Coffee and Caffeine FAQ

Vic

Great to see you are off caffeine and have been for some time. I'm really struggling with getting free - the addiction and withdrawal are hideous - maybe if I could lock myself away for a week and do nothing I could get through it but with work, kids etc. I just don't seem to be able to stay off it.

I've got myself in this bad mindset that unless I quit cold turkey it won't work, so was really interested to see you saying cold turkey is a bad idea.

Can you tell me how you went about getting off it and how long it took you. Any other tips would be gratefully received !

I was introduced to coffee, Pepsi and M&M's as a child. I started getting headaches as a teenager and never realized until I was around 40 that I was addicted to caffeine even back then. The headaches eventually turned into migraines which would only go away with a combination of tylenol and caffeine. The only time I was caffeine free was when I was either pregnant or nursing during my 20s. Oddly enough, I have very foggy memories of my college years and into my 20s. Even now, my husband will tell me I've been somewhere or seen a movie that I just have no recollection of. I can pick up a book I'm reading and often I'll have to go back a few pages or a few chapters to remind me who a particular character is in the book. (I should mention that I used Equal for most of my caffeine addiction over the years.)

Last November, after feeling like I just had no energy, no motivation, could barely keep my eyelids open most of the day even after having my morning cup (switched to sugar about a year earlier), I decided to give it up. At that point, I was drinking a 12 oz. cup of coffee in the morning, a cup of tea in the afternoon, and an occasional coke, maybe some chocolate candy once a week or so.

I gradually decreased my caffeine intake, and by early December I was caffeine free. I couldn't go cold turkey because I didn't want to trigger a migraine which would've thrown me back into the vicious cycle. The only symptoms I had was being irritable, weepy for no reason, depressed for no reason, but I felt great physically...

...until a few weeks later when I caught a flu that's still trying to hang on. It's been 3 weeks and this thing is relentless. Antibiotics helped, but they didn't knock it out completely. Before this, I may have caught a cold once a year or so which would end a couple days later. And, this morning I woke up feeling shaky and like I couldn't catch my breath.

My question is has anyone experienced a weakened immune system as a result of cutting out coffee? My white blood count was low at my annual physical. Is this a result of caffeine withdrawal? Will my memory improve if I lay off the caffeine permanently?

Thanks so much, and I'm sorry for such a long post but doctors have so little time to discuss things like this.

Hey folks! (especially all those folks who've been so supportive, like Dave and Denise)...

I am 60+ days out, coffee free.

Plus, three weeks ago I started a candida-free diet. No sugar...at all, except limited fruit. No refined flours, especially those most commonly used like wheat, corn. No vinegar, or sauces made with vinegar.

WOW!! I am more energized, most emotionally stable and positive, more calm, more motivated than I can remember being in years.

Anyone else exploring the coffee addiction/sugar addiction/yeast addiction thing and trying to break the other ones, besides coffee?

And to all of you out there at the beginning. It really DOES get better. But damn, folks ,don't try cold turkey. You are just setting yourself up to fail. This isn't some damn competition. Ease yourself away from it like it is some gnarly wild animal, don't try to face it down barehanded!! Remember, your body has been living with that stuff in its system for however long you've been drinking it...be kind to your body, give it time to adjust, let your adrenals get regulated to the new environment, let your immune system catch up with itself!

30 days was the benchmark for me. After 30 days I noticed a DRASTIC reduction of cravings, although they still occasionally hit, although they are more psychological than physical.

Funny story: last week I went out with friends for dinner. Keep in mind all the food restrictions I'm choosing, so I'm ordering my meal and I think, ok, no beer, no wine, no soda, not really wanting water...oh, i'll get iced tea.

Great idea, except that I'd been almost completely caffeine free for over month. The stuff hit me like high octane fuel, i was FLYING!!! I finally was able to go to sleep at THREE in the morning. Guess the stuff gets more potent when you've detoxed it from your system.

So, be well, folks. Take care of yourself while you are learning to take care of yourself!
Vic

I've had migraines for most of my adult life, 20+ years. I discovered about 8 years ago that caffeine was a trigger. I had been having lots of coffee for several years, my cup was never empty. I then quit cold turkey and was very ill, vomiting and migraine (the worst part of the headaches last for a day and half, then have minor headache for two more days). I really like a hot beverage in the morning, and have slipped back into drinking coffee at least two times. Each time I was ill, on one occasion vomiting again. I believe that now I am hypersensitive to coffee. If I have a coffee half-caff more than two days in a row, I will get a major headache. I have struggled controlling my caffeine intake as it is so many things. When I stay away from coffee I am migraine free.
I am searching for a hot caffeine free drink to have in the morning. One side benefit is that I have very few dental problems now, I have completely stop drinking soft drinks, typically have water.

Joe