So I Quit Caffeine This Week... Should You?

[Financial_Femme]

I use to do 6 cups a day, of the standard instant coffee. Now switched to one quality coffee a day, and feel much better. Also replaced the dairy for oat milk and skipped the sugar. Next is to cut the sodas, like Lighthouse did.

 

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[Fasted]

After abstaining from caffeine for four and a half months, the lingering withdrawal depression persisted, which may not be solely attributed to coffee.

Yesterday I had one cup of coffee, and my mood improved significantly, as if I had come back to life. Now I'm contemplating returning to a decaf lifestyle, but I'm afraid of experiencing the depression and negative moods again.

Same - I tried caffeine free. Didn’t like the depression. Gave up after around 3months because I just couldn’t shake the low mood and lack of motivation to meet daily tasks. Also noticed a decrease in sociability and just generally felt flat. Having said that I felt less jittery and slept deeper.

Won’t be doing it again because I don’t want to deal with the withdrawal. From what I’ve read it’s quite a long withdrawal, or can be.

So I drink a lot of the stuff. Also addicted to nicorette lozenges. Better than actual drugs/alcohol though so I’m not stressing too much.

 

[James Klymus]

Funny this thread popped up again, I had an upset stomach the other night into the day, And I usually drink a cup of coffee every morning. Wasn't feeling like I would be able to keep coffee down. So I skipped it and holy shit, Besides the caffeine headache and being exhausted, I felt depressed. I was questioning my entire life that day.

I've gone off and on caffeine multiple times, And I usually just wean my self off by drinking half-caf for a week or 2, Quitting cold turkey can be intense. Granted, I was on 2 hours of sleep and sick that day, But its scary when you realize how much of a hold it has on most people.

Will continue to enjoy my morning cup of black coffee though.

 

[OMDA]

I was pretty addicted to coffee, to the point where if I skipped a bit, then I would get debilitating headaches and nausea. This actually happened on a camping trip where I made coffee in the morning but gave most of it to the person I was with and forgot to drink some. By the end of the day I thought I was deadly will until I realized what happened.

Then, I had it happen again where I was feeling off after skipping one day, and couldn't get to sleep at night due to an intense headache. I actually went to a pharmacy that was open and found the smallest caffeine pill I could. Near instant relief and it helped me sleep, funnily enough.

Before I went on a long vacation, I ramped down my coffee from something about 4-6 a day to 1, over a few weeks. Didn't have any headaches or noticeable side effects. The hardest thing was just not making/getting another coffee.
By the time I flew overseas, with jetlag and everything, I didn't need to worry about having enough coffee. It was great.

Now, I am down to 1 a day for the most part (sometimes I'll have 2 but it's rare), except today. Today I decided to take zero just to see. It's getting close to noon with no ill effects. Haven't really noticed brain fog or anything like that, but I am taking creatine as my only supplement, and that seems to improve my focus when I take it.

My resting heart rate has dropped a little, but I think my sleep has improved the most.

 

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