Best Way To Beat A Caffeine Addiction?

Easy by boatboy · 2004-01-01 10:36 · Score: 5, Funny

Start smoking.

Re:Easy by M.+Silver · 2004-01-01 13:49 · Score: 4, Funny

Start smoking.

Getting pregnant worked for me.

Most slashdotters will have to go with the smoking thing, though.

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Slashdot's token middle-aged housewife

Mental discipline by Brahmastra · 2004-01-01 10:36 · Score: 4, Insightful

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

Re:Mental discipline by I+Be+Hatin' · 2004-01-01 10:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.

--
I know god exists. I read it on the internet, so it must be true.
Re:Mental discipline by Radish03 · 2004-01-01 10:58 · Score: 4, Interesting

That's not always a viable solution.

I get migranes, and for them I take Excedrin Migrane pills. Usually I take 2, which in total contain 130 mg of caffiene (~3 cans of coke, ~9 Penguin Mints), and this makes the headache go away pretty quickly. For about a month straight during my senior year of high school, I got a migrane at almost the same time each day (give or take 20 minutes) so I would take the Excedrin and the headache would go away in about an hour. I was somewhat suspicious about this, as it happened daily, and I started to wonder if I was addicted to caffiene, so I experemented a bit. Some days I would bring something caffienated with me (like a Code Red Mountain Dew) and drink that before classes started. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't get headaches those days.

When I did get a headache, however, I would have trouble paying attention to the class (paying more attention to the feeling that my brain was getting too large for my skull). So to go without caffiene completely wasn't a very good idea, so I started working myself off of it slowly. I got some caffienated mints, and would just eat a few of those before I knew I'd get a headache, and maybe a few more around the time I'd get a headache if I felt one coming on. And thats pretty much how I dealt with it, but I had to take it pretty slowly to ween myself from the caffiene.
Re:Mental discipline by mixmasta · 2004-01-01 11:00 · Score: 5, Insightful

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. =)

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#6495ED - cornflower blue
Re:Mental discipline by blincoln · 2004-01-01 11:02 · Score: 5, Informative

I suppose that would work, but have you ever had a caffeine-withdrawl headache?

I stopped getting them (the caffeine-based ones at least, see below) after about a month when I quit.

I'd tried reducing my caffeine intake, but I just kept going back to it (especially when I had early morning meetings), so I figured cold turkey was the only way it was going to happen.

I'd been drinking caffeinated beverages of one kind or another for about fifteen years (since I was ten or so), and at the end of it I was taking No-Doze in the morning and drinking a thermos full of coffee or black tea every day.

It's been about six months, and I have only two minor complaints:

- I can't drink the tea at my favourite Chinese restaurant anymore.

- *Not* drinking caffeine (a painkiller) means that now I feel the migraines I've apparently been getting for a few years (according to my doctor). They're pretty infrequent, though, so I just keep a bottle of aspirin around.

It took about three months before I wasn't really tired in the mornings. After that I was able to sleep normally and my hands don't shake anymore. Maybe I can finally use a soldering iron properly =).

--
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
Re:Mental discipline by nick_davison · 2004-01-01 12:16 · Score: 4, Insightful

It took about three months before I wasn't really tired in the mornings.

I had to stop, like that, because of a medical diagnosis. Well, I could have continued but the consequences were unspeakable.

The same diagnosis turned around pretty much everything, health-related, in my life. I changed my diet and started going to the gym every morning.

The gym was really the secret for me. I've been a sworn night person for my entire life. After a month or two at the gym, my body got convinced it was supposed to fire up at 6:30am every day and started taking care of itself.

It's convinced me that there are morning and night people, just not in the permanent, unalterable way most people think of it. Your metabolism shifts very slowly to suit what you do with your body. If, like most coders, you do next to no exercise during the day but regularly push your body to perform coding jags late at night, your metabolism will have shifted to suit that time of day. If you cut out the late nights and start pushing your body to the gym every morning, it will convert over.

The only problem is, it takes a good month or two of serious commitment. I always swore people who said what I just said were full of it - but then I would try it for a couple of weeks, or go to the gym two mornings a week while sneaking in several late nights. Once I had to completely switch over, it happened relatively quickly.

So, caffine is one way to get going in the mornings. Alternatively, get to the gym, every morning, without fail, and cut out the late nights, for two months. If, like me, you lose 10% of your body weight in the process, the attention from women'll more than make the effort worthwhile.

Just one request: Leave it a couple of months. Those of us who go regularly already have to put up with the New Year's Resolution crowd for the next six weeks. ;)

Just bear through it. by Goalie_Ca · 2004-01-01 10:36 · Score: 5, Insightful

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

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Go canucks, habs, and sens!

