I've been drinking a lot of coffee for many years. I've severely cut it down, and it's my 5th day.
Having a very hard time.
Having a very hard time.
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Has anyone tried to quit caffeine and how did you live through withdrawals?
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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You need to step down gradually. It's a drug, and sudden stoppage will cause major headaches and cramps galore.
Try reducing by one half to 1 full cup of caffeine a day. If you drink 3 cups of coffee a day and 2 sodas, try 2+2 or something like that.
Try reducing by one half to 1 full cup of caffeine a day. If you drink 3 cups of coffee a day and 2 sodas, try 2+2 or something like that.
My withdrawal from caffeine was week long off and on headache. Stay hydrated, take aspirin or equivalent, and exercise. The only thing I’ve noticed since then, is that there are times when I feel like I'm sagging, and I have nothing that gives me a boost and just have to live with it, maybe nodding off in my chair. 
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For myself, cold turkey was the best way. I did not want to mess with any slippery slopes, of less or more. I’ve since come to realize that my attraction to coffee was not that it tastes good, but that it provides a boost.
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For myself, cold turkey was the best way. I did not want to mess with any slippery slopes, of less or more. I’ve since come to realize that my attraction to coffee was not that it tastes good, but that it provides a boost.
My withdrawal from caffeine was week long off and on headache. Stay hydrated, take aspirin or equivalent, and exercise. The only thing I’ve noticed since then, is that there are times when I feel like I'm sagging, and I have nothing that gives me a boost and just have to live with it, maybe nodding off in my chair.
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For myself, cold turkey was the best way. I did not want to mess with any slippery slopes, of less or more.
I tried a complete cut off once. For 3 days my legs were so cramped I couldn't believe it. I also had a 24/7 headache.
Anymore I stick to like 2 cups of coffee a day and MAYBE a soda here or there. Caffeine is no good. As you get older, it can mess with your stomach giving you heart burn and all sorts of other fun stuff.
I should probably cut back further, but ugh I love a good cup of coffee in the morning.
Small 8oz cup, not a 16oz mug.
I was drinking 2 of those a day.[doublepost=1550445349][/doublepost]
It’s a fix, granted on the safer end of the spectrum of drug fixes.
I have an addictive personality all my life, fortunately, it has been mostly sugar. My Dad is an alcoholic (on the wagons for 2 decades) and a former chain smoker, so it runs in the family.
my "coffee" is milked down , I use 1 cup of milk to bring it downSmall 8oz cup, not a 16oz mug.
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It’s a fix, granted on the safer end of the spectrum of drug fixes.
One other thing I noticed, when I drank coffee, it was religiously. One option you (@rayriceroni00, @Hieveryone ) might consider is drink a herbal coffee/tea. If it is not nearly as satisfying, it is because it lacks caffeine.
I drink Teccino brand which has a delicious vanilla and a hazelnut coffee. When I first quit coffee, I was drinking this religiously, but I’ve noticed I have slacked off and don't require it twice a day, like I did my coffee. I believe it is because the drug/addiction aspect of this ritual has been removed. I still enjoy it, but not necessarily every day, twice a day.
https://teeccino.com/?gclid=CjwKCAi...21UJfrzguplbOU_ajpHc_DCS_o8REEVRoC0S8QAvD_BwE
You can also find it for sale on Amazon. I also drink South African Red Roobis.
I drink Teccino brand which has a delicious vanilla and a hazelnut coffee. When I first quit coffee, I was drinking this religiously, but I’ve noticed I have slacked off and don't require it twice a day, like I did my coffee. I believe it is because the drug/addiction aspect of this ritual has been removed. I still enjoy it, but not necessarily every day, twice a day.
https://teeccino.com/?gclid=CjwKCAi...21UJfrzguplbOU_ajpHc_DCS_o8REEVRoC0S8QAvD_BwE
You can also find it for sale on Amazon. I also drink South African Red Roobis.
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Oh, a normal thread not about drugs or women.
I tried to quit a few times in the last 10ish years but wasn't very successful. I can get by with 1-2 cups a day. I usually drink more.
I typically drink 5-7 mugs of coffee a day. Large ones at that. And several espressos. Cholesterol and blood pressure are fine. Excellent according to my last panel.
Granted this was a long time ago and we were so far down it was goat's milk and not cow's milk.
I tried to quit a few times in the last 10ish years but wasn't very successful. I can get by with 1-2 cups a day. I usually drink more.
I typically drink 5-7 mugs of coffee a day. Large ones at that. And several espressos. Cholesterol and blood pressure are fine. Excellent according to my last panel.
