Coffee

[actiondell4]

Has anyone else gave up coffee?

I need to give it up,i have trouble sleeping at night,then really tired in the mornings.

I cant give it up,i drink around 25 cups plus per day

If i dont have it in the morning,i can hardly open my eyes,i am groggy,slurring my speech ,not thinking fast etc.

Almost "spaced" out i guess you could call it if i dont have it.

Then without i get very tired and i need it badly.

Even to the stage of going out late at night to a 7/11 to find a jar.

I have gone cold turkey before,massive headaches,irratability etc but i need to do this.

Financialy it costs a lot.

I just bought the cappucino sachets,10 in each pack and have used all 10 in a matter of 2 hours.

I average 30 sachets a day,around 25 sometimes 45 cups a day.

I cant even sit at my computer without drinking something,

The first thing i buy in the supermarket is the coffee.

I guess im addicted and its making me jittery.

I have had my LAST CUP today and will try to go cold turkey over the weekend.

I may need it again monday morning,any substitutes i can drink?

[Jingthing]

That's rough. I have been addicted (mostly happily) to coffee since my late teens. I quit cold turkey perhaps three times in my life. It was very painful and I felt weak for months. In all cases, all it took was a "taste" to get me back on the coffee truck. I was never at 25 cups a day but I drunk really quite a lot of strong coffee, day and night. For some reason now I've got it under control. It's probably being retired! These days I have a good sized mug of strong coffee in the morning, and that's it! Later in the day I have a large portion of green tea.

Given my experience, I would rate your long term prospects of staying off the beans to be very poor. If I were you, I would try gradually stepping down over time, and maybe even try my thing of green tea later in the day.

I am serious about this. Why put yourself under so much suffering (withdrawal) when it probably won't work in the long run, and the substance in MODERATION actually has health benefits.

[actiondell4]

That's rough. I have been addicted (mostly happily) to coffee since my late teens. I quit cold turkey perhaps three times in my life. It was very painful and I felt weak for months. In all cases, all it took was a "taste" to get me back on the coffee truck. I was never at 25 cups a day but I drunk really quite a lot of strong coffee, day and night. For some reason now I've got it under control. It's probably being retired! These days I have a good sized mug of strong coffee in the morning, and that's it! Later in the day I have a large portion of green tea.

Given my experience, I would rate your long term prospects of staying off the beans to be very poor. If I were you, I would try gradually stepping down over time, and maybe even try my thing of green tea later in the day.

I am serious about this. Why put yourself under so much suffering (withdrawal) when it probably won't work in the long run, and the substance in MODERATION actually has health benefits.

I think you maybe right JingThing,maybe over this weekend i should try to maybe set a goal of say 5 cups a day,say for a weekly basis,until i can cut it down to two or so.

5 cups wont be enough,i will start to get jittery i suppose,hanging out for it.

[Donnyboy]

woah 25 cups per day!, mind you Robbie Williams has 36 cups per day

you need to cut back.Worth a read

[mommysboy]

Wow and I thought my 15 cups of tea excessive! I'm truly staggered!. And my pharmacist visibly shook when I told him how much I was drinking. Is this a real posting?

Don't give up just like that. As others suggest why not cut down. Perhaps work decaffeinated in to the regime and cut down gradually.

I agree I don't think it is necessary to give up completely, but for sure this excess must stop immediately.

[wpcoe]

Perhaps work decaffeinated in to the regime and cut down gradually.

Try mixing decaf in with the regular, gradually increasing the amount of decaf.

I've been addicted to coffee in the past -- those headaches from cold turkey withdrawal are a B*TCH and nothing helped. The only way that worked for me was to do the decaf-mix, starting with maybe 25% decaf, then after a week, 50% decaf, then after another week 75% decaf. Around the third week I started reducing the quantity I was drinking. I've had to do this three times so far, and the decaf mixing pretty much avoided the withdrawal headaches.

Chok dii!

[ignis]

What is cups of coffee ?

My coffee machine has 15 cups on one side and 10 on the other, yet that really is only 7 mugs..

