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How can I cut my caffeine intake?
Most people report a very good success ratio by cutting down caffeine intake at the rate of 1/2 cup of coffee a day. This is known as Caffeine Fading. Alternatively you might try reducing coffee intake in discrete steps of two-five cups of coffee less per week (depending on how high is your initial intake). If you are drinking more than 10 cups of coffee a day, you should seriously consider cutting down.
The best way to proceed is to consume caffeine regularly for a week, while keeping a precise log of the times and amounts of caffeine intake (remember that chocolate, tea, soda beverages and many headache pills contain caffeine as well as coffee). At the end of the week proceed to reduce your coffee intake at the rate recommended above. Remember to have substitutes available for drinking: if you are not going to have a hot cup of coffee at your 10 minute break, you might consider having hot chocolate or herbal tea, but NOT decaff, since decaff has also been shown to be addictive. This should take you through the works without much problem.
Some other people quit cold turkey. Withdrawal symptoms are quite nasty this way (see section below) but they can usually be countered with lots of sleep and exercise. Many people report being able to stop drinking caffeine almost cold-turkey while on holidays on the beach. If quitting cold turkey is proving too hard even in the beach, drinking a coke might help.
Comments
No Doz Dangers
I've never been a coffee drinker. Too bitter and too hot. I've been a Coca Cola drinker all my life. I still am except now I normally drink caffeine free (which is hard to find, unless it's also diet). My addiction is to No Doz. It started in college. I'd take a Vivarin or two while cramming for a test. At this point...no problem. In later years I worked as a bartender in a very, very busy place. Before leaving for work I would sometimes take a No Doz. Still no problem. But then that No Doz started to be everyday. Begin problem. At some point I started taking them in the car on the way to work because I had been in a hurry to leave. Swallowing them, without water was difficult so one day I decided to chew instead. Sure it was a little bitter but it seemed to have a slight mint flavor. Increase problem. Then I started to take "nibbles" off No Doz throughout my shift and later throughout my day. For the last 12 plus years, I have had a No Doz addiction. I now chew over 4 per day. That's about 900 mg. If I don't have No Doz I feel horrible. Taking it is not an option. You call that an addiction. My blood pressure is about 143 over 97. I blame No Doz. I am again going to try to quit, but it is hard to do. My warning is this: if No Doz helps you quit then fine, but it is a bit like an alcoholic trying to stop a beer addiction with shot of vodka. Be careful.
caffeine levels
Another thing to consider is what kind of coffee you are drinking. Vietnam has recently become the worlds second largest coffee producer, and almost all of it is Robusta. The supply of cheap Robusta flooding the market has driven prices down and thus made its use more popular for some companies. (i.e. Folger's is about 33% Robusta)
Robusta beans can contain 2-4x as much caffeine as Arabacia beans. Selecting 100% Arabacia could be a good first step to lowering you caffeine intake.
Caffene withdrawal
I am going through my third time quitting and it seems that each one is more painful and lengthy. I was drinking 10 or more cups per day. I am sure caffeine is contributing to my high blood pressure problems.
I drank about 1/2 my usual on coffee on Thursday and then only had 1/2 cup on Friday and none on Saturday. I felt just awful, I could not get out of bed, I have severe aches and pains in my chest and in my back. These are continuing but are moderated by taking IB profin as a pain reliever.
The malaise and lack of ability to move has not been helped. I broke down and had 1/2 cup of coffee about 1/2 hour ago and I am beginning to feel a little better. I plan to try 1/2 cup a day through Thursday and then go cold turkey again and see if I can get through the weekend with out a relapse.
Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks
Robert
Robert, My concern is with
Robert,
My concern is with why you keep going back to caffeine after you've quit. Is it because you feel you need it? If you are getting enough good quality sleep, eating reasonably well and such, then you shouldn't really feel the need to reach for the coffee.
If you still do, though, you might want to think about seeing a doctor. Sleep apnea can cause serious daytime drowsiness, and so can depression and other medical conditions, most of which are treatable. Once you get clear of the coffee, this time if you feel like you want to start reaching for it again, ask yourself why. Are you feeling drowsy? Lethargic? Lack of enthusiasm? After taking stock of your symptoms, then see the doc and report them to him.
One thing I've noticed is that I used to get REALLY drowsy in the few hours after lunch. When I was trying a low-carb diet, I never felt drowsy after lunch. Now, I try to eat a low-carb lunch every day because otherwise I have to fight to stay awake all afternoon. I've heard other people say this as well--Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic, said this on his blog.
caffeine withdrawal
Hi,
This worked for me when I quit my 5-cup/day habit. I took No-Doz to ease the withdrawal. First thing in the morning, take a pill to ward off the headache and gradually cut the pills down until you are taking just tiny slivers. After a few days of taking tiny amounts of the pills you can stop taking them at all and you won't get that nasty I-need-a-cup-of-coffee headache. Hope this helps
Less energy? Stick with it...
A number of years ago I quit caffeine as many others have. I "faded" but a little quickly and my headaches only lasted a few days. I know that these symptoms do vary.
At first I was very distressed that I was very tired after taking out my normal caffeine intake. I wondered how I would ever manage to much if I remained so tired. To my surprise, after a couple weeks I found that not only did my energy levels returned to normal, but, without caffeine, I actually had more energy that I had when I was drinking two or three sodas at a time.
I am not sure if this is consistent with others, but if you notice that your energy levels are down after being off of caffeine, stick with it!
My reduction programme
This is going to sound geeky, but...
I started my reduction programme a few weeks ago. Each day I take 95% of the caffeine I had the day before. I measure my intake in terms of mounded desert spoons of coffe grounds (I don't drink tea or cola and I don't eat chocolate). To avoid having to weigh out grounds precise to a gramme, I round off the value to the nearest half a mounded desert spoon of grounds. I use a spreadsheet for all this. At the end of this week I'll be down to half a mounded spoon of grounds a day (i.e. one rounded one)
In the past I've tried simply cutting down by half a cup a day and found that rate of reduction too steep. When I got to zero I got withdrawal symtoms that I couldn't tough out and failed.
OK, I'm not down to zero intake yet and the test comes when I am. But I'm down to a fraction of what my intake was and I'm not feeling much worse than I did before I started cutting down. I recommend this method.
Graham
I started drinking espresso
I started drinking espresso about five years ago. I drink a double espresso (size of a coffee) first thing in the morning. Every single day in the late afternoon I get horrible migraines and stomach aches. I have a generalized anxiety disorder so I do have anxiety most of the time but since the coffee intake very severe. I was wondering if this one espresso in the morning could be causing these symptoms every afternoon?
Some people are more
Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others. My intake has never been anything like as high as some people's, and has actually been relatively low for a few years now, but I still have problems. So, yes, it could well be your problems are caffeine-related.
A number of potential drug
A number of potential drug interactions can occur when
aspirin is used in combination with other medications. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is usually recommended instead of aspirin in these situations.