Welcome to our small group. 
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How’s your caffeine reduction going?
I had a weak moment 2 days ago. After Covid it’s up and back with me. My back hurt again and I felt so tired 2 days ago. This tiredness is probably due to Covid. So I drank a coffee. I still had it in a drawer, some soluble espresso which I really like. My back pain was gone. Tiredness not so much. Yesterday I drank another one in the morning. Now there is no caffeine left in my apartment. I reset my counter this morning but it feels stupid to have a counter for this. I don’t know yet. I doubt a bit the all or nothing strategy for caffeine. I almost had a fight about it with my mother yesterday. It was of course only a surfacing issue. The roots are elsewhere. So, I am still here going in a direction.
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You’re going to get there if you keep trying.
I started a counter two years ago for cereal. While I had my reasons, that was stupid (or rather, silly), but I wouldn’t say a counter for caffeine is. Just because a drug is used by a bunch of people and is socially acceptable, doesn’t mean that it can’t be a problem.
This is your body and you have the right to say what you do and do not want in it. If something isn’t working for you, it’s wise to try and stop using it. Or maybe you’ll decide that using a small amount per day is the best thing for you for whatever reasons you have. Who knows? I know you’ll figure out the right thing for you.
Thanks for updating us!
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Hi @Chiron it’s going well! I’ve converted to decaf coffee now and having only two cups per day, both before 12pm. Already notice a significant difference in how I feel - less jittery, sleeping better. Really happy with this decision. I don’t think caffeine and I are a good mix! I loove the taste of coffee tho, so decaf is great. Funny, cause I only started drinking coffee about a year and half ago. I was really excited that I finally liked it, lol. Happy I can still enjoy a cup without the negative side- effects I was feeling 
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Caffeine will give me some restless anxiety and definitely make me shake a bit but I drink a lot of it. Probably 6-8 12+ ounce (big mug, idk) servings of strong black coffee a day. But I don’t see any other negative effects personally except I do not drink it for a few days after having drank alcohol as it makes my anxiety and gastritis much worse. But otherwise I do drink quite a bit. I only notice the nervous shaking when I’m working fast and reaching for something (I just got off a shift today) but it’s not like the uncontrolled uncoordinated shaking I get from alcohol withdrawal. I can still work quite well. I don’t have any plans to quit or reduce my caffeine right now, much like I’m not currently trying to reduce nicotine. Eventually yes, I probably will try to cut it way down or switch to decaf. Much of my love of coffee comes from the ritual of having the hot bitter beverage more than really needing the effect of caffeine. I also like chamomile and valerian tea for relaxing at night though. I think having a hot beverage is a comforting thing for me.
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@emc2018 Thanks for the update! I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better on the decaf and that this is working out for you. What brand of decaf do you drink? I know there are some people who are always looking for a good brand of decaf.
@anon64511207 Welcome to the forum and I’m glad you decided to jump into this thread. I think sometimes focusing on one thing at a time works best.
Thanks how about yourself Chiron, how are things going?
I’ve found this decaf coffee to be my fav, I love it with oat milk 
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I failed again. Back to square one. Soon. So, like I cannot or wouldn’t drink alcohol free beers or wine I cannot handle decaf. The way to caffeinated version is too short. It’s okay without caffeine but I cannot drink decaf all day. Like I would drink it obsessively but there is no result. Them, once I drink a coffee, I am steady going up to several cups a day. I won’t overdue it. But it’s not what I want.
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I can’t drink decaf either, partially because of what you said–you can drink and drink but there is no pay back–and also I haven’t ever found a decaf I like. But to be honest, I am happy with water in general, so if I’m drinking something else, I’m usually looking for a payout other than flavor–like the buzz of caffeine or alcohol.
I know you will get there. You have a strong will. You look at this mountain and, no matter how many times you slip on the rocks or fall off the side, you refuse to give up. You will climb the mountain. It’s just a matter of finding the right path for you.
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Thanks for sharing! I’ve never seen that brand of decaf before. Is it a light roast?
Thanks for asking (and honestly, I thought I’d answered you before this 
). My 35 day streak hit an end a few days ago, but I responsibly drank only 150mg each day and I drank slowly over several hours for a bit of sustained energy rather than chugging it for one bit ‘hit’–which would ultimately leave me craving more.
