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I am going through caffeine withdrawal and it sucks

Hulk_Smash

Banned
So, this week I decided to start eating better. I've gained quite a few pounds over the last few months and picked my vacation (stay-cation) to change things up. Included in that change was the commitment to drink only water for the next few weeks to help with the weight loss. That means no coffee, no energy drinks, and no sodas.

I am on day 3 and realize now how bad caffeine withdrawal can be. Headaches, nausea, lethargy, and join pain. I checked my temperature and I have no fever and I only started feeling like this since I went to water only. All my symptoms line up with caffeine withdrawal. I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal since I didn't think I drank that much caffeine every day. Problem is, I DO drink that much and I'm just now accepting it. One cup of coffee in the morning, tea or soda with my lunch, energy drink in the afternoon, and tea for dinner. Just about everything I drank had caffeine in it! lol

It's suppose to only last a few days so we'll see if it makes a difference. I don't feel the urge to drink caffeinated beverages right now, so that's good. But, I feel like ass right now. Guess it's good I'm on vacation. Anyone else try to stay away from caffeine and experience these symptoms?
 
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I’ve only quit soda one time in my life, but I’ve quit smoking multiple times. I just can’t deal with caffeine withdrawal. I really want to stop drinking sugary drinks, though. Right now I am drinking Kool-Aid Jammers with soda sprinkled in. The Jammers are 30 calories a piece, so I can have 5 in exchange for a single can of Pepsi. I need to just start drinking water, though. I’ve tried Propel, but the flavors suck. Ugh.
 

Hulk_Smash

Banned
caffeine is actually good for losing weight. so long as you keep sugar out of diet. you should have weaned off of it in smaller dosages the withdrawl shit can last a few days to 2 weeks.

I have gotten off caffeine multiple times.

I've never quit drinking caffeine because I've never seen it as a problem. It's only in the last couple of years I've drank more than a cup of coffee in a day. And I've gone long stretches without soda (5K training), so this has snuck up on me. I didn't think I'd experience symptoms.
 

Caffeine

Member
I've never quit drinking caffeine because I've never seen it as a problem. It's only in the last couple of years I've drank more than a cup of coffee in a day. And I've gone long stretches without soda (5K training), so this has snuck up on me. I didn't think I'd experience symptoms.
ye when u get into the upper areas of 400+mg a day it hits like a freight train. if you stay under 150mg it wouldnt be as bad.
 

Dark Star

Member
I'll have an iced coffee every now and then, usually during an afternoon slump, but I never made it a habit to "need" one.

I think the idea of "everything in moderation" should be taken seriously for those who drink coffee everyday. Having a good diet that is free of sugar, taking vitamins, drinking lots of water, regularly exercising at the gym, etc will produce way better lifestyle results. Think about your health, but think about the longevity of your life goals.

After a spicy meal, a slice of cheesecake and an iced coffee is always on my mind, but being able to delay the sweet desert for a special occasion is so much more gratifying in the long term.
 
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It took me a little over a week and half to get the headaches to stop but I have stayed off the stuff now for around 10 years and don't regret it. I was doing about the same amount as you. I'll be honest though I get migraine headaches every few months that are much worse then the withdraw headaches were I mean those always end with puking from the pain if I don't take something. So in a way the headaches were not so bad for me as they would be for people who don't get migraines. But you should stick with it, I have felt a lot better most of the time, the reason I quit was when they started asking for id to buy a redbull not sure if they still do this or not but I did some research back then and athletic people were being killed by getting to much caffeine and then doing physical activities, and the too much was not very much it was like 1 pre-workout drink and 1 energy drink that could turn deadly.

Oh yeah I also had a friend who quit drinking soda and he looked like a totally different person in just a few months so it can definitely help with weight loss, especially if your working out too.
 
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Fbh

Member
That sucks, hope you get over it soon.

I guess I'm lucky I've never had that. I drink at least 2 coffees every day (no soda or energy drinks though) and have never really felt anything when I can't drink any
 

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
I went off caffeine for a month once and nothing happened. Although if I up my intake to 4 coffees a day, I will get a migraine if I then just drop to nothing.

