I gave up Caffeine!

Published on August 17, 2006 By sushiK In Health & Medicine

I was doing a large Dunkins or what ever Iced Coffee ever morning for the last few years.
It helped out big time for programming as it was like a jolt of speed every morning.

But I found my cycle just getting thrown to hell.
Sleep was hard to come, I was starting to get nervous for no real reason, and I was always on edge.

I decided to give up all caffeine for a week and see how things panned out.
I started on Saturday so I could have the weekend to be grumpy (and I was).
My body snapped back by getting extra sleep on Sunday and Monday. I was just slow moving for a few days but it has been 5 days now my cycle of sleep is feeling more normal now and the cravings have diminished. I don't like to be dependent upon a substance to function normally.

Has anyone else experienced this with Caffeine? Has anyone ever given it up?

Comments (Page 1)

Dr Guy

on Aug 17, 2006

I actually did it right, but not on purpose! I was doing a pot a day (12 cups) and noticed I was jumpy, edgy, and not sleeping, so I started cutting it half and half (my sister was living with me at the time, and she started making it). That was fine, but then I cut myself down to a half pot and then a quarter pot (about 3 cups).

Then one day about 4.5 years ago, she had to take her son to another city for a heart operation. And I forgot to make it.

Have not had any (except one day when I forgot and spent the night awake!) since then. But no grumpiness or overly tiredness. And no headaches (that was what I would get if I missed my caffeine when I was addicted to it).

But I do miss coffee! Especially Dunkin Donuts kind!

stubbyfinger

on Aug 17, 2006

I gave it up a few months ago myself. I was drinking two cups of coffee in the mourning and two cups of white tea in the afternoons. I had been gradually becoming more and more sensitive to caffeine; so gradual in fact I didn’t make the connection to the way I felt and caffeine for some time.

I had been anxious had headaches and an increasingly rapid heart rate. It got to where I couldn’t do anything without my heart rate jumping over 100 bpm. I thought caffeine never affected me before but I finally made the connection and cut out caffeine (I never claimed to be that bright). Sure enough my resting heart rate dropped to 65 bpm from 90 and I felt great.

I was getting worried I had heart problems so I was quite relieved it was something so simple as a beverage change.

Shovelheat

on Aug 17, 2006

Interesting, sushik. Keep us informed on how this works out- I've been pondering doing that myself as I LOVE coffee.

About a year or so ago I gave up ALL caffenated (sp?) softdrinks and I know I feel much better from that.

Adventure-Dude

on Aug 17, 2006

I am not a huge fan of the caffiene but I enjoy the taste of a good brew. Has anyone just gone to decaf? I enjoy that smell of a fresh brew. I don't drink a whole lot. Maybe 3-4 cups. But I am strongly considering go to de-caf. Anythoughts?

sushiK

on Aug 17, 2006

Here is some info I googled (Oops! they going to sue me cause I sid Google as verb?)

With long hours at the workplace being the in thing, coffee machines in the offices are no longer an exception. The cuppa apart from being a break -time favorite has, over the past few years, become a necessary accompaniment to official meetings and chat sessions. Many a times a quick sip not only helps you to crack the knottiest of audit jumbles but also gain confidence before facing the boss after an awful goof-up. True, but it is good only as long as it lasts. What happens later is cause enough for worry. While a cup of coffee apparently stimulates your senses, a regular in take of caffeine can leave you a complete wreck.
This is because coffee simply stimulates the central nervous system, increases he stress hormones in the blood streams, thus making a person feel unnaturally alert. Consequently induced alert state tends to subdue your body's natural instincts and prevent it from relaxing. This causes undue stress and leads to various kinds of disorders.
Daily caffeine intake induces a 24 hour cyclic disturbance in your body. While the morning cup of coffee or tea perks up your mood most people can't stop at that. Almost every office goer develops a craving for the next cup and subsequently, a heavy fatigue sets in by late afternoon. Even if endless cups revives you at this time of the day, a total collapse is inevitable by evening.
Irritability, fatigue and gloom along with an uncomfortable sensation are the usual symptom. what is worse is that finally when you try to sleep away your blues at night, you just can't. That's no the end. The next morning you get up tired, thirsting for a steaming cuppa to settle your mood.
Thus begins a coffeeholic's journey. At the end of which, apart from developing dark circles under the eyes, you also acquire acidity problems, irregular palpitations and more. So next time you take a sip remember you are sipping a host of health problems too.

Are you a Coffee Addict?