Re:Just bear through it. by yintercept · 2004-01-01 11:17 · Score: 4, Informative

Actually, I found that Orange juice seems to be a much better alternative.
Plain water is much better than any of the sugared waters available. I just did a quick web search...most mentioned that people should drink 2.5 liters of water a day. If it is hot, you need to drink more. When I was on fire crew, they demanded we drink 4 liters or water a day. Drinking that much orange juice will make you rotund. I would have maybe a glass of OJ in the morning and 9 glasses of water throughout the day.
Re:Just bear through it. by WindBourne · 2004-01-01 11:37 · Score: 4, Informative

Most of the common addictions (nicoteine, alcohol, caffiene) have a short withdrawl period, usually just a couple of days.

Obviously, you have not been a smoker, a drinker, or soda drinker.
I have quite smoking twice. The first time, It was somewhat difficult, but not bad. I did not smoke for 6 months. Then I thought just one while at a bar. By the night I had smoked a packed and was back at it for about 4 years. When I quit the 2'nd time, it was a bitch. For the first week, I basically stade away from everyone; I was on a 1 week vacation and just kinda of slept through it. After that, I get rid of all my old smoking habits. To this day (3 years later), I still crave cigs when in old habits (such as eating and studying).

In years past, I have drank large amounts (as well as did other things) and would be considered an alchoholic by some definations. Yet, I found it trivial to go with out for months on end. Each of us have their own addictions.

So what is the point? If the poster is having a difficult time withdrawing and really wishes to, then I suggest taking about 1 week off from work, avoid old habits, and sleep it off. Once you get past it, then avoid all caffeine. Over time, you may be able to go back to a little bit, but based the posting, I doubt it.

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I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Re:Just bear through it. by jelle · 2004-01-01 12:10 · Score: 4, Informative

Water ... "Ah, foul stuff that is."

If you don't like the 'taste' of water, then you probably never had good clean water.

Get a five stage Reverse Osmosis water filter. They are truly amazing. They are so good they're in a whole different leage than those regular water/icemaker filters. The water from the reverse osmosis filter tastes better than bottled water. No foulness, no bitterness, no aftertastes, no lighheadedness, no smells, no nothing, just absolutely pure and clean water. Everything you make with it tastes better, even coffee or tea itself. About $150 at Samsclub, will last for years.

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--- Hindsight is 20/20, but walking backwards is not the answer.
Re:Just bear through it. by muffen · 2004-01-01 12:14 · Score: 4, Informative

I quit smoking too, and I did it cold turkey a few years ago. I didn't smoke for two years, but then I picked it up again (at burning man of all places in the world).

Second time around, I was really pissed off at myself. I decided enough is enough, and I stopped, and haven't smoked for a while now. I've been weak at the pub a few times since I quit the second time, but I've managed to recover pretty nicely. Next morning when I woke up after having a cigarette in the pub, I decided it was only a minor setback, and I went on track straight away. Now it's been a few months since I had the last cigerette, and I feel really good.

It may have been easier for me to quit smoking than a lot of people, because I didn't actually like smoking. I hated what it did to my throat. I'd wake up with a bad throat, and that annoyed me.

BTW: I was smoking for around 7 years in total.

I know that you are trying to break a caffeine addiction, but quitting smoking is very similiar. You just have to do it cold turkey. If it gets really bad, just remember why it is that way. Instead of thinking that a cup of coffie will fix the problem, remember that it is the source of the problem. You've come as far as asking for help, that means you really wanna quit... just do it!!

In the end, only YOU can do it. Remeber that.
Re:Just bear through it. by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-01 12:27 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.
Re:Just bear through it. by xigxag · 2004-01-01 14:01 · Score: 4, Informative

(mod parent up, someone - he made some good points)

Well, that's at least a cogent counterargument. But let me make myself clear. I am not saying I agree or disagree that we need 8 glasses of water a day. I'm saying that I'm a skeptic. I agree with Valtin's argument that proof we need such a large amount of drinking water for everyday activity is suspiciously lacking. It seems to be ubiquitously 'common knowledge' and 'doctor recommended' but for something which is so strongly preached by "the entire medical world," as you state with some accuracy, shouldn't there be volumes of studies? Where are they? At the very least, I'd expect to see something demonstrating that healthy octogenarians drank more water during their lives then their sick and deceased cohorts. As it is, the best pro-water study I could come up with turned out to be sponsored by Brita. That's not very reassuring.

It could very well be that Valtin's a crackpot. But is he wrong?

(BTW, I do drink plenty of water myself. Pascal's Wager, and all that.)

--
There are two kinds of people: 1) those who start arrays with one and 1) those who start them with zero.

suggestion by larry+bagina · 2004-01-01 10:36 · Score: 4, Funny

get yourself addicted to crack or heroin, or CmdrTaco's dirty underwear.

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Do you even lift?

These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

multiple withdrawals by abysmilliard · 2004-01-01 10:37 · Score: 5, Interesting

The last time I quit caffeine (it only stuck for a few months), I killed it good by ALSO giving up cigarettes, sugar, and drinking at the same time It creates a situation where you feel so fucking miserable that really, you stop worrying about caffeine or really anything else, for that matter Anyways, caffeine exits your system after about three days. I suggest giving it up when you next have the flu, next have a really, REALLY bad bender, or next time you have a fever. The other feelings will be so painful, additional misery shouldn't bother you (much)

Re:multiple withdrawals by G.+W.+Bush+Junior · 2004-01-01 11:14 · Score: 5, Informative

The explanation i got from a biochemist when i tried to quit was that the signal-molecules that are there when you are tired compete with the caffeine molecules for the cells receptors (cafeeine is a competitive inhibitor).

