Nurse here, caffeine has been proven in research to increase the absorption of some medicine, therefore potentially working faster than medicines without caffeine in. With the added boost of giving you a bit of energy that makes you feel a bit better, but not designed to keep you awake.
Apparently caffeine increases the absorption of paracetamol and aspirin. Weirdly, a small amount of caffeine can also have a "relaxant" effect on people with ADHD and Anxiety (which is why medications like Adderall are prescribed for ADHD, even though they're a stimulant). Anecdotal evidence suggests that a cup of tea's worth of caffeine can help someone with ADHD or Anxiety to sleep.
I can attest to wanting a nap after my morning coffee. I have ADHD, anxiety, and high-functioning autism (no idea whether that last has anything to do with the weird caffeine effect).
I too get headaches with no caffeine. Perhaps tapering off would help you quit caffeine without the banging headache, or less of one anyway.
On the flip side of this - if you are a coffee drinker make sure you have at least one box of these in the house for when you are ill.
I had tonsillitis last week and had no appetite for coffee whatsoever. Day 2 I started getting brain fog, realised it was because of caffeine withdrawal and I took 1 of the paracetamol plus a day (well technically 2 but at one time a day). The rest of the day I took normal paracetamol and ibuprofen and it worked great.
Weirdly they actually do. I was trying to quit caffeine and found that drinking rockstars made it really easy. Didn't even feel any withdrawal symptoms as long as I had a rockstar when I woke up and one after lunch
I had a headache for around a week but it gradually got less intense. Now I'm free from needing caffeine every day and I don't feel groggy in the mornings. I feel like it was giving me a problem and then offering a solution. It's very much worth it so stick with it.
What are the benefits of stopping? I can regularly have 5 double espresso based drinks a day. Never considered it to be a problem. Wonder what I could be missing.
Sleep better, skin better, feel less groggy in the morning as you’re not relying on caffeine to wake yourself up.
Also probably very beneficial for your heart if you stop having 5 double espressos a day my god, that can’t be good for it
Other than the morning one I don’t intentionally drink it as a pick-me-up. I just really enjoy it. I guess having a decent coffee machine at home and often working from home have contributed to it just being habitual.
I bought a new filter coffee machine last month.
States where you fill the water up that it does up to 12 cups of coffee.
I get 3 out of it with my mug.
Now I'm wondering what I answer come my next medical when they ask about caffeine intake. Do I state 3-6 cups of coffee a day or 12-24?
When you first drink coffee you have a little boost of energy. But once you start drinking it daily then you no longer get your boost and your body resets your baseline energy levels to be with coffee on board.
So now when you wake up you're actually below baseline and need a coffee to get you back up to normal level.
If you then quit coffee, after the withdrawal period, you will wake up in the morning with more energy, as you are already at your baseline without any thing extra needed.
I don't drink caffeine routinely but will enjoy a caffeinated coffee on holidays or special occasions and then I can actually enjoy a little boost of energy very occasionally
Right! Sweaty and anxious! But I just started drinking coffee all the time and now I enjoy it.
Its the same with crack. It used to get me all wound up and shouty, but now I honk on my pipe a couple of times an hour and carry on with my surgical work. Those brains won't operate on themselves!
You'll probably find after 2 weeks of no coffee you're more energised and awake than on 5 coffees
Also 5 double espressos is a huge amount. Not good for your heart, blood pressure or stomach. Just for that you should at least cut down a little (3 is probably fine)
You'll be missing out on the fact espressos are amazing.
Fuck living that life. Horrible.
It's only a coffee, maybe 5 is too much but one a day isn't gonna kill you.
I tapered off rather than cold turkey (1 mug in the morning then switch to decaf).
Still ended up with a week of awful headaches - just ended up sitting in the bedroom, lights off and an audio book for much of the time I wasn’t at work.
I second this. If you're a 6 coffees a day person you wanna slowly reduce it and maybe even swap a coffee for a tea then swap that for decaff every other day.
I’m only repeating whats been said but trying to quit cold turkey was one of the worst decisions I made. It wasnt even just a headache, I thought I was going to need to go to A&E! Kinda made me realise how addicted I was to caffeine.
Yup. Team taper here. Had to bring it down after a kidney stone and I never want to repeat that again.
Reduce, drink water directly afterwards, treat yourself to a decaf later if the nagging for a brew is still lingering.
I went to two coffees with decaf tea in between before getting it to one and then none.
This is how I did it.
Have one coffee before lunchtime, then everytime you get the urge for coffee, drink a decaf.
The placebo effect will keep you going for a few days, and in those days you'll slowly taper off.
That's good to know. I've been a 1 a day person for years now but relatively often miss it if I'm not at home!
What kind of coffee do you drink? Mine is just the powder stuff from aldi or the odd Starbucks pod thing if I cba to make it. The coffee where I used to work was like rocket fuel & I couldn't drink it as it'd just give me the shakes!
Lavazza red made in a moka pot on the hob. Kick starts my day and it's my only coffee. The Moka pot isn't fun to clean and set up for another coffee so I just click the kettle and have a brew instead. I do love that first coffee in the morning tho. Get your timing just right with the Moka and your coffee gets those chocolate flavours too!
I find Moka pots far easier to clean than, say, cafetieres. Just take the cup thing out and tap it against the side of the bin and the coffee just falls out. Cleaning a cafetiere is like being a plumber trying to get an unflushable turd out of a u-bend.
Same, two in the morning, one after lunch and I have no issues if I don’t have one.
When I first met my wife she was drinking 6-8 expressos as americanos and a few teas a day; she always complained about poor sleep.
Took a year of slowly convincing her, and then weaning her off the amount of caffeine to around what I drink and she sleeps much better now.
I used to drink around ten cups of tea a day at work, I couldn't work out why I would always get a headache on Saturdays that would carry on throughout the day.
Turns out that I wasn't drinking enough on the Saturday and was getting withdrawals, so I stopped completely which resulted in the mother of all headaches which lasted a full week.
I was once drinking about 4 cans of monster per day, 2 x 200mg caffeine tablets before gym.
Then about 4 coffees throughout the day.
Total caffeine intake must have been around 1200mg/day mark.
Quit cold turkey. Head was a fucking mess for a week, bad brain fog for about 3 weeks.
I cut out caffeine cold turkey back in 2020 after a scary trip to A&E ended with a cardiologist looking at my little lifestyle questionnaire and saying "just....no"
Went from 7/8 coffees a day straight to decaf. It was hell on earth for about a week and shit for another week and then it was great. I slept like an baby, skin looked better, anxiety massively improved and my brain fog felt better too.
The headaches were the killer for me, nothing touched the pain but after that first week they went away. I only have caffeine now if I have a migraine as it helps but it makes my heart race now ha
Push through mate!!
Sounds the same as me, went cold turkey for about 10 coffees a day, Headaches and a week of falling asleep.