Addiction to caffeine can begin as early as in school, or as the syllabus pressure gets the better of you in college or perhaps, when you land a job and have to course up the anxiety ridden path to office. The first sip happens when you battling stress and depression. If you're caffeine dependent answer the following questions and evaluate the addiction status:

Do you consume more than two cups of coffee, tea or cola or chocolate in a day?

Do you feel fatigued on and off during the day?

Do you go through massive emotional mood swings during the day?

Do you suffer from frequent headaches?

Do you suffer from constipation or are you dependent on tea or coffee in the morning for clearing your bowels?

Do you suffer from acidity or heartburn?

Do you feel a generalized pain in the neck, shoulders and back region and a sensation of discomfort in the legs, hands and stomach?

Do you suffer from a burning sensation, fatigue and heaviness in the eyes?

If you are a woman do you suffer from premenstrual syndromes?

Do you have difficulty in going to sleep?

Do you wake up in the morning feeling dead tired?

Are you easily irritable?

Do you suffer from irregular or rapid heartbeats?

Do you often feel dizzy?

Do you have high blood pressure problems apart from anxiety problems?

Do you have ulcers?

Do you have problems concentrating without your regular cup of coffee?

Do your hands tremor?

Do you feel dehydrated?

If you have answered five to six of the questions with an 'yes' caffeine is part of your daily system, reduction or removal of products laced with caffeine from your diet will improve your health considerably.
If you have answered seven to eight of the questions in the affirmative, you are a caffeine addict, and need to reduce or eliminate caffeine from your diet. Before caffeine causes any nutritional imbalance or disorder try and be conscious about what you eat and drink.
If 10 to 12 of the questions have a positive answer, its time to sit up and listen to your body signals. Caffeine can cause serious damage to your health. Wean yourself of the habit slowly and steadily, preferably with the help o fhe dietician.
Remember this is just a self help questionnaire and not a professional diagnosis sheet. Incase of alarming results it is advisable to contact the family doctor.

How much Caffeine do you consume daily?

Food and beverage Caffeine content (mg/serving)
Coffee(6 oz, normal teacup):
Instant 57
Brewed, drip method 103
Brewed, percolator method 75
Tea(6 oz, normal teacup), 3-minute brew 36
Cola beverages(100ml), regular or diet 10 to 15
Cola beverage(6 oz normal teacup) 4
Milk chocolate(8 oz) 8
Dark Milk chocolate(1 oz) 8 to 20
Chocolate pudding half cup) 4 to 8

The Withdrawal Symptoms of Caffeine

Once you have lowered your caffeine dependence status and realized that caffeine is the trouble factor in your diet, don't take the hasty decisions of cutting down on all such intake. For in case of sudden elimination of all caffeine products from your diet, the withdrawal symptoms maybe too tough to handle. consequently, you may suffer from some of the following withdrawal symptoms:

Headaches,

Irritability

Intensification of premenstrual symptoms

Fatigue

Generalized muscular tension

Nausea

Lack of appetite

Constipation

Lack of concentration

Disorientation

Forgetfulness

Quitting Coffee Gradually

So make sure you reduce your regular caffeine intake gradually. Initially reduce your intake by half. Avoid the other half by replacing it with a cup of mild organic green tea or herbal tea. For example if you are used to four cups of coffee in a day, start drinking two cups of coffee and two cups of mild green tea. Gradually replace the mild tea with with soup or plain hot water mixed with honey and lime. Then replace the remaining two cups of coffee with mild tea and follow the same pattern.

4 cups of coffee
2 cups of coffee+2 cups of tea
2 cups of coffee+2 servings of soup/hot water with honey and lime
2 cups of coffee+2 cups of soup/hot water with honey and lime
4 cups of soup/water with honey and lime
Freedom from caffeine dependence.

sushiK

on Aug 17, 2006

Here is one more I found.
After reading these things are starting to make sense

Caffeine is the Christian drug of choice. Its nutty aroma fills every church. Cigarettes and alcohol are not permitted but a two-hundred-gallon pot of this black, adrenal-stimulant will attract hundreds of Christians with their drug paraphernalia, usually Styrofoam cups.

Caffeine is highly addictive. Quitting coffee can cause withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, sleepiness and irritability. The acidic nature of coffee can lead to stomach ulcers. When the excess acid enters the bloodstream, it increases calcium loss in urine. Both coffee and tea have no nutritional value. Tannin, the substance that makes teacups brown and coats teapots, is used for tanning leather. Imagine the stomach after twenty years of tea drinking.

