Best Way To Beat A Caffeine Addiction?

ethanms writes "I'm pretty sure that I'm addicted to caffeine... I get nasty headaches if I skip coffee and soda for a day. If I go even longer, then the headaches get worse and I start to become (even more of) a pain in the ass to those around me. Within five or ten minutes of a cup of joe or can of Mountain Dew the headache is gone and I feel fine... There's plenty of advice out there for dealing with addiction, but I'm really interested in how other /. users have managed and controlled their own caffeine intake, especially considering how heavily it is pushed by many development / engineering communities. 'Just drink more' isn't really the answer I'm after either."

Comments

Just bear through it.

[Goalie_Ca]

Just stick it through and soon enough you'll be free. Learn to drink water instead.

Re:Just bear through it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Your links are suspect:

1. The both reference the same article.

2. One is a subscription service, I prefer info to be open.

3. From your nutritionnewsfocus.com link "Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, that is they increase urine production, but much of the water in beverages that contain them does get used by the body." The definition is a diuretic is a substance that increases the production of urea, so to return urea to normal levels additional fluid is needed. Liquid used in them is used by the body, and more is needed too.

4. From "ndmnutrition.com" link "Valtin thinks the notion may have started... er... so he doesn't have any justification other than quoting one line of a report which didn't advocate what he suggested it did.

5. ...there is some evidence that the risk of certain diseases can be lowered by high water intake, the quantities needed for this beneficial effect may be less than 8 x 8.... Well by high he only means 2 litres, make of that as you will. So he accepts the risk of disease can be reduced, he back-tracks by saying only those people susceptable, but do you know ehat diseases youe are susceptable to? Diabetes only affects those susceptable to it, do you know if you are? Better safe than sorry?

6. ...thirst begins when the concentration of blood (an accurate indicator of our state of hydration) has risen by less than two percent, whereas most experts would define dehydration as beginning when that concentration has risen by at least five percent. Those that are seriously dehydrated lose their thirst.

7. In the end this is the belief of one lone doctor, vs the entire medical world. A bit like SCO claiming UNIX rights, no? Well, SCO have a much better founded case.

8. What are the problems with drink water he mentions? 1. ...possible exposure to pollutants, especially if sustained over many years like breathing air, try to drink clean water like you breath clean air. 2. frequent urination, which can be both inconvenient and embarrassing assuming 2/3 of what is drunk is urinated, that makes about 1.5 litres, which is what... 4-5 trips to the loo? 3. expense, for those who satisfy the 8 x 8 requirements with bottled water then drink from the tap, or refil a plastic bottle from the tap if a bottle must be used 4. feelings of guilt for not achieving 8 x 8 if you believe his diatribe there will be a feeling of guily from drinking water. Why feel guilty if not achieving 8*8, just sit down for a minute and drink a few glasses, only procrastination causes guilt/stress.

This doctor is a loony, you, sir, are even more of a loony for not being able to criticise and see flaws in their arguments.

Physical activity!

[FartingTowels]

Start running/jogging an hour a day, every day -- this should be enough to get you going when you feel sleepy or tired.

Some methods that worked for me...

[sczimme]

Drink lots of water.

Take Bayer aspirin (contains a little caffeine) or Aleve to help with the headaches. (Motrin didn't help - YMMV.)

Do not set your alarm - sleep as long as possible on the day you decide to quit. If I slept through the normal caffeine-consumption period (usually morning) I felt better. I don't know why.

Oddly enough, going cold turkey (vice gradually decreasing caffeine intake) worked better for me.

Good luck!

Re:Mental discipline

[I Be Hatin']

How about just stop taking caffeine, nicotine, or whatever it is you are addicted to (if you wish to stop that is).

I suppose that would work, but have you ever had a caffeine-withdrawl headache? Maybe spending an indefinite amount of time with piercing pain in your head sounds okay to you, but I'd imagine ethanms would rather find a less painful alternative.

Re:Mental discipline

[mixmasta]

Nah, he's right, although not very descriptive.

Yes, he(the poster) can do it. Best to ease off of it though, gradually. Drink lots of water and pop a few ibuprofen to get through the headaches.

Pay attention to your .sig and notice that we do have control of our own destiny, despite what the TV may have brainwashed you into believing. If someone can't do it alone then they need to get help, which he is starting to do here, it is nothing to be ashamed of.

First decide you want to be free of caffeine, find how to get there (a road map), and excecute. Sounds like mental discipline to me. Stop being a pussy. =)

Cold Turkey

[zaren]

That's how you beat it.

When my son was first born, my Mountain Dew habit went from a few cans a day to a few 2 liters a day (plus a few cans from the school vending machine, plus a Big Gulp on the way home...). After that, I got a job where one of the perks was a soda fountain - all the Pepsi / Coke products you could guzzle, at no charge! Geek heaven, it was... until I realized that not only was I an unbearable bastard on the weekends as I came down off of my buzz, but I'd put on another ten pounds. (My wife later informed me that she was getting ready to leave me, and take the kid with her, because of my non-caffinated attitude problem.)

So after sitting down and thinking about it one day and figuing out that I could cut over 1000(!) calories a day out of my diet by quitting the Dew, and make myself an easier person to be around on top of it, I quit. No coming down gradually, no easing off, I just stopped. In the middle of the week, at that. I made sure to warn those around me about it, to keep them clear of me, and I also made sure to replace the Dew with water - LOTS of water, since I got 90% of my daily fluids from that yellow nectar.

Holy flurking shnitt, did I have a doozy of a headache! Lasted me two days! But by the weekend, I was in pretty good shape. I made a few mistakes after that... like drinking it again about a week after I'd "quit". I got right back on the train with the very first drink; killer headache the next day. It took a few trips like that before I realized I couldn't touch the stuff AT ALL for a LONG time after I'd quit.

So now, 2+ years later, I can hardly stand the taste of Dew - something I thought I'd never say :) I can have the occasional cola and suffer no ill effects the next day. Moderation is the key once you cut the ties. A little taste isn't going to kill you, but I know that if I put down a 2 liter in one sitting, I'd be back on that train again.

Just quit the stuff cold turkey. Your body, and the people around you, will thank you for it.

Re:Actually this is a good idea!

[Hein_or_Henk]

Nonsense!

The article starts like this:

" For the smoker, nicotine has a positive effect on attention, cognition and mood."

So in other words the positive effects are there only for the already addicted smoker who is suffering the effects of withdrawal symptoms.

This is probably similar to the effect coffee drinkers perceive when they have their first cup of the day. It's as if a mist clears in your head and you can think clearly again. This mist however is something that only coffee drinkers experience and is a coffee withdrawal symptom. People who do not drink coffee do not have a mist in their heads to clear up.

So be smart just don't smoke!