Recently I've been having weird headaches and wooziness that is similar, but not quite the same. Today I was getting it, then ate a bunch of beef and it vanished. It clicked that these started a bit after I started working out. I must have underestimated the amount of extra protein I'd need. I guess I'm going to be poorer, but stronger.
 

Rockondevil

Member
Hold out mate it gets better. I used to have several cans of Coke a day back in the day until my dentist told me I really needed to stop.

So I completely cut Coke (and all soft drinks/sodas). Ended up having migraines for about a week while my body went through its withdrawals. In the end it was worth it and now I have a can maybe once a fortnight at most and otherwise it's water and milk for me.
 
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highrider

Banned
Never had any issue with caffeine or sugar. I want a coffee I have one, generally every morning. Sweet cravings usually hit me around 10 or 11 pm. I always have some kind of sweet just in the house for that.

Taking vitamins, hitting the gym, water, less preserved food is all good. But I’ve never done well with a regiment of quit this/ no more of this. We gain weight by taking in too many calories and not burning enough. I just try to be aware of my consumption, so I’m not getting in a situation where I’ve packed on weight and have to make major changes. Typically people continuously fail at that.
 

Dural

Member
I have lots of caffeine all week and don't usually have much over the weekend, never experienced withdrawal. I usually have about 20oz of coffee in the morning, pop with lunch, energy drink in the afternoon on a Monday or Tuesday, and pop with dinner. That's about 500mg depending on the coffee and energy drink I have.

Once winter gets here I'll probably up my coffee intake, love me some hot coffee in winter. For you coffee/caffeine fiends, any of you have Death Wish Coffee? It has 660mg/12floz of coffee, one cup and you're good all morning.
 

Humdinger

Member
Yeah, the withdrawal symptoms suck. I get irritability, fatigue, and headaches. I drink 3 cups a day, which I'd like to get down. The withdrawal symptoms seem to last a long time, like a couple of weeks. So I just keep at it. There don't seem to be any major health consequences, so I'm not all that concerned about it (for every negative report, you can find a positive one).
 

Scotty W

Member
I've quit coffee a few times. The symptoms go away after a week, except for the tiredness, which usually lasts a bit longer. Not drinking caffeine has improved my health, so good choice. It is easy to get re-addicted, though. I love the taste and at the moment I usually have 1 cup a week, which is probably not smart, but it's ok at the moment. As I am a long term traveller, I have difficulty getting it, but yerba mate is a good replacement for addiction to the various caffeinated beverages. It's got the caffeine high, but it 'feels' like a cleaner experience.
 

TacosNSalsa

Member
Welp ..you know what time it is per your user name ...

L4IG3s5.gif
 

bose

Neo Member
Personal opinion. It's sugar that you should lower in your diet. Although I'm guilty of drinking them on occasion, soda and energy drinks are incredibly bad for your health. If you are overweight, it's likely due to this. One coffee a day is fine.

Good luck with it however. Any choice towards bettering your health is always good. The symptoms should wade off after a while.
 
Oh yeah I also had a friend who quit drinking soda and he looked like a totally different person in just a few months so it can definitely help with weight loss, especially if your working out too.

Was he working out or did he just quit drinking soda? I’m looking to lose some weight and I’d drop soda if it meant some weight would come off. I need to exercise too, but it’s hard to find the right time to do it.
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Caffeine withdrawal? Is that a real thing?
 

-Arcadia-

Banned
I came in, ready to joke along the lines of the Tyler The Creator cyber bullying tweet, but consider me educated. Kind of worried, because on the bad days, without any sleep, I basically subsist on energy drinks.

I hope you feel better asap, OP. If it really is just a few days, you should be pretty close to done with it.
 
S

SLoWMoTIoN

Unconfirmed Member
Caffeine is a stimulant and withdrawal causes a physical reaction.
I used to work a night shift for about 3 years and drank a shitloads of it. After I went back to the normal person schedule I barely drank coffee afterwards. I think it is kind of silly to compare this to things people can actually be addicted to. Like Doritos or cocaine.
 