Coca-Cola put cocaine in their drink at the turn of the century. It sold extremely well. Some consumers succumbed to the addictive quality of cocaine and started to drink undiluted Cola syrup. When cocaine was banned for use in soft drinks, the bottlers switched to caffeine. The top selling soft drinks are loaded with caffeine: Coca-Cola, 34 mg, Mountain Dew, 55 mg, and TAB, 46.8 mg. Similarly, instant coffee contains 65-100 mg. per cup.

On those warm summer days, young children, with half the adult weight and three times their sensitivity, can drink large amounts of caffeinated pop. One can of cola for them is equivalent to 3 cups of instant coffee for an adult. Caffeine, combined with sugar, salt, and a diet high in synthetic food, creates one unmanageable youngster.

Caffeine can be found in cold remedies, diet pills, wake-up pills, chocolate and painkillers. Over the counter and prescription pain killers will add to your caffeine quota: Excedrin, 65 mg; Midol, 32 mg; Anacin, 32 mg; Darvon Compound, 32 mg; and Fiorinal, 32 mg. Instead of healing the cold, caffeine slows down the elimination of mucus and destroys vitamin C.

In a survey, the four top reasons for people quitting coffee were: central nervous system disorders, 39%; gastrointestinal problems, 37%; to break the addiction, 19%; and fibrocystic breast tumors, 15%.

Caffeine is able to penetrate deep into vital tissue. Evidence shows that it may be linked to male infertility and also birth defects by passing through the placenta. Drinking coffee during breast-feeding will cause caffeine to be present in mothers' milk.

Caffeine has a powerful effect on coronary arteries and the pulmonary and systemic vessels, causing a greater flow of blood to the heart muscle, but decreasing the flow of blood to the brain by constricting cerebral blood vessels. Caffeine can cause abnormally fast, abnormally slow and irregular heartbeats. It also wreaks havoc on blood pressure, commonly producing hypertension. Coffee has been linked to heart disease, pancreas and bladder cancer and hypoglycemia.

Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, providing that familiar kick on which we have come to depend. As with all stimulants, there is a price to be paid. If you run the body on overdrive for an extended period of time by artificially stimulating the adrenals, expect breakdown to occur.

Adventure-Dude

on Aug 17, 2006

Wow, Thanks Sushi. My fiance doesn't like me drinking coffee but after reading your data it backs what she has been telling me. I guess I'll have to start weaning myself back to tea. But I LIKE the taste of coffee

Dr Guy

on Aug 17, 2006

Sorry I did not jump in earlier. On the Decaf question.

Do I drink it every day? No. You cant find good decaf in most places. But when we go to one of those snooty hotels (that charges for the air you breath and calls it atmosphere), I always drink the decaf! Plus when my wife has a sugar craze, Dunkin Donut coffee!

AH! Coffee! The nectar of the Gods!

stubbyfinger

on Aug 17, 2006

I just switched to decaf. The tannins in coffee can prevent liver cancer according to some research and the antioxidant polyphenols in tea, especially green, black and white teas, are known to help purge free radicals and significantly boost the immune system among other benefits.

So don’t give up your coffee and tea just get the decaf. The best tasting green tea I’ve had just happens to be decaffeinated. Link

Dr Guy

on Aug 18, 2006

free radicals

Is that like Hokey Carmichael?

MasonM

on Aug 18, 2006

Caffeine is one of the major food groups, how could I give it up?

I have several cups of coffee ever day and I'm not edgy damn it!

ntisafron

on Aug 18, 2006

I LOVE COFFEE.

Tova7

on Aug 18, 2006

I love coffee...but it makes be bonkers.

Really.

Glad you quit.

I did awhile back...but one day a week I get a venti coffee...hehe. But I make sure I am out of the house and shopping or something so I don't go whacko on my family.....strangers, fine....but not my family! Buwhahahahahahaha.

It does seem to have an affect on the amount of money I spend! The bigger the coffee the more I spend!

Adventure-Dude

on Aug 18, 2006

The best tasting green tea I’ve had just happens to be decaffeinated.

The best tea I have had is Strawberry flavored green tea. The brand I had is Turkish and I have only been able to buy it in Kryrgyzstan

.

Perfectly Pear White tea by celestial seasonings is my other favorite tea. This one is sweet enough don't need honey nor sugar.

But I still love the taste of a good brew of coffee.

Adventure-Dude

on Aug 18, 2006

did awhile back...but one day a week I get a venti coffee...hehe. But I make sure I am out of the house and shopping or something so I don't go whacko on my family.....strangers, fine....but not my family! Buwhahahahahahaha.

Tova you are too funny.

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