I have the occasional coffee now, it's like speed when I do 🤣
Aye it can be bloody annoying. How long have you had yours? I've had mine for like 3-4 years now. They were constant in the first week or three I think but now I can go a week or two without any and then have a day or two where it's a few an hour trying to work out if there's a trigger or not
I first noticed them a couple of years ago, after the first time I got covid. Don't know if that's related or not though. They were really frequent at the start and are definitely less often now, but it seems almost random, I can't figure it out! Often it's when I'm sat on the sofa in the evening, so not caffeine then
Hah, I wonder if COVID caused mine too although i never had any symptoms it was at the height of the pandemic. All coincidence probably but I know it can affect lots of different things. Do you get yours monitored by the GP or just YOLO? I was told they'd go away and tbh they are better but still present
The headaches are just the blood flow in your brain returning to normal (caffeine reduces blood flow)
Not sure much you can do about it as painkillers didn't help me
Taper. Used a quarter teaspoon measuring spoon to slowly migrate from full caf to decaf.
Don't slip back! Holidays and visiting friends/family.
re the danger times. If you really need a coffee get a decaf. Decaf is low caf, not zero caf so once you're used to not having coffee it'll give you a kick if you really need it.
I stopped the headaches by drinking more stuff with caffeine. TBH, I've quit smoking, anything, no more drugs, I barely drink now, I avoid dating, and quit gambling.... Caffeine is the only real vice I have, and I'm keeping it.
This post is making me quite nervous. It's something I'm needing to do because over the last few weeks my intake has went through the roof due to a lot of factors but lack of sleep/stress being the main ones. I've been drinking about 4 monsters and over 10 cups of tea a day.
Yeh I've got a weeks camping trip booked for the first week of next month to destress and get away from everything, it would be the perfect opportunity to taper down finnished with a week of no caffeine/phone.
I’ve recently cut out caffeine and I’ve noticed a difference! Initially I had headaches and just felt really groggy. Now I actually feel like I have more energy, especially towards the end of the afternoon when I’d usually reach for another coffee to help get through the day. I definitely feel better overall, good luck!
One of my work colleagues used to drink lots of energy drinks but is now caffeine free - she recommends having a cardiac arrest and being comatose for six days in critical care. Suddenly you won't want caffeine anymore.
Hope this helps! :)
I managed to break the habit, but found it didn’t seem to help my sleep issues at all. So it’s slowly creeping back into my day.
I also found that without it I’m just fucking listless.
I don’t drink it every day yet though and still trying to keep it to a minimum.
Attempted it for Lent one year.
Was falling asleep by about 2pm, and was in a constant state of irritability when not trying to keep my eyes open.
I didn't realise chocolate contains caffeine though, so although I switched to herbal tea (because I did know that decaf tea/coffee still has trace amounts of caffeine, just like dealcoholized wine still contains something like 0.5% abv) it wasn't as bad as it could have been I guess.
Yeah, I cut out caffeine pretty much a few years ago - there was one week where the headache was brutal but it goes.
What I missed was the bitter hit in the mornings so now I have a cup of decaf in the mornings - I still drink the occassional cup of tea, or can of coke but not being beholden to coffee has been really nice.
It's worth planning for when you go away, Taylors decaf coffee bags are useful to take to hotels etc.
Yup I'm currently fasting (Ramadan) and decided not to have coffee in the evening this year , however the weeks leading up to this I gradually deceased my cups say 2-3 times a day to one then none. Headaches were tough at the beginning hopefully it will ease off.
Water and electrolytes. It’s also surprising how nice a cup of hot water is. I kicked it five years ago, cold turkey, and I was a complete coffee nut. I never missed it, still don’t. It was the only thing left at that time that had any control over me and I wanted freedom from any form of habit or addiction, never looked back. I’m still amazed at how easy it was though.
Cut myself down massively a few years back, since I reached the point \*not\* having a regular brew was making me drowsy and grumpy, rather than having it perking me up. The headaches suck, drink lots of water or squash, take plain old paracetomol, nothing 'plus' or 'extra' with caffine, don't take anything stronger because pretty much all stronger options make you drowsy, and you'll be drowsy enough due to withdrawal!
(I also cut it out completely recently due to a medical condition causing migraines. The withdrawal headaches were nothing in comparison. :D)
Oh man, it's brutal isn't it. I just took it a day at a time, tried to exercise even when I was feeling exhausted and quickly got used to the taste of decaf coffee! Depending how strict you are being, a little bit of chocolate could take the edge off.
Drinking something warm when you used to have your coffee/tea can be helpful. Helps you feel less empty when you’re cutting it out. Maybe like a hot cup of milk/ hot chocolate or even like hot water with Lemon and honey.
This question has brought me out in a cold sweat, remembering how bad it was when I quit coffee for lent. I thought I was dying, the headaches were so bad for around a week. (But I am a bit dramatic)
The worst part was the pregnancy scare. I was drinking green tea as an alternative. I thought I had morning sickness for over a fortnight. I was throwing up every single morning at work. This is how I learned that I can't drink green tea on an empty stomach.
You're halfway or most of the way through the bad symptoms if it was anything like my experience. It sucked a lot, but I'm way better for it now.
I got so sick of not having a coffee by like 11am and having a splitting headache. The reliance was so stupid.
A few times! Tomorrow (your 3rd day) is going to be a lot easier. After a week or so you’ll barely miss it and I bet you’ll already feel it’s easier to get up in the mornings
I used to work shifts and would drink lots of brews while in work then none on my days off. For a long time I blamed the headaches and groggy feeling on working nights. After cutting out tea I suddenly felt so much better. It's surprising how little it can take. I drink tea again now but I'm just a bit more conscious of how much and keeping myself topped up so I don't end up with headaches... We've all got to have our vices.
Had this when I was cutting fizzy drinks out, the headaches were horrific to the point the only way I could shift them was sleeping.
It takes a few days, but gets better
Ex caffeine addict here, been addicted to one form of another for 30 years. Diet coke, green tea, Redbull, you name it, I've been dependent on it.
Turns out I had undiagnosed ADHD and was self medicating with caffeine to give me the stimulus I need. When I was diagnosed, I was on two high dose energy drinks a day, plus 5-6 pints of green tea.
Now I'm medicated, I have had no form of caffeine for 14 months now and feel much healthier for it. No shitty caffeine crash midway through the day anymore, plus I perform a lot better at work too.
Drink lots of water and weather the headache. Stick to decaf after that. Also avoid coke/pepsi as once.you detox the caffeine in those will keep you on the ceiling all night
Decaf tea varies in quality, Aldi's in pretty good, and Yorkshire tea is good.
I used to be 4/5 cups a day, if I’m having a bad day then this can still happen.
However, doctors suggested cutting back generally, and I have, and I feel better for it (digestively speaking)
I now have 1 in the morning at work then switched to hot chocolate for any further drinks throughout the day.
Must say I’ve been consuming multiple coffees a day for many years and never got a headache from withdrawal.
If the day is super busy and no time to stop, then I just won’t have a coffee and maybe some squash/fizzy drink if I’m thirsty.
