Caffeine

[MinisterofDOOM]

My doctor recently recommended that I try and go a week or two without consuming anything with much caffeine (stuff like chocolate with small amounts is okay) to see if I notice any affect on my chronic migraines.

It's been a little over a week, and I don't notice any difference at all. Now the reason I bring this up is that the complete lack of noticeable change got me thinking...

When I was teenager, I remember for some reason people would make a big deal about not drinking any caffeinated drinks for days or weeks. Like it was something to be proud of...I never understood it. But all of them would end up talking about how much better they sleep or how much easier it is to get to sleep, or how they feel more rested and thus more awake when they wake up. Even these days I know people who will make the same claims. Usually they'll talk about how they just generally feel "better" as well.

I have frankly always thought they were all full of crap. But before now I never had any reason to strictly avoid caffeine, so I never bothered. But after more than a week of no caffeine at all and mainly drinking water in place of caffeinated drinks and seeing no difference AT ALL...I definitely feel like my skepticism was justified.

I don't sleep ANY better. Don't get to sleep any easier. Don't wake up easier. No change. I also haven't had any withdrawal symptoms, although the doc suggested that actual caffeine withdrawal is rare. Maybe I need to go even longer? Maybe it's not really out of my system yet? But then that still doesn't add up, as the people I know who claimed to see benefits did so after sometimes even less than a week.

Anyone ever "give up" caffeine and actually see any benefits? Just curious to see if there's any legitimacy to the claims.

[Jesda]

I get nasty headaches during the day as part of the withdrawal process but I sleep deeper once I'm over it. Good luck man!

I try giving up caffeine but always end up needing it for late-night studies and morning exams. I swear I'd be a grade point lower without it.

[Dattebayo]

I used to drink alot or coffee through college, but I quit due to digestive problems when I was 25.

Now, I generally don't drink much of anything with high levels of caffeine because it lasts way too damn long with me. If I have a cup of coffee past 5PM, I won't get to sleep at all that night. Hell, it's gets so bad that if I go to a mixer party, I bring my own caffeine-free coke so I can have my whiskey n' coke and not have to stay up all damn night. I protect it with balls of steel, too.

In my opinion, it takes longer than one week to notice any kind of change like that. I'd say talk to us again at a month.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Good luck man!

Thanks. So far, the hard part hasn't been cravings (I really haven't had any, surprisingly) but simply avoiding it. So many drinks have caffeine, and the water from the office kitchen tastes nasty. I refuse to pay $1.25 for 20oz of decent water from the vending machine. Fortunately Smith's has caffeine free coke.

In my opinion, it takes longer than one week to notice any kind of change like that. I'd say talk to us again at a month.

You may well be right.

[Jesda]

Speaking of caffeine, I'm finally going to bed. Diet cokes have kept me up until 4am tonight despite only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before.

[RCA]

This interests me. Keep us posted MoD.

I find my self drinking caffeine all the time and 3 shots of espresso last about an hour and a half.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Speaking of caffeine, I'm finally going to bed. Diet cokes have kept me up until 4am tonight despite only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before.

Have a good sleep. I had fun debating with you.

[Ghostdrifter88]

in 2005 i gave up caffeine. that was my new years resolution. anything with what i thought had high amounts of caffeine i gave up cold turkey. i had a pepsi at 11:30 something on the 31st of dec 2004 and didnt drink another soda until about march or april of 2006. absolutly no change in anything i did. it did get tough about 3 months into it however. just that i would crave a coffee or soda but once that passed i was fine with it. didnt bother me one bit. probably wouldnt have another soda again if it wasnt for that one night i had pizza and absolutly nothing to drink other then a Dr. Pepper. tap water creeps me out.if your going to do it. commit, do it as long as you can. that stuff isnt healthy. and i wish i still was caffeine free....maybe ill do it again. i <3 mt dew though.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I'm not really looking to drop caffeine for good unless it helps my headaches, simply because it's a hassle.

[BusyBadger]

I get nasty headaches during the day as part of the withdrawal process but I sleep deeper once I'm over it.

This has been my experience for the most part as well.

Do you (or the doc) think your work schedule might have anything to do with it?

[numbnuts240]

eh, i used to drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day during work and then soda afterwards. never had trouble sleeping. i'm down to 1 cup of coffee a day in the morning, a soda maybe once a week, if that, and i feel exactly like i did when i was going full steam.

