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I quit caffeine

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Re: I quit caffeine

#141

Post by kzrdude »

carlgreene wrote: post #112

I quit caffeine about 8 weeks ago for mental health reasons. It has been TREMENDOUS so far. I'm still hesitant on writing about it because it's such a new experiment. When I was on caffeine I was on a lot of it. Probably around 400-600mg a day combining my pre workout with my daily coffees. It is one of my favorite drugs and I loved taking it. This was the last 15 years of my life. I became quite irritable over the p…

Do you sleep better now, is that the explanation? I quit coffee for a few years, to fix my sleep, and it really did (now I'm back on caffeine and managing ok-ish).

I would suggest to anyone curious to try. And if you quit coffee make it two weeks or so to really see the difference.

Re: I quit caffeine

#142

Post by Bellamy »

comboy wrote: post #101

Have been drinking it for 25 years. Had a few months without here and there. It's not much different unless your usage has been excessive, which clearly was the case here. Different people have different metabolism of caffeine and different reactions. It's very well documented. I'm one of those who have it easier to nap after strong coffee than before it. But I do love my espresso. If you are looking for a reason to…

I agree with you in almost everything. Even with the 25 years drinking period. :)

What I don't agree is the easy to quit part. I get headaches and don't stay awake. Even worse is the depression that follows. I know I feel better without (quit two times) but quitting is really tough.

Re: I quit caffeine

#143

Post by djrogers »

> But even having more than one cup of decaf brings on the shakes and skipped beats. The caffeine microdosing adds up, I guess.

You may have a problem other than a caffeine addiction. Cutting out caffeine may be the easiest/cheapest way to address it, but it is not normal or healthy for a few mg of caffeine to give you jitters or affect your heartbeat.

I'd talk to a cardiologist to make sure you're not just hiding the symptoms of a life-threatening problem.

Re: I quit caffeine

#144

Post by sdze »

lambdaba wrote: post #130
sdze wrote: post #119

I think I can only quit coffee with suicide. It is impossible. During my days as a student I managed to be 9 days coffee free. But I relapsed. I get all kinds of symptoms. Coffee is the hardest drug to get clean from.

Get on a lot of magnesium + thiamine (this is important, they go together). Whether you quit coffee or not, but these two will help you with the withdrawal symptoms (and they are BOTH depleted by regular caffeine intake).

magnesium oxide ok? (cheapest one)

Re: I quit caffeine

#145

Post by rcarmo »

I'm one of those people who stopped taking 5-6 Espressos a day (an average amount for a Portuguese person, given that we imported Cimbalino machines from Italy a few decades ago and just couldn't kick the habit nationally).

I did that for around 20 years (with occasional breaks), then progressively petered out to 2-3 cups a day and, last year, I finally removed the last Espresso (the breakfast one) from my diet.

I switched to one cup of black tea in the morning (I'm partial to Earl Grey) and one or two mugs of barley 'coffee' a day (in Winter time, typically zero in Summer) and lots of water. I will occasionally have non-black tea during the Winter time as well - mostly mint and ginger.

Now drinking a can of diet Coke (which I typically do in two doses, whenever I feel like I'm struggling through the day) gives me a good enough buzz, and I _know_ coffee will work if I need to stay up late (which I usually don't anymore).

But, in general, ditching coffee improved my well-being a _lot_. I sleep better, I don't have (the same kind of) headaches, and I don't push myself beyond what my body can take and spend 2-3 days recovering from a particularly intense day.

I do miss the flavor and enjoy a hot beverage (hence the barley), but I don't miss the stress it induced, or the crutch it was.

Re: I quit caffeine

#146

Post by sleepysysadmin »

Caffeine is in so many things. Even more interesting is that it's a stimulant that is unique. Every other stimulant is controlled if not illegal. Amphetamines or cocaine for example. The problem is that it has a long history and government would not be successful in controlling it. Even though they clearly would if they could.

How many corporations literally provide coffee to their workers. Even to the point of paying you to drink it on a break? This drug is clearly beneficial to these corps. The increase in focus and productivity is obvious. This boost to cognitive function is what created the age of enlightenment.

Re: I quit caffeine

#147

Post by manmal »

throw1234651234 wrote: post #55
anonymousiam wrote: post #43

I gave up all forms of caffeine about 35 years ago. My experiences were similar to the author, but worse. I had been drinking coffee from about age 12. The first time I quit (at age 24) I had bad headaches. I "fell off the wagon" after a week or so. A month later I quit again and then felt so bad that I missed two days of work. I lapsed again after about a month. The third and final time I quit (maybe a month later),…

Sugar is in the same boat of "well, everyone does it, not that bad."

The metabolic and cardiovascular effects of coffee are vastly preferable over sugar‘s (or, to be more precise, fructose). I personally also don’t react well to caffeine (one weak cup can totally mess up sleep), but at least it’s easy to find out when it’s doing more harm than good.

Re: I quit caffeine

#148

Post by lambdaba »

sdze wrote: post #144
lambdaba wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get on a lot of magnesium + thiamine (this is important, they go together). Whether you quit coffee or not, but these two will help you with the withdrawal symptoms (and they are BOTH depleted by regular caffeine intake).

magnesium oxide ok? (cheapest one)

Magnesium Chloride is the cheapest, magnesium oxide has the strongest laxative effect. Take between 5-10 grams per day spread out throughout the day. That will yield around 625-1250 mg elemental magnesium, 1.5 to 3x the RDA, but you likely need to it up from a deficiency. There is no way to overdose (gut rejects it automatically).

Re: I quit caffeine

#149

Post by smcl »

One 2-cup moka (not huge) mid-morning and another after lunch is already a little too much for me sometimes. I cannot fathom taking in this amount of coffee, I would be an utter wreck.

Re: I quit caffeine

#150

Post by kseistrup »

I am currently trying to limit my caffeine intake by mixing increasing amounts of decaf beans into my regular coffee beans, as I do not wish to go through seeveral weeks with low mood, headaches and feeling tired. So far it's going beyond my expectations: I have tried to go decaf so many times in my life and has always relapsed because of the withdrawal symptoms. Slowly and gradually decreasing the daily caffeine intake seems to do the trick.

I would love to try the Rasa coffee alternative that the author is talking about, but I can't seem to find a reseller within the EU.

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