caffeine withdrawal - not nice!

McKneff

Giving up caffiene has had the opposite effect on my daughter.
she used to drink 3 or 4 cups o' tea a day and had waterwork problem where she always felt as if she needed to go to the loo.

Gave up caffiene, waterwork problem instantly disappeared.
3 weeks in after running out of decaf tbags, used one of ours and within
an hour she was running back and forward to the loo for 12 hours, that was a couple of weeks ago and she is fine again. She always makes sure there are decaf tbags in the cupboard now.

Tia_Maria06

I havent really read the posts, but wanted to tell you, if I dont have my cups of tea, (I drink about 15 a day!), I get headaches and feel dreadful...

chrisj2006

I thought I had better cut out caffeine after I was drinking at least 9-10 massive mugs of coffee a day but also lots of diet coke as well. I also had painful breasts but I was also getting very depressed and quite manic as well . It was crud to start with, I had really bad headaches but I gradually found my mood settling down and my breasts were not as painful. A year later, I find very little now gets me down, I have no breast ;pain and drink just decaffinated coffee and decaffinated coke (obviously as well as water etc) (have been told it isdecaff diet coke is just carbonated water, no sugar in it, no caffeine in it lol)

Stick at it, if it is the caffeine you are reacting to, it is worth it in the end

FloFlo

I have just googled pepsi max and I am shocked at how much caffeine I am having through it. Need to change my diet soft drink.

bulchy

glowgirl wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, I liked normal Carte Noir so might give that a go, I know its off topic, sorry OP:o but with regard to the above can I suggest Evening Primrose Oil, I would recommend a very high dose, I take the high strength one from Boots, sometimes I take two a day. It has sorted out my very very constantly painful breasts (and they were lumpy:eek:) and as a nice little bonus, greatly reduced my PMT (and I'm baaad) and I have glowing skin, another poster on here suggested this too me (thanks Belfastgirl) and I honestly haven't looked back:).

I have some evening primrose oil capsules in the cupboard, will start taking it tomorow, thanks.
Sue

jenniewb

I think it can be different depending on your system. I'd say the more sensitive your system is the more it affects you but this does not seem to be the case either- I generally get all the side effects of any medication yet don't get any effects from caffeine withdrawal (or none as bad as anyone mentions on here- eg no headaches or irritability). I was at one point taking many caffeine pills and drinking espressos and about 2L of Pepsi Max a day, every day for about 8 months. To cut a long story short I had to cut it to one cup of tea a day, (not my choice!) I had a few symptoms but nothing really noticeable and if anything I think it was more to do with dehydration rather then lack of caffeine.

I think its maybe one of those things that could be genetic- eg it may affect some people more then others. I do think that caffeine has other effects though which could be worth looking out for and namely the insomnia and sudden energy drop about an hour after taking it (when it peaks and falls), I think it still remains in your system but the best of it has worn off. This can lead to cravings for calorie dense foods in order to give you a sugar boost so not easy for dieters!

Caffeine is great but just like everything else: In moderation!

chrisaj

I stopped drinking ordinary coffee years ago, it always used to make me shake, nausious and generally yuk. If I fancy coffee now it's always decaf. I do drink alot of tea and thats also decaf. Going through the menopause and sticking to decaff is better for you. Also I can't drink pepsi, too much caffeine in it, but coca cola is ok, but not drunk that for years. For peeps going through the menopuse, the nurse told me that dark choccy is better for you rather than milk choccy again I think it's caffeine related

joyfull

Thanks for the posts everyone.

I feel unnerved by the awful symptoms yesterday, but feel encouraged by what some of you have shared. I will get off this stuff & have my plan in place. When I google caffeine withdrawal, it's quite amazing how intense it can be for some people.

tru

I gave up caffeine a while ago. For just over a week, I had a permanent headache, was shivery and everything irritated me. Didn't have nausea, but my tummy didn't feel quite right. By the end of the second week, I felt fab. I sleep better and period pains have vanished. I have tons more energy too.

The only downside is it takes me a bit longer to fully wake up in the mornings (not a problem though). Oh and if I visit anyone, I have to remember to take my own teabag

shaven-monkey

I have a silly coffee habit, went cold turkey a few times and the withdrawal only lasts a day or so for me.
You could try taking a max strength painkiller once per day in the morning as they contain a small dose of caffeine.