Live data from Hacker News

I quit caffeine

keygen.sh

31–40 of 304 posts

Re: I quit caffeine

#32

Caffeine is the hardest drug to quit. Takes two weeks of miserable migraines. You can lapse at any time later just indulging in one craving. It just takes one bad morning to break it.

I successfully reduced caffeine to zero a few times before (usually after reading posts like this). I didn't quit cold turkey though, I gradually tapered it off over couple of weeks. No withdrawal effects at all.

If you consider caffeine very addictive, use techniques developed for fight addiction to addictive drugs like benzos.

Re: I quit caffeine

#33
Stories like this make me reconsider making that second cup later on in the day. It's just that it's so hard to let yourself be tired when the solution is so easily accessible.

I find that making a french press or V60 encourages me to make a lot more coffee just because I can, so I've since switched to the aeropress. People often state they wish it made more coffee, but it's been a nice way for me to limit caffeine consumption without feeling like I'm really restricting myself.

Re: I quit caffeine

#36

Caffeine is the hardest drug to quit. Takes two weeks of miserable migraines. You can lapse at any time later just indulging in one craving. It just takes one bad morning to break it.

That seems pretty excessive. Whenever I've gone off caffeine, it's only taken 2 days of light headaches. Am I an outlier here?

Re: I quit caffeine

#37
post #6

Caffeine is the hardest drug to quit. Takes two weeks of miserable migraines. You can lapse at any time later just indulging in one craving. It just takes one bad morning to break it.

A small amount of caffeine has been enough to keep the withdrawal headaches from occurring for me. When I've stopped in the past, I usually take one diet soda I don't especially enjoy (like a Diet Pepsi) and drink a quarter of a can a day in the morning. As you might surprise I've never attempted to quit caffeine permanently, just to reduce my consumption or to stop for a few months. It is indeed an easy habit to sta…

I do the same, but wait until the headache starts, rather than anticipating it, to drink something caffeinated. I've found this helps me quit faster, and a 10-minute headache isn't insufferable (a single caffeinated beverage usually ends the headache quickly for me). I've never needed more than 2-3 days to get passed that part.

But, like you, I've never tried to totally quit. I "test" myself by usually abstaining from caffeine on the weekends. If I get even a slight headache, then it's time to cut back.

Re: I quit caffeine

#38
I'll be the contrarian. I was a pot per day drinker and quit for three months and felt no different, just missed the coffee. I quit the quit and I'm back to a pot per day, feeling much better.

Re: I quit caffeine

#39

Caffeine is the hardest drug to quit. Takes two weeks of miserable migraines. You can lapse at any time later just indulging in one craving. It just takes one bad morning to break it.

I know you were just exaggerating for effect, but obviously a lot of illicit drugs (and not so illicit depending on the person: alcohol) are a lot harder to quit for various reasons.

Not really, I've done a lot of hard drugs, except heroin/opioids/benzos, and I'd say caffeine is the hardest to quit. Literally been on a 3 day binger awake and couldn't figure out why my head hurt, thought it was food, water, oh no whoops it was a caffeine withdrawal.

Everything else I can do on and off, some things it's been years, caffeine I've only quit once. Lapsed and haven't been able to again.

Re: I quit caffeine

#40
Well there is L-theanine[0] which I always found was the opposite of caffeine, and when you combine it with caffeine (500mg theanine & 200mg caffeine), you get a sort of flow state without the jitters of caffeine.

L-theanine takes the edge off caffeine. You could also just try L-theanine on its own.

This person needs to experiment with other nootropics besides caffeine. I've tried various stacks over the years like Alpha Brain, Mindlab Pro and a few others. They've been instrumental in getting shit done on a tight schedule, and I don't get that jittery 'wired' feeling you get taking plain caffeine supps on their own, just a mild flowy state (thanks to the L-theanine).

[0] https://draxe.com/nutrition/l-theanine/

Post reply on HN