Cutting Caffeine Advice

[Weaver]

Hi everyone,
This saturday (May 19th) I plan to start my journey into a caffeine free life. My current plan of attack is to roughly half the amount of caffeine I'm in-taking for 7 days, then again half that for the next week (which should only be a few cups of coffee a day) then, the week after that, 100% halt caffeine intake if possible.

My current lifestyle is one that's basically dependant on coffee and I want to free myself for several reasons.

The first being that I feel tired almost all the time. The amount of coffee I currently consume daily is better measured in litres than cups. It takes me until late afternoon, after I've had the time to drink a whole lot of coffee, to truly feel awake. Secondly, it's costly. I tend to get snobbish about things I enjoy, and this has lead me to consume pretty much only high-grade, whole bean coffee that comes with a whopping price tag.

Anyways, my life story aside I made this thread for a few simple reasons:
1) Do you think my approach to weaning off it, instead of going cold turkey, is viable?
2) Do you have advice for how to deal with any withdrawal symptoms? I realize this isn't like quitting heroine or nicotine, but I strongly suspect I'm going to be feeling the affects of this.

 

[Mayhaps]

You can quit cold turkey without no problems other than feeling tired and getting headaches.
Just put your mind to it and you will be non-dependent in a matter of weeks.

 

[Total LOLige]

Switch to tea, tea is awesome. I think it could be used as a coffee substitute, I'm not sure if that's scientific fact I'm just guessing.

 

[geK0]

You know, I should really do the same seeing that my current sleeping schedule is 36 hours being awake followed by 12 hours of sleep....Funny thing is, I can be mildly depressed, drink a coffee, coke, or energy drink and suddenly feel a little happy; that's a physical addiction, isn't it? >....>

 

[bobmus]

My advice for quitting is to find something else to drink. You'll feel itchy, and used to drinking a lot, so find a concentrate or something that you'd like to drink in its place.
(Obviously avoid swapping it for another caffeinated drink!)

Good luck.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Switch to tea.

If you're really want the healthy option, drink it without milk.

You'll get the caffeine fix, but in a much more healthy way.

 

[Hazy992]

I'd go with weaning yourself off it. It'll take a bit longer but you won't feel like shit doing it.

 

[DugMachine]

Cold turkey, I did that when I gave up soda and coffee for 2 months. I felt so great just drinking water... and then I got back into the habit of coffee and soda. But yeah, cold turkey.

 

[Weaver]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

I'd love to go cold turkey, but I'm afraid of the withdrawal symptoms. Not because I can't suck it up, but because I have a relatively demanding job in relation to performance and I want to at least maintain a reasonable operational efficiency. As evidenced by a few days the coffee machine was broken, I became well aware of how much I'm relying on caffeine to get me through the day.

I don't think switching to tea outright is the best idea but something like an earl grey or orange pekoe I believe has around half or even 1/3rd of the caffeine as a cup of coffee. This would be, IMO, a good way to help reduce my intake.

 

[soren7550]

Well, I don't know about going off coffee (I don't like the stuff, therefore I don't drink it), but recently I switched from regular Coke to the caffeine free kind. Tastes the same, and I'm not nearly as tired as I usually feel.

 

[Freechoice]

Why would you want to quit coffee? Coffee's fucking awesome. It's like the only addiction that doesn't harm you.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I've done this before. It's actually pretty crazy when you realize just how much you drink.
Before, I was drinking one to two cans of Dr. Pepper a day. Sometimes more if I went out to eat. And the occional Rockstar.
One day at Costco while buying food for the next week or so, my mom suggested that we get something healthier than soda. So we got a thing of Snapple and Izzie (not the best alternatives, but still less sugar and no caffeine).

The first week I had to drink two bottles of snapple a day just because of the lack of sugar and caffeine, that my body had gotten acustomed to. After the first week I was able to step it down.
I still drink soda now, but not as much. And I rarely drink energy drinks.


So my advice would be to find a healthy alternative. Something that's sweet but not too much sugar, because high sugar content can be just as bad.
EDIT:
Tea is also really good. I never drink it with anything added, which isn't as bitter as drinking coffee black and you can get used to the taste. I initially didn't suggest it because a lot of teas have caffeine and the ones that don't are still bitter and you'll want something sweeter if you're quiting caffeine.

