is coffee. By the end of your flu, you'll also have gotten off caffeine and you'll have ascribed the withdrawal symptoms to the flu. Done! Now go buy some decaf :-)

Decaf does contain caffeine though.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#124

Post by skrebbel »

0xbear wrote: post #123
skrebbel wrote: post #120

Quitting caffeine is hard, but I found a workaround: get the flu. If you're like me, when you're sick in bed, the last thing you'll want is coffee. By the end of your flu, you'll also have gotten off caffeine and you'll have ascribed the withdrawal symptoms to the flu. Done! Now go buy some decaf :-)

Decaf does contain caffeine though.

True, but very little.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#125

Post by tchaffee »

RonanTheGrey wrote: post #115
legohead wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drink Pepsi, and have tried to quit many times. One major thing I notice when I'm "on it" is that I get super drowsy a couple hours after lunch every day. When I'm off Pepsi/caffeine, I don't get this afternoon drowsiness. However, It's really hard to stay up after 10pm when I am off Pepsi/caffeine, which is when I work on my personal projects..

Is this Diet/Light or is this normal Pepsi? What you're describing is sugar dependence, not caffiene. Cut out all processed sugar and after 2 weeks you'll wonder what drug you are on (then cut out "healthy" carbs like bread and pasta and you'll wonder how you ever wanted to eat them).

I get those symptoms from coffee. I don't eat processed sugar and I mostly avoid other carbs during the work week. When I don't drink coffee I don't need an afternoon nap. But I like both coffee and naps so I often have coffee.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#126

Post by majormajor »

gfodor wrote: post #107

One thing that was striking to me when quitting caffeine (after drinking coffee consistently for years every day) was how after a week or two the feeling you have when waking up is completely different. I had always assumed when you wake up it was normal to feel terrible until the morning coffee. Not so. Off caffeine, a proper nights sleep will have you up and active right away.

> Off caffeine, a proper nights sleep will have you up and active right away.

This is not universally true.

I've experienced mornings in four different cases. Chronologically: drinking lots of soda, dropping caffeine and taking Adderall, consuming basically no stimulants for a year or so other than the occasional soda once or twice a month, and drinking black coffee and/or green tea regularly.

They've all been universally pretty awful, with still an hour of snooze button needed at most, but caffeine by itself has been the least bad both for mornings (including compared to no stimulant consumption) and in terms of overall side effects.

By far the worst regular day-to-day experience is the caffeine+sugar combo, though. If you can tolerate your caffeine without sugar, it can be quite nice.

(The worst absolute experience is a cold-turkey dropping of amphetamines for a weekend to reset a growing tolerance. Be prepared to watch a lot of TV, eat a lot of cheetos, and have very little desire or ability for serious thinking.)

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#127

Post by tigershark »

derekp7 wrote: post #15
SOLAR_FIELDS wrote: post #3

One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. I've found that ordering something that has little to no calories or substance goes a long way to alleviate these fears (like tonic or sparkling water). Because something like this still co…

I order water with my meals, because I want to taste the food. About the only food that is good with a soda (or beer) is pizza.

I can't imagine what kind of food you like to eat then. The food-wine (or beer) pairing is an integral part of a lot of cuisines. But I can understand that it may be a very alien concept if you like to eat Mac Donald burgers or American pizzas.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#128

Post by Turing_Machine »

jessriedel wrote: post #44
pdog wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the more interesting comments in the article is in regards to the social stigma of only consuming water during meals - people who have quit alcohol for various reasons have faced the same stigma when going out with friends. That stigma is entirely self-perception. No one cares or even notices what anyone else drinking.

This is definitely false. I've had multiple women tell me the dominant thing they noticed on a first date was that I didn't order a drink. Likewise, many people can attest that the social encouragement to get everyone drinking in group situations is very explicit. Shared consumption of intoxicating substances is closely monitored by everyone in the group, and is not same thing as the true fact that no one cares wheth…

> Shared consumption of intoxicating substances is closely monitored by everyone in the group

Get better friends.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#129

Post by horsecaptin »

I seem to have more energy than all my coworkers who drink coffee / tea every day at work. Here is how I do it:

- Get as much sleep as I need. Most days I need 8 hours. Some days I need 9. So I plan accordingly.

- Lunches that are light on carbs. Large amounts of potato, bread and or rice put me to sleep. On most days I have some sort of a salad for lunch with soup and a small piece of bread.

That is all. Plenty of sleep and not overeating. There are other things: a relatively active lifestyle, exercise, walks etc.. but the two items I mentioned above make the greatest difference in-terms of being awake and remaining alert all day for me.

Re: Quitting Caffeine

#130

Post by costcopizza »

I love coffee-- the smell, the ritual, the taste, but even 1 cup turns my anxiety from a normal 2/10 to a 7/10.

On top of that I don't even feel more focused or productive from caffeine. Actually I get easily overwhelmed and rather indecisive. My brain is not made for stimulants, as adderall makes me tired.

I'm going to try taking theanine with a cup tomorrow, if that doesn't improve things then I'm off caffeine for a long time.

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