Caffine withdrawal??

MrsSheenaHorner

i quit caffine all together. just water and sometimes oj.. then a few days ago i started getting massive headaches, feel like vomiting, at night i get really cold, and wake uo sweating.. not a good few days i have had, would it be better if i just had some caffine??

i use to have like 3-5 cokes a day sometimes, energy drinks, and coffee,, not really liking coffee anymore..
was thinking of getting a energy drink, see if it takes away this pain.

anunknownmouse

Quitting cold turkey might not be for you if it's giving you massive headaches. Try and ween yourself off of caffeine, it's much easier on the body.

MrsSheenaHorner

i agree now, i didnt think this would happen. it really sucks.

LiddyBit

If I may suggest tea instead of an energy drink, I think it would be more in the spirit of your health effort. Many black teas and green teas have caffeine in them and are more beneficial to you than an energy drink. Caffeine withdraw is rough. I can't bring myself to give up coffee.

anunknownmouse

If I may suggest tea instead of an energy drink, I think it would be more in the spirit of your health effort. Many black teas and green teas have caffeine in them and are more beneficial to you than an energy drink. Caffeine withdraw is rough. I can't bring myself to give up coffee.

I would start with black teas and move to green teas. If you like them, that is. Black teas have more caffeine in them than green tea, but only about half as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. And yeah, I can't give up coffee either. I quit for a week and a half, but started drinking again. Tastes too good.

grimm1974

You can also try MioEnergy water enhancers. The Energy ones have caffeine in it. You just add it to your water. Since you can adjust the amount you put in the water, it makes it easy to ween your way off the caffeine. That is how I got through it.

bikermike5094

I just down sized from 4-5 diet cokes a day to just one in the morning. I found that eliminating 1 per week helps week you off. I quit cold turkey once..for about 3 days. Just about killed me.

rmkramer003

Caffiene withdrawal is hard. I had given up everything but chocolate by the time I was 18. I finally gave up chocolate to help with PMS and I still got headaches for a month. Try weaning yourself off. Just be aware that the cravings never really go away. I get headaches when I have caffiene now, so I really don't want it. But some days you just HAVE to have chocolate. Carob is almost as good.

MrsSheenaHorner

thank you all. just dont think i can handle this pain! mostly gets worse at night.. hard to take care of my baby girl when i feel like crap

SirBen81

take some caffeine in pill form so you don't have to taste the things you're trying to quit. This will give you the caffeine to stop the headaches, but help you maintain control over the things you're trying to quit.

myfitnessnmhoy

thank you all. just dont think i can handle this pain! mostly gets worse at night.. hard to take care of my baby girl when i feel like crap

Your reasons are your own, of course, but is there a specific reason you are giving up caffeine? It's not bad for you, in reasonable doses. But, you want to give it up, that's fine. I've done it and gone back off the wagon several times. I've learned a few lessons along the way and I hope they help.

First, the headaches are normal. They're different for each person, but they are normal. You can approach caf-detox one of two ways:

1. Cold Turkey: You will get massive detox headaches for about 3-4 days, usually. Drink lots of extra water during this phase, grin, bear it, live through it, and it WILL end within a week. Ibuprofen helps. Watch for a lot of "headache relief" meds, because they contain, you guessed it, CAFFEINE. You're just prolonging the process.

2. Slow Detox: Cut your caffeine by, say, 1/3. Wait a couple of weeks. Then cut it by half. Wait a couple more weeks. Then cut it by half again. Wait a couple more weeks. Then cut it entirely. The headaches will still be there, you'll probably have low-grade headaches the whole time, but they'll be a lot more manageable and tolerable (I don't need any Ibuprofen when I use this method, well, not often anyway).

Since you're most of the way through detox, what I'd say if the pain has become unmanageable is step (don't fall) off the wagon. Prepare about 10-30% of your previous daily intake and consume it right now. Start with 10% and wait 1/2 hour. If that doesn't help take 10% again. Repeat if necessary. The pain will probably subside quickly when it subsides. Stay on that same dosage for a few days, then cut it about in half, give that a week, then cut it altogether.

There was a previous suggestion to take caffeine in pill form, I respectfully disagree. You've already proven you're over the addiction to the caffeinated product you've quit, and pills usually have very high concentrations of caffeine. However, if you want to go that route, I'd use a headache-relief painkiller with caffeine (Excedrin Headache, or similar) because the doses are usually pretty low and the analgesic will help with the pain immediately.

kbmnurse

Keep it up. Each day will get better.

MrsSheenaHorner

i was eating pretty unhealthy, eating out, drinking too much pop, and coffee, and redbull and rockstar were my favourite..
i just wanted to get back in shape. and cut out all the junk. which im guessing i got most my caffeine intake from coke and redbull.. i started drinking lots of water. and just started getting bad bad headaches! that made me cry a few times. i would rather the pain just go away.. and was wondering the best way to go about this.

myfitnessnmhoy

PS: If you've been having the headaches for several days now, you may already be mostly detoxed. If you can handle it, try sticking it out for one or two more days. I know that may be asking too much, but you may be almost over it.

