Day 1 without caffeine

lvehko · Post by **lvehko** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:28 pm

And man, do I feel tired! All I want to do is go get in bed and sleep. I really hope this passes. Yesterday I cut way back on the caffeine, only took one soda just to keep the caffeine headache at bay, today I've had none and I feel like utter hell.

I read where Johns Hopkins has officially recognized caffeine withdrawal as a legitimate disorder! Apparently it can take up to 7 days to have all the symptoms totally go away. Great.

Last night I had bad restless feet, too, so my sleep sucked.

/end of whine...

Min

Lachesis · Post by **Lachesis** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:35 pm

Caffine tends to make me tired. Well it doesn't give me energy, thats for sure. Good luck on the withdrawl!

Vader · Post by **Vader** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:49 pm

minerva wrote: I read where Johns Hopkins has officially recognized caffeine withdrawal as a legitimate disorder! Apparently it can take up to 7 days to have all the symptoms totally go away. Great.

You have my sympathies, and best wishes.

I tried this before and the headaches were unbearable.
Won't do that again.

Maryb · Post by **Maryb** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:11 pm

I managed it several years ago (took me about 3 days) and have stayed away from coffee and sodas every since. I do drink a cup of green tea everyday in the morning. Green tea has a little caffeine it but has lots of other health benefits. I would recommend it.
Meanwhile, hang in there. You will feel better.

Maryb

Missy · Post by **Missy** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:56 pm

I went off caffeine a while back and I had a headache for days. I think that's completely normal. I really wish I had stuck with it, but I just can't do without that one cup in the morning. Keep with it! You're almost there

KimberlyinMN · Post by **KimberlyinMN** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:41 pm

I haven't had any caffeine now for just about two weeks. I got my CPAP machine on Friday, Aug. 25th and had my last Diet Coke on Sunday, August 27th. On Monday, August 28th I woke up so alert and full of energy that having my usual Diet Dr Pepper never crossed my mind. When I realized this the next day, I decided to make a conscious effort quit. My only mistake was last Friday night (Sept. 1). I took a Pamprin at 8 pm and just could not fall asleep. At about 2 am I decided to take some more and then go to bed. Prior to taking it, I checked the label and noticed that it had 65 mg of caffeine! Well NO WONDER I couldn't sleep. Sheeesh. I am so amazed at what a difference the CPAP machine has made for me.

I have really lucked out this time though with kicking caffeine. As far as I know, I haven't had any of the typical withdrawl symptoms. (Although I sure have in the past.)

Kimberly

hornplayer · Post by **hornplayer** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:12 pm

Yikes! - I'm gettin the shakes just thinking about what you must be going through. Good luck and keep us posted.

roster · Post by **roster** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 7:47 pm

Minerva:

Was there a reason for making a drastic reduction in one day? I know people who have tapered off over a two or three week period and avoided most of the withdrawal symptoms.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:47 pm

the sodas are what are really bad. try drinking decaffinated green tea.

I've been using melatonin for more than 10yrs it works great and is cheap. No real side effects other than if you get to bed late or take too much it can leave you groggy in the morning (no worse than without).

rock and roll · Post by **rock and roll** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 9:56 pm

My prayers are with you while withdrawlng from caffeine

I too am a tea drinker and it's much easier on the system but I know the mornings I have to get bllodwork done I am climbing the walls not being able to have my morning fix.

