Help! I’m addicted to crack!

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2

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  • calmmomw3minimeez
    calmmomw3minimeez Posts: 499 Member
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    I refuse to give up my coffee entirely:noway: . I just take a break from it on some days, but for every cup of coffee that I drink, I'll have a cup of water(iced) right beside it. Nothing wrong with coffee unless that's all you're drinking. Make sure you get the water in too! Your post is hilarious btw and I'm sure this is gonna be the thread for whoever needs a good laugh today. I certainly got mine, thanks!:laugh:
  • thedons
    thedons Posts: 41
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    my last cup of coffee was on christmas day. for the first week or so i had massive headaches but i knew they were from withdrawl so i stuck to my guns about it & didnt give in. i drank coffee all the times as much as 8 or more cups a day. i will tell you it was rather difficult but i conconditioned myself to be positive about the change being a good one & i havent regretted it at all. i admit that for about a month i still got cravings but i fought them off. instead i found herbal teas that i eventually learned to like. believe me, at first they were ick! i'd cringe & everyone would laugh at the faces i made & ask me why i bothered to drink it then if i didnt like the taste. but it was so worth it now. i feel so much better.
  • staceywoo
    staceywoo Posts: 56
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    I used to drink quite a bit of coffee throughout the day, but I got sick of always 'needing a coffee' whenever more than a few hours had passed since the last one - particularly on holidays. I went cold turkey and I have to say the first 10 days were hard, I had quite a few headaches and I was just so tired! But then it faded away and all of the cravings stopped.
    Now I drink decaff at work, as it's still nice to have a hot drink when it's not particularly nice outside, but when I occasionally have a 'proper' coffee the caffeine actually works - I had one yesterday morning and I was practically bouncing off the walls of the office!
    Good luck with quitting, it's worth it :)
  • JennS19
    JennS19 Posts: 642 Member
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    Do you like tea? You could start drinking tea if you need the caffeine
  • SGartz
    SGartz Posts: 57
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    and here I was expecting something TOTALLY different!

    I cut down my caffeine intake immensely over the last few years. It's not necessary to get rid of it entirely unless that's what you REALLY want to do, or a doctor tells you that you should. Coffee & tea both have good antioxidants. If you want to cut back, I found personally that removing it entirely for a while, then gradually adding it back in, worked best. I did find out the hard way that I can no longer drink a Captain & Coke at night and expect to sleep unless I have enough of them that the alcohol makes me pass out... :grumble:

    What annoyes me slightly is that I seem to be rather dependent on the stuff. I just want to get to a point where I don't feel hooked to it and I can pick and choose when to have a cup, rather than guzzling (great word!) 8-9 cups per day!

    I like to be in control is what I guess I am saying! *puts on bondage outfit*
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
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    Ok, I lied – I’m not addicted to crack at all, but I am addicted to coffee! I was wondering if anyone has ever given this rather odd substance up, and what are the side effects? I tried a Google and basically it said if I give up caffeine I am going to die and my body will be banished to hell for entire eternity!

    Anyone given up at first hand?

    I gave it up over the last couple of months. No headaches; no side effects. Unless you mean sleeping better at night and lowerting my BP.

    I gave it up in stages. Starting mixing Caffienated with Non- Caf. 75/25, then 50/50, then 25/75. After about 6 weeks I was drinking decaf. Still drink a couple cups of decaf in the morning out of habit,.
  • SGartz
    SGartz Posts: 57
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    Ok, I lied – I’m not addicted to crack at all, but I am addicted to coffee! I was wondering if anyone has ever given this rather odd substance up, and what are the side effects? I tried a Google and basically it said if I give up caffeine I am going to die and my body will be banished to hell for entire eternity!

    Anyone given up at first hand?

    I gave it up over the last couple of months. No headaches; no side effects. Unless you mean sleeping better at night and lowerting my BP.

