Caffeine Withdrawal
Perhaps slightly off topic, but I'm sure a lot of you Serious Eaters are also serious coffee drinkers.
I usually try to avoid caffeine, saving it for when I need a big boost. However, last week and the beginning of this week turned into a nightmarish collection of work deadlines, school assignments, and personal crises that sent me directly to Starbucks / the coffee-maker / trusty Diet Pepsi Max.
Of course, this turned to late nights and jitters and poor sleep. I'm up to about 2 shots of espresso, 2 cups of coffee, and a 20 oz bottle of the DPM a day, and it's gotta stop.
I considered going cold turkey, but I'm prone to migraines and I need to at least get through the rest of the week.
Any ideas for a good taper?
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15 Comments:
I drink Chai tea lattes (w/nonfat milk but whatever you like) made extra hot (but you can have it on ice if you like that). They give me the boost I need but not that edge that coffee does on my nerves, or stomach. I generally drink the brand from Tazo from a concentrate that you can get from Starbucks, other brands that I like is a brand called Morning Glory but it is spicy (which i love), Oregon chai is too sweet for my palate.
pjracz10 at 11:35AM on 09/24/08
I weaned myself down from a few cups a day to none, and now stick to 1 small (6 oz.) cup in the morning. I started by filling my normal cup 3/4 full with regular coffee and the rest decaf. Every day I would go with slightly less regular and slightly more decaf, until I got to all decaf (it took me about 10 days, with zero side effects, but you could probably do it faster if you wanted to). Then I stopped altogether. Now I find 1 small cup is all I need.
Good luck!!
CookiePie at 11:56AM on 09/24/08
For the coffee, I've had good luck with a phased approach - start mixing full-caf and decaf in the coffee maker, with a higher proportion of decaf each day. Then, once I'm on all decaf, it's easier for me to drink less each day, because mentally I know I'm not getting much out of it anyway.
The diet soda's a tougher case, and for that part, I've always had to go cold turkey. Since I always used it for an afternoon pick-me-up (and often just an excuse to step out of the office for a few minutes), I could sometimes substitute a bottle of seltzer or a small thing of candy...
jessie at 11:58AM on 09/24/08
Black tea! I used to be a black coffee/espresso junkie (I blame this on my mother, who drinks at least 5 cups a day and can still sleep through the night) but tried to cut back because of the headaches and stomach issues.
I really like black tea; it gives a smaller amount of caffeine, but without the jitteriness, and it's still satisfying. I keep a box of black teabags in my desk for bad days (of course sometimes, nothing but the real stuff will do!)
embolini9 at 12:05PM on 09/24/08
I feel your pain...in college I worked at a local coffeehouse & eventually had to ween myself off a 12+ espresso shot a day habit.
Nowadays, I do a cup of coffee in the morning, switch to hot tea, and then finally water. Soft drinks, I avoid entirely.
gastronomeg at 12:26PM on 09/24/08
I also had a similar habit that I successfully kicked a few years ago. DO go cold turkey on the soda, since it's full of additives and other nasty things. Slowly ease off the coffee and substitute it with other, gentler forms of caffeine (like the teas mentioned above). Black teas (Pickwick and Twinings are my favorite brands) can have quite a kick to them once you've decreased your caffeine dependence a little.
If it's alertness and energy you're after (which is why I was knocking back enormous coffees at 9pm), other methods proved even more successful because they didn't leave me jittery and/or facing an eventual crash. Take a quick walk, do some jumping jacks or exercises, eat a crunchy apple or raw vegetables, drink some cold water, splash your face with cool water. Also try to not consume caffeine after a certain time of day so that it's worn off by the time you need to sleep.
Good luck!
savecara at 12:27PM on 09/24/08
I am a pot a day girl. Yes, I said pot, not cup. It used to be two pots. Scary.
I now limit myself to coffee in the morning hours only. After noon, if I feel the need for something, I switch to tea. For some reason I drink far less of this than coffee. I have never been a soda drinker. I drink a lot of ice water throughout the afternoon/evening.
I've found that cutting off my coffee by midday and drinking lots of water stops those stomach issues/jitters I used to get. Savecara's ideas are also good for a quick energy fix- take a walk, etc...
StripeyChef at 12:54PM on 09/24/08
I got off colas by going to sugar-sweetened iced tea, then less sweetened and eventually plain iced tea. Now I sometimes enjoy plain iced tea but find I enjoy water more and more -- especially filtered water with ice made from filtered water, and in a special glass. And a minute to sit and just enjoy it. Part of the whole thing is the break that having any drink can provide as jessie has suggested.
Blue Iris at 1:52PM on 09/24/08
I am not a coffee drinker, now ask me about diet coke. I am a 2 2 liter a day girl yup that is a lot of caffine but about once a year I go off the stuff for a few months and I always start on fri so I can go cold turkey and have my migrine on the weekend that may sound silly but that is my way btw I always go off it planning not to go back but......
love2cook at 1:57PM on 09/24/08
I darnk 9 cups of coffee one day to help me power through my work. At the 3 o'clock mark I thought my eyes were going to fall out of my head.
jonny509 at 3:51PM on 09/24/08
Our non-profit is publishing a book on recovery from caffeine addition. We are looking for stories of recovery from various caffeinated products, including coffee, tea, energy drinks, no doz pills, soda, etc. Authors of the stories will be kept completely anonymous. This book is being written to help others who may be suffering from an addiction to caffeine and may identify with someone's story and seek help. Stories are ideally between 2,000 and 4,000 words total. If you or someone you know has struggled with caffeine addiction, this is a great opportunity to reach out and help others. All participants will receive a free copy of the book, once it is published. Please email us at nocaf4me@xemaps.com or visit www.CaffeineAwareness.org
gyutrust at 4:31PM on 09/24/08
Put some liquor in your coffee. My family drank espresso at 8 at night. They ate supper at 7. When they had their espresso or coffee they hit it with some galliano, amaretto, strega, nocello or whatever they had on hand. The shot of liquor eases the coffee effects. You can still enjoy your warm coffee drink.
They also often had a glass of wine with dinner.
I adore the way they lived. Interesting enough only one died young.
JerzeeTomato at 5:17PM on 09/24/08
How timely. I just started cold turkey off my 24 oz per morning coffee. I had to go get some green tea to help me out of the fog. I've had 4 cups so far, getting more alert now.
jillwalsh at 5:32PM on 09/24/08
Yeah, don't look to me....I'm heading deeper and deeper into caffeine land as the semester progresses.
feriorrenna at 11:09PM on 09/24/08
I could never stand coffee, but I was a 12 can a day Diet Pepsi addict. I actually enjoyed having my head spin like a top! After reading the warnings about artificial sweeteners (already have pancreatic issues to deal with), I switched over to fresh-brewed iced tea by lunch time and stuck with it until 7pm. I made a nice little process of selecting and brewing my tea, filtering the water, wedging my lemons, etc. (I felt like Martha Stewart LOL). I, too, weaned myself down until I primarily drank water with iced tea as my "treat". I also switched to 100% sugar or honey. No fake stuff. Maybe it was in my head, but my system felt cleaner and I was still quite alert, just not manic. Now when I need a kick, I grab an apple or some grapes, and the natural sugar gives me the zip I need. Good luck! I feel your pain.
Josdean at 10:00AM on 09/25/08