I’m realizing I imbibe waaayyyy too much caffeine. Anywhere from 6-10 cans of Diet Coke a day. Due to other health issues, I know I need to stop, but how do I?
Sunday night I was feeling really ill, needed to flush my system out, so drank tons of water. No Diet Coke after 6pm, only water. I was in SO much pain Monday morning I could barely move. My head wanted to explode. I could barely move, it was too much an effort.
It helped the other issue, but for my sanity I had to pop a can open.
Cold turkey, and lots and lots of advil. I hurt for a few days, but after that I felt so much better it was worth it. I sleep better and have tons more energy now.
The best way to deal with any substance addiction is just to stop and go through the withdrawal pain all at once getting whatever help you need along the way. With caffeine though, you may be able to cut it down one diet coke at a time over a couple of weeks or so. If you do it all at once, the withdrawal symptoms, including terrible headaches can last a few days. I can’t say they won’t happen if you taper off, but they should be much less.
If it were me, I don’t think I’d try to go cold turkey. Buy some caffeine-free Coke or other non-caffeinated beverage to drink, but also buy some No-Doz pills (OTC caffeine pills). Pop one first thing in the morning, and again in the afternoon; do this for three or four days, then cut back to half of one in the morning and half in the afternoon. Then, after a few more days, do away with the afternoon dose. A few days after that, you should be able to do away with the morning dose, too, and not feel too terrible. But that’s just how I’d do it. YMMV.
Taper. Start cutting back the Diet Cokes. Maybe switch a few of them for tea which has less caffeine. (or green does at least) Try to drink one fewer Diet Coke every two or three days. I’ve quit both cold turkey and tapered and tapering is waaaaay better. When you get down to one Diet Coke a day and switch to none, you may still get a headache but it won’t be nearly as bad.
I advocate cold turkey. It’s hard to break an addiction when you’re still feeding it.
I gave up caffiene (4 diet dr peppers a day) due to health issues. I had no headaches and one day of sleepiness, about 5 days after giving up caffiene. Presumably when the caffiene had completely left my system. I slept all day, and then was fine.
Cravings came during the second week, but they were mild. Switching to caffiene free soda didn’t help me cope with the withdrawl–my body wasn’t tricked by the fizzy bubbles.
Like Profane, I sleep great and have a lot more energy. And my heart no longer skips beats. Do it, and be glad you did! I can have one can of coke maybe once every two months and feel okay, but two, even spread out over two days, and I have to withdraw all over again.
This worked well for me. But I wouldn’t take more then one tablet of No-Doze in a day. 200mg of caffeine (in one pill) is enough for a day. The next day, take half, then also half the next day. The day after that, take 1/4 pill. On the 5th day, you shouldn’t need anything. You will still be tired, but without the headaches. 2 weeks after that, you should have your natural energy back. Why quit cold turkey if you don’t have to?
Think about the money you’ll save by overcoming your addiction. Maybe it’s just because I’m Jewish, but this helped me drop Dr. Pepper and Djarums pretty quick. (I may also not have been addicted in the first place–I never had withdrawals from either, and never craved either.)
Perhaps one way to do it would be to save your soda receipts (or dig up old ones if you have them) and highlight the amount of money you spent on soda. If you bought soda on a daily basis, perhaps if you go cold-turkey or taper you can set aside the money you save on soda and then spend that money after the withdrawals and cravings fade away. Having a tangible representation of your goals is always helpful.
There is good advice here. I too had a caffeine problem and was able to go cold turkey without major effects. I will have a coffee or tea or Coke now and then, but basically I have quit (for sleep’s sake, etc.).
In college I got job as a flunky in a department office. One of my tasks, at 7:00 a.m., was to make the coffee. I’d never been a regular coffee drinker, but, hey, I was makin’ it, I might just as well drink it…
After a month or so, I started waking up hungover on Saturdays. Except I hadn’t been drinking. I was sleeping in past my coffee time.
So…I cut waaaaaaaay back. It was easy, actually.
Anyway, I have no more than two lattes a week now; most of the time half decaf.
It’s like having my cake and eating it, too.
Quitting caffeine would be like quitting alcohol. Barbaric.
What is it with you wimps and sissies getting your caffeine through a soft drink?? Everyone knows that the ideal way to get caffeine is through an 8-cup pot of coffee every morning! Honestly, that’s how I get mine, and it doesn’t seem to bother me (sometimes I have to give it up for a few days when the doctor puts me on a clear liquid diet). The only thing I have to be careful of is drinking it late in the day; if I do that, I have trouble sleeping.
I wish it was a funny haha thread, but it’s not.
I need to quit the stuff for health reasons. Cigarettes are next on the list.
Thank you for your ideas, however I cannot take No-Doz. That’s too much caffeine in one jolt. Last time I took one little No-Doz I ended up flying. Mountain Dew does the same thing. Too much concentrated caffeine is not good for me. My Diet Coke buzz is a gentle wave- I always have a can open, from sun up to sun down.
This is a 19 year habit that I’m trying to get rid of. I joke that if I need a transfusion, forget trying to find my blood, just pop a can of DC into me and I’ll be up and doing the jitterbug in no time. My first marriage proposal? Written on a Diet Coke can. I have made over $1000 in recycling the can throughout the years.
When I went to the store this morning I bought one “leaded” case if Diet Coke and one “unleaded”. Going to try 2 regular to one caffeine free today.
Is caffeine ‘bad’ for you? I thought that it was something to watch out for if you had a particular sensitivity or medical condition?
Hah…an 8-ounce cup of coffee. Wusses. I start the day out with 16 ounces. I follow it up with about another 40-50 ounces of diet soda through the day… And in my circles, I’m considered the healthy athletic guy who takes care of himself!
I find caffeine to be an appetitie suppresant (or at least the coffe and diet soda to be ones).
I think if your BP, pulse and weight/body-mass check out ok, then you can stop fretting over caffeine intake.
If you insist on getting off caffeine, then cut it out gradually. Try having some in the morning only.
I have polycystic kidney disease. Caffeine has been shown to increase the rate of cyst growth. Considering my kidneys are already pretty junky looking (like a string of garlic bulbs), it ain’t a good thing. Also, caffeine raises blood pressure. I tend to fluxuate between “normal” BP and borderline BP. I do not want to have to go on BP medicine.
I found out about the PKD 12 years ago. It’s a heriditary disease, which means absolutely nada to me, as I am adopted. I’ve learned the hard way that my body cannot process protein well. What started me on the de-caffeinating trip was that this weekend I had a steak. Sunday afternoon I was in severe pain. That’s what brought me to flushing my system. I had to detox myself. My kidneys are still tender. I guess I’m at the point where I’m realizing I really do need to start changing my way of life if I don’t want to aneurysm or stroke out by the time I’m 50.
Everyone knows that the ideal way to get caffeine is through an 8-cup pot of coffee every morning! Honestly, that’s how I get mine, and it doesn’t seem to bother me (sometimes I have to give it up for a few days when the doctor puts me on a clear liquid diet). The only thing I have to be careful of is drinking it late in the day; if I do that, I have trouble sleeping.