Is this a Hispanic thing? I don't know your actual background, but I never once saw anyone drink straight black coffee in Mexico. I mean the good quality coffee, not the bad stuff or the instant, which was Cafe Legale Instanto Soluble, IIRC. Big glass jar, awkward plastic cap. In between trips out to sea, I'd see the older ladies sit outside their house with a kettle and a container of that, milk or cream, ground up sugar cane (the pyramid looking stuff) and talk with a friend or two.
Granted this was a long time ago and we were so far down it was goat's milk and not cow's milk.
I am the only one in my family who uses milk, the rest are fine using creamer, the only ones I have seen go for straight black coffee was one friend and a few truck drivers.
I see. The only reasoning I've ever come up with is a post I'd read online about the quality of coffee available in Mexico for a long time and how all the good stuff was usually exported. Whereas the bad stuff is what was sold in the markets. If you had money, you'd buy import from SA or Africa, or stick with the bad stuff but "water" it down. I just stuck with the spiced hot chocolate and fresh corn tortillas with butter and cheese in them. Maybe some grilled peppers. It was the only food that didn't bother me 10 miles out to sea on choppy waters.
I usually use the "creamer" at places that don't offer milk or cream. Though Coffee Mate makes a Naturals line that uses milk, cream, sugar and naturally derived flavors. A few are organic, too. Those aren't bad. I've bought them a few times. Obviously they will sour if you don't use them as quickly.
For sure. I have been able to slowly ween myself off to where I will have a diet Coke with lunch and that is it for the rest of the day. Just go slow. It's a marathon not a sprint.
I cut way back on coffee after I quit smoking in 2000, because it was such a trigger to have a cigarette with it for awhile. I was messed up enough over the lack of nicotine and the fact that I had associated cigarettes to just about everything else in life ...except brushing my teeth and showering... that I barely noticed the occasional caffeine withdrawal headache.
When I started cutting down on the caffeine, I started adding nonfat milk that I heated first and then poured hot coffee into it. I settled on about 2/3 milk, 1/3 fairly strong coffee. I only meant to reduce the caffeine, but decided I liked my new brew better than just having it black, not least because it lasted longer: I never drank coffee in 20 oz mugs which is what I started using when I added milk, so I felt like I was actually cheating and having more coffee.. but with less caffeine effect.
Recently I read that the quarter life of coffee is 12 hours, so whatever coffee you drink at noon, 25% of it is still sloshing around in the brain at midnight. All the more reason for me to keep it to 2/3 milk and 1/3 coffee and have that 2nd cup by mid-afternoon. I don't mind enough caffeine to let me hear at least a little of whatever longsuffering audiobook i have going upstairs. It generally ends up talking to itself after my first ten or fifteeen minutes in the sack and I end up taking the print book out of the library to make sense of it.
When I started cutting down on the caffeine, I started adding nonfat milk that I heated first and then poured hot coffee into it. I settled on about 2/3 milk, 1/3 fairly strong coffee. I only meant to reduce the caffeine, but decided I liked my new brew better than just having it black, not least because it lasted longer: I never drank coffee in 20 oz mugs which is what I started using when I added milk, so I felt like I was actually cheating and having more coffee.. but with less caffeine effect.
Recently I read that the quarter life of coffee is 12 hours, so whatever coffee you drink at noon, 25% of it is still sloshing around in the brain at midnight. All the more reason for me to keep it to 2/3 milk and 1/3 coffee and have that 2nd cup by mid-afternoon. I don't mind enough caffeine to let me hear at least a little of whatever longsuffering audiobook i have going upstairs. It generally ends up talking to itself after my first ten or fifteeen minutes in the sack and I end up taking the print book out of the library to make sense of it.
I've tried gradually cutting but for me it didnt work.
I finally decided to just go bananas and drink zero. Couldn't do it, but drinking very little compared to before. Less than a cup.
[doublepost=1550460973][/doublepost]I used to use milk, sugar, half and half, hazelnut whatevers, and so on. Really get fancy.
fast forward years later... chug straight black bc I need the caffeine in my blood asap lol.
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I've been getting cramps too and wasn't sure why. Maybe it's because I cut the caffeine. The cramps are really bad. I start sweating. But if I drink a whole gatorade bottle, it goes away quickly for me. I usually get the orange one.
When I was at university, I used to drink up to 10 cups of coffee a day.
These days, when I am at home, I drink one to two a day.
