Misc Caffeine Withdrawal

[Woodsong]

Ok, before I get a bunch of "suck it up kid"s, here's my situation:

I'm currently 25, and I've had a heavy caffeine addiction literally since I was 5... I take 2 200mg pills first thing when I wake up, and usually another one or two after I get off work with cups of coffee and soda scattered here and there. I used to just drink a shit-ton of energy drinks and coffee before I realized that I was spending over $300 a month on the shit... That's a car payment! So I just started taking pills cause they were a helluva lot cheaper. Less 'energizing', but cheaper...

I've tried quitting a couple dozen times before, and the only way I've ever "succeeded" was cold turkey. I cannot taper, will not work... I'd rather go through five days of total misery than a few weeks of moderate misery. I think the longest period I've been without caffeine in the past 20 years was 12 days...

Basically, if I don't have any caffeine by noon, it's all I can do to get up and walk around because my head hurts so fucking bad... Like, I'm going to puke or pass out or have a fucking aneurysm or some shit, not even kidding...

I picked up a pack of 25mg ephedrine tablets today and I'm expecting to get a few day's supply of hydrocodone either later tonight or tomorrow... I've no idea if the ephedrine will help with caffeine withdrawal or not, but I figure hey, it's an even stronger stimulant, so maybe..? The thing with the hydro is, I've recently come off of a pretty hefty four-month habit (120mg+ a day, was getting Norco 10's from either my doc or stepsister for a back injury from a car wreck) which I kicked with the tremendous help of kratom and loperamide, though I'm pretty sure my tolerance is still rather high at this point, so I'm not really sure if they'll help. I can't get my grubby little paws on anything stronger, so ...

Anyone know if ephedrine will help with caffeine withdrawal? I've never tried it before for this purpose. I'm sure the hydro will help the headache to some extent, but .. probably not. Or does anyone have any other tips/tricks for dealing with caffeine withdrawal? I'm tired of taking this shit after twenty years of consuming 800mg+ of caffeine every day when it doesn't even affect me in the slightest anymore, I have to take it or I'll be ready to shove an ice pick into my skull by the end of day 1 to relieve the pressure. Just to feel 'normal'... I'm sick of it... And nobody takes me seriously when I try to explain how bad it is... Even the full-blown hydrocodone aches and shits and watery eyes and runny nose and horrible RLS (until I got some kratom) wasn't as debilitating as a caffeine withdrawal headache is for me... :/

 

[hotelyorba]

The epherdrine might help the headaches, but its hard to say. When I would take adderall, I would still feel tired unless I also had my daily cup of coffee with it. What I mean by that is, even though these drugs have similar effects, they are each a different shaped piece of the puzzle.

 

[sweetnicci07]

My boyfriend swears that he can't go a day without caffeine.....he says that he gets terrible headaches when he hasn't had any for 12 hours or so. I know caffeine withdrawal is real but I never knew it had such terrible effects. Nothing he tried to take would help the headaches except more caffeine. Also, the caffeine pills did not work the same way energy drinks or soda did.....does anyone know why that is??

 

[Woodsong]

@sweetnicci07
I guess it's just cause they're pure caffeine and don't have any ginseng or l-carnitine or vitamins or sugar or any of that fancy expensive shit in em.

 

[brighton]

how about a good old cup of tea?

 

[Captain.Heroin]

Typically caffeine withdrawal lasts 2 weeks. It isn't a short lived withdrawal.

 

[Woodsong]

@Captain.Heroin
Well, the headache for me lasts about a week, and then another week or so of just general lethargy, but that I can deal with... It's the mindblowing headache that keeps me from going through with it... :/

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

Caffeine withdrawal is not something to take lightly. The headaches can best be dealt with by hydration, a good NSAID such as Aleve and just waiting it out.

I am hesitant to recommend ephedrine for caffeine withdrawal, ephedrine is a pretty shitty stimulant and is probably more dangerous than caffeine.

 

[sekio]

I think titration is the best option - I would be locking myself in a dark room for 2 weeks with a pitcher of water, an Enya CD and a big ol' bottle of tylenol 1's if I was taking upwards of 500mg caff a day.

Caffeine headaches are really something. Try to sleep through them if you can.

 

[Legerity]

I really have the same experience with caffeine, the withdrawal is not pleasant at all. And you're right many people don't take it seriously. But I've stopped drinking coffee 20 times it's pretty much as difficult as trying to stop smoking for me.

I wouldn't personally suggest replacing it with another stimulant. I taper down to minimize the headaches to remain somewhat functional. Either by gradually switching to tea for lower caffeine, or just drinking one cup less every 2-3 days or something like that.

If you can pick a long weekend when you don't have much to do to start the process, taking naps each day is helpful. And I always find Ibuprofen to be best for headaches.

 

[Sprout]

I figured I'd be best to post here rather than start my own thread....

I have a stupid caffeine addiction at the moment; I'm currently averaging 3.5 grams a day, 70 pills a day - been using it daily for 7 or 8 years.
The WD is so much worse than I anticipated: 12 hours caffeine free and I am projectile vomiting, my head feels like a jack-hammer is trapped inside it, my stools are... well... pure water. It is literally comparable to opiate WD's. It's gotten to the point I can swallow 2 grams and fall asleep immediately.

It is pure hell; are there any ways to ease the withdrawals at all? Cold turkey does not work in the slightest - I got to 18 hours before I vomited all over a waitress ( a scenario I would very much like to avoid a repeat of).

 

[Somberlain]

i found the best way is to slowly lower the dosage over time until you reach the point where you can switch to black and green tea (high quality tea if possible because you will need much of it at first and i think it's better if you have good quality tea that has been produced naturally). with tea, the hardest pard will be in the morning because it takes time and a large amount of it until you really feel awake. but when you made it there, it gets way easier to decrease the dose further and i find the withdrawals to be significantly easier in comparison to coffee/pills/etc.

and when you start with caffeine again after that and you stick to tea, it's not only healthier. the effects on concentration, mood etc are much better because of the slower release of the caffeine imo.

 

[crazycatman]

Op, how fast did you try to taper?

Maybe if you did it slow enough it would be much more bearable. You can buy caffeine powder and a mg scale so you don't have to bother with splitting pills.