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quitting caffeine - suggestions?

wingnutlives

wingnutlives

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
1,035
Location
Northwest USA
Hello my name is wingnut and I'm an addict.
A caffeine addict. LOL. Well that's me and about half the world (or more). I've been drinking black tea and coffee since I was five, and never could make it more than two weeks without it.
I didn't mind at first since I couldn't discern any side effects, but in my grand old age of 23 I've noticed that I have actual comedowns, mood swings, tremors, just generally more unpleasant than pleasant effects. So I want to quit.

The problem is that when I stop I get symptoms of withdrawal that include: sleeping about twenty hours a day, feeling like I'm underwater/feeling "muddy", bad hearing and fuzzy vision, migraines, shaking, and so on.
I'm sure I could suffer through this for a few days, but I can't take more than about five days off between school and work, and i need to be functional for work.

Does anyone know if
1) there are herbs or drugs that can help the body adjust better to being off caffeine? Anything that could ease the symptoms of withdrawal or speed up the process?
2) Good energy herbs/supplements to keep me from slipping back into caffeine use?

Hopefully this can be useful to other people as well. Thanks in advance!
 
^why not just help the guy instead of busting his balls. Caffeine IS addictive, and like any addictive drug, it shouldn't be taken lightly. Just because it's something most of us take for granite dosen't mean some people don't have serious problems with it.
 
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^thats a bit uncalled for - ppl DO get addicted to pot....and caffeine
i drink alot of those energy drinks, i wonder if id go thru the same thing without them?
if i were u id maybe use sum ginseng or guarana, or other mild stimulant, plus painkillers for the headaches
u say it shud only take a short period
use chlorophyll pills (i dunno if u have them in ur country - i used them to help detox me from various drugs) to speed up the process
 
>>If You Allow Yourself To Become Addicted To Pot Or Caffeine & cant quit on your own You Are A Weak Ass Bitch>>

This would make roughly 50 percent of adults "Weak Ass Bitches".
Have any other helpful tips for reducing caffeine intake?

ebola
 
ebola? said:
try stepping down 50 mg per week.
Withdrawal will last for 1 or 2 days per step and won't be too intense.

ebola
Click to expand...
ebola is right, but I think I can elaborate on this a little and explain how I'm able to quit painlessly. I drink between 5 and 10 cups of strong coffee a day. If I miss a day oro go cold turkey, I get sick, ie migraines, vomiting, shaking, tired, depressed, etc.
EVery time I go on a camping trip or something where I might not have access to coffee for a few weeks, I quit.
Say 1 week before i have to quit, I reduce my intake by a few cups each day. Down to 1 cup a day after a few days, then I drink a couple of cups of tea each day the next couple of days, all the while avoiding coffee. Then go down to 1 cup tea, every other day if needed, and then quit all together. I don't notice any withdrawal symptoms when I quit this way.
THen I get back into the city and drink coffee again because I like coffee.
 
socko said:
ebola is right, but I think I can elaborate on this a little and explain how I'm able to quit painlessly. I drink between 5 and 10 cups of strong coffee a day. If I miss a day oro go cold turkey, I get sick, ie migraines, vomiting, shaking, tired, depressed, etc.
EVery time I go on a camping trip or something where I might not have access to coffee for a few weeks, I quit.
Say 1 week before i have to quit, I reduce my intake by a few cups each day. Down to 1 cup a day after a few days, then I drink a couple of cups of tea each day the next couple of days, all the while avoiding coffee. Then go down to 1 cup tea, every other day if needed, and then quit all together. I don't notice any withdrawal symptoms when I quit this way.
THen I get back into the city and drink coffee again because I like coffee.
Click to expand...
haha.

i used to wake up and grab a coke, because i could open a can way quicker than making a coffee. drank that until i could grab a coffee, and kept the caffeine flowing all day. i just quit cold turkey, just layed in bed miserable and tired for a few days watching movies. after a few days i felt ok but tired, and irritable. i was 'normal' in a week or so.
 
I heard a B-complex and Chamomile tea are good for some of the side effects..... I'd go with a multi vitamin -some aleeve (or generic naproxen) and chamomile tea :) Also....have you tried to just slowly lower your intake? I work at a coffee stand and I was drinking about 8 to 12 shots of espresso a day (sometimes more) and recently slowed down to allowing myself maybe 3 to 6 (which is still too much) but I figure it would help me quit drinking so many lattes! haha so in a month or two I was planning to get down to 2 shots of espresso a day- If youve tried this and it doesnt work- somebody let me know! :)
 
Wow, Warehouse Punk, that was totally rude and uncalled for. You do realize I was being rather facecious with my introductory statement, right? Guess not - some people don't pick up on sarcasm.

Well my basic point for making the post was that I'm physically addicted to caffeine, want to quit, but want to quit in a way that won't interfere with my job performance. I do sales, so I can't be zoned out or "feeling muddy" at my job or I'll get poor marks for customer service, timeliness, etc.
Also I put this in the Healthy Living forum specifically to avoid making a "mockery" of Bluelight's more specific drug forums such as Dark Side.

9mm censor: after a week you felt "normal" - how normal?

I have lowered my intake to two cups of tea a day, so that's pretty encouraging. At point I had it down to one 8 ounce cup of tea, that's what I'm trying for again before quitting "cold turkey".

Thanks everyone who contributed HELPFUL suggestions - I'll check those out!
 
I'm also curious why a "quitting smoking" thread is comendable, while a "quitting caffeine" thread is laughed at? The addictiveness of both are about the same, and the process of quitting is a bitch in both cases.
 
2 litres of water each day works wonders. i gained a taste for the stuff in such loads when doing a rapid 10 day cleansing diet. the first few days i was headache prone but haven't looked back since.
now if i have caffeine in the morning, it makes me even more tired, whereas water gives me the boost in need.

good luck wingnut!
 
L-theanine does wonders for attenuating the side effects of caffeine, if it is really bugging you in the meantime. You'd probably have to order it online, you'll get ripped off major at a grocery store or GNC or the like.
 
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