I missed your comments on how much caffeine you had before. That's.. a LOT. I've never detoxed off those levels before, but if you've been putting up with detox headaches of that magnitude, I am impressed.

The headaches should start to wane very soon, within another day or two. Make sure you're well-hydrated. If you switch to slow-detox, use coffee, since you say you don't like coffee there's all the more reason to get off it when you're done.

MrsSheenaHorner

i know! i had alot! it was bad. hopefully i am almost done this. thank you all for your comments.

SuffolkSally

It's horrible, I did it and couldn't believe how bad it was! Took me six months... I did go cold turkey, but if you can wean off I'd recommend it, in hindsight I was too harsh on myself. Good luck

myfitnessnmhoy

i started drinking lots of water. and just started getting bad bad headaches! that made me cry a few times. i would rather the pain just go away.. and was wondering the best way to go about this.

The pain is the caffeine no longer opening blood pathways in the brain. The body adapts to this and re-opens the pathways itself in a few days. I realize an explanation does nothing to help with the pain, but that's the gist of it.

You can partly re-open those pathways with a little caffeine. That will relieve the pain but slow the body's redevelopment of its own ways of opening them. However, the pain should go away very quickly, and what replaces it tomorrow should be a little less intense.

You can also use something like Ibuprofen to mitigate the pain while the body readjusts. Ibuprofen has an anti-swelling effect, and can help relax the blood vessels a little and allow some blood through. Keep the doses reasonable.

Basically, detoxing off a fixed amount of caffeine takes a fixed amount of pain. You've done a lot of it the FAST/HARD way. You can continue down the path and the monkey will be off your back faster, or you can take very low doses of caffeine for a while and allow your body to adapt more slowly.

You have to do whatever your own pain threshold can tolerate. If you are at your wit's end, then go make 1/2 cup of weak coffee and SIP it until the pain subsides to manageable levels, then that's your dose for a few days.

If you can be strong, based on all my past experience, you should be very nearly done with this. Take some Ibuprofen, drink lots of water.

myfitnessnmhoy

i know! i had alot! it was bad. hopefully i am almost done this. thank you all for your comments.

No, that's judgmental. Caffeine is NOT evil, and is pretty safe even in high doses. It is a diuretic which means high doses of it will dehydrate you, interfering with muscle building and proper body function, but that can be compensated for with high amounts of water. There are other complications with very high doses, but it's generally not an evil drug.

I hope it helps. I've never detoxed off the levels you have, and my caf-detox headaches have had me crying like an infant (which is even worse with a real infant crying with you, dear goodness me you are a strong person!). But based on my experience, I honestly think you're very close to the end of the process.

myfitnessnmhoy

Sorry, I don't mean to flood this thread: SuffolkSally's experiences obviously differ from mine.

Even if you decide to go the "strong" route, don't be afraid to give yourself a low/slow dose of the Caf Monkey if the pain fails to subside soon. Constant pain sucks, and you CAN relieve yourself of the pain without risk. It makes the eventual detox process longer, but you aren't killing yourself, especially with low doses and a slow detox from here on in.

MrsSheenaHorner

lol glad to know i wasnt the only one crying... my boyfriend was so worried for me. kept wanting to take me to the hospital. i think i can do it, if im almost through it

myfitnessnmhoy

lol glad to know i wasnt the only one crying... my boyfriend was so worried for me. kept wanting to take me to the hospital. i think i can do it, if im almost through it

I think you are, but I'm not a doctor and obviously at least one other person has a different experience from mine.

I'd start with a couple of Ibuprofens (just pure 'profen, no stimulants like those found in headache-specific meds). The anti-inflammatory should help some with the pain.

SuffolkSally

I didn't mean it was S*** all the time for six months! I can't remember how long the really bad part lasted, it's too long ago now. But I do remember it being about six months as a total process for me, for my energy levels to return and for me to fully adapt to functioning without constant caffeine fixes. Even my sleep was disrupted, which seems odd. It was the initial severe withdrawal I was referring to when I said that I wouldn't put myself through that again - it caught me by surprise as it was much worse than I expected (knowing nothing about it then), and should I get addicted again and have to give up again I would choose gradual withdrawal. I won't get addicted again though - didn't touch it for about four years but now I can have and enjoy an occasional decent coffee (or sometimes a rubbish coke!) without any cravings kicking in.

MrsSheenaHorner

thats good to hear good job

MrsSheenaHorner

oh and to make things worse.. i am also a breastfeeding mother, and my daughter isnt eating as much as she use to... think i got a clogged milk duct, and got worse. thinking thats where my chills, and fever came from.
just all happening at once! Boo..for me.