Hulk_Smash

Banned
Just to clarify, I know it’s the sugar that makes you fat, not caffeine. Going cold turkey on caffeine was just a bi-product of me deciding to drink only water (and coconut milk for my smoothies).

But, now that I see I had a problem, I am committed to kicking that habit as well. Two birds, one stone.
 

SpoopySpeedster

Neo Member
I had to cut caffeine out involuntarily for about a year. When I was 19 I had started developing hypnopompic hallucinations because of a mixture of my terrible sleep schedule and soda/energy drink addiction. Waking up and seeing things that aren't there wasn't great, the occasional sleep paralysis episode with it was an added layer of terror.

It was suggested that I reduce or eliminate my caffeine intake to see if it helps. It did help me, but I didn't experience symptoms like your having, maybe a mild headache for 2 days. (I've since ran back to coffee's roasty embrace, with an occasional energy drink, but barely any soda)

What you're experiencing I went through when I cut out sugar completely, I felt absolutely terrible for a full week

Sugar is scarily addictive and terrifyingly in everything, if you kick sugar and then consume any; it'll all start over again, too

The link below is a study on how sugar and sugar substitutes were preferred by lab rats over cocaine, even after they were already addicted to cocaine

 

#Phonepunk#

Banned
caffeine is indeed a powerful drug. getting off of it is a good idea. lots of people chug coffee all day long without thinking about it.

ive long ago switched to tea, which is lower in caffeine. i'll get a coffee now and then but tbh it was giving me the jitters, and that ain't right...
 

VGEsoterica

Member
I don't think I could function without caffeine. I quit smoking and all forms of tobacco for my wife / to get healthier. Caffeine is all I have left lol
 
Was he working out or did he just quit drinking soda? I’m looking to lose some weight and I’d drop soda if it meant some weight would come off. I need to exercise too, but it’s hard to find the right time to do it.

He was working out pretty good about 30 mins every other day of lite jogging but he sweat like crazy and he also did arms on the opposing days for 30 mins but he didn't sweat as much so I think he wasn't burning much calories doing arms. I think you should lose weight even without working out though as long as your getting less calories you should lose weight.
 
He was working out pretty good about 30 mins every other day of lite jogging but he sweat like crazy and he also did arms on the opposing days for 30 mins but he didn't sweat as much so I think he wasn't burning much calories doing arms. I think you should lose weight even without working out though as long as your getting less calories you should lose weight.

Cool. I’ll see if I can stop drinking soda altogether soon.
 

Tesseract

Banned
What's there to see? You stop and that's it. You're an adult, exercise some fucking willpower. Things will not magically get better on their own.

momentum happens, people get stuck in habits and it takes time to rebound

ultimately i'm with you tho
 
Drink loose-leaf tea. Yea it also has some caffeine but it also includes L-theanine and polyphenols that are known to enhance/heighten the benefits of caffeine while simultaneously reducing or eliminating the negative effects of caffine, including the withdrawal.

Think of it like going "on the patch" for caffeine.
 

Tesseract

Banned
Drink loose-leaf tea. Yea it also has some caffeine but it also includes L-theanine and polyphenols that are known to enhance/heighten the benefits of caffeine while simultaneously reducing or eliminating the negative effects of caffine, including the withdrawal.

Think of it like going "on the patch" for caffeine.

you love dat l-theanine, don't you bru
 

Jooxed

Gold Member
yeah its rough for the first couple of days, Nos and Full throttle energy drinks are what suck me in and the long days at worse! It gets better man keep at it.
 

Stouffers

Banned
Hey listen, I commend what you’re doing but when I take staycations I down 5 guys every day and a pint
Of Fishfood every night. You’re on vacation. You deserve to get FAF. That’s fat as Ferdinand. Ferdinand sounds like
A fat guy’s name. I’m on a plane and’ve had a few rumbAnd diet cokes. You know what’s i cole? Caffeine and it’s the shit. I have to Lee but we’re on approach. I’m a big guys and I doubt they’ll try to
Stop
I just had a lady come over my shoulder to thank me
For my medallion status. It was very nice and it’s why I only Delta. Southwest is awful. I hope she didn’t see that pee comment.
 
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