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Opioids PAWS and caffeine

L

Le Junk

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
2,280
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IndiaNOplace, Indianer
Does caffeine really fuck with someone who is experiencing PAWS? I've been clean for exactly 3 months and 10 days now, but have noticed some seriously unpleasant effects after drinking it. It's either gotta be the caffeine or I have some sort of neurological problem. Has anyone else experienced this or am I losing my mind? I've given up all of my bad habits, but was still hoping to be able to drink my morning coffee. HELP!

Le Junk :(
 
Anecdotally (as there hasn't been much formal research on PAWS) caffeine is absolutely something to avoid if someone is experiencing PAW symptoms. Large amounts of sugar as well.

The little crashes after enough sugar or caffeine can trigger/exacerbate PAW symptoms in general and this is especially true when these are used in times of stress, depression, craving, etc
 
This is completely normal. It takes a while to adjust to not having drugs in your body. It was a few months until I felt comfortable being in the sun or in the cold and until i was able to sleep normally. The good news is at about 3 months i started to level out and feel more "normal". It only gets better from here on out. Most opiate addicts dont make it that long so consider yourself lucky..How did you pull that off ny the way?
 
Along this same topic, I too now being clean for over a month and a half have horrible side affects. Even after drinking a small cup of coffee my heart rate seems to go through the roof. It never seemed to do this when i was on opiates or even before my usage. I know your heart rate will be elevated in general when drinking caffeine but I mean now it beats faster then when I use to do blow. Its unbearable. Could this be because my body is still use to the depression (ie breathing and heart rate) affects i received from opiates?
 
GrimeyMcGrimerson said:
This is completely normal. It takes a while to adjust to not having drugs in your body. It was a few months until I felt comfortable being in the sun or in the cold and until i was able to sleep normally. The good news is at about 3 months i started to level out and feel more "normal". It only gets better from here on out. Most opiate addicts dont make it that long so consider yourself lucky..How did you pull that off ny the way?
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I was able to quit due to the fact that I was experiencing nothing but negative effects. It was like a switch went on one day. Day #1825 was wonderful, day # 1826 was awful as was everyday thereafter. It made my choice rather easy, though I naturally continued for another year once things went south. But the experience was so bad that I'll never go back. I consider that a blessing. In addition, my total expense for pills ($5 each) for that 5 year period was roughly $30K plus. That's just insane! Throw in my former cocaine addiction (during that same time period) and the #'s are simply staggering. :\

Le Junk
 
Cane2theLeft said:
Anecdotally (as there hasn't been much formal research on PAWS) caffeine is absolutely something to avoid if someone is experiencing PAW symptoms. Large amounts of sugar as well.

The little crashes after enough sugar or caffeine can trigger/exacerbate PAW symptoms in general and this is especially true when these are used in times of stress, depression, craving, etc
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that explains it. and pretty much what i had thought. i did know about the sugar high/crash and should have put 2+2 together regards caffeine.

i'm a pretty regular (read heavy) coffee drinker on and off, especially on during wds to perk me up a bit but can definitely define the crashes now.

chamomile tea here i come.

le junk - what about a de-caffeinated coffee?
 
le junk - what about a de-caffeinated coffee?

I was thinking the same thing. You can brew the coffee strong enough so that it tastes like real coffee, but of course there will be no caffeine (well, there will be a slight amount...just like with non-alcoholic beer there is still a teensy bit of alcohol).
For the record--I've been a regular coffee drinker all my life. But once I had to quit opiates / heroin and face the withdrawals, I couldn't tolerate the effects of caffeine. It made the anxiety and dysphoria much more pronounced. Stimulants suck when going through WDs or PAWS, period.
 
leftwing said:
that explains it. and pretty much what i had thought. i did know about the sugar high/crash and should have put 2+2 together regards caffeine.

i'm a pretty regular (read heavy) coffee drinker on and off, especially on during wds to perk me up a bit but can definitely define the crashes now.

chamomile tea here i come.

le junk - what about a de-caffeinated coffee?
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It's not the actual coffee, but rather the kick start from the caffeine that I require in the AM. I have given up the pills and powder and was hoping to be able to retain my caffeine, but even that's become unbearable. Talk about a complete life change. :\

Le Junk
 
^Yep. I've been nearly opie-free for almost a year, except for on-again, off-again usage. To this day caffeine still gives me anxiety, and I haven't experienced severe withdrawal since November 2009.
 
I too am an every-morning coffee drinker, and I understand what it's like to not have it first thing out of bed. I am very cranky until I have at least a few sips.

However, I remember hating the awful anxiety and restlessness I'd get from just one cup of coffee when experiencing moderate to severe w/d. Even a half a cup would make me feel like I needed to take a Xanax or run around the block a few times.

During those times, I found Yerba Mate (or really any green tea) much more tolerable, in terms of providing a boost without all of the negative side effects I'd get from coffee.
 
Eagleman said:
^Yep. I've been nearly opie-free for almost a year, except for on-again, off-again usage. To this day caffeine still gives me anxiety, and I haven't experienced severe withdrawal since November 2009.
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Congratulations. :) I wish I had a year behind me. I'm hoping that sometime in the next month or so I get my brain back...

Le Junk
 
considering they serve coffee at just about every AA and NA meeting I'm gonna say that you should be able to drink coffee without adverse affects. Maybe your drinking too much? From my own experience when I was just getting clean I was able to drink redbulls, coffee ect.
 
Deveel said:
considering they serve coffee at just about every AA and NA meeting I'm gonna say that you should be able to drink coffee without adverse affects. Maybe your drinking too much? From my own experience when I was just getting clean I was able to drink redbulls, coffee ect.
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That doesn't mean everyone is eager to drink it. And the fact that a lot of recovering opiate addicts get anxiety from caffeine isn't a strict medical rule and everyone has to obey it!
 
Eagleman said:
That doesn't mean everyone is eager to drink it. And the fact that a lot of recovering opiate addicts get anxiety from caffeine isn't a strict medical rule and everyone has to obey it!
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Your right, everyone can do whatever they want....with consequences of course. But, since most people want to make decisions that will more than likely make them feel better, or prevent them from feeling worse, its probably a good idea in general to stay away from caffeine when your in withdrawal because MANY MANY people in that situation respond negatively to it. Its not a "strict medical rule" but is a general consensus for the most part.
 
So Deveel, if I understand correctly, your logic is that since a bunch of addicts and alcoholics decided they'd enjoy sugar and caffeine during meetings it can't be detrimental when it comes to PAWS? I'm not sure that's a very good argument when nearly every authority on the subject advises against sugar and caffeine.
 
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