Caffeine withdrawal

[Ricky]

I decided to quite coffee again (have done this two other times) so as to get rid of my heartburn symptoms as much as possible.

The first time I did it, I recalled having a slight headache the first day and within about 3 days i was fine and felt better and my mood more stable than ever. That time I quit it not because of heartburn but just to get more stable energy and not be dependent on it.

The second time I quit was due to horrible heartburn. It was the first time I had heartburn and it was so bad i went to see the doctor. This time I felt so bad from the heartburn, the caffeine withdrawal which almost certainly was there was not noticed.

This the third time I've quit now has been the worst. I had persistent low grade heartburn which wasn't as bad as it's first showing, but still enough to make me remove any exacerbating factors of which coffee is #1 for me. Not only does caffeine alone increase production of stomach acid, but something else as well as the general acidity of the beverage can cause heartburn.

In any event I did drink some green tea the first two days, but I had a headache come on in the evening of day one that lasted into the morning. I popped an energy pill of course with caffeine to get rid of it and get me through a morning workout.

Occasionally since then I've had a bit of tea and an occasional energy mint but my overall caffeine consumption must be 1/5 or less of what it used to be.

I have felt almost numb and depressed from it. I can't wait until this subsides.

However since I'm running a half marathon this weekend, if I don't feel better by the time of the race, I'm going to have some caffeine that day. In fact i already have it ready in the form of power gels.

Hard to believe how lousy you can feel but today I felt like doing absolutely nothing. Good thing I had most of the day off work.

 

[donjuanjovi]

I'm so glad I don't drink coffee or tea.

Good for you in making the decision to quit.

 

[Ricky]

Well this is a severe case I think. Although today I'm starting to finally feel better.

What happened was that I have been back on caffeine for about 10 months after quiting due to terrible heartburn.

I've experienced with energy mints and gums as well as drinking coffee and recently they got a coffee maker that is very close to me.

So my intake had just went too high as of the last month.

The first time I quit I had been drinking energy drinks like Red Bull or RockStar but only 1 or 2 a day. That's why withdrawal was milder.

I'm not even sure how many cups of coffee I was drinking but it was a lot here as of late.

I want to still drink tea, particularly green tea as it has a lot of benefits. I've never gotten a coffee buzz off of tea, but it does have caffeine, it's generally much lower levels.

And I had the withdrawal even though I've been getting a bit of caffeine from the tea in.

Crazy.

 

[mrRuckus]

I drink a ton of green tea but if i go a day without it i don't feel any down side. I don't think i'm special but if you kick the caffeine addiction in general you can probably still get away with drinking your tea without any trouble.

I think the worst part of caffeine besides any headaches is just the cycle it puts you in. Even if you get to sleep, it inteferes with your sleep enough that you don't benefit all that much from it so the next day you need more caffeine to feel alive again. Ad nauseum. I stop drinking tea or any form of caffeine by 3-4pm so it's completely out of me by midnight when i go to bed.

 

[Engetsu]

Hey man,

Doctor in training here. Caffeine does not produce withdrawal symptoms. I suggest you visit your physician to investigate additional heartburn causes.

Engetsu

 

[KarmaSutra]

Hey man,

Doctor in training here. Caffeine does not produce withdrawal symptoms. I suggest you visit your physician to investigate additional heartburn causes.

Engetsu

I must disagree with your diagnosis Doc. I know for a fact that I'm addicted to caffeine. When I stopped cold turkey I got sick as a fvcking idiot. What helped to offset it is I bought a decent espresso machine and get two good pulls a day to curb my addiction. After that I follow up with amazon low carb energy drinks which is better for my overall health.


P.S. I dig your sig.

 

[Engetsu]

I must disagree with your diagnosis Doc. I know for a fact that I'm addicted to caffeine. When I stopped cold turkey I got sick as a fvcking idiot. What helped to offset it is I bought a decent espresso machine and get two good pulls a day to curb my addiction. After that I follow up with amazon low carb energy drinks which is better for my overall health.


P.S. I dig your sig.

lol thanks for the digging

I verified in my psychiatry textbooks, and the edition of the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) published in 2000 does not include caffeine withdrawal as a psychiatric disorder, because for something to be named "withdrawal" you need to have clinically significant impairment or distress that intereferes with your everyday life.

However (and you're gonna like this), after some rapid googling, I found that one 2004 study recommends that caffeine withdrawal be included as a psychiatric disorder in the next DSM edition.

In a nutshell, you're right!! Caffeine DOES produce withdrawal symptoms, but "caffeine-induced withdrawal" does not exist as a psychiatric disorder compared to e.g. cocaine or heroin-induced withdrawal. That's the reason for the whole mixup, and I'm sorry for that. Good thing I don't want to be a psychiatrist later!

 

[Throttle]

caffeine withdrawal is real (example: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/30/health/webmd/main646620.shtml)

but even if you don't label it "withdrawal" it's hard to argue with heavy caffeine abusers' experiences (i include myself in that).

i have a couple friends who are as bad as me but get themselves unhooked from time to time, say, to run a marathon or what-not. their advice? drink lots of water, counter the headaches with ibuprofen as needed, cut back on the quantities slowly (sounds like you're attempting something much closer to cold turkey). generally the symptoms should fade after no more than a week, or else the caffeine was probably masking something more seriously wrong.

as your caffeine dependence slows down, you should be able to get more & higher quality sleep. getting at least 8 full hours is beneficial from a number of standpoints, and might help with both energy levels & reduce heartburn.

 

[Ricky]

Doing alot better this week, but damn when you are short on sleep caffeine really helps.

I am drinking tea only and it just doesn't give that kick.

Thats ok, I am feeling alot more stable and way less irritable which is good because i have a coworker who is lazy as ****.

 

[Solarium]

I stopped any form of caffeine intake, be it diet coke, tea, coffee, and I feel much much more alert. Instead of taking caffeine to wake yourself up, why not use vitamin B12 supplements as a natural source of energy.

Btw it takes 4 days for your body to flush out caffeine completely. So during this 4 days you will feel those withdrawal symptoms, but it shouldn't last longer than that.