Never liked tea even as a kid, always drank coffee, Always drink Fresh and as is black no sugar even as a teenager, Now in retirement I do drink much less, make only 1x machine full in the morning.. now is 8:30am and just poured mug number 6.... Thankfully can buy Fresh Dutch Coffee here

20 odd years ago would make coffee all day 8 - 10 machine full every day. Never had a problem sleeping in fact if I could not sleep would have a mug or 2 of coffee... Why do you need to cut down? 40 years of heavy coffee drinking has done me no harm and still love it.

[seanocasey]

If you rely on caffeine to wake you up and keep you going, you aren't alone.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, alleviating fatigue and increasing wakefulness.

* Insomnia

* Nervousness

* Restlessness

* Irritability

* Nausea or other gastrointestinal problems

* Fast or irregular heartbeat

* Muscle tremors

* Headaches

* Anxiety

Even a little makes you jittery

Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than are others. If you're susceptible to the effects of caffeine, just small amounts — even one cup of coffee or tea — may prompt unwanted effects, such as anxiety, restlessness, irritability and sleep problems. How you react to caffeine may be determined in part by how much caffeine you're used to drinking. So, people who don't regularly consume caffeine tend to be more sensitive to its negative effects. Other factors may include body mass, age, smoking habits, drug or hormone use, stress and health conditions such as anxiety disorders. Sex may even play a role: Research suggests that men are more susceptible to caffeine than are women.

cut out my 3-5 cups a day and now drink lots of water and green tea.found if I drank a cup at 3or 4pm could not sleep at night can not fadum how anyone can drink so much and be healthy.

[actiondell4]

I will try the decaf idea about mixing it.

As for being healthy,i can only drink the creamy coffee,cant drink it black as Ignis does,so it puts on weight.

I couldnt stay off the coffee this morning and will make my last at 1pm.

I tried to stay off it this morning by drinking tea but i started to get tired,my nose was running,and headache,just drink 4 cups this morning,feeling very energetic and happy now.

[Sheryl]

Yes, gradual is the key and mixing real + decaf is good way, especially since part (but by no means all) of the addiction is to the process of drinking this large volume of fluid. Which I can relate to, I am the same way except for me it is tea.

What I'd suggest is (1) stop the sachets at once, they are full of sugar and bad fats. Buy some nonfat milk and freeze dried coffee and freeze dried decaf so you can make your own. (2) Make yourself 1 mug of "real" coffee first thing in the morning then (3) for rest of the morning drink a mixture that is about 3/4 real and 1/4 decaf, then (4) afternoon, make it more like 50:50 and (5) if you must drink it at night, make that 1/4 real and 3/4 decaf.

Then over time gradually shift the ratios so that you are taking only, or virtually only, decaf afternoons and evenings, and consuming the equivalent of no more than 3 cups of real coffee in the morning, stretched out into however many cups you like by mixing with decaf.

The above just illustrative, adjust as it suits you. If you are patient and persistent with it and stick to doing it gradually, you'll succeed.

Sweeten your coffee yourself, sparingly, just enough that you can drink it without feeling deprived. Adding tasty things like cinnamon and vanilla may help. Can also switch to sucralose (Fitne or other brand of sweetener) either in place of or together with sugar so as to be able to add less. i think once you are adding the sweetener yourself you will be shocked at how much sugar you have been ingesting, and that part of your problem is actually related to glucose metabolism since you have been ingesting a very high sugar form. You are hooked not only on the caffeine but also on the sugar rush, which is self-perputatuing and very bad for your health.

[Jingthing]

I hadn't even noticed the part about sugar. I agree that is part of the problem. In my case, it has always been black coffee, which is my preference.

[mommysboy]

Blimey!! yes the sugar too, and these 3 in 1 type things also have additives too. Lucky OP seems to have a sound constitution.

There was a report on BBC world service this morning which actually suggested that tea and coffee are good for you, tea more so than coffee. I think 6 cups was mentioned as a figure.

[wpcoe]

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, alleviating fatigue and increasing wakefulness.