[SHIFT_COUPE]

I gave up caffeine back in October because it was adding to my anxiety issues. I feel soooo much better. Give it longer than a week man. I'd say 3-4 weeks. A week isn't long enough in my opinion. At the 1 week mark when I quit, I was saying the same things you were

[Chiquitita]

In my opinion I know people who have felt better with no caffeine after a couple of weeks though, not just one. I personally don't drink coffee, but is not because of the caffeine. i think is the smell that leaves on people breath, I think its disgusting, even if they used mouth wash LOL. anyway caffeine somehow will affect you, maybe you won't feel it now but later...

[danshaz82]

i drink coffee almost every day. i didnt start doing this till last year. i didnt notice any change from how i was before i started drinking it. and ill go days where i dont have caffeine, and the only thing i notice is that i feel worse for the first day or 2. but after that, i dont notice anything. dont feel any better, dont feel any worse.

[S13_love]

Anyone ever "give up" caffeine and actually see any benefits?

I have seen some benefits...I managed to keep drinking caffeinated drinks to a minimal for a few months last spring. I did notice that I just felt better overall...not really sure what else to say. Although it was kinda hard to tell whether my sleep improved at all.

Now, Im back on the caffeine addiction and some of the withdrawals I get are pretty nasty.

[SHIFT_Z]

I, too, remember my peers boasting about going a few days without drinking any pop or anything with caffeine. And surprisingly, that was a big deal. haha..

But, that was back then. I think our bodies were still growing, and took to caffeine much differently than our bodies do now. I remember being very susceptible to caffeine growing up. Used to make me bounce off the walls. Now a days.. I feel pretty good for about 15 minues.. 30 max. Then it's a thing of the past. Could this be attributed to consuming truckloads of it as a kid? Maybe. Regardless, it's pretty much out of my diet these days, and doesn't do much of anything for me when it is. I'm in the best shape of my life though, if that counts towards anything.

I would venture to suggest.. give it a month. Really give your body time to get used to not having caffeine. Give it time to not 'rely' on it, whether you realize it or not, your body may have been addicted.If there's no change? Go back to the good stuff. No sense in shorting yourself one of life's greatest beverages if it doesn't affect you either way.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

If I drink too much caffeine during the day for a while My heart tends to have hiccups more often (A beat comes late or is skipped)

So, I switched to Yerba Matte tea...better stimulant with a little caffeine. I buy the loose leaf form and brew it myself. Gives a great kick with higher concentration and no withdrawal effect.

[Bmore-coupe]

MOD, I actually almost made a thread about this a month or so ago. I have also suffered from extremely chronic migraines for a loooong time. Mine are so bad that I had to go on an intermittent disability from work.

About a month and a half to 2 months ago, I stopped drinking soda simply to cut the unnecessary sugar out of my diet. At first, my headaches got worse, but after about 2.5 weeks, I experience about 1/8 of the migraines that i was having before.

I am off of my disability from work, and generally try to not drink any caffeine, or very little like you stated before. And I can honestly say that I can't remember the last time that my headaches were so spread apart.

[dusred]

I was having sleep insomnia real bad for about 1 year and finally I decided to ask my dad if he knew of anything I could do about it because he's suffered from it over the years. The first thing he recommended was giving up Caffeine and I said screw it I ain't giving up my coffee. A few months later when my sleeping habits started getting real screwed up I decided I'd try giving up caffeine. The insomnia was getting bad enough that I would decide heck with sleep and I'd just go work all night at the shop and when I finally got tired was at 5 or 6 AM and it would screw up my entire day.

I asked my grandfather about it since he's somewhat of a health nut - he's a 76 year old Viet-Nam hardened veteran and has seen some pretty rough times in his days. He's still a healthy, active guy who works a regular job. He said that caffeine should be used seldom and only as a stimulant. He said that while he was on watch in the Military and he would get so tired he was afraid he would fall asleep he'd get 1/2 cup of coffee and it would hold him over until his watch was up.

Another thing to note about caffeine is that usually your energy spike turns into an energy low and you get more tired than you were before you started. Which is why I don't drink caffeine or any sugary beverage while I'm driving long distances (unless I'm an hour away from my destination). It may keep you awake for a while but when it wears off it is very dangerous because you're more tired than you were before.

