[DePressMe]

Caffeine, I am addicted to caffeine and I am trying to get off it. My doc said I have to give it up because I have been vomiting and losing weight. Basically, I don’t eat in the morning, drink a bunch of diet coke and coffee and then that makes me get sick. The vomiting and stomach acid backing up into my esophagus is giving me ulcers on the lower part of my esophagus. So, I need to give it up for my health, but I am really struggling with it. Sometimes, I feel like I need a few cups of coffee just to calm my nerves. It seems like caffeine is not such a big scary drug, but it is a very real addiction for me. And why do I have to get addicted to everything that makes me feel a little good? Alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, caffeine…nothing is safe for me. Anybody else struggle with caffeine? Is it just me? Anybody else had to get off it?

I swear, there is a Starbucks on every corner.

[Juliana]

I'm addicted to caffeine. I drink 5 or 6 extra-large coffees a day and have a few glasses of Diet Coke every evening. If I sleep late on the weekend, I wake up with a wicked headache from caffeine withdrawal.

I had to give up caffeine a few years ago when I was going through a very bad bout of IBS. I went on a diet that prohibited caffeine. I spent a weekend tapering my caffeine consumption... replacing coffee with peppermint tea or decaf coffee. I had to take Ibuprofen for the headaches, but within a week I was off caffeine completely and no longer had headaches. If you can find a caffeine-free herbal tea that you really like, it can give you that same comforting feeling of having a cup of coffee. I also started drinking a lot more water... adding a slice of lime made it feel more "special." Mixing 1/2 cranberry juice with 1/2 club soda was another favourite drink during that time. My GI tract thanked me for it.

Here's something else I noticed... I was so addicted to caffeine that once I cut it out of my life, I found out that it hadn't really been perking me up like I thought it was. When you build up such a high tolerance it has very little stimulant effect, so I didn't find that I was any more tired or less energetic without it. I actually had more energy because I didn't feel so sick to my stomach all the time.

I wish I had stayed off the caffeine. I know it's bad for my tummy and increases my anxiety. I need to quit... again... I also need to quit smoking... again.

Good luck with quitting. I actually found it much less difficult to give up caffeine than I thought I would. It was basically a psychological addiction. I just had to find another hot drink that I enjoyed and peppermint or ginger tea (I like the zing!) did the trick for me.

[DePressMe]

Yes, the 1/2 cranberry and 1/2 soda is a standard for me. I can't say that I really like warm tea and especially not the flavored stuff. I have been making some decaf iced tea--that seems to cut the urge to constantly consume the diet coke. The hardest part is the coffee in the morning...

I'll get there, its just going to take some practice. I see my doc this Thursday and he is expecting a good report. If I am not considerably better, he plans on running some tests. So, I have like 4 days to heal myself...I have been working at it for a couple weeks.

[mel4]

i practically live on coke and caffeine pills. i can rarely go a day without popping some caffeine pills, or drinking a few cokes. the anxeity is the downside though....

i feel like caffeine is actually pretty terrible for you, unfortunately, it has become so commercialized, and is in practically everything.

i really hope that your docs appt thurs goes well, and good luck with the healing!

mel

[Christina86]

I'm moderately addicted. Mostly it's bad during the school year, and it's easier for me to quit (temporarily) when I'm not constantly under stress. (Like now, when I'm not in classes)

The only time I tried to cut down on my caffeine intake during the school year, I got the bright idea to do it cold turkey ... and my mood changed, I got quakes, didn't sleep properly, or eat properly. Never again. Quitting cold turkey is easier when your body isn't so dependent on it for me.

Doctors have tried telling me to get off of it, I'm getting bad acid reflux from all sorts of things ... but I don't think I can or want to. It's become too much a part of my life.

[Perna]

I get more or less addicted as the "mood" strikes me :-) I use to live on coffee in the 1970s but now I only do coffee in the morning as I have enough trouble with disturbed sleep and the too-much-coffee-in-the-morning then beer-at-night seesaw was wearing on me. Since I'm retired now and can go to bed and get up when I want I'm trying to be more regular (go figure) and get my health in shape for the long haul. I find that cutting back gradually is the easiest for me; I like coffee so I don't want to do with out any but I have cut down to my one mug (20 oz.) a day. I use to love Cokes too but rarely drink soda now at all, try to drink my bottled water but that doesn't happen as often as I'd like.

i don't seem to get addicted to it (i can go some days without having any at all and i don't notice a difference) but i do consume a lot of it most days.

one thing that might help in the morning is to find some appropriate substitute.

tea has caffine in it too (more than coffee in fact) but it doesn't ... what is the word... diffuse into the water so an average cup of coffee contains more caffine than your average cup of tea.

one option is decaf coffee (if you like the taste of coffee). seriously... don't knock it until you have tried some good stuff. i have tried some ground decaf beans and was fairly surprised to discover that it tasted about as good.

rooibus tea (sp?) is pretty nice too. is you like milk in your coffee / tea this is one herbal that tastes fairly close to regular tea (once you get used to it it can even taste preferable) and you can add milk to it just like regular tea.

here is a link if you haven't encountered it:

http://www.rooibos.com/

it should be available from supermarkets / health food shops, i reckon.

cutting back gradually is a good idea...

i used to live on coke. would never drink water. could get away with that back home but not here. the climate is too hot and dry so didn't take me long to appreciate that i actually felt a lot better for drinking water. tastes much better flavoured with some herbal tea / a squeeze of lemon though...

[DePressMe]

Well, I am down to one small cup of coffee in the morning and other than that, tea that is about 50 % decaf and 50 % regular. And lotsa juice mixed with water. I think my stomach does feel a little bit better.

[blah__x]

im in 9th grade i started drinking coffee about 4th grade. im off it now mostly but for a while it was pretty bad. got the withdrawal headaches and stuff too..ugh

my tolerence to it was probably most concerning. i had to have about 12 big ones to feel "up" by grade 7.

now its only like an every now and then thing..

[DePressMe]

Wow, thats a a lot of coffee--if you would have kept doing that your stomach would have been a wreck. I am now down to one coffee (small) and 1 or 2 sodas. Other than that its tea and juice. The tea is mainly decaf.

Right now I am trying to quit smoking--I am on day 2. Oh, my gosh its tough...

[blah__x]

you can do it!

((((((DePressMe)))))))

[PetulantWolf]

quitting smoking and caffeine! Awesome! I quit smoking 13 years ago...best thing i ever did, but very difficult in the beginning. I had to take two weeks off work.

During school I get desperate for caffeine. I dont know any other way to survive. But i dont feel addicted exactly..no withdrawal headaches or anything. I drink coffee to offset the xanax I take sometimes. My own little speedball of sorts...

Anyway- quitting. you seem like an incredibly strong person. I know you can do it