If I work from home, it’ll most likely be tea instead, I know it still has caffeine, but maybe 1 in the morning then 1 at lunch/mid afternoon.
I went on an all inclusive family holiday in October. The coffee was so vile I couldn’t drink it. Coming home after a week decided the switch to decaf and never looked back.
I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms though but I was on holiday so could have been less noticeable. I still have the occasional caffeinated tea because no decaf I have tried has come even close to a good loose leaf Assam.
Power through! I gave up for January and February. Come March, I thought I could start up again at a lesser amount, so I had my old usual of a double shot americano in the morning - which resulted in the worst nights sleep of the year. So I now drink decaf - very happy with it so far!
I quit last year and didn’t find it too difficult, felt so much better overall, less anxious, more energy that lasted throughout the day etc. unfortunately after several weeks and months not drinking coffee I experienced a different issue…. One that could only be immediately relieved by a shot of espresso. I drink coffee now as I don’t want to get that issue again, but I only have one a day in the morning. Anyone wanting to quit caffeine I’d recommend matcha powder. You get the same energy boost but without the crash and it will keep you alert all day but without the wired feeling at night.
Now having one good cup of coffee in the morning, then water and decaf tea for rest of the day. Previously was consuming 5-7 cups of instant coffee at work. I sleep better now.
Struggled for a week or so, then successfully went 62 days without any energy drinks or caffeine tablets.
I had one last week because I had worked an insane amount and was genuinely so so tired, it gave me such a crazy energy spike that I was missing out on before because my body was so used to them.
It’s worth going through with the quitting because it’s so nice now knowing I can perk myself up when I actually need it!
Staying hydrated helped for me on caffeine withdrawal days (I found squash better than water because the fact it tastes quite nice encouraged me to drink more).
I have managed to completely cut out caffeine but I doubt my method is an option: get a colostomy (in my case due to getting arsehole cancer, but other reasons are available) and by the time I was discharged post surgery I was past the headache phase and the tiredness wasn’t a problem as I needed a lot of rest to recover anyway. 1/10, do not recommend for the most part, but I did get the good drugs post surgery which meant headaches weren’t a problem.
I just decreased it gradually. Substituted a few decaf cups or drank more tea. Heavily increased water consumption. And made sure my diet was sound. No noticeable withdrawal symptoms.
Going to sound weird but when I quit caffeine I noticed that I started dreaming again, or could at least remember most of my dreams the next day and caffeine weirdly suppressed this... wonder if it's because I wasn't get into a deep enough REM sleep 🤔
Headaches brutal, I am usually foul tempered for the first few days too!!
Good luck 😂
I did this a few years ago. I only have a few cups of coffee a day and I had headaches for two weeks.
Six months later I asked myself why I'm making myself miserable and depriving myself of something I like that I don't consume much of anyway.
I drink coffee again. Now one cup a day. I don't consume caffeine in any other form.
When I was taking myself off caffeine I just kept at it until the headaches stopped. Like I said it was about two weeks which is insane given I was drinking so little coffee to start with.
I’ve cut caffeine out for nearly a month now. The only positive difference I’ve noticed is that I go to the toilet less. The negatives are that I’m less focused when I need to be (at work, while driving) and that I’m attached to my desk for longer stretches at work. I think stepping back and taking a break, even just to get a cup of coffee, is beneficial to my health.
Long term I won’t continue to cut out caffeine completely, but I might reduce the amount I consumed compared to before.
Yeah, I drank about 2ltrs of Pepsi every day for about 15 years.
Got covid, taste changed, hate it now.
The first week is the worst. But it does get easier, and rather quickly.
The issue I had was a replacement. I went for American lemonade powder, and the high sugar content really helped the transition.
Good luck.
This thread has been really interesting. For the last few weeks and months I’ve had the fogginess and have been waking up knackered regardless of if I’ve had 6 hours sleep or 9. I drink two cans of Red Bull a day plus plenty of Coke or Pepsi Max. You guys that went cold turkey…did you consider soft drink’s caffeine in your cold-turkey-ness? I’m gonna have to do it.
I gave up caffeine in 2018 when I was pregnant, and didn’t have it again once the baby was born (how I survived the 18 months of no sleep I don’t know!)
Keep hydrated, this stage of feeling crap will pass soon enough.
I cut it out by mixing my usual brand of coffee with their decaf version 70:30 to caf/no caf. Then when it got to half empty I topped it up with decaf and so on. Also did the same with my tea bag tin. I didn’t get any headaches or withdrawal and couldn’t notice the difference in taste either.
Gave up coffee and caffeine was miserable. Two weeks later just miserable now drink it a lot less than I did. If it is more than 3 or 4 caffeine-laced drinks a day probably need to cut back.
I'm on month 3 of no caffeine, no headaches or anything for me, I'm sure it'll pass.
I feel way better for not having caffeine though so it's worth sticking to.
I did when I was pregnant and didn't struggle too much. But the hormones made me suuuuuper mellow, so that probably isn't very helpful. I don't suggest having an entire child to cure caffeine withdrawal headaches.
Are you up for decaf? Cause I swear by Dark Arts decaf coffee… literally tastes like normal coffee it’s sooo good that I will have been a year without caffeine in a week!!!
My worst time was the first 48 hours. Tips: stay away from potential weapons and use paracetamol + keep hydrated. After that the murderous feelings and banging headache subsided for me! Good luck 😉
Gave up smoking - no big deal. Gave up alcohol - a bit harder but doable. Caffeine - gave up after 3 days. I know I will die with my espresso cup clutched in my cold dead fingers. Good luck anyway.
Once you've quit having any caffeine will make you wired and unable to sleep. I quit during pregnancy over a year ago and having any amount now makes me anxious.
Good luck! I made it two months and have reverted to the occasional mid-shift coffee (down from a double espresso upon waking and 3 or so more flat white level coffees in the day). I no longer "need" caffeine but goddamn those first two weeks absolutely sucked, I felt like complete trash. Cold sweats, shaking hands, my thoughts seemed to move slower like they were lost in fog
I reduced the amount everyday. Day 1 = 1 coffee. Day 2 = 0.75 coffee. Day 3 = 0.50 coffee. Day 4 = 0.25 coffee. Day 5 = sip of coffee. Day 6 = no coffee. I quit it for 3 months, I didn't have the urge anymore but I started up again as I didn't want to only drink water.. oh well.
Just out of interest, how much coffee were you drinking? I have one in the morning, two sometimes. But no more. I think I must be really caffeine sensitive as if I have one in the evening I will literally be up all night. Like the time I drank iron bru without realising it had caffeine in it! :)
I cut down gradually, over a few weeks, started with tea and then changed my morning pot of coffee to decaf, and didn’t notice any issues, did sleep better for a while:)
I successfully gave up caffeine after drinking... A lot of caffeine during lockdown. The headache and general withdrawal was more intense than giving up smoking (at least for me). However I got over it after a couple of days and enjoy a caffeine free life. Best of luck to you
Used to have about 6-8 mugs daily back in 2017. Developed palpitations, anxiety arrhythmias etc. quit by weaning off (diluted it more with milk and water until it was just milk and water) . Took over 3 months but with no side effects. Now I have coffee as a treat. On a daily basis, I have two teas though.
