# Quitting Coffee / Caffeine, ever done it?



## Gas Raid (Feb 19, 2014)

Today is day one for me, I've been trying to quit ever since I started, and I started drinking like 3-4 cups a day when I was just 12. I think I realized I had GAD around then.

Well, it's been 12 horrible years. Coffee ruined my life, and I need to get it back (my life, not coffee). 

So for those of you who have quit coffee / caffeine before, I'd love to hear about it. As for everyone else, feel free to share your relationship with the drug.


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

Coffee fixes me.


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## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

Sacrieur said:


> Coffee fixes me.


Me too.


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## eren (Feb 15, 2014)

I used to drink about 5-6 cup of coffe a day, plus 2-3 bottles of energy drink. Now I limit my caffeine intake to only a cup of coffee per day. Since January I don't even drink daily, just once in 2-3 days. I replace my coffee with matcha/powdered green tea. I feel more energized and less insomniac now.


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## hazelblue (Jun 6, 2012)

I have drunk it regularly in the past but I'm completely off it for a few years now (except a few times at cafes when I forgot). Coffee tastes good but so do a lot of other things... once you mentally move on there is no sense of "missing out".


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## Gas Raid (Feb 19, 2014)

hazelblue said:


> I have drunk it regularly in the past but I'm completely off it for a few years now (except a few times at cafes when I forgot). Coffee tastes good but so do a lot of other things... once you mentally move on there is no sense of "missing out".


Yeah! I feel so bad for those who have gotten withdrawal symptoms, since that usually happens to me as well, but now I'm on day 2 and I feel perfectly fine.

I guess it's like quitting smoking, when you think about it the right way, you don't suffer at all!


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

Impossible lol i wanna quit my body needs it. It helps with water retention and moving around planning and crap.

It increase adrenaline so it would decrease hormones. So it not optimal exactly for growth or a healthy appearance. Most of the time my white skin goes red afterwards.


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## tranquiliti (Mar 4, 2014)

I've quit by tapering down in the past, but I've never been able to stay quit. Good luck to you.


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## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

I drink two cups (small cups not Starbucks sized) every morning just about and love it. I cannot really drink more than that since more caffeine than that would make me edgy. I drink no other caffeinated products so I will never give up my morning coffee.


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## NVU (Jul 1, 2010)

I used to drink roughly a dozen cups of coffee a day, then quit and had sleeping problems (no explanation). Then got addicted to Tea instead. Still on the Tea, though now it's Tea AND biscuits.


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## SapphireMeadow (Feb 8, 2011)

I've never had a big problem with coffee or caffeine... I mean yeah I've always had a cup of coffee in the morning and I down soda like it's going out of style, but it's never really bothered me much health wise. I have in recent year tried to stop drinking so much of it due to random heart palpitations (which actually can be cause by excessive caffeine use). I warn you it's hard to do. Just like any drug your body gets use to having it in your system and will throw a fit when you stop drinking it. The few times I've tried to quite I got agitated, couldn't concentrate, and eventually wound up with a migraine headache that was due to the withdrawal. At this point I usually broke down and drank some soda to get ride of the migraine... I don't mean to discourage you though, if your not prone to having headaches you probably won't have that problem  And I'm sure you can do it if you really try. I'm just letting know you should probably prepare for withdrawal symptoms.

One tip I have is to find alternatives to what you drink normally. It makes it a little easier somehow... Like I love Dr. Pepper but it's caffeinated. So instead I've recently been drinking Root Beer. Most root beer brands are caffeine free and it is actually the least acidic soda. So this is a great way to still get my soda while also cutting back on the caffeine (and acid which isn't that good for me either).


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## Tasdel (Nov 3, 2013)

I stopped drinking coffee. Made my anxiety worse, I eat an apple in the morning and drink cold water wakes me up. Coffee raises your blood pressure, and gives you the fight or flight response in your body. (Bad for people with SA).


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## Gas Raid (Feb 19, 2014)

Tasdel said:


> I stopped drinking coffee. Made my anxiety worse, I eat an apple in the morning and drink cold water wakes me up. Coffee raises your blood pressure, and gives you the fight or flight response in your body. (Bad for people with SA).


That's the insane thing about quitting. I know it helps, but the withdrawal symptoms make everything seem like there's no end. How long have you quit, and is it getting any easier?

I'm currently back on it, lol


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## loneliness (Oct 3, 2013)

I noticed my anxiety/ocd/insomnia aren't as bad when I'm off caffeine. 

I'd love to give it up permanently but I never really learned to motivate myself to do things without out it despite getting past the withdrawal. 

Caffeine is a lot more powerful than it's given credit for.


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## dcaffeine (Oct 26, 2013)

I've taken breaks before, the longest of which was 12 days. It is hard, very hard. Headaches, decreased cognitive ability, fatigue, depression, low self esteem, and many more ugly side effects will plague your life. But, if you go back on it after 12 or so days, it is a good time.


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## Zett (Feb 27, 2014)

Withdrawal symptoms usually don't last that long do they? In my experience withdrawal usually takes about 2-3 days where I suffer constant headaches and fatigue. Afterwards I feel pretty clean and don't feel the need to drink it.

I regularly go on coffee drinking sprees and get off it just to make sure its effects are strong when I need it. I use it as some form of performance enhancing drug I guess because it keeps me 'wired'. I can stay up pretty late on it and it can keep me working for long hours straight if for example I need to complete an assignment by the following day or the day after. During days where I don't think I need it I just stop drinking it altogether and fight the withdrawal head on >_<. Tapering off is definitely better if you aren't impatient or you dread the withdrawal effects.