The body compensates by overexpressing the receptors, so after a while everything works like you before you started drinking coffee, but if you try to quit you become tired very quickly (because of the extra receptors).

The receptors have a turnover time of a little more than a week, so if you that long you should be ok again... but it's not really a question of the caffeine leaving the body, as much as a question of protein-turnover in your brain.

The advantage over cafeeine addiction over cigarette addiction is that when the physical addiction is gone, then you are ok.
With smoking, the physical addiction is just a tiny part of your addiction.

(note: I am NOT a biochemist)

--
"I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." -George H.W. Bush
Re:multiple withdrawals by bluGill · 2004-01-01 11:53 · Score: 4, Insightful

Juice. Real 100% fruit juice. Not the sugar water that a lot of what is sold next to juice is. I find Nantucket Nectars brand is worth the extra cast because the are not from concentrate. (but hard to find) McDonald's used to have Apple Juice that was very good too (not from concentrate), but I haven't been there in years so I don't know.
Water is also good. I have a RO filter in my house, and find that water is most of what I drink. (I know a few people who live where tap water is good, but what I get from my taps isn't) It takes getting used to, but you can.
Gotta watch resteraunts. You are expected to order soda, coffee, or alchahol. Don't fall for it. Some have excellent Lemonade, but others just have a lemon flavored soda. Unfortunatly to get my free Sub at Subway I have to order a soda, no matter what I really want. (No surprize, to a resteraunt the ice is the most expensive part of a glass of pop)
Unfortunatly once you quit the easy addictions like sugar water and caffine your tastes improve. I've become a food snob. I read the labels looking for sugar, caffine, and find I'm more concerned with 100% natural ingreatiants... I buy Greek Olives from the Deli and love them. (other olives are not touchable) I've expirimented with Organic foods, and in many cases find that they are btter (though not all, and I don't blindly belive in organic like some). I make my own pizza and bread from scratch (sourdough). I'm not a good cook, but everyone thinks I am because my worst meals are still homemade and have flavor (compared to what they buy).
That isn't to say I don't sometimes have junk food, but I try to control it.

Worked for me... by nuxx · 2004-01-01 10:39 · Score: 4, Insightful

The best way I've found is to taper off your caffeine usage to maybe half a cup of coffee per day, then just stop.

Yes, it sucks. Yes, you'll get headaches for four to five days. And yes, you may end up with some weird flu-like symptoms after about a week.

But, after all the feeling-like-crap for a while, you'll be over it. You just have to deal with it.

I started looking through the google links... by tuxette · 2004-01-01 10:40 · Score: 4, Interesting

...and found some pretty funny stuff:

"Caffeine is the Christian drug of preference. Drink a glass of red wine or light up a cigarette during Sunday Night Fellowship Hour, and you will be thrown out on your ear. But a two-hundred-gallon pot of black adrenal-rush will bring friendly smiles of delight. The meeting would not be the same with the absence of its nutty aroma filling the church basement. Little white Styrofoam cups floating in small clusters of heavenly conversation." link

Otherwise, I found this interesting: Scientists cast doubt on caffeine addiction.

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People say I'm crazy, I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes...

Medical Marijuana by Aqua+OS+X · 2004-01-01 10:41 · Score: 4, Funny

You could always try medical marijuana. Odds are that'll get rid of the headaches.

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"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"

Physical activity! by FartingTowels · 2004-01-01 10:41 · Score: 5, Insightful

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

Cold Turkey by nonmaskable · 2004-01-01 10:42 · Score: 4, Informative

Just do it. I had headaches for a week, but I've been free 18 months now.

Some hints for this approach - drink a lot of ice cold water. Use pain relief without caffine (some pills have caffine in them) when you need to feel normal. Eat healthy and exercise.

I'll suck, but it'll end.

Some methods that worked for me... by sczimme · 2004-01-01 10:43 · Score: 5, Insightful

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!

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I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.

What about caffeine insensitivity? by Our+Man+In+Redmond · 2004-01-01 10:44 · Score: 5, Interesting

I'm curious about the other side of the coin. I do about a six-pack of Diet Coke a day, but I don't seem to show any signs of addiction if I don't get my caffeine. No headaches, no jitters, nothing. In addition, it doesn't seem to affect my ability to sleep. The only difference I can tell between the caffeinated and non-caffeinated versions is taste.

Granted that's my major source of caffeine (I don't do coffee or tea) so in any case I don't get a lot. I wondered whether other people have seen similar effects, and how widespread this might be.

--
Someone you trust is one of us.

