Caffiene withdrawal

jkldsmom
jkldsmom Posts: 15
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone died from caffeine withdrawal? :sad: OK, I know I won't die, but I am miserable. I am in so much pain! I was drinking an insane amount of diet coke (more than 2 liters a day) and I quit two days ago (again). I was having pain in my limbs and lots of cravings for sweets from the dc. I was binging from the cravings and gained back 9 of the pounds I lost last year. :cry: The cravings and pain are already gone, but my head is killing my and I am nauseaous. How long will this go on? I am taking excedrine (which has caffeine) and green tea to help ease it a little, but I am still suffering. I know it will be worth it not to have all those side effects, but hurting now. I guess I am wanting encouragement to stick this out and maybe some success stories...

Replies

  • jkldsmom
    jkldsmom Posts: 15
    Shoot, I do know how to spell caffeine, btw. Dangit...
  • dore0021
    dore0021 Posts: 137
    Instead of stopping all together, why don't you just cut back? For example one can in the morning, and one for dinner?
    I'm a diet coke addict as well... I feel your pain. I've been drinking this as my only beverage of choice since for 16yrs now.

    Yes, aspartame is bad for you if you're over doing it, but, in minimal moderation it's fine.

    If you google aspartame, or diet coke, you'll see articles for both sides. I would never cut something out of my life that I love so much.

    But good on you for doing it! I hope if you stick with it you see a difference in your health :-)
    Best of luck.
  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Caffeine is not bad for you. Have some.
  • Lyby
    Lyby Posts: 42
    I found that fish oil supplements help with Caffeine withdrawal. I was completely off for awhile last year but slipped back. Today I drink a couple of cups of coffee in the morning, but none after noon. It was a pain to try to find decaf coffee at work and at home! But I didn't have much motivating me.

    Something motivated you to step away from caffeine ---- that's not a bad thing.

    Anything that I put in my body that causes as much withdrawal as you describe would be something I need to seriously re-evaluate.
    Addiction is never healthy. If I think I can't live without something, I've given it power over me. Powerlessness sucks!

    Hang in there! This too shall pass! One day (hour, minute) at a time. It will be over before you know it -- and you'll be so much stronger for it.
  • krmingua
    krmingua Posts: 8
    I used a week long holiday break from work to quit caffeine. It was the best time for me since I did not have to get up early so exhaustion wasn't a problem. I found protein and lots and lots of water helped me with withdrawls. I didn't have any caffeine for over a year, then broke down. Now I have to quit all over again. I quit smoking 6 years ago cold turkey without any problems, quitting caffeine is harder. Good luck!!!
  • Erin0164
    Erin0164 Posts: 64 Member
    My sister gave up Diet Coke a year ago and switched to tea for the caffeine. She lost over 10lbs after giving up the DC!
    Lots of studies out there touting the benefits of caffeine - so maybe just switch your source?
  • Luvmesumkenny
    Luvmesumkenny Posts: 779 Member
    Caffeine is not bad for you. Have some.

    AGREE!!!

    I drink 2-3 cans of Cherry Coke Zero EVERYDAY and Ive managed to lose 60 lbs. Just enjoy in Moderation =)
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    Caffeine is not bad for you. Have some.
    Exactly.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    i make and drink a 10 cup pot of coffee to myself, daily. i would never put myself through that kind of withdrawl torture. id rather become addicted to heroin, and then withdrawl from that.
  • marcvandenberg
    marcvandenberg Posts: 190 Member
    cold Turkey isn't the right way.
    So lower it, don't stop it.

    Portion control is the magic word
  • _crafty_
    _crafty_ Posts: 1,682 Member
    Why would you ever give it up?

    Just try to take my caffeine from me. I'll bury you where you stand.

    I've lost weight . . . been drinking my coke and coffee the WHOLE time. That's a success story.
  • lolo4tim
    lolo4tim Posts: 7 Member
    I am right here with you, day 4 for me. Not soda but coffee, and only a cup a day. But I just decided I didn't need it anymore, still feeling sluggish and a bit of a headache, but I think another day or two and it will be worth it! Good job to you!
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Have a cup of tea instead. It has at least only half the caffeine of coffee. Maybe it even has less.
  • jourdanerin
    jourdanerin Posts: 69
    I agree to slowly wean yourself off. If you have the goal to cut them out completely then go for it, just do it slowly.