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## AceEmoKid (Apr 27, 2012)

Whenever I go a day or more without some form of caffeine, I get a massive headache. Abrupt withdrawal is not a good plan of action if you are a regular coffee drinker/caffeine enthusiast. Taper off, if you must.


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## Schmosby (Jan 26, 2014)

KvLT said:


> Today is day one for me, I've been trying to quit ever since I started, and I started drinking like 3-4 cups a day when I was just 12. I think I realized I had GAD around then.
> 
> Well, it's been 12 horrible years. Coffee ruined my life, and I need to get it back (my life, not coffee).
> 
> So for those of you who have quit coffee / caffeine before, I'd love to hear about it. As for everyone else, feel free to share your relationship with the drug.


I used to drink so much coffee it used to give me heart palpitations so I gave that up and started drinking tea, then I realised the caffeine in the tea was stopping me from sleeping, so I started drinking decaffeinated tea, then a few years ago I went on a health kick, so gave up tea and started only drinking water and I haven't looked back, I drink a lot of chamomile or fruit tea or water now. I also gave up smoking which helped as drinking coffee/tea and smoking go hand in hand for me.


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## Mittens76 (Feb 12, 2014)

I had a phase drinking about 3-5 cups of coffee for about a year and a half. I would get incredibly twitchy and bite my nails so much that they'd bleed. Then my mother decided to hide the coffee except she really sucks to hide things. I suppose she thought I wouldn't look at the obvious places. I kept on drinking coffee then my mother just stopped buying coffee. I then began to get even more anxious w/o my morning coffee and I began to bite my lip. This resulted in a mucocele that I had for about a year until I got it removed at the dentist about 5 months ago. Now I don't drink it anymore like once a week, I think it was because my teeth were beginning to yellow, I wouldn't be able to go to sleep and because I switched to hot cocoa, it taste so much better.


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## MrKappa (Mar 18, 2013)

Hmmmnnn... Coffee Beans... Learn something new everyday... They are Coffee Nuts...






What the hell are they?

http://www.casabrasilcoffees.com/learn/taxonomy/

Anyways, yeah, was a full blown coffee addict, moved into diet soda and coffee synergy a few years. Now I rotate between teas, herbal teas, yerba mates, occasional thing of coffee. Mostly tea. A cup of tea will usually be reused in several cups of water.


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## visualkeirockstar (Aug 5, 2012)

I like coffees but I'm not addicted. I drink maybe 2-4 times a month.


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## ShatteredGlass (Oct 12, 2012)

I drink a lot of Cola. I get a bit Cwanky without it!


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## Karl20 (Mar 26, 2014)

Coffee does nothing to me i enjoy it very much , i view coffee as wine you drink it not to get drunk but to enjoy it and btw you don't put sugar into wine so why would you ruin a good coffee with a sugar.


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## Gas Raid (Feb 19, 2014)

candice021 said:


> To be honest i did not yet try to quite on drinking coffee but i quit on smoking in Sweden many of my friend decided to quit on smoking and use electronic cigarette which we successfully did and wish you all best for quitting on drinking coffee and one of your enemy is your self so put discipline in your goal.


I'm doing the same thing with e-cigs (this stint is now 3 weeks for me, but I've gone longer in the past). The funny thing about smoking isn't that the nicotine is bad (most are saying now that nicotine is only as bad as caffeine by itself), it's just how many chemicals you inhale when you're puffing on something that's on fire. Glad to hear you made the switch, too!

Still though, if you're sensitive to either one, it's so easy to go over that edge into total jitters.


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## anxietysux9 (Mar 25, 2014)

Coffee triggers anxiety so maybe thats why u should quit but i mean when im alone i can drinks loads of cafeine and nicotine but in public or when people are around i dont


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## hester (Mar 8, 2014)

I tried to quit, and I actually was successful for months, but since then I've gone back. I work in a coffee shop so it's a bit hard to stay away from, but that's not really why I started drinking caffeine again. I stopped due to anxiety and trouble sleeping. I was constantly jittery and nauseous from drinking too much coffee. When I quit I was horribly exhausted and had migraine headaches. I felt dizzy, I was cranky etc., the withdrawal was terrible. I recently started drinking it again, just because I have so many things to do I get tired out and miserable. Caffeine really gives me that extra little boost to keep going. I feel it was stupid to ever quit, I swear I'm so much happier now that I'm drinking coffee again. I think my problem was I used to drink it black so I drank it like water, without realizing how much I was consuming (stupid I know). Now I drink it with one cream so I limit myself more. I would definitely recommend slowly decreasing your intake, instead of quitting all at once like I tried, it's really not fun. But everyone's different, so maybe you'll be fine :yes Good luck!


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## anxietysux9 (Mar 25, 2014)

Hester hows ur anxiety


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## hester (Mar 8, 2014)

anxietysux9 said:


> Hester hows ur anxiety


Well caffeine-induced anxiety is pretty much nonexistent for me atm. I'm drinking less than I was before when I was getting anxiety attacks just from the sheer amount I was consuming a day :um So I'm probably not having that problem anymore since I cut my intake


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## Gas Raid (Feb 19, 2014)

anxietysux9 said:


> Coffee triggers anxiety so maybe thats why u should quit but i mean when im alone i can drinks loads of cafeine and nicotine but in public or when people are around i dont


That's a smart way to do it, in my opinion. The effects mimic anxiety enough to pretty much generate more anxiety in a given situation, so I might try it your way just to see what it's like to not be wired constantly :b.


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## CHUGCOFFEE (May 21, 2013)

Without coffee I really have no idea who I am...


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