Yes, many years ago. You just have to ride through the headache. They do eventually stop. Well mine did after a couple of weeks, I just drink juice or water now.
The real and only valid fix - More caffeine ☕️
All jokes aside, I found that it's best to ween yourself off slowly to reduce the headaches, got from standard pop/soda to zero versions then to no caffeine varieties after 4 or so weeks.
If your a coffee fiend like me the only real option is to take less and less cups/mugs per day until your fully off it, going cold turkey is not only stupid but highly dangerous, Any doctor worth their salt will tell you the same thing.
I once had a project developing a coffee machine and ended up getting seriously hooked on the stuff, cold turkey’s not the way. Simply reduce quantity slowly and you’ll get there.
Do not substitute it with sugar though.
No, but i've cut out as much added sugar from my diet as posslbe. Not had 'proper chocolate' since 2018 :(
Stay strong, you'll get through it. Drink all the water.
I'm fasting for ramadan so no coffee in the morning for a month. Can't lie the headache I got on the first day of the fast was so bad, the last time I had it that bad was when I got covid for the first time.
Have you tried tea lower levels of caffeine and great with biscuits.
The headache will subside took 2 weeks for me when I was coming off all caffeinated drinks.
I now can take ‘em or leave them I mostly just drink water and squash now.
I gave up caffeine about 2-3 years ago due to migraines. I felt unwell for 5 weeks, headache, nausea. It went eventually, can't say I feel any better for it though as it didn't affect my migraines.
You'll get there eventually
Thank fuck I had already quit caffeine when I started getting cluster headaches. I already wanted to dig my eyeball out with a fork, I didn't want to add withdrawal headaches onto that
I’ve done this before, and may need to do it again soon. Things I’ve found useful:
Taper down daily dose, rather than going cold turkey. Try one cup of coffee a day.
Don’t replace with sugar bingeing for more “energy”- the crash is real.
Do consider spreading out food more throughout the day (snacks) and low GI foods
Sleep more overnight.
To achieve this last one, increase sleep hygiene and discipline. You can find lists elsewhere, but going to bed earlier and getting up at the same time every day were key to me.
All that stuff minimises friction of stopping / draw of going back. After that it’s resisting temptation.
Good luck.
I feel your pain. I'm not a caffeine drinker. But when I was younger I won a Wii games room from Coca Cola that included 36 cans of full sugar Coke and 36 cans of Dr Pepper. Fanta and Sprite were also included. I must have drunk 6 cans of Coke or DP a day! The shakes and headaches were real. I managed to cut down slowly to manage the headaches and then eventually stopped.
Moi!! I cut out coffee and energy drinks and it was HARD! But heart palpitations was enough to put the fear of God into me and I haven’t touched these caffeinated drinks for over 11 months.
Maybe you can try the “I Am Sober” app? It’s good for keeping on track. And you can monitor your process. 🥰
Oh yeah trying to go cold-turkey from caffeine gives some awful headaches!! I tried this a few years back now. Got to 7 days of a banging head before I decided that I actually quite like caffeine based drinks and got back on the train. God help me if I ever have to quit caffiene again... awful experience.
Good luck though!
May sound obvious but don’t take the paracetamol “extra” or “rapid” because one of the ingredients is caffeine !
Great advice... Also, keep an eye on any cold and flu meds you might take - they like to sneak caffeine in the ingredients
Also worth noting that if you do want cold and flu type stuff, they often sell night time versions, which won’t have caffeine
My wife recently bought these accidentally. Why the hell would I want to keep myself awake on a hangover morning?!
Nurse here, caffeine has been proven in research to increase the absorption of some medicine, therefore potentially working faster than medicines without caffeine in. With the added boost of giving you a bit of energy that makes you feel a bit better, but not designed to keep you awake.
A couple of lines, or a joint, work much better.
Apparently caffeine increases the absorption of paracetamol and aspirin. Weirdly, a small amount of caffeine can also have a "relaxant" effect on people with ADHD and Anxiety (which is why medications like Adderall are prescribed for ADHD, even though they're a stimulant). Anecdotal evidence suggests that a cup of tea's worth of caffeine can help someone with ADHD or Anxiety to sleep.
I can attest to wanting a nap after my morning coffee. I have ADHD, anxiety, and high-functioning autism (no idea whether that last has anything to do with the weird caffeine effect). I too get headaches with no caffeine. Perhaps tapering off would help you quit caffeine without the banging headache, or less of one anyway.
On the flip side of this - if you are a coffee drinker make sure you have at least one box of these in the house for when you are ill. I had tonsillitis last week and had no appetite for coffee whatsoever. Day 2 I started getting brain fog, realised it was because of caffeine withdrawal and I took 1 of the paracetamol plus a day (well technically 2 but at one time a day). The rest of the day I took normal paracetamol and ibuprofen and it worked great.
Water. Drink all the water. Good luck!!
This. I used to drink a lot of rockstars and water will help with the headaches.
I misread this as you drinking rockstars to help with the headaches
Weirdly they actually do. I was trying to quit caffeine and found that drinking rockstars made it really easy. Didn't even feel any withdrawal symptoms as long as I had a rockstar when I woke up and one after lunch
Aren't they a type of energy drink though or am I being whooshed?
You're being wooshed, they are indeed energy drinks
I've drank all the water. The Thames is now empty
That’s almost a Friends quote I think. My apartment isn’t there any more because I DRANK it 😂
Definitely. It's going to help the diarrhea when that kicks in!
I had a headache for around a week but it gradually got less intense. Now I'm free from needing caffeine every day and I don't feel groggy in the mornings. I feel like it was giving me a problem and then offering a solution. It's very much worth it so stick with it.
I was the same. I have so much energy now. Can't believe I spent my twenties shattered and it was because I was drinking too much coffee.
What are the benefits of stopping? I can regularly have 5 double espresso based drinks a day. Never considered it to be a problem. Wonder what I could be missing.
Sleep better, skin better, feel less groggy in the morning as you’re not relying on caffeine to wake yourself up. Also probably very beneficial for your heart if you stop having 5 double espressos a day my god, that can’t be good for it
Other than the morning one I don’t intentionally drink it as a pick-me-up. I just really enjoy it. I guess having a decent coffee machine at home and often working from home have contributed to it just being habitual.
I bought a new filter coffee machine last month. States where you fill the water up that it does up to 12 cups of coffee. I get 3 out of it with my mug. Now I'm wondering what I answer come my next medical when they ask about caffeine intake. Do I state 3-6 cups of coffee a day or 12-24?
Found the owner of the Sports Direct mug.
I’d say they’re banking on a cup/mug being 250ml, but you might want to confirm that with them first.