Re:What about caffeine insensitivity? by oneiron · 2004-01-01 10:51 · Score: 5, Interesting

Yea, that's how I was. Never noticed any headaches or anything else... I never had problems sleeping.

Don't be fooled, though. The caffiene is still affecting you. You will get much better sleep if you're not hopped up on caffiene. Caffiene keeps you from reaching the lower frequencies of brainwave activity where your body recovers the best... Quit for a week, and you might notice feeling much more refreshed in the morning. I know I did. That's why I never went back.
Re:What about caffeine insensitivity? by palmtree3141 · 2004-01-01 11:55 · Score: 5, Interesting

Oddly enough, caffeine's effects on people vary greatly and has a pretty high correlation with how introverted or extroverted a person is... Extroverts respond to coffee, introverts to alcohol, generally. It's not perfect, but a very statistically significant correlation.

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You are not a unique and individual sig.
Re:What about caffeine insensitivity? by ath0mic · 2004-01-01 12:21 · Score: 4, Informative

FYI, Moutain Dew in Canada (in Ontario at least) contains no caffeine. IIRC it is illegal to caffeinate non-cola carbonated beverages up here in the frozen north.

Actually this is a good idea! by rkuris · 2004-01-01 10:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

Here's a paper describing the positive effects of nicotine. Since cancer generally takes 20-30 years from the time you start smoking, if you're around 50 or 60 years old, the positive effects of starting to smoke outweigh the negative effects, although the studies aren't complete yet.

Some doctors have considered prescribing nicotine as a cure for a variety of ailments, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, attention deficit disorder and colitis.

I'm thinking about it!

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Get rid of everything Micro and Soft: Buy Viagra and/or Linux

Re:Actually this is a good idea! by Hein_or_Henk · 2004-01-01 12:20 · Score: 5, Insightful

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!

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-- This message was made with 100% recycled electrons.
Re:Actually this is a good idea! by spicedhamhawg · 2004-01-01 12:30 · Score: 5, Interesting

That's not nicotine, it's one of the B vitamins. I don't recall the exact name anymore (haven't lived in Japan for over a year) but it's not nicotine. This has been discussed on /. before, some time ago. At any rate, the name of that particular B vitamin does begin with "nicotin."

To address the original poster's question, I'm semi-addicted to caffeine, but not to the point that I get headaches if I stop, and I often go without any caffeinated drinks from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

If you're really heavily stuck on caffeine, though, a slow tapering off is the best way to do it. Since part of the thing with caffeine is the act of drinking coffee (just as with cigarettes, it's not just the nicotine addiction, but the physical act of smoking), so one approach (I haven't tried it, but it seems logical) is to start cutting the caffeine level in your coffee by mixing it with decaf. Start with mostly regular and a little decaf, and gradually increase until it's eventually all decaf.

If that's too much work, get some caffeine pills and figure out how many equal one cup of coffee. Start with a full load, then start backing down by one pill, and then another, until there's only one left. Then maybe to half a pill, or maybe just go cold turkey at that point.

Or, take two weeks of vacation and have yourself locked in a room with no access to coffee, just an Internet connection and a toilet, and have your meals passed through the door :-)
Re:Actually this is a good idea! by MillionthMonkey · 2004-01-01 12:45 · Score: 5, Interesting

Nicotine is something your body needs, and actually produces itself.

I call bullshit. Nicotine is an alkaloid and a poison, and while there are drugs (hallucinogens even) that occur in the body, nicotine is not one of them. There is nicotinic acid (niacin or vitamin B-3) but that's a precursor to nicotine in tobacco plants. In humans it's a precursor for molecules like NADH. Nicotine acts at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, but not at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Acetylcholine and nicotine have little else in common.
Re:Actually this is a good idea! by jayhawk88 · 2004-01-01 13:13 · Score: 4, Funny

I also hear that feeding your children lead-based paint chips can make for a tasty afternoon snack that is low in calories and fat. What more could a parent ask for?
Re:Actually this is a good idea! by dipipanone · 2004-01-01 13:34 · Score: 4, Insightful

All things considered, the positive effects of cocaine outweigh nicotine by a mile

Let me guess -- you haven't actually been around a lot of hard core cocaine users have you? Still at that honeymoon phase perhaps?

and it wouldn't be all that much more expensive

Yup, definitely still at that honeymoon phase -- snorting a quarter gram a week or so isnt that expensive. Lets just hope you get bored before you freebase all the equity in your house as a number of my friends have. Then we'll see how expensive you think it is...
Re:Actually this is a good idea! by dipipanone · 2004-01-01 14:23 · Score: 4, Informative

Houses are cheap.

They are if you live Buttfuck, Nebraska or in your mom's basement. They aren't if you live in London or New York and have ten years worth of mortgage payments in equity.

Freebasing is a long forgotten art.

By the time you've developed a taste for it, you'll find that whipping up a few rocks with bicarb in the microwave achieves exactly the same effects. And there's nothing at all artful about spending a weekend picking your face, pulling your hair out or crawling around the carpet looking for that last tiny piece of rock that you swore you'd dropped.

