[Nanimani]

Has anyone quit caffeine after years of constantly having it?

Last doctor visit, they suggested I stop or reduce caffeine as it will help with sleep and anxiety in general. I wanna know if anyone has ever quit and had significant improvement with anxiety levels and sleep.

I quit for a day and I felt pretty relaxed that day and went to bed early, but the next day my head felt weird so I had caffeine.

[rjdb]

I've cut way down. I basically gave up caffeinated coffee and tea and soda. I still drink decaf and hot chocolate.

[Unrigged64072835]

I had to quit even decaf coffee because it irritates my stomach. I know when I've had caffeine because I get a migraine the day after. I can't take proton pump inhibitors (like Prilosec) because I've taken them for too long already.

I found that cutting caffeine did bring my anxiety down but it didn't help with sleep much. Meditation and "clearing my head" at bedtime helped. However, everybody is different.

[Nanimani]

At midnight I will start the process of quitting caffeine. Psychiatrist suggested I quit caffeine to improve anxiety and sleep.

I'll try to update at the end of the day each day.

Right now it is 11:20 PM. I recently had a coke.
Start time will be Tuesday, March 6th, 2018 12:00 AM

[Anonymous37919]

I'm hooked on mochas. Sugar is addictive too. However, a few hours later, I need a drink of something cool. They make you feel dry, but they are also not good for anxiety sufferers. The darn things are just unhealthy. Well, so are colas and energy drinks. Do they even actually provide any energy? No.

[Nanimani]

Ugh. I failed today.

[Nanimani]

I'm going to wait until after 24 hours of stopping to say something. I need to start my diet again as well.

[Nanimani]

Originally Posted by Peter A

I'm hooked on mochas. Sugar is addictive too. However, a few hours later, I need a drink of something cool. They make you feel dry, but they are also not good for anxiety sufferers. The darn things are just unhealthy. Well, so are colas and energy drinks. Do they even actually provide any energy? No.

When I did my diet last time, I had caffeine but with no sugar or milk like black coffee or tea. But afterwards if I didn't eat before or afterwards, I would feel weird like shakey and hungry. I lost 40 pounds then. After a week or so dieting is the hardest. I stopped for the hoildays. It's hard to reset, but at least I've maintained my weight. I only gained weight from taking antipsychotics I didn't even need. Especially Zyprexa. I just need to lose maybe another 30 or 40 pounds to be good. I used to weigh even less before the medicine that the doctor wants me to be.

For anxiety, I have bad anxiety towards mainly driving. I have to learn how to drive a standard on top of just being comfortable driving period. I can't do that panicking at my every mistake. So I'm hoping no caffeine will help that.

With insomnia, most of my life I've been having a hard time sleeping. I toss and turn before sleeping. Takes me like more than an hour to go to bed while it seems my bf can go to sleep within seconds.Also, I started drinking caffeine whenever I was 3 and if not coffee then soda. I'm not even sure how to have 'normal' anxiety levels nor sleep. I thought everything for me was 'normal' beforehand. I'm 22 now.

Originally Posted by Nanimani

Has anyone quit caffeine after years of constantly having it?

Last doctor visit, they suggested I stop or reduce caffeine as it will help with sleep and anxiety in general.

My doctor has told me the same thing for the same reasons.

I have never been able to totally give up coffee/caffeinated drinks. I really tried when I was pregnant but was so lethargic that I decided to continue to have just one cup of coffee every morning.

Lately, I have been limiting my coffee to two or three cups every morning (I am hooked on how it feels to drink when you first get up) then I have been switching to decaf (though yesterday I bought a 1/2 caffeine type because it was what was on sale). I try not to drink any caffeinated drinks including decaf (decaf has some caffeine just a lot less) after 1 PM. This practice is helping me sleep a little better. I used to drink even more.

[teacat]

I still drink coffee mornings, but I used to have even a cup or two in the afternoons and cutting those out has done wonders for me.

[Deejay14]

Originally Posted by Nanimani

Has anyone quit caffeine after years of constantly having it?