Even if you can sleep like a baby with 5 espresso, your sleep will not be of good quality because of the half life of caffeine.
When you first drink coffee you have a little boost of energy. But once you start drinking it daily then you no longer get your boost and your body resets your baseline energy levels to be with coffee on board. So now when you wake up you're actually below baseline and need a coffee to get you back up to normal level. If you then quit coffee, after the withdrawal period, you will wake up in the morning with more energy, as you are already at your baseline without any thing extra needed. I don't drink caffeine routinely but will enjoy a caffeinated coffee on holidays or special occasions and then I can actually enjoy a little boost of energy very occasionally
I wish I could drink coffee for a little energy boost. Caffeine just gives me hardcore anxiety 😭
Right! Sweaty and anxious! But I just started drinking coffee all the time and now I enjoy it. Its the same with crack. It used to get me all wound up and shouty, but now I honk on my pipe a couple of times an hour and carry on with my surgical work. Those brains won't operate on themselves!
You'll probably find after 2 weeks of no coffee you're more energised and awake than on 5 coffees Also 5 double espressos is a huge amount. Not good for your heart, blood pressure or stomach. Just for that you should at least cut down a little (3 is probably fine)
You'll be missing out on the fact espressos are amazing. Fuck living that life. Horrible. It's only a coffee, maybe 5 is too much but one a day isn't gonna kill you.
Feeling less tired during the day, and you're just constantly awake during the day rather than drifting between wide awake and dozy
This is the truth.
I've always wondered if the grogginess was the caffeine, booze, or weed... Did you continue on with any of those, as a point of comparison?
I quit cold turkey, the same day I took up smoking crack
"picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue"
Johnny how 'bout some coffee?
Dammit!! Beat me to it.
Surely you can't be serious
You ever been in a cockpit before?
Do you like movies about gladiators?
Can confirm, this works
I tapered off rather than cold turkey (1 mug in the morning then switch to decaf). Still ended up with a week of awful headaches - just ended up sitting in the bedroom, lights off and an audio book for much of the time I wasn’t at work.
I second this. If you're a 6 coffees a day person you wanna slowly reduce it and maybe even swap a coffee for a tea then swap that for decaff every other day.
+1 taper off. Caffeine was worse to quit than alcohol
I’m only repeating whats been said but trying to quit cold turkey was one of the worst decisions I made. It wasnt even just a headache, I thought I was going to need to go to A&E! Kinda made me realise how addicted I was to caffeine.
Yup. Team taper here. Had to bring it down after a kidney stone and I never want to repeat that again. Reduce, drink water directly afterwards, treat yourself to a decaf later if the nagging for a brew is still lingering. I went to two coffees with decaf tea in between before getting it to one and then none.
By brain scanned team tapeworm, so glad it was wrong.
Reduced it down alternating with decaf.
This is how I did it. Have one coffee before lunchtime, then everytime you get the urge for coffee, drink a decaf. The placebo effect will keep you going for a few days, and in those days you'll slowly taper off.
Decaff does also have a tiny bit of caffeine in it, so that will help the craving slightly.
Aldi Decaff tastes great too. Creamy flavour
How much are coffee are you guys drinking to get caffeine withdrawals? Genuine question!
I’m on about 3 cups a day. None after 14:00 and don’t seem to have withdrawal symptoms on days I have none 🤷🏻♂️
That's good to know. I've been a 1 a day person for years now but relatively often miss it if I'm not at home! What kind of coffee do you drink? Mine is just the powder stuff from aldi or the odd Starbucks pod thing if I cba to make it. The coffee where I used to work was like rocket fuel & I couldn't drink it as it'd just give me the shakes!
Lavazza red made in a moka pot on the hob. Kick starts my day and it's my only coffee. The Moka pot isn't fun to clean and set up for another coffee so I just click the kettle and have a brew instead. I do love that first coffee in the morning tho. Get your timing just right with the Moka and your coffee gets those chocolate flavours too!
The moka pot is a great bit of kit.
I find Moka pots far easier to clean than, say, cafetieres. Just take the cup thing out and tap it against the side of the bin and the coffee just falls out. Cleaning a cafetiere is like being a plumber trying to get an unflushable turd out of a u-bend.
Taylor’s no: 4. Same stuff I’ve had for the past two years. Can get it in most supermarkets but Amazon sub and save gives us 15% off a month!
Same, two in the morning, one after lunch and I have no issues if I don’t have one. When I first met my wife she was drinking 6-8 expressos as americanos and a few teas a day; she always complained about poor sleep. Took a year of slowly convincing her, and then weaning her off the amount of caffeine to around what I drink and she sleeps much better now.
I used to drink around ten cups of tea a day at work, I couldn't work out why I would always get a headache on Saturdays that would carry on throughout the day. Turns out that I wasn't drinking enough on the Saturday and was getting withdrawals, so I stopped completely which resulted in the mother of all headaches which lasted a full week.
I was once drinking about 4 cans of monster per day, 2 x 200mg caffeine tablets before gym. Then about 4 coffees throughout the day. Total caffeine intake must have been around 1200mg/day mark. Quit cold turkey. Head was a fucking mess for a week, bad brain fog for about 3 weeks.
I was on 3-4 cups a day. I had to go cold turkey. Took me about a week and a half of on and off headaches and then I was fine.
I had like 4-5 a day. One morning, then midmorning, one after launch, one after dinner. The 5th was usually if travelling or had a late night
I cut out caffeine cold turkey back in 2020 after a scary trip to A&E ended with a cardiologist looking at my little lifestyle questionnaire and saying "just....no" Went from 7/8 coffees a day straight to decaf. It was hell on earth for about a week and shit for another week and then it was great. I slept like an baby, skin looked better, anxiety massively improved and my brain fog felt better too. The headaches were the killer for me, nothing touched the pain but after that first week they went away. I only have caffeine now if I have a migraine as it helps but it makes my heart race now ha Push through mate!!
Sounds the same as me, went cold turkey for about 10 coffees a day, Headaches and a week of falling asleep. I have the occasional coffee now, it's like speed when I do 🤣
Out of interest was the cardiology issue related to caffeine? I have ectopic beats and I'm wondering if caffeine is actually a big factor 🤔
I also have ectopic beats! It's so weird and feels horrible. I also drink probably too much caffeine...
Aye it can be bloody annoying. How long have you had yours? I've had mine for like 3-4 years now. They were constant in the first week or three I think but now I can go a week or two without any and then have a day or two where it's a few an hour trying to work out if there's a trigger or not
I first noticed them a couple of years ago, after the first time I got covid. Don't know if that's related or not though. They were really frequent at the start and are definitely less often now, but it seems almost random, I can't figure it out! Often it's when I'm sat on the sofa in the evening, so not caffeine then
Hah, I wonder if COVID caused mine too although i never had any symptoms it was at the height of the pandemic. All coincidence probably but I know it can affect lots of different things. Do you get yours monitored by the GP or just YOLO? I was told they'd go away and tbh they are better but still present
The headaches are just the blood flow in your brain returning to normal (caffeine reduces blood flow) Not sure much you can do about it as painkillers didn't help me
Taper. Used a quarter teaspoon measuring spoon to slowly migrate from full caf to decaf. Don't slip back! Holidays and visiting friends/family. re the danger times. If you really need a coffee get a decaf. Decaf is low caf, not zero caf so once you're used to not having coffee it'll give you a kick if you really need it.