Masturbate more by ToadMan8 · 2004-01-01 10:55 · Score: 4, Interesting

Do you think about drinking coffee / dew when you are masturbating? I didn't think so.

Really though, what causes the headaches (my most hated withdrawl symptom) is the capalaries in your head constricting back a bit after the caffine caused dialation and thus the headache (same w/ other headaches, just not caused by caffine).

Sex (and thus masturbation) releases natural chemicals that can reverse some of those effects.

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I haven't posted in so long, my sig is out of date.

Get the flu by legojenn · 2004-01-01 11:02 · Score: 4, Insightful

I finally broke a caffeine addiction that I have had since University a decade ago. Just get sick so bad you are near death. You won't want to eat for days. Don't worry about the craving beacuse you will be only semi-conscious anyways and the kitchen, Bridgehead, Starbucks, etc will all be too far away. Even the smell of food, will make you run for the loo. When you get mobile, you will be dehydrated. You will probably prefer to drink water as it hydrates you, I mean it is its job. By the time you are feeling better, eating, moving, breathing, your body will have forgotten about coffee. Drink another one at your own peril and don't get a flu shot.

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I make a reasonable middle-class wage by going to work and not spamming blogs with scams.

Addiction to Coca-Cola by Natchswing · 2004-01-01 11:19 · Score: 5, Informative

I myself had a similar problem. During my college years I was doing about one 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola a day. I never drank water, just downed coke when I was thirsty. If I went for some time without having any it would give me a nasty headache but drinking it wasn't friendly on my stomach either. But, living off a few hours of sleep per night for a few years straight will do that to you.

One day I just made the decision to stop. I went through about a week solid headache but after that the craving was gone, it really wasn't hard to get rid of.

A year later I couldn't find anything to drink but a coke so I tried one and couldn't stand the taste. At this point I don't think I could ever drink Coke again, the taste is just nasty.

Over time I finally moved myself to mostly water. Being a sugar addict also it took a little while to get used to drinking water. Water works well as an appetite suppressant as well as keeping you well hydrated. Your headaches may not be due to lack of caffeine as much as lack of water.

The downfall is that you run to the bathroom more than anybody you know. But to trade that for less headaches, a happier stomach, and overall better health was definitely worth it. You'll find that drinking water instead of anything else will make you feel better. I found that feeling better was a big contributing factor to me being more productive, both at work and at home.

Take a week and make sure you are well hydrated. WELL hydrated. A glass an hour. If your urine is almost clear you're doing well. If you get into too much water it may be good to replenish yourself with a sports beverage once in a while.

That's another issue. When I drank coke all the time I thought Gatorade was too bland and didn't have any flavor. After a few months of dedicating myself to water a glass of gatorade tastes like pure sugar to me. Suddenly I don't crave sweets as much. Cakes, cookies, candy - they all seem a bit overpowering.

All these positive things just from dropping the sugar and drinking water. Everybody was stunned when I first went to a restaurant and ordered water. Even I felt odd. Now it is just the obvious choice, everything else tastes far too sweet.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!

Re:i met a heroin addict that kicked it ... by eln · 2004-01-01 11:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

Not to be mean or anything, but I don't know that taking advice from someone who drinks 12 diet cokes a day on how to quit caffeine is wise. Since you keep going back to it, it's clear you've never managed to figure out how to really get over your addiction. Sure, you know how to get rid of the physical addiction, but the mental addiction still kicks your ass. Of course, in your case, you're probably not just addicted to caffeine, but also aspartame, which is well known to be highly addictive.

I quit smoking 3 years ago. I broke the physical addiction 3 or 4 times when I tried to quit in the past, but the mental addiction always caught up to me. It took a good year or two before I stopped getting "cravings," usually situational, but they did get much less severe after the first 5 or 6 months.

It's really all about willpower, and it is very very hard, especially if you have are naturally predisposed to addictions, but it can be done. For most people, it takes a major addiction-related occurrence, like cancer or diabetes, to give them the willpower. Luckily, that wasn't the case for me...my major motivation was cigarettes going past 2 bucks a pack.

Cold Turkey by zaren · 2004-01-01 11:30 · Score: 5, Insightful

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.

--
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!

The best advice you'll ever get... by fzammett · 2004-01-01 11:32 · Score: 4, Insightful

I think it was a Saturday Night Live skit with Bob Newhart. Meant to be funny of course (and it was), but at the same time it's the single best piece of serious advice I've ever heard for anyone addicted to anything.

STOP IT.

That's it. Don't gimme all this psychobable, don't gimme all the physiological reasons it's not that simple, because it f'ing is.

JUST STOP IT. STOP, STOP, STOP IT.

If you don't want to drink soda any more...

STOP IT.

It you don't want to touch yourself 10 times a day...

STOP IT.

If your a crack whore...

JUST STOP IT.

Cigarettes shortening your life?...

F'ING STOP IT.

Your a 400 pound fat-ass that's about two porkchops away from a heart attack?...