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:57 pm

Ditto on the weaning off. Enough issues to deal with without adding the infamous withdrawal headaches. I read somewhere that the aforementioned 2-3 week graduated reduction plan makes it headache free. Bless you for trying to do those things that are healthier for you. Although I still have coffee every now and then, the addiction was broke when I "hit the wall" and quit work and slept nearly 24/7 for several weeks. Came out of it unaddicted. You're doing this for you, not to you, so make it as painless as possible. But, you're probably about 1/3 of the way thru the cold turkey symptoms now, so maybe you'd rather make it on through. Best wishes.
Kathy

apneaicinisrael · Post by **apneaicinisrael** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:40 am

Good luck to you! I have been carreine free for almost 6 years! I weaned off it after realizing that not only was it a true addiction, needed to keep drinking in order to NOT have a headache, it was also a trigger for migraines. Once I was off caffeine, any small slip brought on a major migraine within 24 hours. I LOVE Diet Coke, so I tried many times to convince myself that this was a coincidence. But without fail, caffeine=headache. So that was the end of that. Even caffeine-free Diet Coke, by the way, if you drink enough....
Take it in stages, and know that that awful withdrawal headache does go away after a few days. And that it is real. But then it is gone

Regards,
AII, who now drinks Diet Sprite!

lvehko · Post by **lvehko** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:28 am

Thanks for all the messages! You guys are the best.

I'm better today, only a tiny little headache -- feel fairly alert but still kind of low energy.

As to the suggestions to taper off, all I have to say is "duh." I probably should have done that instead, but I figured that since I wasn't taking really huge amounts of caffeine, I could manage going cold turkey. I was surprised that I had as much withdrawal as I did -- I was having a cup of black tea every morning, and then drinking two or three glasses of iced tea or soda during the day. Didn't seem like much, but apparently it was enough.

The reason I'm quitting is, I think I have a caffeine sensitivity or something because I've noticed whenever I have caffeine it makes me sleepy. Before going on CPAP, I was sleepy all the time, so I didn't notice any particular effect of anything I ate or drank, but since then I have noticed that I start to feel sleepy shortly after having a caffeinated beverage.

So I want to go off it and see if I notice a difference in my sleepiness level. I also have delayed phase sleep disorder, and then there's the restless feet -- I can't tolerate any of the prescription drugs to treat RLS, but I don't have it very bad and have been able to manage it with OTC treatments (massage, hot water, etc.). In short, I have a lot of things that could be negatively affected by my caffeine intake.

Oh yeah, the other weird thing is I am *really* craving it -- I had a cup of decaf coffee this morning, and I hardly ever drink coffee. The small amount of caffeine in that probably helped with the headache.

I've also read that caffeine isn't really bad for you in normal doses, and may in fact have a weak positive effect in some cases. So unless it's really messing with you, like I suspect it is me, there's no real reason to quit.

Min

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:21 pm

Just a stray thought here.

You said you felt sleepy after having anything with caffiene. Have you ever had you blood sugar levels tested? I was diagnosed as Type II diabetic about 2 years ago and noticed that after I had anything with sugar (including coffee, colas or tea, either iced or hot) that I got sleepy a little bit after. Since i've pretty much gone off sugar, things have improved greatly.

Like I said, just a stray thought. Personally I admire the heck out of anyone who can start their day without at least one cup of coffee!

Kajun

(This therapy WORKS!!)

Noliro · Post by **Noliro** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:37 pm

Good luck to you! I have been carreine free for almost 6 years! I weaned off it after realizing that not only was it a true addiction, needed to keep drinking in order to NOT have a headache, it was also a trigger for migraines. Once I was off caffeine, any small slip brought on a major migraine within 24 hours. I LOVE Diet Coke, so I tried many times to convince myself that this was a coincidence. But without fail, caffeine=headache. So that was the end of that. Even caffeine-free Diet Coke, by the way, if you drink enough....
Take it in stages, and know that that awful withdrawal headache does go away after a few days. And that it is real. But then it is gone

Regards,
AII, who now drinks Diet Sprite!

This sounds like me. I too get migraines and love Diet Coke - very addictive. I try to limit it to one small bottle of DC and one green tea a day but sometimes go over this limit especially when stressed which is the last thing I need. I also think that the aspartame is very bad for you...do a search.

Day 1 without caffeine

Day 1 without caffeine

Re: Day 1 without caffeine

coffee no mo

Withdrawal

Mask

Additional Comments: Started CPAP June 14, 2006, pressure set at 8.0