* Insomnia

* Nervousness

* Restlessness

* Irritability

* Nausea or other gastrointestinal problems

* Fast or irregular heartbeat

* Muscle tremors

* Headaches

* Anxiety

Even a little makes you jittery

I think individual persons' metabolism matters quite a bit. Even when at my peak intake of coffee, I never encounter any of those symptoms except maybe the gastrointestinal one: If I have more than one cup of coffee, it acts like a quick laxative. I could drink a bucket of coffee before bedtime, and still fall asleep quickly.

At home I drink coffee with lots of cream and sweetener (sucralose/Splenda). In fact, I tend to drink the stuff these days for the cream and sweetener, I think. For some reason, when I drink coffee at a restaurant I usually drink it black, or with a *little* dairy/sweetener. Go figure.

The first time I came off of a coffee-dependency was the first time I did a low-carb diet. They highly recommend no, or at least minimal, caffeine intake. That's when I found out about the withdrawal headaches!

[Merlin]

good god why quit?

what an awful thought...

Of all of the addictions you could have, surely caffeine would have to be the least harmful!

I regularly drink anything from a dozen to 2 dozen cups a day depending on where I am, what I'm doing - I imagine if I regularly drank a couple of dozen standard drinks of alcohol a day I might have a problem:)

[leininger]

I had given up coffee for about 6 months after being hospitalized with high blood pressure and fast heartbeat. I started drinking green tea and although I did have withdrawals at first I grew accustomed to it and eventually did not miss coffee. However, after reading that 2-4 cups of coffee a day apparently helps protect heart I now drink coffee again. Years ago I occasionally drank up to 30 cups of coffee a day and suffered anxiety attacks. I cut down and also did the routine of mixing regular and decaffeinated coffee and this is also good idea. I believe perhaps you do not have to give up coffee entirely, just cut down. 25 cups is a lot. One thing also to remember, is that instant coffee has less caffeine than brewed coffee. I also enjoy the coffee and tea mixed drink they sometimes call cha-fe or tea-fe. Not sure how much caffeine is in that.

[leininger]

I had given up coffee for about 6 months after being hospitalized with high blood pressure and fast heartbeat. I started drinking green tea and although I did have withdrawals at first I grew accustomed to it and eventually did not miss coffee. However, after reading that 2-4 cups of coffee a day apparently helps protect heart I now drink coffee again. Years ago I occasionally drank up to 30 cups of coffee a day and suffered anxiety attacks. I cut down and also did the routine of mixing regular and decaffeinated coffee and this is also good idea. I believe perhaps you do not have to give up coffee entirely, just cut down. 25 cups is a lot. One thing also to remember, is that instant coffee has less caffeine than brewed coffee. I also enjoy the coffee and tea mixed drink they sometimes call cha-fe or tea-fe. Not sure how much caffeine is in that.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

coffee wears a person down by draining the adrenal glands and dehydrating the body and taxing the kidneys. It' great in an emergency but everyday will promote aging.

During the deep sleep the body repairs itself. If the repair to damage balance decreases nightly repair then it's going to show up over time. A person might be sleeping the same number of hours while drinking significant amounts of caffeine but for a lot of people the system is still wired up and the body does not settle into that really deep restorative sleep.

addictions can be costly to the health and well being.

[mommysboy]

coffee wears a person down by draining the adrenal glands and dehydrating the body and taxing the kidneys. It' great in an emergency but everyday will promote aging.

During the deep sleep the body repairs itself. If the repair to damage balance decreases nightly repair then it's going to show up over time. A person might be sleeping the same number of hours while drinking significant amounts of caffeine but for a lot of people the system is still wired up and the body does not settle into that really deep restorative sleep.

addictions can be costly to the health and well being.

hearsay.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

coffee wears a person down by draining the adrenal glands and dehydrating the body and taxing the kidneys. It' great in an emergency but everyday will promote aging.

