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Original poster

Given up caffeine

16 replies

Clarinet60 · 09/04/2004 13:10

Has anyone else done it?
What can I expect?
I'm now on day 9. The headaches went after day 3, but I'm still quite tired. The first few days were like walking through a dream, and I've noticed that while socialising, I have to try hard to think what to say next!
Will this pass?

OP posts:
Demented · 09/04/2004 15:14

I take my hat off to you Droile. My life is just an endless circle of legal uppers and downers caffine being one of them.

bunny2 · 09/04/2004 15:31

I gave up coffee when I found out I was pregnant as caffeine can cause miscarriage and I've had 2 already. I dont really miss coffee at all, I still have the odd cup of tea though so maybe I havent actually been through caffeine withdrawal as such. I sleep well and have stopped having the dreadful palpitations I got after a few cups of strong coffee. I do feel less vibrant though, I think caffeine definately gives you an edge. Think of all the benefits to giving up - younger skin, better sleep (sure there must be more) and stick with it.

expatkat · 09/04/2004 15:44

Droile, I gave up caffeine about 10 yrs ago due to an irregular heart rhythm. And I was hookedtruly hookedon caffeine. I think you will begin to feel gradually a bit better, but the bad news is that, 10 years down the road, I still feel slightly slower and tireder than I did in the days when I could have a cup of coffee to perk myself up. I'm sorry to say I still miss it.

tabitha · 09/04/2004 16:13

I gave up caffeine for Lent a few years ago. Found it really difficult at first and had horrendous headaches for a while. It got easier but I definitely felt less mentally 'sharp' iykwim.

Lisa78 · 09/04/2004 18:12

Hey Droile, yes it gets easier and it will pass - could be another few weeks before its completely over.
the good bit is, on days when you are really shattered, you have one cup of caffeinated coffee and its stand by for lift off!
I got the shakes and sweats as well when I gave up, and I got constipated too - you'd have thought I was coming off heroin
You'll get there

Original poster
Clarinet60 · 09/04/2004 22:09

Thanks everyone.
Sad to hear that some of you still miss it. I'd been led to believe that getting rid of it would give me the energy levels of a 7 year old (eventually). Brain chemistry-wise, the arguments against caffeine are sound, so I don't regret it, but coming off is supposed to make your neurotransmitters able to make their own mental-sharpness again, instead of relying on a dodgy drug. Oh well, we'll just have to see what happens.

OP posts:
Hulababy · 09/04/2004 22:12

I gave up caffine for a while last year - because of heart problems too. But I actually didn't find it made any difference to my heart rhythm so I do now drink caffine again - in tea and diet Coke, and in the occasional coffee.

Original poster
Clarinet60 · 12/04/2004 10:55

Getting better.
It's lovely to wake up in the morning and feel wide awake. That horrible, dragging feeling I've had for all these year before the first cup of tea was actually just caffeine withdrawal.

OP posts:
collision · 12/04/2004 10:59

I feel the same now that I have given up the booze!! Am PG and thought it would be wiser and was never a big drinker but even a glass of wine would make me feel sluggish the next day. Have given up coffee but not tea and do feel better.

carlyb · 19/04/2004 10:26

Droile. How is it going after giving up the caffine? Do you feel better now? Thinking of doing it myself. Have you found it hard?
x

CountessDracula · 19/04/2004 10:31

Oh I'm jealous it's the one thing I have really tried to give up and failed at. Tabs and booze no problem, but coffee, even when I was pg and had the best incentive in the world, was impossible. I become like a spitting harpy within about 8 hours. My mum came round one day when I was trying to pack it in and within about 10 mins was scurrying up to Caffe Nero to get me my fix as I was so horrible to be around. I cry and become almost unbelievably irritable, I get terrible headaches, snap at people etc.

Maybe I should try and wean myself off gradually using mixed caf/decaf. I don't drink a lot, usually one cup of tea and one of coffee a day, but god help anyone around me if I don't get it.

carlyb · 19/04/2004 10:36

spitting harpy lol! CD - 2 cups a day is great - I wouldnt worry too much. Unless it gives you side effects I would enjoy your fix (I bet your family would be worried right now at the thought of you giving it up!!).

CountessDracula · 19/04/2004 10:36

Oh absolutely, dh is always very keen for me to have my coffee fix, I wonder why?

Original poster
Clarinet60 · 19/04/2004 11:25

Carlyb - the first 3 days were hard (headaches, tiredness) but after that, no, it's not hard. I just feel normal now. I drink Redbush tea and when I'm out, an odd decaff coffee. There are no cravings at all - the symptoms CD describes disappear after 3 days. I think you could wean yourself off gradually CD, but I'm not sure it makes any difference. I was down to 1 cup a day before I stopped, and still had to go through those 3 days. Caffeine every now and then won't harm you - it's having it every single day, even a small amount, that causes the addiction and withdrawal symptoms. It's worth it to wake up in the morning and be free of that stumbling around feeling that is drug withdrawal.

OP posts:
Original poster
Clarinet60 · 19/04/2004 11:28

I liked tea and coffee as much as the next person, but I was aware that in between cups, it was making me more tired and more irritated and I was needing it more frequently just to feel normal. It really is just like any other drug, you need more and more, but it's such a normal part of everyday life that you don't recognise those symptoms as being caused by the drug - you think they are just part of you. They are not. I don't seem to have any tireness-dips in my day now.

OP posts:
CountessDracula · 19/04/2004 11:29

I would like to stop being an addict if I could. maybe I should lock myself in a room for 3 days and go cold turkey!

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