Last doctor visit, they suggested I stop or reduce caffeine as it will help with sleep and anxiety in general. I wanna know if anyone has ever quit and had significant improvement with anxiety levels and sleep.

I quit for a day and I felt pretty relaxed that day and went to bed early, but the next day my head felt weird so I had caffeine.

I do not allow myself any caffeine after noon time and have found it helps some with certain symptoms of anxiety and sleep. I only have one caffeinated drink in the morning.

[Anonymous37919]

In this game called The Evil Within 2, the guy you play as can drink freshly brewed coffee to heal his injuries. That's not too odd in these sort of horror games. Some had you eating biscuits or drinking energy drinks, but it's unusual to "heal" that way! Isn't it?

I find my face tingles if I drink too much caffeine. Maybe I'm sensitive to it. Or it could be high blood sugar, or just general anxiety. I've heard that stimulants worsen anxiety. Professionals always recommend you stay off caffeine, sugar and booze if you have issues with being nervous, although sugar is everywhere.

Unfortunately, I think they are deliberately addictive so people don't easily give them up entirely. Fruit juice may be a healthier choice, but fructose is still a type of sugar. Orange juice can be as bad as regular colas. Concentrated orange juice tastes off to me. Tropicana is the best brand.

[uhmno]

I completely stopped having caffeine but it didn't help much. I mean I am almost panic attack free but anxiety is still pretty constant. I have a cola every now and then bc it does not have that much caffeine in it but I never drink coffee.

[PerryJeffJoeJimBob]

Not exactly what the OP asked, but over the past month or so I have doubled my caffeine intake out of a feeling of needing something for comfort. I have seen my anxiety spike and my sleep is horrible even with increased Trazodone. I also do not want to take my meds. I actually went through a crying spell before logging on to these forums. I hope I can cut my caffeine intake.

[Anonymous37919]

If you like hot drinks, why not try the teabags with the dried berries? They are nice. You don't need to add sugar. I find them refreshing, but they don't have caffeine. If you go on a picnic, you can boil water and store it in a flask. That white cheese with the cranberry pieces is nice with crackers. Vitamin C is also important for the hay fever season. If you have allergies, it's best not to be around cut grass because of all the seeds being scattered into the air. Some people like the smell of a freshly cut garden, but it's very hard for hay fever sufferers to agree.

[Mountaindewed]

I used to get an iced coffee every morning that I worked.

Then I switched to the afternoon shifts and for awhile I didn’t care for the current coffee flavors. So I stopped for awhile.

After they came out with new flavors that I liked, I started drinking them. The anxiety was horrible. Also I would get depressed after drinking them. I usually took an Ativan.

The last time I got coffee, I got a small, and it was fine.

[Marwy]

I drink a 4oz cup of coffee in the morning. I put foamy almond milk on top... it is a real treat and gets me up earlier... I look forward to it. Years ago we never had such huge cups of coffee, like they sell in Starbucks ... we just had a normal cup. That is much healthier. Also, herbal tea... with manuka honey stirred in it.. tastes even better.
I you feel like you need energy... squeeze some fresh lemons into your water... it gives energy ... even better ..put a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in a nice cold glass of water. Helps lose the weight we have gained from our AP.

[Anonymous37919]

I never knew vinegar could help you lose the body fat.

[Caro97songs]

Originally Posted by Nanimani

Has anyone quit caffeine after years of constantly having it?

Last doctor visit, they suggested I stop or reduce caffeine as it will help with sleep and anxiety in general. I wanna know if anyone has ever quit and had significant improvement with anxiety levels and sleep.

I quit for a day and I felt pretty relaxed that day and went to bed early, but the next day my head felt weird so I had caffeine.

--
I do not drink caffeine much but the occasional cup of coffee doesn't really increase my anxiety. Perhaps it depends on how much caffeine a person consumes. Drinking a lot of caffeine probably isn't healthy for the body in general. Caffeine actually does not give me any energy. For some reason, it makes me extremely tired.