[LittleButterflyx]

I know its not like a major substance or etc problem, but--caffeine is still a drug and I have a major addiction to it. I can't go more than half a day without it or I will start getting horrible headaches and I need as much as I can get in a day, but I stay under the limit that people are safely allowed to have each day.

I just wonder if anyone else is addicted to caffeine and how you have helped that? My sisters are worried I am gonna have a heart attack and honestly I don't consume enough too, but I want to try and cutback at bit to put them more at ease, but it's really hard...

[ArcheM]

I don't know if I am, it's quite honestly that I have to fill my stomach with something because I'm constantly on a diet... and my mind, too, I guess...

But I've read that there's giant variation for what the recommended dose is. I mean, I shouldn't speak since nowadays I guzzle tea pretty much non-stop, despite the fact that I'm very anxiety- and excitement-prone. But your dose might not be what you think it is... There might be tests for that.

Anyway... I don't have much to contribute as far as addiction goes. I usually do best cold-turkey, although I've never had it get so far as headaches.

[childofchaos831]

I get headaches from it too. Usually have to have something within a few hours of waking up... for me, tho, I've got other stuff, like cigs, that are more detrimental, that I need to work on first, in my mind. And caffeine is pretty widely accepted, whereas nicotine or alcohol and drug dependence is seen as major issues.

[childofchaos831]

Not saying, that for you, caffeine is not bad. Saying for me, there are other concerns that come first. I do want to lower caffeine at some point. My sleep is horrible, and the doc I see for apnea gets on me about the caffeine.

[splitimage]

I can relate. When I was in university, I was easily drinking 13 large coffees a day. I decided to cut back, not because of the caffeine, but because of the amount of cream and sugar I was putting in the coffee. I gradually reduced by one coffee a day, over a period of about 2-3 months. I did get headaches, but OTC pain meds helped with that.

Now I stick to 4 cups a day which is still a lot, but it doesn't interfere with my sleep so I figure it's no big deal. But I still get a headache if I don't have a coffee fix first thing when I wake up.

I agree it's not as bad as other drugs, but too much caffeine is bad for you. My addiction Dr. tells people who want to cut down on coffee, to combine regular coffee with decaff 1/2 and 1/2, gradually increasing the proportion of decaff. until that's what they're drinking.

Good luck with cutting back, if that's what you decide to do.

splitimage

[ComfortablyNumb5]

My thing is energy drinks. Those rockstars have a few drinks that offer 240mg of caffeine and I drink two of them a day. First thing I do when I get out of bed, drag my feel behind me and grab a energy drink. My bf is the same way too. (Hello codependent much?” And the only things that scares me is how bad it raises my blood pressure.

But a safer alternative is green or black tea, even a cup of coffee. It does help! I make my tea so strong that I gag though.

[ArcheM]

This thread has prompted me to try to get off it... I don't know if it's withdrawal but I was feeling kind of sick yesterday. And simple water just tastes disgusting for some reason. Although maybe it's just the supply here... The thing is, though, you get inside from the cold, and there's a hot tasty cup of tea. That's kind of good manners... Except that one cup always grows into non-stop guzzling for me.

[childofchaos831]

Originally Posted by ArcheM

This thread has prompted me to try to get off it... I don't know if it's withdrawal but I was feeling kind of sick yesterday. And simple water just tastes disgusting for some reason. Although maybe it's just the supply here... The thing is, though, you get inside from the cold, and there's a hot tasty cup of tea. That's kind of good manners... Except that one cup always grows into non-stop guzzling for me.

There are a good number of teas that don't have caffeine. My favorite tea for cold weather late in the day or at night is peppermint tea. It's also supposed to be good for the digestive tract. I've never really liked chamomile, myself, but do drink it sometimes. There's others, but I can't pull them up in my brain at thee moment. Also, caffeine free sodas can be okay. My mom gets caffeine free diet coke and diet sunkist. I'm getting used to them, but I've also been drinking more coffee at home since she won't let me order my diet pepsi. I've always loved energy drinks or sodas, so I need carbonation more than anything sometimes.

