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- Jaki I'm just really hoping
14 hours 21 min ago - Hi Rob you may be right;
14 hours 31 min ago - Update. For me the worst part
17 hours 19 min ago - To CIJ
21 hours 44 min ago - Jackie - Yes, get in touch
1 day 7 hours ago - Thanks, Violet:)
1 day 8 hours ago - Hi Denise,
I gave up caffeine
1 day 17 hours ago - Caffeine gives me migraines
1 day 19 hours ago - You're Welcome!
2 days 48 min ago - Thanks, Dave
2 days 1 hour ago
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What are the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal?
Regular caffeine consumption reduces sensitivity to caffeine. When caffeine intake is reduced, the body becomes oversensitive to adenosine. In response to this oversensitiveness, blood pressure drops dramatically, causing an excess of blood in the head (though not necessarily on the brain), leading to a headache.
This headache, well known among coffee drinkers, usually lasts from one to five days, and can be alleviated with analgesics such as aspirin. It is also alleviated with caffeine intake (in fact several analgesics contain caffeine dosages).
Often, people who are reducing caffeine intake report being irritable, unable to work, nervous, restless, and feeling sleepy, as well as having a headache. In extreme cases, nausea and vomiting has also been reported.
References.
Caffeine and Health. J. E. James, Academic Press, 1991. Progress in Clinical and Biological Research Volume 158. G. A. Spiller, Ed. Alan R. Liss Inc, 1984.
Comments
Caffeine gives me migraines
Caffeine gives me migraines really bad from time to time. I got one yesterday - I'd rather die of caffeine withdrawals than face that pain. I decided it's time to go back to water only. I did this for about 60 days last year, it worked. I was foolish to take caffeine back up again. I had some coffee yesterday afternoon about 36 hours ago so I'm heading into the peak of it which I hate -- miserable. This board is an encouragement; caffeine is an insidious socially acceptable drug that works on the nervous system the way other illegal drugs do. No Christian should ever indulge in it - I truly think it is a sin once you become aware of what is going on with it. It will ruin your health.
Update. For me the worst part
Update. For me the worst part isn't the headaches - I don't tend to get those often. I get into this state of intense anxiety and confusion where I become incredibly indecisive and just lethargic and listless. It's almost like a mental pain but I can't really describe it. Anyway, 3 days into detox. Joints already feel better - I think caffeine, aspartame et al. are inflammatory because when I cut it out long-standing joint and ligament inflammation seem to subside. So that's one almost immediate benefit. Other than that I'm pretty tired and miserable. If I can make it past the first week or so I should be able to keep going. I hear fasting helps as well, so I might try that.
Hi guys, Thanks for all of
Hi guys,
Thanks for all of your wise words. I have a doctors appointment for tomorrow at 7:30 pm and i'm really excited to get an opinion about what happened and what the best recourse is. I really thank all of you for your great words. I'm doing better with dealing with anxiety. This really flares up in stores like Target where I keep breathing and thinking about other things and it eventually blows over. So far, I am six days in and I am definitely in a better place when I wrote my first message. I will keep all of you apprsied of my progress and I think that this will be a really healthy way to connect with others regarding this so consider me a new regular :). As for the question about losing weight, my main focus is getting healthy to start and that will be my foremost concern. If eating healthy and losing weight happens, than i'm all for it. I'll send another message tomrrow night as to what my Doctor thinks and my first day back in the office.
Thanks for all of your support,
Sean
I was a heavy caffeine
I was a heavy caffeine consumer throughout my life. I just turned 26 and this past Monday I had a health scare that has profoundly changed me. After mixing a weight loss supplement with caffeine in it as well as a Starbucks Venti Coffee I found myself in the ER with a caffeine overdose. Massive heart palpitations and a heart rate that at its peak was 170 bpm I decided to give up caffeine and other supplements and have been clean for 3 days from caffeine and chocolate (my big time vice). I have had some bouts of anxiety and on Tuesday had to go back to the ER because the heart beat flared up out of nowhere. Outside of that, I feel like my body is getting better as the palpitations are going away. I wish to ask for advice on how everyone deals with anxiety that comes up with giving up caffeine because I find myself having great moments and than out of nowhere anxiety will attack me. Any thoughts would be appreciated and I thank all of you for your insightful posts and for helping me get started on this path :)
Anxiety attacks
Hi, Sean.
