Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

humansarenotbroken.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 74 posts

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#61

Post by jacalata »

maaaats wrote: post #5
krylon wrote: post #4

I stopped drinking coffee regularly about half a year ago. Before, I drank about a liter of fairly strong coffee per day, now I drink one to two liters of green tea. Early withdrawal was unpleasant, mainly fatigue and headaches (then again, I've seen alcoholics detox, caffeine is withdrawal is a walk in the park in comparison), but that lasted only a couple of days. My biggest surprise was that the "booster" effect o…

> My biggest surprise was that the "booster" effect of coffee in the early morning might have been a pure placebo effect It's not necessarily placebo, but the fact that your body has adjusted to caffeine, so you need it in the morning to reach "normal" levels.

But he is saying that he experiences the same ramp-up in the mornings without caffeine, so what he thought was the experience of going from uncaffeinated to normal appears to have been unrelated to the caffeine and was actually the experience of going from just-woken-up to awake.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#62

Post by jtolj »

boyaka wrote: post #35
jtolj wrote: post #32

I had to quit coffee about 7 months ago, after to developing a moderate case of something called chronic prostatitis. Of all the symptoms and things I have to avoid, coffee is still the thing I miss the most. It's not just the boost, or the taste and smell, although I do miss all of those. Mostly it's the ritual in the morning, and the social experience of "grabbing a cup of coffee" with someone that leaves a big voi…

Can you explain your personal symptoms, experiences, and how you happened upon discovering your condition? What made you go to the doctor and get diagnosed? I really dislike looking up medical conditions online.

Not sure this is relevant in a coffee thread, but for me it started with urinary tract infection symptoms (frequent, burning urination) which is what brought me to the doctor. I started antibiotics, which improved it slightly but it didn't go away completely. When it returned and got much worse, the doctor referred me to a urologist who diagnosed it as prostatitis. After months of various antibiotics and a half dozen specialist visits at $200/pop I finally gave up on going to the doctor, as he didn't seem any ideas outside of pumping me full of more antibiotics.

As fugoogs mentions, non-bacterial chronic prostatitis isn't well understood and there isn't an effective standard treatment protocol. There are theories ranging from it being caused by nano-bacteria that do not show up in normal tests to it being a muscular tension issue that can be resolved with physical therapy.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#63

Post by fugoogs »

jtolj wrote: post #56
fugoogs wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your prostatitis is still bothering you, look in to pelvic floor physiotherapy. After my experience I am convinced the chronic kind is a muscle condition (although it may first start as an infection). I am symptom free a good 95% of the time, no longer have a problem with caffeine or spicy foods, and in the words of Krusty the Clown, I can ride a bike again.

I did recently find a local office that does pelvic floor physiotherapy for men, and I would like to give that a try. I admit I'm skeptical (or perhaps pessimistic is a better word), but I have seen many anecdotes from people who have had some success with physiotherapy (although nobody ever seems to claim to be completely cured). But thanks, I'm glad to hear that you are doing better. To be able to have a painfully…

I don't think it is something you are completely cured from, but in my case I go many months without any symptoms now. When they do occur the level of pain and discomfort is minimal and I am usually able to get over it myself. I do go for more Physio two to three times a year and probably will until I'm dead, but I don't have any hangups about that or consider it a chore.

My other advice would be to eat well. Lots of fruits and vegetables. Avoid constipation. Also you are probably clenching your abdominal muscles throughout the day (I do it when stressed) and you need to stop doing that. Breathe with your diaphgram and not your abs. Try meditation or yoga (I think yin is the best from a meditative and stretching perspective).

Good luck and I'm positive you can at least improve your symptoms.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#64

Post by boyaka »

jtolj wrote: post #62
boyaka wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain your personal symptoms, experiences, and how you happened upon discovering your condition? What made you go to the doctor and get diagnosed? I really dislike looking up medical conditions online.

Not sure this is relevant in a coffee thread, but for me it started with urinary tract infection symptoms (frequent, burning urination) which is what brought me to the doctor. I started antibiotics, which improved it slightly but it didn't go away completely. When it returned and got much worse, the doctor referred me to a urologist who diagnosed it as prostatitis. After months of various antibiotics and a half dozen…

Ahh, I mistakenly interpreted your quitting of coffee as coffee being part of the potential cause, rather than a requirement as part of treatment of prostatitis (not that coffee absolutely didn't contribute to it, as you say it's not well understood). I still appreciate learning about your experience dealing with the condition! Thank you.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#65

Post by sharkweek »

benihana wrote: post #15

I love coffee. I love drinking it and I love the effects it has. I love the feeling of a waking up with a nice hot cuppa every morning as I read the news. I love getting a cup in the afternoon after lunch. I love making coffee for my wife, and I love when she offers to make me a cup when she makes herself a cup. I love coffee even though since I started lifting weights and eating well, I don't really need it. Every c…

Love coffee - used to work at a coffee related startup as well where we had access to the nicest machines and best, freshest roasts. I got extremely geeky about it for a few years. I have since calmed down on my consumption but have no plans on ever giving it up.