[All Is Revealed]

I'm glad this question was asked. It's great to think of quitting caffeine. But the reality is not so nice. 4 months ago, I decided to quit drinking coffee. So I slowly weaned myself off of caffeine. I was drinking 6 cups a day. I then decreased to 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ... to no cups a day. That is where the nightmare began.

I began having panic attacks, nightmares, breathing issues, headaches, and heart palpitations. My blood pressure went from a healthy 104/52 to an unhealthy 138/86. I had a hard time walking without losing my balance. I suffered for many weeks. I went to the ER and two doctors, and nothing was found wrong.

I decided to start drinking coffee again two days ago. All my horrific experiences disappeared by drinking a single cup of coffee. I feel great again. I've been drinking coffee for 28 years (since I was 7) so quitting didn't help me. I guess I'm stuck with this drug forever. Til death do us part

At one point, I started to get a headache and feeling shakey. I cut down how much coffee I had, I drank from big mugs and started to reduce the size of the mug. I have about roughly about 4 cups of coffee a day but they are spread out. I think drinking tea helps too. It's difficult so I don't really have much advice. I think just reducing the amount of coffee and perhaps the size of the mug might help and an alternative drink.

[LittleButterflyx]

I usually drink a lot of soda, coffee, and eat energy chocolates that have like 50mg in them a piece and I eat a lot of them. I also drink energy drinks and I take caffeine pills at times that have 200mg a piece in them. So I get my caffeine from wide sources, but I have to have a certain amount a day or I will get headaches.

I just need to learn how to manage it better and cut back and the ideas that some of you presented I will take into factor and use them, so thank you.

Originally Posted by LittleButterflyx

I usually drink a lot of soda, coffee, and eat energy chocolates that have like 50mg in them a piece and I eat a lot of them. I also drink energy drinks and I take caffeine pills at times that have 200mg a piece in them. So I get my caffeine from wide sources, but I have to have a certain amount a day or I will get headaches.

I just need to learn how to manage it better and cut back and the ideas that some of you presented I will take into factor and use them, so thank you.

I tried cutting back years ago and stopped drinking sodas (many studies have proven soda is bad for you) but decided to enjoy my addiction to coffee and tea. They can be beneficial--you just have to monitor their effects and act accordingly (stop when you start feeling jittery etc). Here is one of so many articles that talk about the benefits:
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/f...-health-food#1
Enjoy!

[UpDownAround]

I just recently weaned myself off of coffee, but it was by switching to tea and I drink a couple of large cups of English Breakfast tea in the morning, usually followed by green tea and some herbal and some not through the day. Tea has about 40% of the caffeine of coffee, so I have stepped down my caffeine and I will continue to wean to lighter teas and more herbal in the mix but I do not plan to give up caffeine entirely. I did this because I noticed I stepped up my coffee intake after getting clean from abusing adderall and I was drinking enough to get a "speedy" effect. I only get the headaches if I skip it completely and then I take BC powder, which is aspirin and caffeine.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Just wanted to come back to this thread and say that I HAVE to quit energy drinks. My blood pressure and kidneys aren’t doing good. Doctors orders.

How the hell am I going to quit?! I’m sooo tired right now. I just want a damn energy drink. I may get a small cup of coffee here soon. There’s less garbage in that than energy drinks. Blah.

[emgreen]

Originally Posted by ComfortablyNumb5

Just wanted to come back to this thread and say that I HAVE to quit energy drinks. My blood pressure and kidneys aren’t doing good. Doctors orders.

How the hell am I going to quit?! I’m sooo tired right now. I just want a damn energy drink. I may get a small cup of coffee here soon. There’s less garbage in that than energy drinks. Blah.

