Caffeine Pills

I have recently made the switch from coffee/energy drinks to caffeine pills. My minimum wage part time job being the main factor, it is by far the best option financially. My concern is, being an addict, is this the best idea for me? Can anyone share their own experience/concerns ? I've heard of a lot of people/recovering addicts who use caffeine because it makes them feel good and wakes them up, and I don't necessarily see anything wrong with that. But where is the line? I don't think it can be crossed with caffeine...but...just a thought, I suppose. If it makes a difference, I only take them as suggested on the box... perhaps a half an hour difference, give or take, here and there.... One thing I will say... it doesn't give me the boost that a coffee does, despite the drastically higher levels of caffeine in my body with the pills...

In my experience, the line is something you draw yourself. What do you feel comfortable with? How are caffeine pills altering your well-being? Are you using them obsessively, compulsively? If you'd like, you can look up more information on caffeine abuse/addiction through the DSM-5. I've been told in previous treatment centers that anything over 800mg in a day is a warning sign for abuse, but a 20oz Starbucks coffee can have over 400mg of caffeine on its own!

I use caffeine pills irregularly. In the past five months, I've gone through about 120 200mg pills (one-and-a-third containers). I can't say I use them every day, but some days I use more than one. I do not consider this to be something affecting my recovery.

ANY pill that alters my mood,even caffeine,drives me crazy.
I'm a pill fiend.

I have to stick to liquid coffee.
good luck.

IDK why but I feel coffee way more than caffeine pills. Either way if your uncomfortable with pills than I'd stick with drinks. Besides they taste good too :D

Judging by the prevalence/acceptability of coffee in 12 step groups, I don't see how caffeine pills would be much different. IMO if you're not going crazy chugging energy drinks, there shouldn't be much a problem. I used to be active in dope addiction, but am pretty abstinent from a lot of things. I work 12hr night shifts, so without the occasional dose of caffeine, I'm falling asleep in the break room some nights. I'm also the kind of person who rarely drinks coffee, only if I'm going to a coffeeshop for something, rarely drinks energy drinks (and then it's primarily due to the taste), and tries to avoid caffeine as much as possible. YMMV

I switched to caffeine pills after realizing I was spending over $10 a day on coffee and energy drinks. If anything, it actually seems to have lessened the addiction factor that caffeine used to have for me. Whereas previously I'd have to drop by the gas station or whatever for a little pick-me-up several times a day to chase away the impending headache, I just take 2 200mg tablets when I wake up in the morning and that's (usually) all I'll need now.

I stopped trying to quit caffeine a long time ago. Probably tried more times than with opiates. Hell, I'm almost tempted to say I'd take a week of opiate withdrawal versus a week of that god-awful headache (almost) ... which is pretty much the only reason I still take it. Doesn't really wake me up or give me any kind of energy anymore, just brings me up to normal and staves off withdrawal ... And it's cheap! 8)

But more importantly I don't jones for the stuff all day like I used to, which is the benefit I personally get out of em. (Kinda like Suboxone in that respect.)

The fact that it's in pill form has never been an issue in regards to my other .. pill 'preferences' though.

Never taken the pills myself .. I'm an occasional coffee drinker, and finally replaced Rockstar/Monsters with a couple 1oz energy shots a day .. when you can't work without it, though, pills might be the best option; no sugar/calories/dubious adulterants.

Mochaccinos, all the way. Caffeine pills suck, i try take them sometimes but they are not as good a hot, chocolaty mocha!!

ime its better to learn how to work long and hard without relying upon caffeine

i have instances as well, like for e.g. if ive been getting high all day and have to work 6 hours at night then i need an energy drink to just get myself through the shift

but something like that comes up 1-2 times a fortnight and i wouldn't want to use caffeine daily for sure, it also has the negative effect of making it hard to sleep at night which has the opposite effect overall which you want, which is more energy...

alternatives like yerba mate are good, green tea has caffeine, lots of herbal tea's which give you energy etc

the first time i tried caffeine pills i got horrible anxiety. they didn't even give me a lot of energy either, they just made me real jittery. i hated them.

like mysterie said, yerba mate is good as well as green tea.

why is it that you are using the caffeine pills? do you like to feel the buzz from the caffeine, or are you just really tired all the time? if you are using them to combat constant fatigue and not just to get a buzz from the caffeine, then you may want to see a doctor so that you can get to the root cause of what is causing the low energy and try to fix that rather than reaching for caffeine right away. energy can be obtained other ways through proper diet/exercise/herbal supplements & vitamins.

Woodsong said:

I only take em purely out of habit these days... I've been taking 4~500+ mg/day for well over a decade (all started when I four 4 and my grandmother would always give me coffeel lol... Plenty of worse habits out there for sure, but it's relatively harmful, and well .. cheap. I used to take it just to ward off tiredness, but now t's just a habit for me that I have absolutely no intention of giving it up. Ever... After so long, it no longer gives that energy and motivation that it once does for moderate/moderate. It's just because part of the morning wake-up routine...

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I used to drink coffee all the time just because I liked the taste/energy from it, but now it causes panic in me so can't drink that anymore... Funny thing is now caffeine makes me tired sigh. I was just curious, ty for the reply

I've never had addiction problems, but I abused caffeine heavily one semester in college to increase productivity. My doses ended in the 4-5g/day range, and a while after finals when I stopped, I ended up in a psychiatric hospital with severe stimulant psychosis.

I've since scaled back to <2g/day and using other stimulants as adjuvants instead.

ad lib said:

the first time i tried caffeine pills i got horrible anxiety. they didn't even give me a lot of energy either, they just made me real jittery. i hated them.

like mysterie said, yerba mate is good as well as green tea.

why is it that you are using the caffeine pills? do you like to feel the buzz from the caffeine, or are you just really tired all the time? if you are using them to combat constant fatigue and not just to get a buzz from the caffeine, then you may want to see a doctor so that you can get to the root cause of what is causing the low energy and try to fix that rather than reaching for caffeine right away. energy can be obtained other ways through proper diet/exercise/herbal supplements & vitamins.

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that happened to me once, but I think it was too much caffeine coupled with too little sleep.

I'm using them because it's cheaper than coffee and energy drinks. I tried a 5 hour energy first, and that didn't seem to work.

ya idk, I'm just pretty tired a lot. I have no health insurance so I can't go to a doctor.