Caffeine Detox Time

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Bassmansam said:
Weekends only for me, tea during the week as i find it calming.
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The L-theanine in tea is what causes the calming effect, it helps mitigate the caffeine side effects. Some people supplement coffee with L-theanine for a smoother experience.

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Back to decaf for me, and sleeping much better because of it, also seem to be dreaming more which is interesting.

Daresay I'll be off caffeine for good as I tend to cycle back on and off but ultimately I feel better for it. Mind is far less anxious off of caffeine.
 
wingman said:
Back to decaf for me, and sleeping much better because of it, also seem to be dreaming more which is interesting.

Daresay I'll be off caffeine for good as I tend to cycle back on and off but ultimately I feel better for it. Mind is far less anxious off of caffeine.
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Good man.

It's interesting seeing people say things like "I cannot live without my coffee" or "I cannot function" when our default state is non-caffeinated. Kids and teens who haven't touched a drop in their life seem to function OK :p

I'm trying to build up the courage to quit, my biggest fear is failing again. I don't want to go through the rough detox only to hop back on.
 
Freefaller said:
I don't understand the demonisation of coffee. It has a lot of health benefits. Too much is bad of course but so are most things in excess.

Reliance on it is a different issue.
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I think as soon as it's a habit you are reliant on it. That doesn't sit comfortably with me, that I have to have a coffee each day or I struggle.

There are health benefits but I'd say the majority aren't drinking it for that reason. Caffeine is a very strong habit enforcer.
 
Depends how much you consume, my dad drinks coffee multiple times a day 7 days a week. Way too much IMO.

I secretly switched his coffee to decaf and very shortly after he started complaining of raging headaches all the time and feeling very ill.
 
LiE said:
I think as soon as it's a habit you are reliant on it. That doesn't sit comfortably with me, that I have to have a coffee each day or I struggle.

There are health benefits but I'd say the majority aren't drinking it for that reason. Caffeine is a very strong habit enforcer.
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I'm willing to admit that I'm addicted (I tend to have one in the morning and one after lunch), but if my morning is busy and I can't get hold of one it doesn't tend to have any negative impact on me. I find that I start to get headaches if I go more than 24 hours without though.

I drink it largely as I love the flavour, however. I don't drink bad coffee (eg if I'm in a meeting or on a train and can only get instant, I'll refuse it). I accept that it's addictive and is very much a habit, but as addictions go I feel like it's pretty harmless to me and it's a routine I enjoy.

Not trying at all to disagree with you or others giving caffeine up, I'm just justifying my minor addiction to myself!
 
LiE said:
I think as soon as it's a habit you are reliant on it. That doesn't sit comfortably with me, that I have to have a coffee each day or I struggle.

There are health benefits but I'd say the majority aren't drinking it for that reason. Caffeine is a very strong habit enforcer.
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Which is why I caveated it with reliance. ;)

Humans are creatures of habit though and some habits aren't bad.

But yes if you feel you can't function without a coffee then probably is more endemic to something psychological.
 
I love the taste of coffee but just 1 cup can cause me to be jittery/ high and then i crash a few hours later. Decaff works for as it gives the taste without side effects.
 
In recent months I've switched to drinking far more cafetiere coffee rather than instant, to try and neutralise some of the grogginess that Mirtazapine left me with, hoping to reign things ina bit with new alternative meds. Now when I do have instant (usually Gold Blend), I'm not so keen on the aftertaste and have to have a generous teaspoon of brown sugar with less than a level teasdpoon of coffee.
 
Thankfully i don't really like the taste of coffee, or alcohol, which probably helped me in not developing a problem with it.
 
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Freefaller said:
I don't understand the demonisation of coffee. It has a lot of health benefits. Too much is bad of course but so are most things in excess.

Reliance on it is a different issue.
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I think a lot of people don't realise they're dependant on it.

"I can quit anytime", but they don't, because "caffeine is harmless". Yet 24 hours without it and those same people are experiencing chronic headaches, or even migraine.

Don't get me wrong, of the addictions that are going, it's almost definitely the best one to have; still doesn't mean it's always beneficial substance for humans to consume.
 
I was only having one 2-shot Americano per day, though four weeks back today, I suddenly stopped it.
Not altogether sure why.

No unpleasant withdrawal symptoms whatsoever, which surprised me.

Adding the amino acid to it is an interesting idea.
 
Coffee is god damn delicious BUT I do limit myself to a couple of cups per day, no more.

I find energy drinks to be easy to get into the habit of drinking regularly so keep well away from them.
 
LiE said:
I think as soon as it's a habit you are reliant on it. That doesn't sit comfortably with me, that I have to have a coffee each day or I struggle.

There are health benefits but I'd say the majority aren't drinking it for that reason. Caffeine is a very strong habit enforcer.
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True but in same breath a lot of people like myself are able to cope fine without it and enjoy it for the taste and the process of making (grinding beans, using the machine, frothing milk etc...).

I sometimes get decaf coffee as I do enjoy the taste and sometimes really fancy a late night coffee though I seem to be one of these people that can still sleep despite having had a coffee. I did have decaffeinated coffee for a few months and i certainly didn't get any headaches. Perhaps decaf coffee still has caffeine?

I've never drunk an energy drink (other than having a taste) I find them disgusting.
 
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Day 0

So tomorrow I plan to start my journey to caffeine free life. I'll be keeping a note of how I feel each day and updating the thread with my progress mostly to be accountable.

I will be tapering, but quite sharply. Each day I'll be pushing how long I can go before I have a cup of tea. So first day I may make it to 10am before I have a tea, eventually getting to 12-1pm where I'll decide to drop the tea all together. This approach has worked well in the past.

Lots of water and continue with my training will help massively. I have a week off in 2 weeks time and I'd like to be completely caffeine free by then. Work is under control so no risk of me doing an un-caffeinated production code change while being half asleep. I'll not be telling the Mrs until I've made some good progress, if I signal too early she will probably panic that I'm going to turn into a grumpy bugger. Power naps will be used with reckless abandon.
 
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Day 1 - 4

So day 1 of reducing caffeine was a single cup of tea and the same again on Thursday. I had to nap both days but that's also not uncommon when I'm abusing caffeine as I get huge crashes in the afternoon. Decided to man up and just stopped all caffeine on Friday which went OK, today is the 2nd day with no caffeine.

I'm feeling better than expected, more present, calmer and able to focus. Waking up in the morning feels so much better. Yesterday I had to let the dog out at 4am and normally with disrupted sleep the next day I'd feel it, but it was as though that didn't happen, felt completely fine. I was at a kids birthday party on that day too and I was able to comfortably chat to all the dads where as normally with caffeine I'd shy away from it.

Some tougher days ahead from experience but I'm excited to feel myself.
 
Well good luck with your journey. Don't think I will stop coffee anytime soon but just because I enjoy a hot drink during the day.

Invariably start the morning with a triple espresso, then have a mug of Azera with milk.

Then switch to ginger water or Rooibos (Redbush) or Earl Grey, then a decaf coffee with a teaspoon of cinnamon. At 16h00, I have a double shot cappuccino with possibly another one at 16h45. Then eat a meal between 18h30 - 19h30.

I am usually on water after this (at least 1 litre) but if out, may have a black coffee.
 
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