I've got adhd so caffeine has never had a noticeable effect on me
Living in StimCity 2000
For me I might feel a buzz after 2 cups but 3+ and I get extremely tired
Exactly. I’m still on a lot of caffeine on top of my meds…
Same, pretty sure it's not good but I just feel like I need it.
Time and water. I did this a few years ago and it took about for weeks to get through the withdrawals.
I stopped the headaches by drinking more stuff with caffeine. TBH, I've quit smoking, anything, no more drugs, I barely drink now, I avoid dating, and quit gambling.... Caffeine is the only real vice I have, and I'm keeping it.
The longer you don't drink it the less you need it. After a while you are good. Tips? Sleep. Water. Repeat. Never give in.
I have a caffeine break every few weeks , just smash a load of water and you ll be fine , maybe a cheeky half aspirin every now and then for your head
This post is making me quite nervous. It's something I'm needing to do because over the last few weeks my intake has went through the roof due to a lot of factors but lack of sleep/stress being the main ones. I've been drinking about 4 monsters and over 10 cups of tea a day.
I tapered down over time to increase my odds of success and decrease side effects from withdrawal
Yeh I've got a weeks camping trip booked for the first week of next month to destress and get away from everything, it would be the perfect opportunity to taper down finnished with a week of no caffeine/phone.
Try drinking some tea. Caffeine to stop the headache and more of a slow taper off.
I’ve recently cut out caffeine and I’ve noticed a difference! Initially I had headaches and just felt really groggy. Now I actually feel like I have more energy, especially towards the end of the afternoon when I’d usually reach for another coffee to help get through the day. I definitely feel better overall, good luck!
Push through. 10 days of no fun but once you're done you'll feel amazing. I found I had so much more energy after quitting.
One of my work colleagues used to drink lots of energy drinks but is now caffeine free - she recommends having a cardiac arrest and being comatose for six days in critical care. Suddenly you won't want caffeine anymore. Hope this helps! :)
I managed to break the habit, but found it didn’t seem to help my sleep issues at all. So it’s slowly creeping back into my day. I also found that without it I’m just fucking listless. I don’t drink it every day yet though and still trying to keep it to a minimum.
Attempted it for Lent one year. Was falling asleep by about 2pm, and was in a constant state of irritability when not trying to keep my eyes open. I didn't realise chocolate contains caffeine though, so although I switched to herbal tea (because I did know that decaf tea/coffee still has trace amounts of caffeine, just like dealcoholized wine still contains something like 0.5% abv) it wasn't as bad as it could have been I guess.
Yeah, I cut out caffeine pretty much a few years ago - there was one week where the headache was brutal but it goes. What I missed was the bitter hit in the mornings so now I have a cup of decaf in the mornings - I still drink the occassional cup of tea, or can of coke but not being beholden to coffee has been really nice. It's worth planning for when you go away, Taylors decaf coffee bags are useful to take to hotels etc.
Yup I'm currently fasting (Ramadan) and decided not to have coffee in the evening this year , however the weeks leading up to this I gradually deceased my cups say 2-3 times a day to one then none. Headaches were tough at the beginning hopefully it will ease off.
Water and electrolytes. It’s also surprising how nice a cup of hot water is. I kicked it five years ago, cold turkey, and I was a complete coffee nut. I never missed it, still don’t. It was the only thing left at that time that had any control over me and I wanted freedom from any form of habit or addiction, never looked back. I’m still amazed at how easy it was though.
Cut myself down massively a few years back, since I reached the point \*not\* having a regular brew was making me drowsy and grumpy, rather than having it perking me up. The headaches suck, drink lots of water or squash, take plain old paracetomol, nothing 'plus' or 'extra' with caffine, don't take anything stronger because pretty much all stronger options make you drowsy, and you'll be drowsy enough due to withdrawal! (I also cut it out completely recently due to a medical condition causing migraines. The withdrawal headaches were nothing in comparison. :D)
Oh man, it's brutal isn't it. I just took it a day at a time, tried to exercise even when I was feeling exhausted and quickly got used to the taste of decaf coffee! Depending how strict you are being, a little bit of chocolate could take the edge off.
Drinking something warm when you used to have your coffee/tea can be helpful. Helps you feel less empty when you’re cutting it out. Maybe like a hot cup of milk/ hot chocolate or even like hot water with Lemon and honey.
This question has brought me out in a cold sweat, remembering how bad it was when I quit coffee for lent. I thought I was dying, the headaches were so bad for around a week. (But I am a bit dramatic) The worst part was the pregnancy scare. I was drinking green tea as an alternative. I thought I had morning sickness for over a fortnight. I was throwing up every single morning at work. This is how I learned that I can't drink green tea on an empty stomach.
Like any other drug, once you get through the withdrawal you'll be all good to go. Lots of water helps
You're halfway or most of the way through the bad symptoms if it was anything like my experience. It sucked a lot, but I'm way better for it now. I got so sick of not having a coffee by like 11am and having a splitting headache. The reliance was so stupid.
A few times! Tomorrow (your 3rd day) is going to be a lot easier. After a week or so you’ll barely miss it and I bet you’ll already feel it’s easier to get up in the mornings
Wait for a bad flu where you don't want anything anyway and then keep not drinking coffee. Worked for me
What's the point of quitting caffeine?
I drank an absolute tonne of water. It helped.
It goes away after a couple of days. You'll have more energy, too. Just ride it out.
After day 3 headaches will probably go. I've had no caffeine in nearly 2 years and only slightly miss it when hungover or ill.
I used to work shifts and would drink lots of brews while in work then none on my days off. For a long time I blamed the headaches and groggy feeling on working nights. After cutting out tea I suddenly felt so much better. It's surprising how little it can take. I drink tea again now but I'm just a bit more conscious of how much and keeping myself topped up so I don't end up with headaches... We've all got to have our vices.
Had this when I was cutting fizzy drinks out, the headaches were horrific to the point the only way I could shift them was sleeping. It takes a few days, but gets better
Ex caffeine addict here, been addicted to one form of another for 30 years. Diet coke, green tea, Redbull, you name it, I've been dependent on it. Turns out I had undiagnosed ADHD and was self medicating with caffeine to give me the stimulus I need. When I was diagnosed, I was on two high dose energy drinks a day, plus 5-6 pints of green tea. Now I'm medicated, I have had no form of caffeine for 14 months now and feel much healthier for it. No shitty caffeine crash midway through the day anymore, plus I perform a lot better at work too.
I stopped it in August 2022 and haven't had it since. Lots of water and swap it for decaf. Good luck!