Today I’m off caffeine again. I honestly didn’t sleep well all weekend, so I think by the third day I was starting to feel sleep deprived. I can’t say that it was worth it past the first day. I probably should have just stuck to one day, but honestly the fact that I didn’t go crazy with the caffeine and I’m dropping it after a couple of days is a very good sign of progress for me.
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It’s hard. I just cannot come to terms with caffeine. I cannot replace it with the decaf versions. It is leading me back to the real one. I am repeating myself. I feel the same as I felt when thinking of stopping alcohol at the time. Only this time, I mention it, noone is supporting me or getting what I mean. 
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Hi friends
So I’m not interested in quitting caffeine altogether but I am interested in cutting back. Has anyone had success with that?
Current situation: I drink cold brew from the second I wake up until I force myself to stop at 5 pm so I can sleep. I typically buy multiple bottles at the grocery store but sometimes I will run out of what I brought to work and head to Starbucks etc. I just calculated my “extra” spending (the last min runs) and I’m over $80 just this month. To me that’s excessive and makes me question how much I actually consume during the day!
Has anyone either replaced some of their caffeine with green tea or just made a successful dramatic reduction?? Helpppp! 😵💫
(quitting doesn’t interest me bc I wake up pretty early, have a 10 mo old baby, a physical job, and do sports. I need the boost)
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Not really successful with cutting back. Have you tried decaf?
For me decaf is like non-alcoholic drink that are usually served with alcohol.
I am still struggling to get off but haven’t found the time to do so. As I will 
a lot. I had also back pain which makes me always hesitant to go off. Withdrawal.
Thanks for pulling this thread out of the dark again. 
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I have not tried decaf and it may just be that I love my precious coffee so much that I think of decaf as the enemy 
if that makes any sense. But framing it like an NA bev makes a ton of sense. Maybe I’ll search and see if I can find one I like.
I’ll keep you posted on my progress. For now I’m upping my “cut off time” to maybe 1 pm and see how that goes…
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How has this gone for you?
My best success with “cutting back” has always been to know exactly how much caffeine I ingest every day, then very slowly reduce from there. So if I know I consume 900mg off caffeine a day from specific energy drinks (as an example), then I might literally weigh the liquid from the last can and simply not drink the last 1/4 or 1/8 or whatever. So that maybe I’m having 875mg of caffeine in one day instead and do that for a while before making another very small reduction.
The thing with that is that it requires concentration and patience, as well as self control. If you replaced your cold brew coffee with green tea, you would most likely definitely have withdrawals since green tea has much less caffeine. Going that route would probably be best done by only replacing one of those cold brews per day with one green tea until you feel like you can reduce again.
Picking an earlier cut off time, like you’ve mentioned, is a pretty good idea. If 1pm is too drastic for you, try 4pm instead. Large steps are sometimes the least manageable with reducing caffeine, especially for someone as busy as yourself.
Another thought is to try and make caffeine “work” for you again, by finding a chunk of time where you can severely reduce or even stop caffeine to “reset” your tolerance. This is not always realistic, but if you had a weekend or week where you would be willing to stop playing sports, take a few days off work, and if someone else can tend to your baby for a while so you could rest (suffer), then once you start up again you could consume less for the same effect. Of course, this is likely not realistic for you, but finding a way that does work for you to reset your tolerance could be useful.
Good luck! Caffeine use really is an individual decision. For some people it’s a godsend and for others it’s just another problem to deal with. The best thing is that you know what you need and what your goals are. That will help you get where you want to go. 
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Thank you for all the insight! For the past two days I’ve stopped drinking coffee around 2 pm and it’s actually gone pretty well… I think I’ll try this for another week or two and see if 1) it’s working and I’m feeling better about the intake 2) I may want to “up my end time” so to speak to even earlier.
I’ll update again!
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Oh and I definitely don’t want to stop either because I just straight up enjoy coffee too 
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Starting day 3. I was spared of the back pain until now. A mild headache which I killed with an Ibuprofen. I cannot sleep long and am tired as hell. I will keep keep going. Admittedly I drink decaf stil bc I cannot let go of the foamed milk 
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I’m sorry to hear of those symptoms, hopefully they don’t linger long! Stay strong!
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