Have you given up caffeine? If so, is it worth it?

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I would like to give up caffeine because of a stomach condition which is not helped by it (GORD). I had no coffee and tea yesterday and my god, the headache!!! Unbelievable. It’s still here today and it´s making me want to go back on it just to relieve it.

If you’ve given caffeine up, was it worth it? Some people apparently feel much better and clear headed. How long did your withdrawal symptoms last? Also, I love hot drinks, what can I drink now instead of tea and coffee?

I've given it up a few times for fertility treatment. Each time I had a three day headache and fuzzy headed feeling, then it was fine.

I gave up and didn’t get headaches, but I was completely exhausted for the first couple of weeks. I think caffeine had been getting me through and when I took it away I realised how knackered I really was.

I think I’m much healthier as a result because I’m more aware of when I’m tired so I don’t push myself so hard.

It also helps with anxiety.

I find that even decaf cappuccino in the morning can set off my reflux symptoms though. I can drink it in the afternoon though (when the coffee shops are open....!)

I gave up years ago due to a heart condition, but you can't just go cold turkey. Start by halving the amount you have and use decaf for the other half, wean into decaf always then wean off it.

I honestly get as much of a buzz now in the morning to wake me up from a large cold glass of water than I did with coffee, without the slump/sugar/milk/caffeine draw backs later on.
My heart condition is fine and stable now and could drink caffeine if I wanted to, but I don't any more!

Good luck

I stopped caffeine for a long while due to a heart issue.

The withdrawal headache was horrid but only lasted 3 or 4 days max.

My hearts now fixed and I do now have some caffeine - the tea leaves I use only comes in caffeinated and I have one caffeinated weak instant coffee in a morning at work (when I was going in anyway) I still don't drink proper coffees or come.

I can't say it made much difference to the rest of my life but it appeared to help the day to day heart rate, though didn't stop the occurrences of SVT.

I didn't stop drinking hot drinks. I just had decaf versions.

There was little difference in taste between Yorkshire tea when it was caffeinated or decaf. The caffeine version just seems a bit stronger so I just left the decaf version to brew longer. I'd still have decaf now if they did the leaves.

14 years ago - had to stop and think about it

Totally worth it, though thr headache is awful. Like others said it peaked day 3 and then got better. I drink herbal teas

I drink decaf coffee - feel way calmer and am sleeping much better than I was before

I used to get noticeably shaky and feel rushed in my mind if I drank too much coffee, plus was using it as a crutch with long work hours to avoid realising how exhausted I was

Definitely a good thing would not go back now

I have (well I drink decaf 2-3 times a day which is minimal caffeine) I had a 2 week withdrawal!! But it was worth it. I use to drink coffee all morning then feel ill in the afternoon. It also doesn't do my tummy any good, including decaf so I generally only have one proper machine decaf coffee a day.

I thought it would make me drink more water but I'm still crap!

I gave up caffeine about 30 years ago when my children were small. I used to have such bad pms and worried that I might lash out at them. Stopping caffeine was one of the recommendations in the literature I read. Cut down at first to one full caf tea in the morning and the rest of the day decaf, then went to only drinking decaf teas or coffees. Headache didn't last long, and I was amazed my pms did calm down, so it was worth it for me.

Yes, I’d never go back to coffee or tea now.

I was having gastro problems too, and cutting out caffeine really helped. Good luck.

I've given it up twice temporarily, when I having really bad UTIs.

The headaches are awful and NOTHING shifts them, not water or painkillers or anything- but you know one cup of tea and it would be gone!

I cold turkeyed both timesnthe headaches lasted 3 days from what i remember.

I only had 1-2 cups per day too!

Thanks, that's all very helpful! I woke up with a horrid headache this morning but it seems to be subsiding. If it gets bad again I'll do as some of you recommend and introduce a small amount of caffeine, rather than go cold turkey.

I hope it helps with my GORD symptoms, im having a difficult time with it at the moment.

Do it slowly. I can't stress that enough. Probably the more strictly scientific the better - if you start on 4 cups a day, do 3.5 for 3 days, then 3 etc.

I stopped drinking it while in hospital ill and couldn't face it. Since I had a migraine for 5 days and my body appeared to be dying I didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms 😅 when I was recovering from the illness the coffee in hospital was a cheap brand and I'm a coffee snob, and so by the time I got home I just didn't bother taking it up again. I'll drink the occasional cup, but it's maybe one in three days. I quite like having a low dose - I enjoy the taste, and I don't want to go crazy wired or trigger migraine if I have an infrequent cup.