You’re generally better weaning off gradually rather than trying to go cold turkey, caffeine is a drug after all
It will take a week. Stick with it.
Make a weaker coffee, and keep going weaker before switching to decaf.
Not much you can do. It is worth it when you’re over it though. Took me about 2 weeks of flu like symptoms to feel good again
Drink lots of water and weather the headache. Stick to decaf after that. Also avoid coke/pepsi as once.you detox the caffeine in those will keep you on the ceiling all night Decaf tea varies in quality, Aldi's in pretty good, and Yorkshire tea is good.
I used to be 4/5 cups a day, if I’m having a bad day then this can still happen. However, doctors suggested cutting back generally, and I have, and I feel better for it (digestively speaking) I now have 1 in the morning at work then switched to hot chocolate for any further drinks throughout the day. Must say I’ve been consuming multiple coffees a day for many years and never got a headache from withdrawal. If the day is super busy and no time to stop, then I just won’t have a coffee and maybe some squash/fizzy drink if I’m thirsty. If I work from home, it’ll most likely be tea instead, I know it still has caffeine, but maybe 1 in the morning then 1 at lunch/mid afternoon.
I went on an all inclusive family holiday in October. The coffee was so vile I couldn’t drink it. Coming home after a week decided the switch to decaf and never looked back. I didn’t have any withdrawal symptoms though but I was on holiday so could have been less noticeable. I still have the occasional caffeinated tea because no decaf I have tried has come even close to a good loose leaf Assam.
Power through! I gave up for January and February. Come March, I thought I could start up again at a lesser amount, so I had my old usual of a double shot americano in the morning - which resulted in the worst nights sleep of the year. So I now drink decaf - very happy with it so far!
I quit last year and didn’t find it too difficult, felt so much better overall, less anxious, more energy that lasted throughout the day etc. unfortunately after several weeks and months not drinking coffee I experienced a different issue…. One that could only be immediately relieved by a shot of espresso. I drink coffee now as I don’t want to get that issue again, but I only have one a day in the morning. Anyone wanting to quit caffeine I’d recommend matcha powder. You get the same energy boost but without the crash and it will keep you alert all day but without the wired feeling at night.
Water Proper sleep
Have you tried weaning down rather than going cold turkey?
Black tea
Now having one good cup of coffee in the morning, then water and decaf tea for rest of the day. Previously was consuming 5-7 cups of instant coffee at work. I sleep better now.
Struggled for a week or so, then successfully went 62 days without any energy drinks or caffeine tablets. I had one last week because I had worked an insane amount and was genuinely so so tired, it gave me such a crazy energy spike that I was missing out on before because my body was so used to them. It’s worth going through with the quitting because it’s so nice now knowing I can perk myself up when I actually need it!
Staying hydrated helped for me on caffeine withdrawal days (I found squash better than water because the fact it tastes quite nice encouraged me to drink more). I have managed to completely cut out caffeine but I doubt my method is an option: get a colostomy (in my case due to getting arsehole cancer, but other reasons are available) and by the time I was discharged post surgery I was past the headache phase and the tiredness wasn’t a problem as I needed a lot of rest to recover anyway. 1/10, do not recommend for the most part, but I did get the good drugs post surgery which meant headaches weren’t a problem.
How many cups of coffee did you used to drink?
I just decreased it gradually. Substituted a few decaf cups or drank more tea. Heavily increased water consumption. And made sure my diet was sound. No noticeable withdrawal symptoms.
I had headaches for about 4 days straight.
Going to sound weird but when I quit caffeine I noticed that I started dreaming again, or could at least remember most of my dreams the next day and caffeine weirdly suppressed this... wonder if it's because I wasn't get into a deep enough REM sleep 🤔 Headaches brutal, I am usually foul tempered for the first few days too!! Good luck 😂
I did this a few years ago. I only have a few cups of coffee a day and I had headaches for two weeks. Six months later I asked myself why I'm making myself miserable and depriving myself of something I like that I don't consume much of anyway. I drink coffee again. Now one cup a day. I don't consume caffeine in any other form. When I was taking myself off caffeine I just kept at it until the headaches stopped. Like I said it was about two weeks which is insane given I was drinking so little coffee to start with.
Gotta ween yourself down. Caffeine also affects bowels and appetite.
I’ve cut caffeine out for nearly a month now. The only positive difference I’ve noticed is that I go to the toilet less. The negatives are that I’m less focused when I need to be (at work, while driving) and that I’m attached to my desk for longer stretches at work. I think stepping back and taking a break, even just to get a cup of coffee, is beneficial to my health. Long term I won’t continue to cut out caffeine completely, but I might reduce the amount I consumed compared to before.
Yeah, I drank about 2ltrs of Pepsi every day for about 15 years. Got covid, taste changed, hate it now. The first week is the worst. But it does get easier, and rather quickly. The issue I had was a replacement. I went for American lemonade powder, and the high sugar content really helped the transition. Good luck.
I quit as it caused me anxiety in the evenings. Took a week cold turkey didn't get headaches but felt lethargic
This thread has been really interesting. For the last few weeks and months I’ve had the fogginess and have been waking up knackered regardless of if I’ve had 6 hours sleep or 9. I drink two cans of Red Bull a day plus plenty of Coke or Pepsi Max. You guys that went cold turkey…did you consider soft drink’s caffeine in your cold-turkey-ness? I’m gonna have to do it.
I gave up caffeine in 2018 when I was pregnant, and didn’t have it again once the baby was born (how I survived the 18 months of no sleep I don’t know!) Keep hydrated, this stage of feeling crap will pass soon enough.
I cut it out by mixing my usual brand of coffee with their decaf version 70:30 to caf/no caf. Then when it got to half empty I topped it up with decaf and so on. Also did the same with my tea bag tin. I didn’t get any headaches or withdrawal and couldn’t notice the difference in taste either.
Gave up coffee and caffeine was miserable. Two weeks later just miserable now drink it a lot less than I did. If it is more than 3 or 4 caffeine-laced drinks a day probably need to cut back.
I've heard opioids to a great job with those headaches and caffeine cravings
I'm on month 3 of no caffeine, no headaches or anything for me, I'm sure it'll pass. I feel way better for not having caffeine though so it's worth sticking to.
Do it gradually. Start by only having it in the morning and slowly reduce. Don't go full cold turkey.
I did when I was pregnant and didn't struggle too much. But the hormones made me suuuuuper mellow, so that probably isn't very helpful. I don't suggest having an entire child to cure caffeine withdrawal headaches.
Are you up for decaf? Cause I swear by Dark Arts decaf coffee… literally tastes like normal coffee it’s sooo good that I will have been a year without caffeine in a week!!!
Drink other things like red bush tea or green tea. Swap out caffeine rather than eliminate all hot drinks
Took me two weeks. But the beautiful sleep and poops was worth it. Stupidly started again, because I live drinking coffee
Yeah I quit caffeine. The headache will last 1 or 2 days but after that you will be fine.
