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Caffeine addiction

Cohesion

Cohesion

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
1,069
I have been able to quit drugs and alcohol and nicotine, and kill the desire for all. I was a heavy user of everythingish for 10 years.

This caffeine is like the center of my universe, though. It is the zenith of my day. Even at 11PM I have to seriously fight the urge every 5 minutes to get up and brew a french press. From today I'm switching to black tea. I won't change anything else until March. That's in 17 days. I guess after that to Green tea. Maybe I don't have to quit Green tea.

Coffee is causing me terrible headaches - even after I drink it in the morning - and those nag nag naggy cravings. I want to quit but it's going to be a long road, and I don't know if I am ready. But the pain. This was my first addiction. My first love. Oh dear.
 
I have found caffeine to be a really bad physical addiction. It became impossible to function without it.

Tea has always been a bit less problematic but still I have withdrawal if I cut it out. Fewer stomach problems or headaches

Good luck
 
Thanks <3

I was being a bit dramatic on purpose in making this thread. But my struggle is still a valid one.

It's a completely emotional experience. Reducing and eliminating caffeine has been shown to lead to depression. I am making inspirational post-its and putting them around the house.
 
Caffeine withdrawal can last 2 weeks or so. You should try to cut back slowly.

I'm sorry to hear you are getting headaches from it, that sounds awful.

Cohesion said:
But my struggle is still a valid one.
Click to expand...

It sure is. Best of luck Cohesion :)
 
Cutting caffeine out of my diet was the hardest thing I've done. I still have energy drinks but I've limited them to one week every month.

At one point I was having a Chai Latte with double shot of espresso every hour for months on end. I struggled getting out of bed every morning to even make my first coffee and had a mini fridge with energy drinks in it for that purpose. I ended up cutting it out completely for 2 months and just put up with the withdrawals. Even though I still give in every month, I feel a million times better.

Good luck with your efforts to give up this delicious demon.
 
I know this isn't healthy because I get the lightness of mood just by knowing the "reward" of caffeine is coming. In the same way that I would get a lightness of mood when I knew that drugs were coming. Same brain pathways. If I am making tea I can let it brew for an hour and stay "vitalized" and amp-y just knowing that the drink is in the other room, but too "busy" to stop and actually drink it. Expectation of reward.

Re-dist: Double shot Chai latte every hour? Did you work in a cafe? That is a $4 * 8 hours = $32/day habit unless you made it at home.

I feel similar to what you described in the morning, too. I love to prepare everything the night before so I can just *click* the hot water on.

Good that you only give in monthly. Hourly dosing is just insane. Until today, I was drinking 2 french presses per day of coffee. @ 3.5 tablespoons of coffee per press. I have come down from 5 tablespoons per press since a month ago.

Now onto the black tea. I make it strong, but I can only make one cup at a time and it feels more harm-reduction-y than the mud.
 
It sounds like you are struggling with the caffeine, and I can relate to the headaches. However, you have taken a big step by realizing you want to quit and taking steps in the right direction. I also think that a 'taper plan' is the way to go in this situation, and I wish you luck on the road ahead of you.

I had stopped drinking caffeine almost altogether until more recently. I started having a cup of coffee in the morning, and it quickly turned into two cups. I want to cut back already before I become to reliant on it.
 
Cohesion said:
Re-dist: Double shot Chai latte every hour? Did you work in a cafe? That is a $4 * 8 hours = $32/day habit unless you made it at home.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I used to manage a cafe and when they refurbished and bought a new coffee machine I asked if I could have their old one and ended up buying it. It doesn't seem like much money when you think of how much some people can spend on their habits.
 
I've been getting more into caffeine ever since I quit pot about a year ago. It's like brewing tea became a ritual that filled the void of quitting smoking pot. I think it's good to remember the limit to moderate caffeine consumption, which is around 300mgs a day, so 3 cups of coffee, around 6 cups of black tea, or 12 cups of green tea. The best thing you can do when tackling caffeine use is keep a tally of of how many mgs you take, in what form, and when. Usually adverse effects like headaches and crashes come when you exceed this limit.

There's also caffeine free teas, I find Tetley's decaffeinated Orange Pekoe to be decent with honey and milk. Rooibois and chamomile are also delicious and very good for your health, of course that doesn't help you coffee drinkers. Try to eat lots of bananas and take B vitamins if you feel yourself drained from too much caffeine.

