I’m trying really hard to quit (or at least cut back) on caffeine. When I quit alcohol I let my coffee intake skyrocket. On Saturday I tried to go with no coffee and stick with some caffeinated tea but it wasn’t enough…mid afternoon the headache was so awful I broke down and made a coffee. Yesterday I just started my day with a small coffee then switched to tisane later (no caffeine). I did okay but I noticed a headache when I went to bed. So this morning I’m doing same. Start with just one small (8-10 oz??) coffee and that’s it.
I’m not sure if I’m asking for advice or not (if you have wonderful pearls…do share) but take this as a warning. Do not use caffeine to get you through this. It’s not worth it!!! I don’t know what other withdrawals are like but this is way worse than what I had with booze. Fluish symptoms are easier than these brutal headaches.
@VSue: Yes, there are headaches. They are horror, but they will leave soon. Go through this. After the storm, the sun comes out. Try some peppermint oil, green tea or best: matcha tea. Take two days off for that and stay in bed. Some fresh air time by time. Warm feed bath also works fine for headache. Go through! Better live afterward. Less nervous, lower blood pressure, better smell in your mouth and better bloodflow in your skin. Sleep gets very much deeper, like a baby. Im sober at day 10 today:)
Ouch! Sorry you are suffering! I had a wicked caffeine issue many years ago and it was a bear to get thru it. Tapering off was helpful and worked for me. Eventually I gave up coffee and soda altogether for years. Now I have 1/2 scoop of regular coffee mixed with 3 huge scoops of decaf each morning. I will have a full cup of iced coffee if trudging around Disney for 7 hours, but other than that, decaf teas as well.
It takes time Sue, but you can ease into it. Here are some tips I found, which are the ones I used. The headaches should subside if you taper after a few days.
Avoid withdrawal altogether by limiting your daily caffeine consumption; if you normally drink 4 cups, drink 3, then 2, and so on.
Gradually reduce the caffeine content of your beverage; switch to half caf or decaf coffee or tea before quitting altogether.
Replace caffeinated beverages with herbal teas to soothe symptoms and counteract dehydration, which can worsen headaches and withdrawal symptoms. Some I recommend are rhodiola, licorice, and maca.
Get extra sleep to combat fatigue and grogginess.
Go for a morning run or fit in a quick workout to naturally boost your energy without caffeine. Or more yoga!
Aw man, I feel ya. I did the cold-turkey route and had a dull headache that lasted 3 days after I quit coffee and didn’t feel completely comfortable or somewhat normal until around day 6. This was with one cup of tea in the morning… still doing the same… will have “decaf” tea at work. Will admit tea still isn’t the same as coffee… I don’t get the same mental buzz or push after. Maybe a little push…
Im so glad you recognize caffeine for what it is. Its a drug, just like any other. And we can become addicted to it. The problem with caffeine is that it mimics epinephrine in our body and limits the production of it. So, the body stops making it. It will take some time before your body can begin producing normal amounts on its own again.
Thanks. I did not know this. I just knew I got really bad headaches when I don’t have it…and I’m done. Well, I also can get heart palpitations and twitchy skin if I have too much too. I just don’t like how I feel anymore.
Im a tea guy but didnt drink much coffee, had a meeting with the doc last week seems ive got a fatty liver only down to diet and he suggested a few changes and he suggested i drink coffee? and eat walnuts.so im giving coffee a go ,keep on trucking
I can sympathize. In October I quit caffeine. I tapered over two weeks. Took a lot of will power, but it was worth it because not relying or requiring a substance to function is pretty rad.
Unfortunately I have fallen into that caffeine trap since going back to work. On Saturday I had the worst headache, Sunday first thing was a large drip coffee from Starbucks. =/
I’ll quit with you! Starting today, I’ll begin to taper.
I was like this i cut down gradually and stop drinking caffeine usually around 2pm and try to only have one or two and i have de caff coffee and tea at home as i do like to have one.
I used to get headaches too but thankfully not anymore
I could never get addicted to coffee more than one large coffee and I feel like terrible. I bought one from Kickinghorse called Half As. It has half the caffeine. Maybe that’ll help.
I still have headaches. Most days it is one small cup of coffee and then switch to low and no caffeine teas. Today I had 2 small coffees. So not perfect yet.
My goal is to switch entirely to teas but not be 100% caffeine free. I just want the headaches to stop. All the Tylenol is equally not good.
My hubby is out of town and he’s the one that makes the morning pot. I don’t know the ratio of grounds to water.
So this morning I made a Tassimo only to find out after that it was decaf and I couldn’t find any caffeinated ones. So I made a double espresso to get my caffeine jolt.
By noon I had the most horrible headache. It turns out the espresso beans are also decaf!!!
I just chugged an energy drink and the headache is gone. Thank GOD!!
Now I need to re-evaluate my caffeine intake and think about cutting back again.
Caffeine was by far the most physically painful of my quits (the others were alcohol and cigarettes). That 3 day killer headache was almost unbearable. If I had to quit it again I would definitely use the weaning method instead of cold turkey, but I will never again be tricked into addiction to any drug. Alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine should be illegal. Evil poisons sold by the government to pacify the masses. Best wishes on your quit. : )
I’m glad you revived this thread! I’ve been working on cutting back also. A few weeks ago I was having my pre-workout supplement in the morning (about 200mg of caffeine) then 1 or 2 energy drinks throughout the day (another 200mg each).
I haven’t been a big coffee person recently although I used to drink several cups a day. Weirdly, I’ve spent a lot of time getting my teeth fixed at the dentist since I got sober (neglected that for years because of drinking) and now I’m worried it will stain my teeth if I drink too much of it lol
Starting a couple weeks ago I’ve been cutting back a lot. I’ve gotten it down to just my pre-workout supplement in the morning.
Then yesterday I was literally falling asleep while running errands in the afternoon because I worked late the previous two days. So I broke down and had an energy drink for the first time in a couple of weeks. Needless to say it took me hours to fall asleep after I went to bed.
I don’t think I want/need to completely cut out caffeine but I’m trying to stick to just my morning dose for now; that seemed to work really well for the last few weeks and I didn’t have any crushing headaches at night surprisingly.
Back when I was actively drinking, I used to make light of caffeine addiction. It struck me as kind of a p**** addiction to be honest. After I quit drinking, Dr pepper took the place of alcohol and caffeine withdrawal can be hell. It’s something I admittedly struggle with.