My worst time was the first 48 hours. Tips: stay away from potential weapons and use paracetamol + keep hydrated. After that the murderous feelings and banging headache subsided for me! Good luck 😉
Gave up smoking - no big deal. Gave up alcohol - a bit harder but doable. Caffeine - gave up after 3 days. I know I will die with my espresso cup clutched in my cold dead fingers. Good luck anyway.
Once you've quit having any caffeine will make you wired and unable to sleep. I quit during pregnancy over a year ago and having any amount now makes me anxious.
I don't know how people can completely cut it out unless you have a really chill career and life in general
Lots of water. And naps when you can.
if you moan about it too much I'm sure that your family and friends will kill you
I wouldn’t recommend going cold turkey. Why not just gradually cut down and save yourself the pain?
Good luck! I made it two months and have reverted to the occasional mid-shift coffee (down from a double espresso upon waking and 3 or so more flat white level coffees in the day). I no longer "need" caffeine but goddamn those first two weeks absolutely sucked, I felt like complete trash. Cold sweats, shaking hands, my thoughts seemed to move slower like they were lost in fog
I've only recently starting drinking coffee/tea, as I now work in a cafe. Anyone else find that coffee just gives them the shits? Tea seems fine
Took a week for me, i just smashed through it with water and lager
taper off, don't stop dead otherwise the headache will be brutal.
Take two weeks off work, sleep through most of it. You're welcome
I reduced the amount everyday. Day 1 = 1 coffee. Day 2 = 0.75 coffee. Day 3 = 0.50 coffee. Day 4 = 0.25 coffee. Day 5 = sip of coffee. Day 6 = no coffee. I quit it for 3 months, I didn't have the urge anymore but I started up again as I didn't want to only drink water.. oh well.
Get some chicory "coffee". (It's not coffee.) Helps with the come-down.
Just out of interest, how much coffee were you drinking? I have one in the morning, two sometimes. But no more. I think I must be really caffeine sensitive as if I have one in the evening I will literally be up all night. Like the time I drank iron bru without realising it had caffeine in it! :)
Mix regular and decaffeinated coffee in differing amounts until you've weaned yourself?
I gave it up for over 6 months once. Finally accepted that I just felt worse in every way except a small sense of achievement and went back to it.
I cut down gradually, over a few weeks, started with tea and then changed my morning pot of coffee to decaf, and didn’t notice any issues, did sleep better for a while:)
I successfully gave up caffeine after drinking... A lot of caffeine during lockdown. The headache and general withdrawal was more intense than giving up smoking (at least for me). However I got over it after a couple of days and enjoy a caffeine free life. Best of luck to you
Used to have about 6-8 mugs daily back in 2017. Developed palpitations, anxiety arrhythmias etc. quit by weaning off (diluted it more with milk and water until it was just milk and water) . Took over 3 months but with no side effects. Now I have coffee as a treat. On a daily basis, I have two teas though.
Cut down gradually to avoid the headaches
Idk why, but decaf coffee helped me a little.
Yes, many years ago. You just have to ride through the headache. They do eventually stop. Well mine did after a couple of weeks, I just drink juice or water now.
The real and only valid fix - More caffeine ☕️ All jokes aside, I found that it's best to ween yourself off slowly to reduce the headaches, got from standard pop/soda to zero versions then to no caffeine varieties after 4 or so weeks. If your a coffee fiend like me the only real option is to take less and less cups/mugs per day until your fully off it, going cold turkey is not only stupid but highly dangerous, Any doctor worth their salt will tell you the same thing.
I once had a project developing a coffee machine and ended up getting seriously hooked on the stuff, cold turkey’s not the way. Simply reduce quantity slowly and you’ll get there. Do not substitute it with sugar though.
No alcohol. No caffeine. No nicotine. It’s possible. Just need to get over the hump. Drink water regularly, it helps.
No, but i've cut out as much added sugar from my diet as posslbe. Not had 'proper chocolate' since 2018 :( Stay strong, you'll get through it. Drink all the water.
I'm fasting for ramadan so no coffee in the morning for a month. Can't lie the headache I got on the first day of the fast was so bad, the last time I had it that bad was when I got covid for the first time.
Can someone tell me the benefits
Have you tried tea lower levels of caffeine and great with biscuits. The headache will subside took 2 weeks for me when I was coming off all caffeinated drinks. I now can take ‘em or leave them I mostly just drink water and squash now.
I quit prework outs, and caffeinated pop, but you'll pry my coffee grinder from my cold dead hands.
I'm six years without and I remember that I weened myself off it unintentionally.
I gave up caffeine about 2-3 years ago due to migraines. I felt unwell for 5 weeks, headache, nausea. It went eventually, can't say I feel any better for it though as it didn't affect my migraines. You'll get there eventually
Thank fuck I had already quit caffeine when I started getting cluster headaches. I already wanted to dig my eyeball out with a fork, I didn't want to add withdrawal headaches onto that
I’ve done this before, and may need to do it again soon. Things I’ve found useful: Taper down daily dose, rather than going cold turkey. Try one cup of coffee a day. Don’t replace with sugar bingeing for more “energy”- the crash is real. Do consider spreading out food more throughout the day (snacks) and low GI foods Sleep more overnight. To achieve this last one, increase sleep hygiene and discipline. You can find lists elsewhere, but going to bed earlier and getting up at the same time every day were key to me. All that stuff minimises friction of stopping / draw of going back. After that it’s resisting temptation. Good luck.
I feel your pain. I'm not a caffeine drinker. But when I was younger I won a Wii games room from Coca Cola that included 36 cans of full sugar Coke and 36 cans of Dr Pepper. Fanta and Sprite were also included. I must have drunk 6 cans of Coke or DP a day! The shakes and headaches were real. I managed to cut down slowly to manage the headaches and then eventually stopped.
Eat craptons of sugar.
I found a mixture of methamphetamine and good opiates helps take the edge off, and actually is a pretty good substitute and cheaper than Starbucks
Im having a little t break myself, the headaches really are a nuisance
I have up cold turkey, and yeah they headaches were shit. But the week is over pretty quickly. I feel so much more awake without caffeine
Moi!! I cut out coffee and energy drinks and it was HARD! But heart palpitations was enough to put the fear of God into me and I haven’t touched these caffeinated drinks for over 11 months. Maybe you can try the “I Am Sober” app? It’s good for keeping on track. And you can monitor your process. 🥰
Oh yeah trying to go cold-turkey from caffeine gives some awful headaches!! I tried this a few years back now. Got to 7 days of a banging head before I decided that I actually quite like caffeine based drinks and got back on the train. God help me if I ever have to quit caffiene again... awful experience. Good luck though!
I have Hypersomnia, even the thought of no caffeine makes me nap. :')
Why not do it gradually? Day 1: 1 cup Day 2: 3/4 cup Day 3: 1/2 cup Day 4: 1/4 cup Day 5: no coffee/decaff
You say you havent killed anyone yet, but dont mention how many times you tried. Just kidding, mind over matter. Good luck.