Anyone here have a problem with caffeine pills?
 
i have been drinking tea lately in an effort to cut down on soda. mostly herbal and caffeine free although i still do a cup of green or yerba mate on occasion.

some of it is sweet enough i wonder why i ever bothered with soda.
 
This was my first addiction. My first love. Oh dear.
Click to expand...

Caffeine was my first addiction too, as dramatic as that may sound. It seriously used to make me feel on top of the world for a few hours. Now that I've "moved on" to Adderall, caffeine is just bleh. I also relate to feelings of anticipation while waiting for caffeine. I used to be super depressed before getting in line at Starbucks :) I'm not even kidding.

Edit: I am in no way glorifying Adderall. It has turned me into a bitter person.
 
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Caffeine was the hardest drug to quit IMO due to its social acceptance and prevalence in society.
And it is a shitty stimulant with shitty withdrawals.

I went from a coke when I woke up while MY POT of coffee brewed (I drank about 2 pots of coffee a day plus a few cokes or mountain dews mmm), to zero caffeine. I just stayed in bed for a few days and was a miserable, tired asshole.

I took over a year of complete abstention from caffeine before I could indulge in the occasional sunday coffee or whatever. And now I drink green tea occasionally.

After quitting (and surviving withdrawals) I found I could sleep better, had more energy and didn't miss it, other than the delicious taste of coffee. If you never consume caffeine, natural fruit juice has enough sugar to give you that 'boost' that caffeine did.
 
kaywholed said:
Caffeine was the hardest drug to quit IMO due to its social acceptance and prevalence in society.
And it is a shitty stimulant with shitty withdrawals.

I went from a coke when I woke up while MY POT of coffee brewed (I drank about 2 pots of coffee a day plus a few cokes or mountain dews mmm), to zero caffeine. I just stayed in bed for a few days and was a miserable, tired asshole.

I took over a year of complete abstention from caffeine before I could indulge in the occasional sunday coffee or whatever. And now I drink green tea occasionally.

After quitting (and surviving withdrawals) I found I could sleep better, had more energy and didn't miss it, other than the delicious taste of coffee. If you never consume caffeine, natural fruit juice has enough sugar to give you that 'boost' that caffeine did.
Click to expand...

Definitely a good post; I don't consume caffeine at all and find the same thing about natural fruit juice. %)
 
i used to consume a lot of caffeine then completely stopped because it was making my anxiety worse, now i still drink 1-2 cups of coffee/day and it really does help me function better. Sometimes i substitute it with ephedrine however that's just as bad. One good tip i have is that ginseng is a great and healthy stimulant that should satisfy that desire. The whole ritual of making coffee is part of the addiction but maybe ginseng can be like a nicorette gum to your caffeine addiction
 
I'm not doing so good.

Some people can't stop thinking about sex, food, or drugs. For me it is caffeine.

I went back to coffee because of a midterm and the fact that coffee stains teeth less severely than black tea.
Now I am drinking 2 full french presses per day (7 TBSP of strong organic fair trade coffee) including the sediment that comes along with use of a french press.

The most frustrating part is I am so addicted, I cannot do fasting. I have some other health problem plaguing me for 18 years that I need to cure or gain progress in via fasting. But it's not an option being this hooked. I want to WANT to quit. This is the SAME mental pathway I have been down with deep, damaging addiction/habit (pot, pills, alcohol). I'm telling myself the only way out is a secluded location or detox retreat where caffeine is not an option.8)
 
Have you tried reducing the strength of your coffee? It might be a good start. Just think of it like tapering any other drug, not everyone can go cold turkey.

Or even (and I know this is blasphemy) try decaf.
 
Cohesion said:
I'm not doing so good.

Some people can't stop thinking about sex, food, or drugs. For me it is caffeine.

I went back to coffee because of a midterm and the fact that coffee stains teeth less severely than black tea.
Now I am drinking 2 full french presses per day (7 TBSP of strong organic fair trade coffee) including the sediment that comes along with use of a french press.

The most frustrating part is I am so addicted, I cannot do fasting. I have some other health problem plaguing me for 18 years that I need to cure or gain progress in via fasting. But it's not an option being this hooked. I want to WANT to quit. This is the SAME mental pathway I have been down with deep, damaging addiction/habit (pot, pills, alcohol). I'm telling myself the only way out is a secluded location or detox retreat where caffeine is not an option.8)
Click to expand...

Try tapering with your coffee so that you use less and less of it over time. Best of luck. <3
 
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