The one negative is that I become quite a miserable person if I don't have my morning cup before 9am. At that point it almost feels too late to recover with onset headaches almost inevitable. Even with that in mind I have no plans on trying to quit. Went cold turkey for about 3 months once just to prove I could do it, sucked for about 2-3 days then felt fine.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#66

Post by fugoogs »

boyaka wrote: post #35
jtolj wrote: post #32

I had to quit coffee about 7 months ago, after to developing a moderate case of something called chronic prostatitis. Of all the symptoms and things I have to avoid, coffee is still the thing I miss the most. It's not just the boost, or the taste and smell, although I do miss all of those. Mostly it's the ritual in the morning, and the social experience of "grabbing a cup of coffee" with someone that leaves a big voi…

Can you explain your personal symptoms, experiences, and how you happened upon discovering your condition? What made you go to the doctor and get diagnosed? I really dislike looking up medical conditions online.

I had the same experience as jtolj. A urinary tract infection that wouldn't go away, even after a couple of months of antibiotics (first one I don't remember, then cipro). Ejaculation would sometimes make it feel better. Sometimes worse. Finally saw a urologist that said he didn't believe it was caused by infection and that I should try pelvic floor Physio therapy. After the first week I felt so much better that I was convinced.

Whenenver I see someone mention it now I try to preach the physio gospel because when I was going through it there were a lot of negative sufferers posting to message boards saying it will never go away, etc.

Also women can suffer from a similar condition - chronic non bacterial urinary tract infections, and most of the pelvic floor physiotherapists are used to dealing with women. Maybe it is more common in women or the option is less known for men, or maybe men are more embarrassed to go see them.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#67

Post by jtolj »

fugoogs wrote: post #63
jtolj wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did recently find a local office that does pelvic floor physiotherapy for men, and I would like to give that a try. I admit I'm skeptical (or perhaps pessimistic is a better word), but I have seen many anecdotes from people who have had some success with physiotherapy (although nobody ever seems to claim to be completely cured). But thanks, I'm glad to hear that you are doing better. To be able to have a painfully…

I don't think it is something you are completely cured from, but in my case I go many months without any symptoms now. When they do occur the level of pain and discomfort is minimal and I am usually able to get over it myself. I do go for more Physio two to three times a year and probably will until I'm dead, but I don't have any hangups about that or consider it a chore. My other advice would be to eat well. Lots of…

Thank you for the advice!

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#69

Post by cjoelrun »

joslin01 wrote: post #39

I just quit coffee last week. Crazy that it's been a week now. I had gotten sick and didn't have any coffee for 2 days. This prompted me to just go all the way and stop it altogether. One big thing I saw drop was my anxiety. Anxiety has been passed down by my father, and while it's somewhat mild in me, my dad & sister would be having panic attacks at my age. For me, I never went into a straight panic but it can be ha…

I've had the same experience. I had coffee all through my college years. Had a few scattered experiences with anxiety attacks, but I always attributed them to test stress.

After I started working and the responsibility and the need for creativity grew, I found the anxious episodes start to grow and become quite debilitating. I started to experiment with different parts of my lifestyle: sleep, caffeine, exercise, relaxation.

In the end I narrowed it down to caffeine. The anxiety went away. I felt more awake throughout the day and sleep cycles easier to maintain.

I don't want to claim too much on creativity, but I do feel the ability to relax and let my mind wander has eased the creative process. Instead of the laser focus I'd get when on caffeine my mind could calmly move to less pressing tasks and make those subliminal connections I would have missed if I was too set on an issue.

That said I do miss the taste of coffee. I'll occasionally sip a decaf or latte and feel some of those symptoms return slightly, but knowing its cause has helped a lot.

Re: Why I Quit Coffee and How That's Been Working Out

#70

Post by GnarfGnarf »

A word of warning from someone who drank 2-3 cups/day of coffee for 50 years: go easy. Too much coffee will give you gastro-esophageal reflex disease (GERD), then you can't drink any more coffee, alcohol, or eat chocolate or vinegar.

I'd start with 3 or 4 cups a week.

Post reply on HN