Sorry about your hospital scare, hopre your feeling better. As for coping with anxiety attacks, I use alot of different methods depending on where I am and what I have available. The most important thing that I do is breath, it seems rediqulous to say but it's really important to just breath long and deep. Sometimes if it's a small attack all I need to do is focus on my breathing and an take my time drinking a glassor bottle of water. During bigger attacks I have to have a focus to use along with consintrating on my breathing and keeping hydrated, again depending on the situation I do different thing. A focus is something you can consintrate on that makes YOU feel calm and/or relaxed; i.e. sitting down and reading something (a boo,k magazine, a menu, even the back of the cereal box,my advice though NOT something work related unless youu really like your work), holding something that makes or reminds you of something happy (sometimes I just carry a book in my hands or scroll through my picture gallery on my phone), sometimes I just sit by myself or I sit and just talk to someone about random stuff. I work at a resteraunt as a waitress, bartender, and assorted other jobs and I have to take orders, carry thing, overall at the resteraunt I work at I'm the one in charge of making sure every customer is happy even if they aren't my assigned table so I can't sit down and try to relax so I often keep a bag of small candies like skittles in a baggy in the pocket of my apron and run them through my hand if I'm not holding something else, it seems wierd but for me consintrating on something small and unimportant helps me. Staying unstressed is important though not always practical, I just break what I'm doing down into steps and just do one thing at a time. You just have to find what works for YOU because people deal and react differently. If something I do helps than I'm glad. I learned the water thing from a friend and it helped me so I'm sharing so I might help some one with coping. I've had Panic Disorder for years and often hours after an attack I'm still a little shakey and that's normal for me. Just remember to regulate your breathing and use whatever coping mechanisim that works for you, remember that it's ALWAYS ok to ask for help or to ask to have a moment alone.
Jenn
Your situation sounds
Your situation sounds frightening, Sean. But I am glad that you are better and have recognized the dangers of excessive caffeine consumption. To address your specific question about the anxiety, I've found that the heavy anxiety experienced with caffeine withdrawal generally reduces significantly in the first week. So hopefully in short time yours will be better as well. I'm only on Day 9 of withdrawal from caffeine, but I'm finding that if anything I'm somewhat less anxious now. Best wishes as you attempt to cease your caffeine habit.
Dave
Sean see my reply to Jackie
Sean see my reply to Jackie below and earlier posts; I think you'll find the exaggerated anxiety phase will only last a few days, and after that your anxiety will reduce a lot in intensity and may even disappear.
Keep going for it! You may find that caffeine overdose was a blessing in disguise.
Hi, Sean:)
First, I'm sorry to hear about your recent scare. That must have been really difficult to deal with but I'm glad you've got the incentive and strength to now give up caffeine. As you've already found, the palpitations etc are reducing and abstinence should completely eradicate the problem. As to the anxiety, these are the methods I find to be helpful. Being active, exercising or just being busy helps to relieve it. I find that fresh air and, importantly, being in the sun helps a lot as the sun naturally releases the feel-good hormones. As you know that you can feel good again, you could try to just 'be in the moment' and let the anxiety pass. I've found that if I try to fight it, it gets worse so I just try to feel it and, eventually, it passes. Knowing that the anxiety will continue to reduce, as you get further along the road, will hopefully help you to stay strong. SO many people on this forum speak about how the withdrawal symptoms DO die down and that a renewed sense of wellbeing and phsyical health is attainable. If you don't mind me saying, Sean, you're very young and I'd guess it's maybe easier to get off this drug when you're younger and fitter. I'm 61 and still struggling....but I really do wish you the best. Keep strong! Jackie. P.S. If you don't mind me asking you, are you still trying to lose weight? Presumably, you won't be able to continue with the supplement? I've found that eating as healthily as possible not only helps to reduce weight (I lost 73lbs this way) but may also alleviate anxiety. See some of my previous posts where I've gone on endlessly about this lol.
To anyone who's still trying to give up.
Hi. I've been posting on here for a couple of months and I wondered if there are any people out there who, like me, are STILL trying to give up caffeine?? How are you getting on? Best wishes to everyone. Jackie
Jaki I'm just really hoping
Jaki I'm just really hoping you try now.
One approach is just start drinking a crazy amount of hot fruit tea - so your body disconnects "I want a comforting hot drink' from coffee.
Another is to purposefully make exit easier by reducing temptation; when you are feeling strongest (/most angry about caffeine impacts on your life) (maybe in the evening?) then throw out all the coffee beans and colas in your house, so tomorrow when the urge comes you'll have to go to a shop to restock; you just might find you don't do that. I threw out all the coffee in my house 2 or 3 times before I finally launched. Buying the stuff again, paying again, had a message into my subconscious.
I think there's a conscious narrative battle in our minds, but that's not actually the real battle. The real battle is in our subconscious. Your conscious narrative might give in, but your subconscious might just say 'it's too much of a pain to go to the shop - I'll leave it', and 'It's too much of a pain to have to keep re-buying this stuff.'
Anyway, all strength to you! - hope you catch the wave.
p.s. if you fall off again, have a lapse, then no worries, just get up and keep going again; the trend is upwards...