Say it with me...

STOP IT!

Just stop being a weak-minded fool, deal with the discomfort that will probably result from going cold turkey, and get over it all. JUST F'ING STOP IT. NOW!!

--
If a pion (n-) collides with a proton in the woods & noone is there to hear it, does lamdba decay into the source pa

Some Alternatives by DynaSoar · 2004-01-01 12:50 · Score: 4, Interesting

Caffeine is one of 3 methylated xanthines, the others being theophylline and theobromine. Taking the others can serve to reduce withdrawal. Caffeine is the most addictive because it's the fastest acting of these, just as crack is the most addictive form of cocaine. You can find these chemicals in:

1. Chocolate. It has 10% of the caffiene of coffee, but contains these other also. It also contains PEA, "an endogenous neuroamine, increases attention and activity in animals" (http://www.chocolate.org/pea.htm). PEA may be the most neglected and useful of the brain amines. Chocolate makes many people just feel better; this may be why.

2. Guarana: An "herbal" (actually the inside bark of a tree) that contains all 3 of the chemicals, caffeine least. However, it can become a substitute addiction, and it costs more than chocolate. There was a soda that had guarana, but only as a flavoring, not a "suppliment". Some "power drinks" have guarana, but can also have ephedrine, which is not a good thing.

3. Foods: Caffeine acts by increasing norepinepherine (NE) levels in the brain. Take it away and NE drops. This is the mechanism of addiction. Any foods high in phenylalanine or tyrosine are good dietary precursors to replace the NE the body isn't getting now that caffeine isn't forcing its production. High phenylalanine or tyrosine foods are typically your high-protein foods, meats and fishes, dairy products, whole oats and wheat. Here's a picture of the metabolic pathway involved (http://www.life-enhancement.com/article_template. asp?ID=356). You'll notice it says "(nor)adrenalin" instead of (nor)epinepherine. Same chemicals, outside or inside the blood/brain barrier. Yeah, caffeine gives you adrenalin.

Caffeine truly is addicting. However, it is one of the weakest addictions. It's easy to break and the withdrawals are not bad. Also, it can typically be used safely by those previously addicted, without necessarily causing re-addiction.

I am not a physician. But then I'm not prescribing anything, and what I offer as suggestions are not controlled substances. I am, however, a professional neuroscientist with a fair amount of experience in psychopharmacology, and prior to getting my doctorate, worked for several years as a licensed substance abuse counselor.

Me, I'd go for the chocolate. Whether I need it or not.

Q: Why is there no twelve step group for caffeine addiction?

A: I DON'T HAVE TIME TO WAIT AROUND FOR THAT.

--
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B

Re:Water & Exercise by Frymaster · 2004-01-01 13:11 · Score: 4, Insightful

Best way to quit is to substitute coffee with something like sparkling water and starting an exercise regime.

you sound like someone who's never had a cup of coffee in his life.

if yr a caffeine addict (as i am) you know that during withdrawal you are too debilitated to type let alone exerise.

now, i've quit coffee twice successfully in my life (and returned voluntarily and deliberately) and have developed a "formula":

take a week off work - and everything else.
take a lot b-complex vitamins. four b50's a day shoud do it
make liberal use of vasoconstrictor spray. something with xylo in it like otrivin.
ibuprofen combined with the xylo will releive most of the sinus headaches.
if you can get melatonin, get it. this will get you over the withdrawal insomnia.
drink lots of water. sparkling's okay - i'd suggest s'pelgrino or grolschteiner (sp?)
if this fails try again with a mild antidepressant. st. john's wort for instance or if you want something stronger you can get wellburtin from your doctor for "quitting smoking". be careful with antidepressants though! and remember they take a couple of weeks to "pack".

good luck!

--

2 1337 4 u!

two Bodums a day of inky black French roast by epine · 2004-01-01 13:26 · Score: 4, Informative

Drinking that much coffee is not good for the body. I learned the hard way: wore out my adrenal system.

It's not so easy to quit as some people suggest.

First time I quit cold turkey, spent three days in bed with wracking headaches and no appetite for food. The headaches became less severe after three days, but my body was not yet at peace. Suffered unproductively for the better part of two weeks and then started drinking coffee again to get on with my life. But a lot less than before.

Another iteration of quiting and unquiting got me down to about two or three large cups a day.

Then I had a prescription medication that interacted badly with caffeine and I had to quit again. Still had the headaches for several days, but this time my life didn't stall completely. A month later I still couldn't function at full intensity, so I started drinking one cup each morning.

At one cup of moderately strong coffee, I can quit anytime without a headache. At 1.5 cups per day, missing a day is risky. At 2 cups per day, I'm fully addicted. It can vary over a wide range from one person to another.

After many hard fought battles, I figure it takes the best part of three months for the body to fully adjust to a different caffeince consumption level. People forget that coffee has hundreds of other alkaloids, not just caffeine. Decaf coffee affects cognitive structure (not in a good way) without causing the same vascular effects.

