A day without caffeine
Posted by Catski on Oct 21, 2008 · Member since Jun 2007 · 1431 posts
THE HORROR.
No, seriously. I've been having issues with, um, 'unwanted emissions' lately and I've read that caffeine can mess your digestive system up. I drink a modest two cups of tea a day, although it can rise to two or three times that if I'm writing an essay or what have you.
I skipped my morning PG Tips today and had mint tea instead. Bad, bad idea. Couldn't keep my eyes open in class, have had a headache all day and been nauseous on and off, not to mention grouchy as hell. Plus... I LIKE my tea!
Have any of you guys tried to wean yourself off caffeine? Is it even worth it?
Yours sleepily,
Cat
I actually have gone off caffeine for very long periods. Usually, it was a shift change at work that had me back on. The first few days suck beyond belief, but it goes away and honestly, me without caffeine is pretty much the same as me with caffeine after a about a month. Its just waking up in the morning that I NEED my caffeine.
Just keep it in moderation and I think having caffeine is okay. It really depends on your relationship with it, like if you need five or six cups of coffee a day to stay awake, you need a break from it. If you just have a cup or two (or three) of tea or coffe, I think its okay.
I used to be a caffeine junky. I drank it all day long, even after dinner. So, when I quit smoking cigarettes, I decided to quit coffee as well. I figured I would get all the side effects out of the way at the same time. After almost a month, I started drinking coffee again, but ONLY 1-2 cups a day...and all before noon. Now, I can go all day without coffee and not get a headache (before I couldn't go after 8am). I will say, my withdrawals were pretty miserable. I had a horrible headache for about 3 days when I quit, and you don't even want to know what kinda mood swings I had...but like I said, I quit cigarettes at the same time, so that was part of it.
If you think you are addicted, I think it's definitely worth it to wean yourself off of it.
Yeah, it's just the withdrawal symptoms! I guarantee that your body will adjust if you just don't drink it for a while. That's what I found. I am honestly equally alert having not drunk coffee in a long time as I was when I drank it. Caffeine takes a toll on your body. It's no good in the long run. I say toss it. Especially if the symptoms were THAT bad.
I`ve gone off caffeine and noticed I don`t change much. My stomick feels much better and that is the only differance I can notice. I think it`s a good idea.
i've gone off of caffeine before. i was grouchy and headachey for only about a week. then it went away. and like someone said, me off of coffee was the same as me on coffee.... but the only difference was the social aspect. the coffee shop was my THING. you know. so. i started drinking it again so i could still hang out at the coffee shop and not be a decaf LOSER! haha just kidding.
I finally did it! I quit caffeine completely after my first miscarriage in January (we just had another one) to make sure it was not a factor.
I stepped down my caffeine intake 25% at a time with each step taking 3 days. After I cut it out entirely, I had headaches, weird sleep patterns, exhaustion, the whole gamut. But that only lasted for 3 days. With my husband, who kindly quit with me, it lasted for 4 days.
The bad news is that I was truly addicted: any caffeinated indulgence now gives me all the old withdrawal symptoms the next day (headache especially) -- AND now it makes me jitter, where it never did before. The good news is that the withdrawals only last a day. And I am being good at avoiding it as a result.
Your mileage may vary, but both my hubby and I feel so much better all the time now that we are not zapped on caffeine all the time. It took about 2 weeks to get to that point. That helps reinforce the good behavior, too. :)
Good luck!
I gave up caffeine about a year and a half ago and I really think I'm better off for it. I started drinking tea when I was 3 or 4 and coffee when I was about 8, and I grew up in the theatre where the only way anyone functions ever is with coffee or energy drinks so it was quite an effort for me!
I stopped because I thought it was healthier and was tired for ages but it got better, and then when I tried a coffee again months later I started shaking...so I've given that idea away haha.
Now I will drink a cup of tea or coca cola now and then but certainly not every day and I'm fine with that. I agree with whoever said they are now more alert without coffee than they ever were with it! I don't like the dependency on something just to function, I'd rather know that I can function by myself :)
So it's a noble mission, good luck! And the symptoms will pass I promise...
I tried giving up coffee/caffeine several years ago when I was working at the post office. (Consider the reputation postal employees already have and then take their caffeine away......BAD idea!!!) After two weeks of headaches and general bitchiness, I succumbed and went back to my coffee. I realize that I could stop if I tried harder and that it would be better for me, but I'm just too old to care. Good luck to you in your endeavor to quit.
It takes 2 weeks and three days, but it can be done. I did it. Too bad you caved so late, Storm, you almost had it kicked.
Now if I drink real coffee it wires me up for over 12 hours.
Yea, I gave it up for awhile too. I'd drink it everyday!
I had to have gone without it for 6 months (which is a bit of a long time for a 21 year old, I'd suppose... who only drank it crazily for maybe 4 years...)
I started drinking it again now.. but I do so very modestly without even knowing. I'll have maybe one cup in the morning or afternoon, never past 6 unless I know I don't need to go to bed early (strange thing is that before I could have it at any time and be able to sleep.)
I don't drink it everyday anymore, and I do switch between teas and coffees.
AND I have a cold and big chunks of caffeine are a no-no.
You guys sound like junkies.
Two weeks?!
Last time I went off caffeine (some excitement with otc meds, decided I wanted to let my body rest a bit) it only took a day and a half - and it was only really bad for a few hours.
Then again, I get over hangovers and anesthesia and stuff super-fast, too. Maybe I'm just... speedy?
I didn't give up caffefine by choice. Several years ago I had to have a spinal tap. After it's done and I'm getting ready to leave the hospital the nurse gives me the discharge instructions and says I'm not allowed to have caffefine since it could cause some reaction that I now can't remember. All's I know is that I was extremely pissed off since I had been a serious diet coke addict (seriously...about 3 litres a day) and could've used a warning to wean myself off it before the test. The first 5 days after my test were miserable. I don't know if the migraine I got was caffefine withdrawal or a result from the spinal tap. I just know that I was in serious pain and could do nothing about it. But I've been caffefine free ever since and when I get some accidentally I can tell. My heart starts racing and I can't sleep for days.
Two weeks?!
Last time I went off caffeine (some excitement with otc meds, decided I wanted to let my body rest a bit) it only took a day and a half - and it was only really bad for a few hours.
Then again, I get over hangovers and anesthesia and stuff super-fast, too. Maybe I'm just... speedy?
As with all addictions, it depends on your age, general health, and how long you've been addicted. I was a 4-6 espresso a day junkie. It got so bad that coffee Didn't wake me up and Did make me nervous. I have a friend who runs a rehab and he told me, "Honey, if it was heroin, you'd be dead." And then offered to let me stay at the rehab for a couple of weeks if I couldn't cut it alone. He admits that caffiene is a legal addictive stimulant but it IS allowed in the rehab (tobacco is not) because as he says, it's bad enough what they're going through. You take away a Spaniard's coffee and you take away their ability to function.
As my husband puts it: "A day without caffeine is a day without eyes open." And only the older VegWebbers will get that. ;D
I was addicted to OTC sleeping meds for over 12 years. I kicked it this summer, thanks to Post Secret, and it took almost a month to get it all out of my system: the muscular pain, the "prisoner's cough", the jitters, the general bitchiness and black humours, the constant low grade headache, and above all the white nights. One a week, regular as clockwork. Thank God we had AC this summer or I never would have attempted it. Going through withdrawals in 115º F temperatures doesn't even bear thinking about.
You guys sound like junkies.
I think that's why I randomly give things up for months on end (alcohol, caffeine, sugar, to name a few)...to make sure I know I can:) Addiction runs in my genes and it isn't pretty.