    I gave it up in stages. Starting mixing Caffienated with Non- Caf. 75/25, then 50/50, then 25/75. After about 6 weeks I was drinking decaf. Still drink a couple cups of decaf in the morning out of habit,.

    If you gave up then I want to be like you, you look like a sea captain or something. That's awesome!

    I'm going to go for 1 week withdrawel but get some decaf bought for emergencies! Cheers guys :)
  • watkino
    watkino Posts: 3 Member
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    Before banishing your self to the pit of unending fire for all of eternity, let me give you a fire and brimstone anti-coffee pitch:

    I began drinking coffee at age 14 thanks to my over the top addicted grandmother who drank probably 1 - 2 pots - thats old style 32 ounce coffee POTS a day.

    While I never drank THAT much coffee, by the time I was in my twenties I was lobbing triple shot expressos 3 to 4 times a week.

    My love of coffee continued through my early 40's until my addiction became apparent to others.

    My wife said that I had an "anger" problem and noticed I was extremely irritable. I began realizing I was no longer drinking a cup of coffee - but a cup of anger. My doctor said I was suffering from anxiety that too much caffiene could easily contribute to.

    Furthermore, my stomach became a seething cauldron of acid. I didn't have to GO to hell - hell came to me as the fires of torment burned in my stomach. My gastroenterologist said that coffee would be a huge contributer to my diagnosis of G.I.R.D. (gastro-intestinal reflux disease) and suggested I stop drinking coffee immediately.

    Did I? No way. I LOVED coffee. SO I had him prescribe hi-octane acid pump inhibitors which worked like a charm...until my late 40's, when I literally began choking on my own saliva.

    I asked if he could prescribe a stronger medication. NOPE, I had maxed out.

    Most recently, if I drink coffee, I invite a day of agony. It's that simple. After the horrible headache withdrawels, which last maybe a day or two, I began a regimen of tea.

    Yea, tea is not coffee...tea SUCKS compared to coffee. Keep drinking it. After awhile the memory of coffee goodness (stay away from the smell though) begins to wane and you grow to actually see why the English prefer tea.

    SO - the lesson is that no man knows when his day of reckoning with his coffee addiction may come. It comes like a thief in the night. If you refuse to head this warning - eternal torment awaits.
  • mabear74
    mabear74 Posts: 248
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    I used to drink 2 8cup pots a day and have cut back to 1 pot in the morning while I am getting the 6 kiddos off to school. I will not give it up entirely. I did that once and my oldest daughter made me a pot of coffee and begged me to drink it! I don't add all the "frilly" stuff to anymore, so I'm not that worried about. I drink my water, and also drink a lot of hot green tea.......
  • SGartz
    SGartz Posts: 57
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    Before banishing your self to the pit of unending fire for all of eternity, let me give you a fire and brimstone anti-coffee pitch:

    I began drinking coffee at age 14 thanks to my over the top addicted grandmother who drank probably 1 - 2 pots - thats old style 32 ounce coffee POTS a day.

    While I never drank THAT much coffee, by the time I was in my twenties I was lobbing triple shot expressos 3 to 4 times a week.

    My love of coffee continued through my early 40's until my addiction became apparent to others.

    My wife said that I had an "anger" problem and noticed I was extremely irritable. I began realizing I was no longer drinking a cup of coffee - but a cup of anger. My doctor said I was suffering from anxiety that too much caffiene could easily contribute to.

    Furthermore, my stomach became a seething cauldron of acid. I didn't have to GO to hell - hell came to me as the fires of torment burned in my stomach. My gastroenterologist said that coffee would be a huge contributer to my diagnosis of G.I.R.D. (gastro-intestinal reflux disease) and suggested I stop drinking coffee immediately.

    Did I? No way. I LOVED coffee. SO I had him prescribe hi-octane acid pump inhibitors which worked like a charm...until my late 40's, when I literally began choking on my own saliva.

    I asked if he could prescribe a stronger medication. NOPE, I had maxed out.

