caffeine withdrawal - not nice!

Sublime_2

I've given up coffee. More or less. I still like the occasional cup, but not 7 cups a day iykwim. Too much coffee used to make me feeled tired, and I felt even more so while cutting down.

Try cutting down gradually, rather than just stopping.

I tend to drink Clipper organic tea a couple of times a day, plus I drink a lot of herbal teas now.

iamana1ias

I gave up caffeine 3 years ago and haven't looked back. Had 1 day of awful withdrawl headaches, but nothing since.

Please be aware that decaf coffee and tea does still have a small amount of caffeine in it, so don't overdo it if you switch.

belfastgirl23

I'm a tea drinker and decided to give it up a while back after having a holiday where I drank tea constantly (rather than drink alcohol, there was a logic to it!) Anyway I had seriously bad headaches for at least 2 days - bad enough to make it worthwhile taking painkillers which I normally don't do. I've cut back a good bit on it now but if I haven't had a cuppa by lunchtime I would still get a withdrawal headache, though not as bad as the earlier total withdrawal ones.

And thanks for the oil of evening primrose reminder, I keep meaning to take it myself and did get as far as buying it

skiTTish

I wouldn't have thought that just a couple of cups a day would have been causing you problems ,isn't one or two cups a day advised for health reasons ?
I drink about 8 cups of green tea a day and although maybe not as much caffeine as coffee ,i don't think i get any reaction to it at all .
Maybe you have an allergy /intolerance to caffeine ?

jenniewb

skiTTish wrote: »

I wouldn't have thought that just a couple of cups a day would have been causing you problems ,isn't one or two cups a day advised for health reasons ?
I drink about 8 cups of green tea a day and although maybe not as much caffeine as coffee ,i don't think i get any reaction to it at all .
Maybe you have an allergy /intolerance to caffeine ?

I always thought green tea was famed for having more caffiene then black coffee

rubytuesday

No it has less, it can also aid slimming too apparently.

clairibel

I too have given up coffee on friday just passed and i only drank 2 cups a day if really tired 3, but i was using it as a prop for illness which made me tired just to keep me going.

But i am very sensitive to caffeine and i would get sleepless nights, shakes, manic and extreme irritability off 2 cups I know i'm up now posting at this time caffiene free but have period pains this time

I have found it hard to give up and the craving for me is bad, when the tiredness hits i want to reach for my wake up hit, but i have resisted and do feel better as in more calm and feel my energy is stabilising through the day and not craving sugar like i used to

I have had headaches like a sharp stabbing pain very weird and upset stomach like you, i used to have a bad time holding my water and have noticed i'm hardly going at all now, it must have really disagreed with me. But i still love the smell and sniff my hubbies coffee, but as a replacement i have been using dandelion coffee from holland and barrett, coffeeish tasting and good for you

Nice to see its not just me giving it up. x

splishsplash

I've recently cut down to three mugs of instant coffee a day - I used to drink 8-10 mugs, which was an improvement on the several pots of brewed coffee I used to drink before that!

I haven't noticed any withdrawal symptoms, which may be because I'm now drinking 4-5 pints of water every day.

The one thing I have noticed is that I appear to be more sensitive to it now that I've reduced my overall caffeine levels. I had a cup of coffee at about 8pm one evening last week, and was staring at the ceiling until after 3am. That never happened when I was drinking the stuff over the whole day. I now have finished my coffee drinking by lunchtime at the latest.

Yes, I know I'm up early - nothing to do with coffee - had to drop my son to the bus for 4:45am. There should be a law against these ungodly early starts.

joyfull

Nice to know others are going through this.

I'm weaning myself off by taking caffeine pills rather than coffee as it's easier to monitor the dose. Yesterday took 2 doses of 35mg (half cup of coffee's worth approx) & had no severe withdrawal symptoms. Today I'm trying 2 doses of 20mg - already feeling headachy, but I'm expecting some discomfort.

I actually feel kind of calm inside already & slept better last night. The more I hear of others success stories with this & the improvements in physical & mental well being the more motivated I am. Although it is a good stimulant it really stresses the adrenals & keeps the body in fight / flight mode all the time & then of course we crash & need the next fix.

Good luck to anyone else doing this or even cutting down.

londoner1998

joyfull wrote: »

Firstly, I hope this doesn't breach the 'medical issue' discussion ban.

I decided yesterday to stop my 1-2 daily coffee drinks (& anything containing caffeine) in order to help years of insomnia & extreme menopausal flushes.

All going OK until about 24hrs into it (today lunchtime) & developed the mother of all headaches, extreme nausea, upset bowels, sweating, shivering. It was scary & intense. I can tolerate a lot normally - but not this. I've since taken some caffeine to alleviate the symptoms & will, from tomorrow, adopt a gradual withdrawal, taking less & less caffeine over a period of time.

Considering this is a legal substance, & most people partake, it's kind of shocking how addictive it has become (in me). I do know of someone who lives on coffee & stopped it 'cold turkey' & had no symptoms. How different we all are.

I'd be interested in other's thoughts/experiences of this.

Thanks.

Oh, how I sympathise! I have been there a few times. I used to drink much more coffee when I was at Uni finishing my MA and I once tried to stop and detox for a little while. Like you, after about 24 hours, the pounding headache, the nausea and cold sweats sent me home one day!! Absolutely nasty. I have tried to stop a couple of times since, but the physical symptons are just too much. I now only have a cup of coffee in the morning and that's it. I have abandoned the idea of giving up as I find it too hard (I don't drink alcohol and don't smoke, so I guess a bit of caffeine will not kill me). One day I might just do it with a phased approach, but my cup of good coffee in the morning is my thing and I terribly enjoy it. But be under no illusion, it is a drug and it you take too much it definetely has an effect...it is a fantastic substance when you need to concentrate (without sugar, it is a different rush) and the effect wears out about 2-3 hours after taking it, but it you drink too much and with a lot of sugar, it shots your brain, so to speak... not to mention tachicardias, etc...