Now I stick to about one cup a day, the level where I know I'm not addicted. Can miss a day with only a little blah to deal with.

Tea never worked at all as a caffeine substitute for me, nor do any of the colas. It's not just the caffeine you have to live without.

The best trick I learned was to change my brewing methods.

First, use a high quality dark roast with intense flavour. Dark roast has less caffeine, because some of the caffeine is destroyed in the roaasting process. If the roast is good, I find I'm less tempted to cheat on the ratio.

Don't use a French press. I love the body of a French press, but it comes at the price of extracting in triplicate. I switched to drip, which was (un)depressing at first, but I got used to it.

Grind your own beans. Some roasts can be ground a lot finer without losing flavor or becoming bitter. A fine grind with a quick brew cycle will extract more flavour relative to the amount of caffeine. Don't ask me about the physics, I don't understand it either.

Brew in smaller batches. I used to use brew length as an indicator for the quality of a roast. If the roast can be extracted in a French press for more than four minutes without becoming nasty, the roast is really good. With a French press, the coffee tastes better if you pour from about ten inches above the top of the Bodum in a slow drizzle. I could never figure out why this worked, but then I learned that this is just enough time for the water temp. to drop below 200 degrees. Water right at the boiling point does something nasty to coffee beans. But, oh, I was saying don't use a French press only the memories are too good.

Even with a drip, the extraction cycle is important. The problem is that if the coffee tastes like crap, my first instinct is to fix the problem by tossing twice as many grounds in the filter basket.

Drip coffee makers don't scale: the length of the extraction cycle varies with the amount of water processed. Shorter extraction cycles are better for getting good coffee with less caffeine.

For my small Braun drip, anything over half a pot creates difficulties with balance. I drew a black line at the fill level which produces an optimum exrtraction cycle: it works out to two 10 ounce cups.

Even with the black line, I had a constant battle with an expanding miniscus. Some days I could make that miniscus so large, I could squeeze an entire third mug out of the deal.

The stroke of genius was to throw the caraffe away. Now I brew my coffee

Re:Lots of things your body uses are poison by MillionthMonkey · 2004-01-01 14:11 · Score: 5, Informative

Acetone is naturally produced in the body when acetoacetate spontaneously decarboxylates to form it (instead of being enzymatically reduced by NADH to beta-hydroxybutyrate). When people go on that Atkins diet, the ketogenesis overflow pathway is very active and you can smell acetone on their breath. Plus it is present in dietary sources. So the body can handle its presence and you can ingest a tablespoon of acetone with no ill effect. But the OP wasn't talking about acetone. It was talking about nicotine, and claiming it is legitimately found in the body. It is not.

Whether or not it's called a "poison", if you're going to claim that nicotine is produced naturally in the body, the onus is on you to say where.

The problem with water filters by SkOink · 2004-01-01 14:49 · Score: 4, Informative

The problem with water filters is that, while they do filter out anything which might taste a bit odd to you, they actually remove a number of helpful things from the water, which are added by your local water department (e.g. vitamin B, and fluorine, the dental benefits of which are substantial and documented), and some things which aren't (the amount of iron accumulated in processing and pipes is well within the range of useful to your body). Other sediment picked up along the way isn't particularly harmful either, although it does nothing for you.

So really, if you drank nothing but fresh and clean, pure water from day one, you'd have awful and horrible teeth. Ask your local dentist about the benefits of fluoridized water if you don't believe me.

--
---- I'll take you in a Hunt deathmatch any day.

This worked for my wife... by blamanj · 2004-01-01 14:49 · Score: 4, Insightful

I get up first in the morning and make the coffee. She asked me to get her off of caffeine without the headaches, and I did it. It took about three weeks.

I simply mixed decaf beans in with the "leaded" beans gradually over time until they were 100% decaf. Like I said, I did it over about three weeks, maybe 80:20 for 5 days, 60:40 for 5 days, etc. The day I told her she was completely decaffeinated, she was surprised. No headaches, no side effects.

Actually, no. by The+Tyro · 2004-01-01 14:58 · Score: 4, Informative

Disclaimer: I'm an ER doc, and I treat several migraine patients a day.

The origin of migraines is incompletely understood, and the vascular theory is only one of the hypotheses that are used to explain the origin of migraines. In addition to the vascular theory, some evidence points to serotonin and dopamine receptor involvement... the truth of the matter is that nobody knows.

However, that said, read this thread and you'll understand why an entire industry has grown up around migraine treatment... everyone's are different. There are entire clinics and centers that do nothing but treat migraines... do an internet search and you'll find some. There are neurologists out there who make a good living treating nothing but migraines.

If you read the list of medications that are used to treat migraines, it reads like a pharmacy inventory... everything from cardiac medications to anti-seizure medications, sedatives, steroids, anesthetics, narcotics, anti-psychotics, and everything inbetween. If a person has migraines long enough, they eventually find out something that works for them, primarily through trial and error... once you go through the common drugs with no relief, there's almost no other way to find a treatment for refractory migraines.