Sorry to hear of your health issues. That's a bummer. I've only had one energy drink in my life & was shocked when I paid $3 for a can at a convenience store. I don't know if it's always as pricey, but maybe you'll save money by quitting. A can of coffee is a heck of a lot cheaper if you need the jolt in the morning. I can relate to your reliance on caffine, since I drink three cups of coffee in the morning. I've already given up alcohol, drugs & smoking, though. I need at least one vice!

[Timaabmfo]

I wish you luck on your journey to quitting caffeine. I am about to go through the same process. Not going cold turkey, but cutting back on caffeine pills over the next week or two until im having none at all. I am determined to quit and i think that is the difference between just saying it, and actually quitting.

[twistypringle98]

I started drinking coffee at like 8 or 9. Lattes, black, frappes. To this day though I like my coffee black unless I buy it. I get that from my dad.

I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with it. I drink about 8 cups of coffee a day and about 6 cups of tea a day. I don't buy, though, unless I have a gift card to Starbucks. I mostly want something hot but even drink it that way during the summer.

I get headaches, my teeth suck, and can't sleep.

This addiction is worse than nicotine for me, but I have resolutions that I'm surprisingly keeping this year.

[bizi]

I guess I can add this to my list of addictions.
alcohol, internet, food, picking and now caffeine.
Knowing that I have an addictive personality, maybe that is just the bipolarness of me?

Every morning I brew freshly ground organic coffee. I drink several cups with stevia and cream in the morning then at 2pm I just want a caffeine jolt. so I either beg a cup of coffee from a client(then I drink it black and on ice to drink it quickly) or lately it is just taking a caffeine pill 200mg.
It is a lot cheaper than stopping for a cup somewhere out of the house although a double espresso at starbucks is not that expensive.

bizi

[Onward2wards]

Without caffeine and nicotine I turn into a human houseplant; with them I suspect I have some anxiety issues. At least I quit drinking energy drinks. I know they are really bad for you, but they did seem to mildly improve my mood and get me moving.

It's hard to believe that once upon a time, I was a bundle of energy and would never touch any of these things.

[Monkey1111]

I used to drink probably 32 ounces of coffee plus sometimes an energy drink in the afternoon. Used to give me anxiety and worsen my OCD tendencies, so I quit. The anxiety it gave me made me want to drink more alcohol than I did previously as well, which was another reason for quitting. I occasionally drink an energy drink but not the coffee anymore and have had no issues.

[JesusGeek]

Originally Posted by LittleButterflyx

I know its not like a major substance or etc problem, but--caffeine is still a drug and I have a major addiction to it. I can't go more than half a day without it or I will start getting horrible headaches and I need as much as I can get in a day, but I stay under the limit that people are safely allowed to have each day.

I just wonder if anyone else is addicted to caffeine and how you have helped that? My sisters are worried I am gonna have a heart attack and honestly I don't consume enough too, but I want to try and cutback at bit to put them more at ease, but it's really hard...

I went on here for comfort because I am currently having a panic attack on caffeine.

I have the same problem. For me caffeine makes my schizoaffective disorder (schizophrenia + bipolar essentially) symptoms way worse. And I drink way more than is normal, like really crazy amounts of it. I get anxiety attacks, my heart races, my chest hurts, I get really really sick in gross ways that I don't care to elaborate on, and I also get psychotic. I am trying really hard to quit the stuff. I don't actually get all that tired during the day, I just like the caffeine high and abuse it. I'm currently in DDA (dual diagnosis anonymous) and I am gonna tell my sponsor I want to work some steps for caffeine, I don't care if it sounds stupid, I need help. I'm like, probably at heart attack level with how much I use.

So yeah, in short, you're not the only one.

[twistypringle98]

I'm thinking of quitting nicotine, sugar, and coffee (not quite all of caffeine) for good. This year I want to focus on my health - both mental and physical, so next year I can focus on other things like career and relationships.

I've pretty much already given up sugar except for the sugar in fruit and fruit drinks. Caffeine: that one is going to be more difficult. I'm pretty much
dependent on it now for waking up, feeling motivated and alert, and, generally, feeling happy. That sounds really sad.