 

[loc978]

The headaches suck... but they go away eventually. I've been an on and off caffeine abuser my whole adult life until recently. I worked a lot of shifts that lasted over 24 hours.

It's hard to quit completely, since there are a lot of everyday snack foods and medicines that actually contain a pretty healthy dose of the stuff (any form of chocolate, most headache medicines and cola all come to mind)... but cutting back when you're no longer dependent on it to stay awake is a good thing. Just don't be a teetotaler about the stuff, as that would have you turning down all sorts of completely benign products (like tea). All things in moderation.

Why would you want to quit coffee? Coffee's fucking awesome. It's like the only addiction that doesn't harm you.

...once you get a little older, overuse of it is a fairly major contributor to high blood pressure. That's pretty much why I cut back severely on my intake.
Again though, there's absolutely no downside to moderate intake.

 

[DoPo]

My mother had to quit caffeine due to blood pressure and heart problems. It was a bit rough for her but manageable. Just reduce the amount the coffee gradually, and try to switch over to decaf (she found that it was the taste of coffee she missed the most, so decaf was still OK).

Going cold turkey is doable but not the best course of action, especially if your case is what you say it is. You don't have to make yourself miserable and suffer for a while if you can spread it out into chunks. Try weekly (or once five days or whatever) reductions of the caffeine intake.

 

[likalaruku]

I find the best way is to switch to hazelnut or french vanilla decaf, perfect for days you're going to be in the car for a long time. I've actually built up something of a sometimes-immunity to caffeine after consuming obscene quantities of it from the age of 7. On most days it still effects the bladder, but no effect on sleep, but there are those days where your heart is pounding & you can;t sleep.

If you average 3 cups a day, going cold turkey is going to suuuuuck.

 

[spartan231490]

Hi everyone,
This saturday (May 19th) I plan to start my journey into a caffeine free life. My current plan of attack is to roughly half the amount of caffeine I'm in-taking for 7 days, then again half that for the next week (which should only be a few cups of coffee a day) then, the week after that, 100% halt caffeine intake if possible.

My current lifestyle is one that's basically dependant on coffee and I want to free myself for several reasons.

The first being that I feel tired almost all the time. The amount of coffee I currently consume daily is better measured in litres than cups. It takes me until late afternoon, after I've had the time to drink a whole lot of coffee, to truly feel awake. Secondly, it's costly. I tend to get snobbish about things I enjoy, and this has lead me to consume pretty much only high-grade, whole bean coffee that comes with a whopping price tag.

Anyways, my life story aside I made this thread for a few simple reasons:
1) Do you think my approach to weaning off it, instead of going cold turkey, is viable?
2) Do you have advice for how to deal with any withdrawal symptoms? I realize this isn't like quitting heroine or nicotine, but I strongly suspect I'm going to be feeling the affects of this.

DO NOT GO COLD TURKEY
Caffeine withdrawal is bad, a lot worse than people give it credit for. It depends on the person, but it can cause depression, debilitating pain, insomnia, and more. It's a lot worse than nicotine, though it usually doesn't last too long.

Firstly, I would suggest changing your schedule from weekly to daily, for a more gradual decline. Also, you're probably going to want a slightly shorter total time period cuz you're probably going to have a headache until you're completely done cutting back.

I would also suggest you have a ready supply of your favorite non-Excedrin pain-killer, and be careful when driving your vehicle or operating heavy machinery, dizziness and trouble concentrating are both common side effects. Basically, just google the possible symptoms of withdrawal and plan to experience all of them.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Unless there is a major reason you need to quit caffeine now, don't go cold turkey, just wean yourself off it and try to replace coffee with another drink you enjoy (that doesn't have caffeine obviously)

 

[thethird0611]

I just quit a few months ago off of a huge soda intake. I would buy a 30 pack of Dr. Pepper, and it would be gone in 3-4 days.

My advice would be to find another tasty drink you enjoy, and start substituting it. When I was quitting, I would drink soda at work, but when I got home, it was water and orange juice. If you are just thirsty, drink water. If your craving something to taste, drink the drink that you like.

Some people say go cold turkey, dont. Ive done it before, you will be miserable for a week, and most likely have a relapse back into coffee. So, take it slow, find another tasty drink, and drink ALOT of water.