During the deep sleep the body repairs itself. If the repair to damage balance decreases nightly repair then it's going to show up over time. A person might be sleeping the same number of hours while drinking significant amounts of caffeine but for a lot of people the system is still wired up and the body does not settle into that really deep restorative sleep.

addictions can be costly to the health and well being.

hearsay.

well lets look at that

is caffeine a diuretic which causes dehyration? yep

do diuretics which cause dehydration stress the kidneys? yep

does caffeine directly stimulate adrenaline release from the adrenal glands? yep

do stressed kidneys further stress adrenal glands? yep

is adrenalines "fight or flight" stressful over time to the body? yep

Does a consistently stressed body perform and repair at 100% nope

It's just logic. Any of those simple verifiable statements you would like to refute?

[Merlin]

Oh come on...

how about this for starters:

Five Common Caffeine Myths Busted - ABC News

Five Common Caffeine Myths Busted

1. Caffeine dehydrates you.

False

2. Caffeine causes heart disease.

False

3. Caffeine helps weight loss.

False

4. Caffeine helps you exercise.

True

5. Caffeine is safe during pregnancy.

False

ok ok , so that last one is a bit of a worry.

Tell you what, till I fall pregnant, I'll keep drinking it, ok?

Also:

t_Articles

Caffeine Myths and Facts

BBC NEWS | Health | Daily caffeine 'protects brain' "daily caffeine protects brain"

Is Caffeine Good For You?: The Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

caffeine is absolutely a diuretic

diuretics cause water loss

water loss with everything being equal causes relative dehydration

It's a medical fact.

[mommysboy]

coffee wears a person down by draining the adrenal glands and dehydrating the body and taxing the kidneys. It' great in an emergency but everyday will promote aging.

During the deep sleep the body repairs itself. If the repair to damage balance decreases nightly repair then it's going to show up over time. A person might be sleeping the same number of hours while drinking significant amounts of caffeine but for a lot of people the system is still wired up and the body does not settle into that really deep restorative sleep.

addictions can be costly to the health and well being.

hearsay.

well lets look at that

is caffeine a diuretic which causes dehyration? yep

do diuretics which cause dehydration stress the kidneys? yep

does caffeine directly stimulate adrenaline release from the adrenal glands? yep

do stressed kidneys further stress adrenal glands? yep

is adrenalines "fight or flight" stressful over time to the body? yep

Does a consistently stressed body perform and repair at 100% nope

It's just logic. Any of those simple verifiable statements you would like to refute?

It's the line of logic, which magnifies the problem too much- you go from mild diuretic to a consistently stressed body just like that!

First it's not that much of a diuretic, in fact I think the diuretic effect does not apply to say 6 cups a day spread out. I don't know about the adrenal glands. Stressed kidneys!. I'm sure a persistent state of fight or flight is very harmful but not sure where a few cups of tea or coffee fit in to the equation. And again, 'consistently stressed': leave it out will you!

Then on the other side, it would appear that tea and to a lesser extent coffee could have health benefits, tea in particular has anti-oxidants, which may prevent heart disease.

It's about moderation though, and of course 25 cups of coffee goes beyond excessive.

Not running away from my own addiction, but your argument is just plain wrong. Incidentally, I smoked for 30 years and I really think it is my tea habit that prevented me from incurring lung and heart damage.

[Somnambulist]

Oh come on...

how about this for starters:

Five Common Caffeine Myths Busted - ABC News

Five Common Caffeine Myths Busted

1. Caffeine dehydrates you.

False

2. Caffeine causes heart disease.

False

3. Caffeine helps weight loss.

False

4. Caffeine helps you exercise.

True

5. Caffeine is safe during pregnancy.

False

ok ok , so that last one is a bit of a worry.

Tell you what, till I fall pregnant, I'll keep drinking it, ok?

Also:

t_Articles

Caffeine Myths and Facts

BBC NEWS | Health | Daily caffeine 'protects brain' "daily caffeine protects brain"

Is Caffeine Good For You?: The Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee

I don't trust any mainstream media outlets beyond the weather forecast and even that's iffy. Caffeine does indeed affect different people differently. For me one wonderful cup in the morning is all I can take if I don't want to get strung out. But I love the stuff and often have two. We've all seen a person in a coffee shop drink a large cup of coffee and then doze off. Whenever I drink a cup and instead of giving me a lift it has the opposite effect, I know it's time to cut back. Fortunately, I like Japanese green tea, which just doesn't drag me down unless I really abuse it by drinking it all day long. I just read you can put stevia and a squeeze of lime in it to sweeten and augment the taste but I haven't tried it yet. Sucralose/Splenda is loaded with chlorine and is potentially dangerous for diabetics. Just ask Mr. Google.

