
Beware the Perils of Caffeine Withdrawal - banned_man
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/06/hm.caffeine.withdrawal/index.html
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RiderOfGiraffes
I've never understood this. Three cups of coffee described as addicted? I
regularly drink 8 to 10 cups of coffee a day, and yet when I decide to go
without for a week or two, as I do once or twice a year [EDIT: typo corrected
- did say "week" - obviously wrong - sorry], I seem to feel no real effects. I
just like the coffee, so I return to drinking it.

Am I that weird?

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josefresco
You sound like those drug addicts who "quit" for a few days/weeks only to
return to the drug because they "like it" and can quit anytime in the future
(I swear I don't have a problem, honest)

Just because you have the ability to temporarily abstain for a few days/weeks
does not mean you don't have a problem.

But kudos to you for not taking a huge energy hit when you take a break. I,
like you am somewhat unaffected by low doses of caffeine (8-10 cups a day is
not a low dose however)

Also, if you simply like coffee, why not decaf?

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RiderOfGiraffes
To cover a comment from further down, yes, typo, once or twice a year I give
up coffee for varying amounts of time. Usually for two weeks, sometimes for a
month. I go back to it because I like to have a hot drink, I don't like tea,
fruit teas seem unfulfilling, hot chocolate in these quanities makes me put on
weight, and hot fruit cordials are OK for a while, but coffee just seems
better.

Maybe I am getting a hit from the coffee, and maybe I am addicted, but this
article is saying how dreadful the withdrawal effects are. I'm saying I don't
seem to get withdrawal effects at all.

Last year I gave up coffee for six months. Giving up for arbitrary periods
isn't a problem in the sense that I didn't seem to have any physical symptoms,
I just miss having a coffee.

I also don't seem to get any real "buzz" from it - no shakes, no headaches, no
trouble sleeping.

Maybe I am weird.

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yters
Same here. I went through cases and cases of vault and pepsi max during my
degree program. Occassionally, I'll also drink a whole lot of coffee. But, I
can drop it like that. The main effect I notice is feeling more tired for a
bit as my body catches up on all the sleep it was deprived of. But, nothing
else.

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electromagnetic
Caffeine doesn't appear to have an effect on me either. When I stop consuming
caffeine I don't normally notice an effect until the next morning, when I'm
usually a lot worse at getting up in the morning, but once I'm up I don't
notice a thing.

I've gone months without caffeinated drinks before and I've never noticed
withdrawal effects. Although this may be because I don't notice any effects of
caffeine when I do drink it. Unless I'm drinking an energy drink like
Rockstar, I never get the 'pick me up' effect people claim from a coffee.

I wonder if, just like some people are caffeine sensitive, if some people are
simply caffeine insensitive and don't notice the effects one way or another.

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randallsquared
I find that going off caffeine is best done all at once, rather than by
cutting back. That just spreads the misery out. However, by going cold turkey,
I find that I'm essentially fine on the third day, actually feel noticeably
better by the fourth or fifth day. I've done this about 10 times in the last
eight years, for various reasons, but the main reason I continue doing it is
that the effects of caffeine rapidly dwindle to "normal" for me over a period
of weeks or months, and the only way to get the pick-up effect again, that
I've found, is to drop it entirely and start over. It's fortunate that this is
so easy. :)

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josefresco
You should try meth, you'll probably get lots more done.

/Yes, that was a joke (sort of).

~~~
randallsquared
Only sort of? In what way could it not be a joke? Personally, caffeine is
already near the upper limit in side effects I'm willing to tolerate
(trembling and nervousness if I drink too much), and I don't think I'd be
willing to experiment with meth even if it were safe and legal. I did try
modafinil once, many years ago, and was astounded at how well it replicated
all the beneficial effects of caffeine without the side effects (and had a
concentration boost as well, which is actually the opposite of caffeine
effects for me), but for financial reasons I didn't pursue getting a
prescription at that time.

~~~
rms
Caffeine has more negative side effects than prescription stimulants, at least
per unit of effective stimulation. Talk to your doctor, the older stimulants
(with a lot more research establishing their safety) are all available as
generics.

~~~
alecco
I don't know what other stimulants have less negative side effects. Ephedrine?

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tricky
Here's a tip if you would like to quit but can't because the withdrawal is
awful.

Wait until you get food poisoning or the flu. You'll probably take some time
off work and you'll probably (and should) be under the care of a doctor. You
might as well throw in the awfulness that is withdrawal and get it over with.

I turned the hell of "how old was that yogurt I just ate?" into an opportunity
to quit my 6 cup a day habit. I'm a little nuts in that I kept some coffee by
my bedside and every time I was about to yarf I took a gulp...

I haven't had coffee since, but I did have to be careful not to replace it
with some other caffeine source.

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dave_au
I did that and it worked pretty well. I was drinking a lot of Coke.

Six months later I thought "I'll have a Coke for lunch, it's alright since I
had one with lunch yesterday". I almost paid for it before I realised I'd only
had a very detailed dream where I'd bought and consumed a bottle of Coke with
lunch.

I decided to stay off the caffeine for a little longer.

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hellweaver666
As bad as it is, it's totally true - I was a serious caffeine junky for a long
time and it took me a while to kick the bean.

These days I stick to water and Chamomile when I want a hot drink as the Doc
told me my excessive caffeine consumption was making a stomach problem I have
worse and the dentist could tell I was drinking too much Coke just by looking
at my teeth.

When I first gave it up I was suffering from serious headaches for about a
week afterwards and constant cravings.

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josefresco
Until recently I was a 1 Coke a day guy (which I was proud of for showing
'retraint'). I've since dropped it (in the house) and only drink it when I'm
out which is pretty rare. For me it wasn't the caffeine but rather the sweet
taste and fizzy nature of Coke that had me hooked.

Now it's all about water, milk (for the calcium/protein) and all natural
juices (watered down of course to reduce the natural sugar levels)

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brandnewlow
Been caffeine-free for 4 years now. So far it's been the smartest move I ever
made.

I'm not a health nut, but I steer clear of caffeine religiously. With even a
trace of it in me, I can't sleep, can't think, can't concentrate.

~~~
electromagnetic
You sound like you're caffeine sensitive person, it's probably good that you
steer clear, from what I remember you'd have a higher chance of palpitations
and other side effects of caffeine.

~~~
brandnewlow
I'm pretty sensitive to stimuli in general. I had trouble sleeping for the
first 23 years of my life, until I cut out the caffeine.

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ams6110
I find that if I can stay physically active I don't miss caffeine. For
example, when I go on vacation I typically don't drink coffee. But I'm usually
at the beach, or have a lot of other stuff going on and I really don't miss
it. If I stop coffee during a normal work week, I get the headaches, fatigue,
etc.

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devicenull
I used to be up to around 2 2-liters of mountain dew a day... stopping from
that was terrible. I was tired all the time and kept getting headaches. The
solution to this was to drink a ton of water.

The last time I even attempted to have any soda I was utterly disgusted by the
taste. I dunno, seems like a good choice I made

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pavel_lishin
"Caffeinated products are not recommended for people who are prone to panic
attacks or those who suffer from anxiety."

Goddamnit.

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neilo
My mom used to suffer headaches on days we ran out of coffee at home, so I
vowed never to touch the stuff. That reminds me, I need some more to get
through these integration tests ...

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rjurney
I take Adderall and drink a boat load of coffee, so I make it a point to
'withdraw' for 1-2 days a week to avoid dependence. I find that it works well
to avoid side effects.

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transburgh
this answers some questions (not being sarcastic)