Also don’t wrongly assume that herbal = safe. Do some research first. Some herbal teas are dangerous if consuming similar quantities as your normal daily consumption of hot drinks. Some can interact with medication and some not advised during pregnancy. Also many have side effects.
I made this mistake when switching to liquorice tea and then realising the recommendation is only 1 cup a day!

I gave up caffeine 3 years ago to help with anxiety. The first few days were hideous and then fine. I have decaff coffee (cafetiere and instant), decaff tea and have ginger tea from Pukka. I can now tell if I accidentally get a 'proper' tea bag! I also drink 'fun free' coke (gold can) which is cafeine free and 'diet' on occasion. I feel much better for it. I used to be a proper coffee stimulant junkie. You can do it!

I've done it accidentally before just preferring my herbal tea for a few days, I don't experience withdrawal from caffeine and I drink it because I like the taste not for a boost. I drink a lot and I drink it strong so I wonder if I'm just not sensitive to caffeine.

I gave up caffeine a few years ago and had the most horrendous headaches and flu like symptoms for a couple of days but it soon passed. I drink decaff versions of tea and coffee at home and herbal teas at work. Lavazza decaffeinated ground coffee is the best replacement I’ve found for that ‘real’ coffee taste. Decaff coffees in coffee shops are usually really disappointing sadly.

I gave up about a year ago after suffering with silent reflux and haven't looked back. The reflux has gone and I'm quite happy with decaff. Very occasionally (while on holiday in Italy for example) I'll treat myself to a 'proper' coffee, and boy do I notice I've had one!

I rattled myself down from litres of the stuff to two vary large cups a good couple of years back

I have the very largest cafetiere (1.5 l) and would make at least two a day, and pretty much be the only person in the house on coffee!

I did the slow down grading...one third decaff, two thirds caff and got down to the small one litre cafetiere, then I'd go back to the big one, but 50/50 and then to the small one...and sooooo on!!

I never ever get any "hyper" symptoms from caffeine but do get the most appalling headaches if i cut it right out

On the whole I do feel better, less stressy, sleeping much better and fewer stomach IBS type issues.

I am down to 2 large cups of full caff these days, but I did find a stash of decaff when sorting out the cupboards so I might cut it down a bit more over the summer.

DH is also being decaffeinated and he certainly sleeps loads better.

YES!
I realised I was going to sleep fine, but waking up after a couple of hours. I seem to have some delayed reaction to caffeine.
I also had racing heart and anxiety about 4hrs after drinking tea.

I switched to decaf and no more anxiety feeling racing heart. It has changed my life.

I drink loads of tea, I switched to decaf tea and there is no difference AT ALL in the taste. I also gave up chocolate which I love, but it was definitely worth it for me.

Try an experiment of no caffeine for a week and see if you sleep better. Everyone is different. It's worth a week of your life to find out the benefits for you. Good luck.

I gave up last year as my anxiety was out of control and caffeine was making it worse. I felt AWFUL for 10 days then back to normal. I drink 1 decaff coffee a day and herbal teas or water the rest of the day.

I did, years ago. I have a coffee very occasionally if I need to stay awake, but that’s all. Felt much better without it. At the time I had two non sleepers and hadn’t had a full night for three years. I was surprised that I didn’t actually feel any more tired. I just felt a cleaner kind of tiredness.

I gave up about 15 years ago due to IBS. I switched to decaf coffee, didn't drink other caffeinated drinks anyway and still have a little in chocolate or hot chocolate.

I don't remember any withdrawal. I miss the buzz of that first hit of the day, but I'm so much better without it that I just accept that.

Now I'll sometimes have caffeinated coffee if it's the morning and if it's what's available and if I'm not having a bad patch with the IBS. Having an occasional one doesn't make much difference to anything but does leave me wired 😁

Thanks for your answers. I just thought I'd give you an update. I'm on day 5 without caffeine and have gone cold turkey. I've had a headache every day for most of the day! I'm also having these strange muscle pains in my legs which might also be related to the withdrawal symptoms- have any of you had them? I've been so uncomfortable I've been taking quite a lot of pain killers morning and night. Yesterday and today I drank a Lady Grey tea to ease things off and it helps.

I definitely wouldn't go cold turkey if I was doing it again. I just can't believe the symptoms! I dread to think what giving up hard drugs must be like...

I switched to decaff about 10 years ago or more - just stopped like you are.
I seem to remember I had a headache for about a week.

I will now have the odd tea of coffee with caffiene during the day if I'm out somewhere and they don't have any de-caff, but really notice if I ever end up having more than one.