    I used to drink coke like it was water. Caffeine headaches are the worst :( I now drink water between meals. I have almond milk with breakfast, unsweet tea with lunch (this is now my only caffeine source), and then water or more almond milk at dinner.

    Occasionally, I'll have a diet coke or diet dr. pepper. (like once or twice a month) Usually when my nieces have some sort of school function that limits my food sources to nachos and pizza :)

    Goodluck
  • Sactown900
    Sactown900 Posts: 162 Member
    I cut back to just a small-skinny Mocha (1/3 the caffeine) in the AM, then decaf before noon. This took about three months. I have stomach issues with juices, coffee and diet sodas, so now it's 95% tap water all day.

    I do not miss it.
  • holyforge
    holyforge Posts: 7 Member
    After finding out I had an ulcer last year, I quit coffee cold turkey for 3 months. It wasn't easy, but I didn't die! You can do it.
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    I used to have 4 Rockstar zero carb cans a day. For breakfast. I'd have diet coke for lunch.

    COLD TURKEY IS NOT THE WAY.

    Wean yourself off unless you have enough xanax and valium to last you the week you're gonna spend with flu symptoms laying in bed in pain detoxing.
  • andrea464
    andrea464 Posts: 238 Member
    I quit soda and caffiene in January. I mentioned it in a post and caught the same hell- "Why are you giving it up?" and "You can still have some".
    Some people just don't realize that it's a personal preference. You don't catch hell (as bad) for wanting to quit eating bread or going veggie, but for some reason people freak over caffiene.

    I was down to about one a day when I quit and I still had wicked withdrawal symptoms. I had a serious headache for several days. It did ease up and gets much better! I feel like I have the same amount of energy as before.
  • dagonee
    dagonee Posts: 10
    Cold turkey worked best for me. Day 3 sucked. Day 4 wasn't too bad. By day 7, no symptoms. Tapering off just dragged out the misery.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    Has anyone died from caffeine withdrawal? :sad: OK, I know I won't die, but I am miserable. I am in so much pain! I was drinking an insane amount of diet coke (more than 2 liters a day) and I quit two days ago (again). I was having pain in my limbs and lots of cravings for sweets from the dc. I was binging from the cravings and gained back 9 of the pounds I lost last year. :cry: The cravings and pain are already gone, but my head is killing my and I am nauseaous. How long will this go on? I am taking excedrine (which has caffeine) and green tea to help ease it a little, but I am still suffering. I know it will be worth it not to have all those side effects, but hurting now. I guess I am wanting encouragement to stick this out and maybe some success stories...

    I'm a headache queen :). You probably have a withdrawal migraine, which should go away in a day or so.

    Also, the Excedrin (or any other the counter headache medicine) can give you a headache when it wears off in your system... then you have another headache, so you take another pill, and the cycle repeats. It's called a Rebound Headache. You can Google it for more info.

    It's better to taper down when you are withdrawing from caffeine. Some green tea has caffeine, too (check the label). Drink a lot of water.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Those are the worst. Have some tea!
  • laele75
    laele75 Posts: 283 Member
    I used to have 4 Rockstar zero carb cans a day. For breakfast. I'd have diet coke for lunch.

    COLD TURKEY IS NOT THE WAY.

    Wean yourself off unless you have enough xanax and valium to last you the week you're gonna spend with flu symptoms laying in bed in pain detoxing.

    This. I went from two pots of coffee a day to caffeine free in three weeks. I didn't have any headaches or withdrawal system. I started by only making one pot of coffee a day for a week. The second week, I cut in half decaf for that pot of coffee. Then week three, I cut it down to two cups of half decaf coffee and half caffeinated. After that, I only drink two cups of decaf in the morning and drink herbal tea and water the rest of the day. You can do it slow and easy. Really, changing your diet and exercise is hard enough without more to stress yourself out.

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