That coffee affects the adrenal glands is well established. If you have allergies or asthma and drink lots of caffeine, it's worth looking into because the adrenals are necessary to a healthy immune system. Jiaogulan tea, available in most tea stores in Chiang Mai, promotes adrenal function and also helps me say no to that second cup of coffee in the afternoon because it gives me energy, albeit in a much more subtle way than caffeine. Works wonders for the libido, too.

[ignis]

As a Harley Street Specialist said to his Father a friend of mine, almost everything you eat or drink is potentially bad for your health..

I would think that after years of drinking coffee you suddenly stop, that would be very bad for your system, maybe cut down a bit, take time maybe 1 less cup a month

Lots of people have funny ideas, I am diabetic when I used to Visit Thailand on Holidays years ago loved to eat Mangos, Thai friend said Mango very bad lots of sugar the father is diabetic and was told by his Dr here Mango bad sugar ... I asked my Dr he said Mango is fine as is a different type of sugar.

[Parvis]

A significant part of any "addiction" - particularily of this type where no clear chemical addiction is present - is actually the process around coffee drinking (habitual addiction). For instance - needing a cup of coffee for breakfast - while reading News or talking to friends, writing e-mails etc. etc. etc.. You just see yourself constantly with a "cup" in your hand.

In other words you can substitute coffee drinking with tea drinking and get the same psychological need fullfilled - as coffee drinking - and eventually wean yourself entirely of this "habitual addiction".

[Jingthing]

I think we can ALL agree that coffee (or tea) in the quantities the OP is addicted to is VERY unhealthy. On the other issues, I think the overwhelming evidence is that BOTH coffee AND tea are health promoting in moderation.

[FBN]

Latest medical feedback from research is that about 4 cups of filter coffee per day has health benefits; cardiovascular as well as neurological such as enhanced memory function etc.

More can contribute to heart arrhythmias, insomnia, etc.

[tomahawk]

There was study done with coffee and water and found that people drinking coffee did not get any more dehydrated than people drinking water. I myself do not get any more dehydrated with coffee than drinking other liquids. I think tea is healthier than coffee but I love coffee so still drink 2-3 cups a day. Interesting thing for people in Thailand and other hot places is exercise plus caffeine is supposed to help prevent skin cancer, especially exercise and green tea.

[sabaijai]

I quit coffee cold turkey about three months ago. My intake was about two mugs in the morning and one after lunch, for 20 years. I always got really drowsy in the afternoon and yet was getting plenty of sleep, so wondered if it might be 'caffiene crash.' Drinking more coffee in the afternoon to try and counter the drowsiness never worked. It was as if the caffeine could take me to a certain level and once I crashed, nothing could take me back up.

The withdrawal was pure hell, lasted a full seven days. Nonstop headache for the first four days, unable to think clearly, body aches, the lot. After that I was fine.

Since I stopped my afternoon energy level is way better, so I can only conclude that I was experiencing some kind of crash every day. I would never have quit if I were retired or didn't have to work. I'd simply take a nap in the afternoon. But I don't have that luxury, too many work deadlines.

I fully expected I would start drinking a bit of coffee again after my experiment was over. But the horrible withdrawal made me see coffee in a much more negative light than I ever had before. so I'm off the bean. Maybe when I retire I'll take it up again, and enjoy the naps

BTW I talked to an American doctor recently who told me caffeine boosts your insulin level and hence can actually make you gain weight rather than lose it.

[Jingthing]

Coffee addiction is like any other substance addiction. Being off three months is nothing. You are an addict for life whether you are drinking it now or not. Chances are very high, you will be back ... I know, I know, you think you are stronger than that. Check back in a year, mate.