    Most recently, if I drink coffee, I invite a day of agony. It's that simple. After the horrible headache withdrawels, which last maybe a day or two, I began a regimen of tea.

    Yea, tea is not coffee...tea SUCKS compared to coffee. Keep drinking it. After awhile the memory of coffee goodness (stay away from the smell though) begins to wane and you grow to actually see why the English prefer tea.

    SO - the lesson is that no man knows when his day of reckoning with his coffee addiction may come. It comes like a thief in the night. If you refuse to head this warning - eternal torment awaits.

    Great read! Thanks for that. It sure is a very underestimated substance - I'm looking forward to my experiment!
  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
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    I gave up when i found out i was pg with my first. I had to give up smoking at the same time but i wanted to give up everything. I just gave up cold turkey. I started back on the coffee not long after i'd had my son. He's almost 6 now and i have a 4 year old. I am still not guaranteed a night sleep so i depend on my coffee.
  • tammyquinnlmt
    tammyquinnlmt Posts: 680 Member
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    I've made a decision.

    I'm going to experiment and give up for 1 week as someone suggested. I'll report all side effects here!

    (Starting tomorrow of course!)

    *hearty laugh*

    Wish i could follow you around for that week....would be fun to watch :D
  • RoadDog
    RoadDog Posts: 2,946 Member
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    If you gave up then I want to be like you, you look like a sea captain or something. That's awesome!

    :laugh: RoadDog, the sea captain... ARRRRR :laugh:

    That stings a little bit for a Marine. No Marine wants to be called a Sailor. Ooof!
  • tammyquinnlmt
    tammyquinnlmt Posts: 680 Member
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    If you gave up then I want to be like you, you look like a sea captain or something. That's awesome!

    :laugh: RoadDog, the sea captain... ARRRRR :laugh:

    That stings a little bit for a Marine. No Marine wants to be called a Sailor. Ooof!

    It was his coffee addiction speaking! Its a monster, i tell you!
  • SGartz
    SGartz Posts: 57
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    If you gave up then I want to be like you, you look like a sea captain or something. That's awesome!

    :laugh: RoadDog, the sea captain... ARRRRR :laugh:

    That stings a little bit for a Marine. No Marine wants to be called a Sailor. Ooof!

    What have I become!!
  • LizaJayne
    LizaJayne Posts: 7
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    Do not go cold turkey. It's too hard on your system. Caffeine dilates your blood vessels, if you stop cold turkey they will constrict and that's what gives people horrible headaches. That's why some headache medications (like Excedrin Migraine) have caffeine in them, to open the vessels and have your head stop pounding. It can also be added to an IV for caffeine addicted patients who are hospitalized. Wean off slowly. I started with a cup of regular, a cup of decaf. Then I would switch to one cup regular, two cups decaf. Now they have the half and half to purchase so you could try that.

    Also, recent studies show up to four cups a days helps a person focus, whereas more than that is not good for us. It can raise your cholesterol and glucose levels.

    Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), not G.I.R.D., is the backup of stomach acid into your esophagus which causes severe heartburn. Uncorrected it can lead to things as bad as cancer. Coffee does not cause it. In most cases it's from being overweight and/or overeating. Of course, coffee is acidic so you can see where it doesn't help anything if reflux is already occuring. Even losing ten pounds has decreased my symptoms significantly.

    I have one cup every morning, then mostly decaf the rest of the time. Somedays I just need a little boost so I'll have another cup or two of regular.

    Do your reseach (on reliable websites - like a .edu or a .gov) and talk to your doctor.

    And congrats on taking the step to take better care of yourself.
  • yyzdnl
    yyzdnl Posts: 127 Member
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    I love coffee and think caffeine is a fine example of better living through the use of chemicals. :tongue:

    Funny thing is my coffee drinking is about a 1/3 of what it was before I started getting fit and working out in the morning. I just don't seem to crave it after a couple of cups when I get to work.

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