So about 3 months ago I went off caffeine for the most part and my sleep insomnia is virtually gone. I don't really feel any different and it's still a b**** getting up in the morning but at least I can get go to sleep at night. YAY. I've had 1 cup of coffee since then but not really anything else. I do still drink decaf coffee sometimes but the amount of caffeine in it doesn't affect me.

[troskinatior]

Last year I was drinking coffee every day and the worst part about it was when i first started drinking it I would get sick but after a week of drinking it I would get immune to it.But this year I'm not drinking coffee and feel the exact same. I never notice a difference when I drink any type of caffinated drink, I only notice a very very small change is when I have a energy drink.

[Bmore-coupe]

Last year I was drinking coffee every day and the worst part about it was when i first started drinking it I would get sick but after a week of drinking it I would get immune to it.But this year I'm not drinking coffee and feel the exact same. I never notice a difference when I drink any type of caffinated drink, I only notice a very very small change is when I have a energy drink.

Energy Drinks are the DEVIL.

[numbnuts240]

dus, just do what i do, one cup of coffee to wake me up and that's it. you're still well rested from the night before so you don't really crash at all.

[troskinatior]

Energy Drinks are the DEVIL.

BY THE WAY MAMA, ALLIGATORS ARE ANGRY BECAUSE OF THERE MONDULAOBLEMGOTA!

[wa-chiss]

I'm not a coffee drinker; I rarely have coffee in fact. All my caffeine comes from the sodas I drink. I started to switch to non caffeinated drinks like orange soda and such. I start to feel it after a few days. Where I would have no problem functioning with less than 5 hours of sleep on caffeine, off caffeine I would get extremely tired. When I would sleep, off caffeine, I would sleep deeper. I would wake up in the same position as I went to sleep in and would wake up much more relaxed in the morning. Just my 2 cents though.

[dusred]

dus, just do what i do, one cup of coffee to wake me up and that's it. you're still well rested from the night before so you don't really crash at all.

That's all I did before.

[Dattebayo]

BY THE WAY MAMA, ALLIGATORS ARE ANGRY BECAUSE OF THERE MONDULAOBLEMGOTA!

ORNERY, not angry.

[IanS]

I dropped it Caffeine completely for over a month last year. I did notice a lot of change. I was able to fall asleep easier, and get up easier too. I did notice any change in my energy levels. That being said, it took more than a week to level off. The first few days I got headaches, and was irritable. After that I felt better.

Maybe your not noticing the changes because you already get headaches, and are irritable.

Give it another week. Whats the harm?

[skydragoness]

I haven't had a cup of coffee in 5 years. It bothered my stomach (coffee is fairly acidic) and gave me a lot of anxiety. I've found I never really did need it.. I can make myself anxious enough without it.

Anyhow, I did just recently start drinking decaf because I miss the taste of coffee a lot. When you've been off of coffee as long as I have, green tea will actually keep you up at night. Not to say I've been off of caffeine completely, but I adore dark roast yerba maté in the morning.. it has about a 1/4 of the caffeine as a cup of coffee.

MoD without coffee.. I shudder to think. (Don't you work the night shift or something?) It's going to take more than a month to see some benefits.. but there are benefits to moderation.

Also: take a look into your diet, it may not be just caffeine that is triggering your migraines (additives like msg have been attributed to migraines).

[MinisterofDOOM]

I actually can't stand coffee. My primary source of caffeine was coke. But I normally drink a lot of that.

Maybe your not noticing the changes because you already get headaches, and are irritable.

That thought has occurred to me.

[qat727]

I've gone on and off of caffeine several times. It's relatively difficult to quantify the changes from dropping off, but the most evident is the required dose.

He said that while he was on watch in the Military and he would get so tired he was afraid he would fall asleep he'd get 1/2 cup of coffee and it would hold him over until his watch was up.

That's one of the definite benefits... if you're using it for a stimulant, less is more.

As far as noticing positive health effects, it takes me 2-3 weeks to really feel good again after a long caffeine binge. Usually my stress level goes down, the eye twitches go away, I sleep better, and am not quite so irritable.

I know it sounds like I'm just making a laundry list of stuff, but every one of those things gets worse when I consume a lot of caffeine and seem to get better when I stop.

I say stick with it for a while longer and see how it goes.