a week of headaches and feeling rubbish, but I've quit caffeine!

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hamlet1222
hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I no longer feel the need for coffee, which is great, but I miss it. Anyone got any experience of a 'safe' number of coffees (I'm taking single espresso shots) to have any a day to not get addicted again (I was having 6 a day). When I say addicted, I mean feeling rubbish and having a headache if I don't have the coffee.

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  • Italiana_xx79
    Italiana_xx79 Posts: 588 Member
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    I started restricting my sugar intake this week and I noticed that I have not filled up my millionth cup of coffee by the afternoon ... not on purpose though.. I liked my coffee, a lot, and I just notice that I haven't had a cup since this morning.. Not sure why lowering my sugar intake affected it but it seems like it did.. :)
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
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    obvious question, but did you stop putting sugar in your coffee, and find it less enjoyable as a result?
  • PiSquared
    PiSquared Posts: 148 Member
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    Good luck to you. I've gotten away from sweet lady caffeine a couple of times myself. I can empathize with what you're going through. The headaches, sluggishness, and inability to concentrate were brutal. Unfortunately, I don't know if there is any such thing as a 'safe' amount of caffeine to be considered non-addictive. These days I'm down to 2 cans of Diet Coke (I know, terrible stuff), supplimented by copius amounts of green tea and the occasional latte. Good luck! I'm actually interested to see if there is any scientific evidence to non-addicting amounts of caffeine. I'm guessing its different for every person.
  • MommyMeggo
    MommyMeggo Posts: 1,222 Member
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    I love dark black coffee. I have my 2 cups in the AM but thats it. I COULD drink it all day. When I would have to quit cold turkey because of the 1st trimester in my 3 pregnancies Id have withdrawal even from just my AM cuppa joe. I dont drink soda so thats my only source of caffeine. So I guess it all depends on a person's tolerance too.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
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    Thanks, I guess I'll have to experiment, starting with just one in the morning
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    From my own experience, I'd say that you shouldn't drink coffee on a daily basis if you don't want to experience withdrawals from skipping a day or two. Maybe a couple times a week?
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    I no longer feel the need for coffee, which is great, but I miss it. Anyone got any experience of a 'safe' number of coffees (I'm taking single espresso shots) to have any a day to not get addicted again (I was having 6 a day). When I say addicted, I mean feeling rubbish and having a headache if I don't have the coffee.

    If I remember right, coffee has been linked to health benefits when you have about 4 servings per day, so never saw a need to go below this number :)
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
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    I love coffe and used to drink it almost non-stop all day. I had a serious caffeine "addiction" and felt sick without it. I didn't like the fact that I "needed" it to get through my day.

    I quit regular coffee about 20 years ago, and now drink decaf. Lots of decaf. I drink it for the taste, but it does have a small amount of caffeine. If I feel a migraine coming on, I'll drink 1/2 a cup of regular coffee. This is maybe 1-2 times a month.

    If you've quit caffeine for a health reason, why do you want to start up again?
  • chuckyjean
    chuckyjean Posts: 201 Member
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    2 cups of weak black coffee for me
    I will not give up my coffee
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    But coffee is healthy!
  • OyGeeBiv
    OyGeeBiv Posts: 733 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    But coffee is healthy!

    For many people it is healthy. For some, like me, it interferes with sleep.
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
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    Oh, la. Can't even fathom giving up coffee. I have one french press every morning. Maybe one of the best parts of the day. Quiet coffee. Could never give it up. Good luck.
  • sisu89
    sisu89 Posts: 38 Member
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    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    From my own experience, I'd say that you shouldn't drink coffee on a daily basis if you don't want to experience withdrawals from skipping a day or two. Maybe a couple times a week?

    I definitely agree. I never had problems with headaches when I would drink inconsistently. I also tended to get a headache after too much coffee (usually if I had more than a 20oz mocha).
  • hopeandtheabsurd
    hopeandtheabsurd Posts: 265 Member
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    I've tried to find the right level of caffeine intake that does not cause a headache, and for me it is pretty small. Even something on the order of 35mg every other day would give me a headache on the off day. So I pretty much drink caffeine every day or not at all. I could have tried for every third day to see if that was inconsistent enough, but that frequency didn't seem worth bothering with.

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