My first cup of coffee in the morning is non-negotiable. That is an absolute must. However, anything after that is a bonus, and will usually take place these days if I am meeting someone, or attending a meeting, or just chilling with a cup of coffee in the city, or having dinner with someone.
Otherwise, these days, I usually consume tea, or mineral water, in the afternoon.
However, nowadays, I drink an awful lot more water than I ever did while at university.
If you intend to cut down on coffee, I would recommend that you ensure that you remain adequately hydrated.
These days, when I am at home, I drink one to two a day.
My first cup of coffee in the morning is non-negotiable. That is an absolute must. However, anything after that is a bonus, and will usually take place these days if I am meeting someone, or attending a meeting, or just chilling with a cup of coffee in the city, or having dinner with someone.
Otherwise, these days, I usually consume tea, or mineral water, in the afternoon.
However, nowadays, I drink an awful lot more water than I ever did while at university.
If you intend to cut down on coffee, I would recommend that you ensure that you remain adequately hydrated.
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I don’t drink that much coffee. Usually only if I’m out. But tea? It’s pretty much my only vice. 6-10 cups a day.
I’d sooner give up oxygen.
I’d sooner give up oxygen.
Op definitely has interesting threads!
I started drinking coffee since I was very young. I loved the smell of it and ended up loving the taste of it. I've always had my coffee black. I can't stand sweetener in my coffee. The most I've ever had are 3 cups of coffee a day, by cups I mean massive programmer cups of coffee. My mom and her dad both lived on coffee - drinking 6-8 cups a day or ... in my grandpa's case, several thermos fulls of coffee a day.
It always amused me that people saw coffee as bad. But when I watched them put in 2/3 of creamer or 4-5 scoops of sugar, yeah... I can understand why coffee would be bad in that case. Drinking coffee black isn't all that bad imo, within moderation of course.
I drink 1 cup a day now, with a possible cup of tea or two in the evening (mostly ginger tea). To keep myself not "dependent" on coffee, I'll go a few days without it. I find just drinking 1 cup a day means I'm not addicted to it and can go days without it without any ill effect. I figure this is probably the healthiest.
When I was drinking 3 cups a day, I'd definitely get a migraine by the second day if I stopped drinking coffee. So now, I limit myself to 1-2.
But I don't think drinking coffee black is all that bad (1-2 cups a day). Diet Soda? Yes. Coffee with non-fat/non-sugar creamer (or with)? Yes.
I started drinking coffee since I was very young. I loved the smell of it and ended up loving the taste of it. I've always had my coffee black. I can't stand sweetener in my coffee. The most I've ever had are 3 cups of coffee a day, by cups I mean massive programmer cups of coffee. My mom and her dad both lived on coffee - drinking 6-8 cups a day or ... in my grandpa's case, several thermos fulls of coffee a day.
It always amused me that people saw coffee as bad. But when I watched them put in 2/3 of creamer or 4-5 scoops of sugar, yeah... I can understand why coffee would be bad in that case. Drinking coffee black isn't all that bad imo, within moderation of course.
I drink 1 cup a day now, with a possible cup of tea or two in the evening (mostly ginger tea). To keep myself not "dependent" on coffee, I'll go a few days without it. I find just drinking 1 cup a day means I'm not addicted to it and can go days without it without any ill effect. I figure this is probably the healthiest.
When I was drinking 3 cups a day, I'd definitely get a migraine by the second day if I stopped drinking coffee. So now, I limit myself to 1-2.
But I don't think drinking coffee black is all that bad (1-2 cups a day). Diet Soda? Yes. Coffee with non-fat/non-sugar creamer (or with)? Yes.
Coffee black no sugar here as well.
Tea white no sugar as well. Just made one!
Made a nettle tea for Mrs AFB as that’s her poison. I’d sooner not bother.
For some people, sure. I've been drinking it all my life without any psychological problems (at least that I know of).
Just because something could cause something isn't a good reason not to drink it, don't you think? Now, if you're trying to say that water is better, then yes, I agree, water is better. Much better. (Tea is pretty good though).[doublepost=1550515378][/doublepost]
Amen. Earl Grey with nothing added, Double Bergamot Earl Grey is my favorite. I like to drink ginger tea at night - love taste of ginger. I'm definitely not one for sweet.
I just have regular PG tips. Nothing fancy.For some people, sure. I've been drinking it all my life without any psychological problems (at least that I know of).
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Amen. Earl Grey with nothing added, Double Bergamot Earl Grey is my favorite. I like to drink ginger tea at night - love taste of ginger. I'm definitely not one for sweet.