For my own part, I've found one thing that almost universally relieves migraines: sleep. Sometimes the treatment of a particularly severe migraine involves nothing short of knocking a person out with drugs so that they can go home and sleep it off.

Back on topic, however... caffeine is an effective treatment for migraines, particularly in the early phase of the headache. Keep in mind, however, that one man's meat is invariably another man's poison: caffeine relieves migraines in most people, but causes them in others.

All I can say is know your triggers, avoid them, and treat EARLY.

--
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.

Re:cut your dosage by mikehoskins · 2004-01-01 16:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

I had a bit of a wise word from an old work colleague concerning addiction to caffeine, among other things.

He said that if you get really sick, you can quit almost anything you're addicted to.

So, follow the advice above by tapering off to a point that you are confortable with. Then, the next time you get really sick, decide to go cold turkey and not pick up the habit again.

I got kidney stones, partly from drinking 6-8 Cokes a day (full of caffeine, carbonated water, and sugar -- lots of diuretics), and partly from not drinking enough water. I spent three days in the hospital for that one. After that, I really dropped off the Cokes and increased my water intake.

The only other time I got a kidney stone was just before I finally decided to really cut back on caffeine. Fortunately, I didn't have to go to the ER with this one....

I'll tell you that caffeine withdrawal doesn't begin to compare with kidney stones!!!

So, scale back now, and quit the next time you get really sick....

I now drink Coke ONCE a month.... (I never liked coffee or tea, though.) I may drink a hot chocolate once or twice a month during the fall/winter months. I occasionally eat chocolate. I drink lots of water, instead.

I don't get kidney stones any more, either....

Re:Water & Exercise by electroniceric · 2004-01-01 16:39 · Score: 4, Informative

Let me add an additional incentive: caffeine, as with many stimulants can do unpleasant things to your heart.

From http://www.cdc-cdh.edu/hospital/cardio/art44.html:

Does caffeine cause dangerous heart irregularity?:

Yes, even in persons who are "otherwise healthy." In patients with coronary artery heart disease, with or without angina (chest pains), and/or hypertension (high blood pressure), drinking coffee or cola drinks, or drinking or eating chocolates, can precipitate a heart irregularity called PVCs (Premature Ventricular Contractions) or even palpitation (rapid heart pounding).

Now before folks call me alarmist, this is not true of everybody. I happen to be someone with a very high sensitivity to caffeine, and one of my brothers has this too, though interestingly neither of my parents do. I discovered how sensitive I was to caffeine after it put me in the cardiac wing of a hospital for a day and a half with an atrial fibrillation, even though I am fit and don't smoke.

That experience has left me thinking that people are awfully blasee about using what can be a very strong stimulant for people with certain biochemistry. So let me add that to all the other excellent advice about getting used to drinking water.

One other thought:
If you don't have hypertension, you might try snacking on sunflower seeds periodically. The salt gives you a wicked urge to drink water, and the seeds take enough work to crack that you don't really go through that many calories.

Re:cut your dosage by SScorpio · 2004-01-01 16:42 · Score: 4, Insightful

You've never been addicted to caffine have you?

I would get headaches, irratablity, muscle spasms, and stomach cramps. I would also feel just plane drained and I felt like I had not energy what so ever. This was if I didn't drink any caffine for the day. A can of pop would clear them up in about 5 minutes or so.

The way I got off it was just go cold turkey. Be sure to drink lots of water, and juice also helps. In about a week your body should have all the caffine flushed out of it and any withdrawls should be completely gone.

An interesting side effect I had way that after about 6 months of no caffine just drinking a can of Pepsi gave me a major buzz. I'm not currently living caffine free but my intake is down to one 20oz a day with lunch, any maybe a glass or two with dinner when I go out to eat once or twice a week.

Re:cut your dosage by reverius · 2004-01-01 19:39 · Score: 4, Funny

If your main source of caffeine is soda, then you really haven't dealt with serious caffeine withdrawal unless you were drinking a few litres a day. I was up to almost a gram a day at my worst last year... just for reference, soda is generally 35-45 mg per serving (55 for mt. dew). So that's maybe 20 servings of soda, assuming a good mix of mt. dew and coke products.

I of course used much more potent forms of caffeine... coffee, tea in large quantities, and of course candies, gums, mints (TONS of penguin mints... I bought them by the case every month or so), and I even showered with caffeinated soap from thinkgeek...

Re:cut your dosage by Anonymous Coward · 2004-01-01 21:27 · Score: 4, Informative

Tea is actually a really good way to wean yourself from caffeine if cold turkey isn't working for you. Tea comes in MANY varieties, and has different amounts of caffeine for each (do a little research). You can find some that are nearly as high in caffeine per cup as coffee, and others as low as 1mg per cup.

Find some types that you really *enjoy* the flavor of, and then order them from highest caffeine to lowest. Figure out a schedule and work your way down accordingly.

Not only did this work for me, but there are a lot of other benefits to drinking tea or green tea.

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