hughs dad

Hello all. I have been here in the past under different user name but went back out. I am now here with a new name and different results. My question is, most people at AA drink coffee. I love coffee but am not sure if this may act as a trigger due to the crash in blood sugar after processed.

I would love to hear some opinions regarding this. I want to continue to drink coffee, but if there are people out there who say it's easier to recover w/out it I will listen.

Thanks,

HD

bugsworth

I'd love to answer but I need to run and get another cop of coffee!!! LOL

I think the coffee at meetings stink, so I always bring a fresh one from the 7-11.

I didn't try to cut out coffee when I quit drinking, but I am sure someone has...best of luck.

possiblyNuts

I've always wondered about people getting treatment for alcoholism and chain smoking like crazy... It seems like 90 percent of people in recovery smoke like nuts. And they teach to stay away from other drugs, but cancer causing, and extremely addictive tobacco is okay? I've never understood that, but then again I've never been a tobacco smoker.

lovingseren

After early sobriety I wondered about this too, I have cut down my caffeine to one cup of tea a day.
I seldom eat sweets or candies.
I have a mad passion for apple/pears
Sugar Highs and Lows were huge triggers for me.

dave47

Hello Hughs dad and welcome back. I love coffee and have never tried to cut it out and i don't see it as any way a trigger.

nandm

I did not find it to be a trigger for me. But over a period of time in sobriety I have gone to decaf coffee. Yes, I realize it does have some caffiene in it but since I only have one or two cups a week I don't feel it is a significant amount.

I have found this to be 50% or less in my area. In fact it is difficult to impossible to find a meeting where smoking is allowed. I stopped both alcohol and cigarettes at the same time. Didn't see any point to smoking 3-4 packs a day with no alcohol to drink. My smoking was a trigger to drink.

CD-RUN

26 days sober... atleast 2 cups of coffee every day, sometimes as much as a whole pot before the day is over. addictive personality i guess. I drink coffee because I love it and I dont drink soda. Kicked the smoking habit 26 days ago as well but I was never a sober smoker. I only wanted to smoke while drinking, which turned me into a pack a day smoker more often than not.

sbp

One thing I find interesting is an alcoholic who increases his or her nicotine and caffiene addiction while cutting back or quitting alcohol. These 3 are all serious drugs. Why is one worse or better than the others. They are all drugs and are highly addictive.

Most people give up Alcohol to get there lives back and become healthy so they won't die. Seems to me these folks are simply replacing one addiction with another and are still not healthy.

I'm not trying to be negative, just making a point.

CD-RUN

Well my guess would be that alot of alcoholics have addictive personalities... such as myself. As for why one is better or worse than the others? I'll trade alcoholism for caffiene addiction any day of the week. Yes caffiene is a drug but alcoholism kills.

SF69

Since I've quit drinking, I am smoking a little more. Which, I'm hoping once I really become comfortable with sobriety, it will be the next thing to go. Hopefully I'll be more successful this time, because in my attempts to quit smoking before, I always started again when I was out drinking.

As for coffee, I've always been a 3 or 4 large cup a day drinker. And now, I might be drinking a little more, but that's mainly because now on a weekend night, I drinking coffee instead of beer.

sbp

True caffiene likely won't kill you. lol. There are reports almost daily that say Caffiene is good for you and also reports that tell us caffiene is bad. The media and scientists can't make up there mind on that one.

But we all know Cigarettes kill. They kill others not just the smoker.

SF69

Yeah, I know this is just me rationalizing it, but coffee has never caused me to call off work, get into a fight, get into trouble with the law, etc. So in that sense, coffee is a less dangerous addiction for me.

CD-RUN

I dont think caffiene is bad in moderation. 1 or 2 cups of black coffee is good for the antioxidants. Atleast thats the last I read. Too much of anything can be bad. Lots of people say not to try to quit both drinking and smoking at the same time. Stop drinking first then work on the smoking. I quit both at the same time because I have no desire to smoke when sober. Best of luck to you on both accounts SF.

Krissy 72

sbp - you are so right... I do exactly that - well, last time I quit I did. Hopefully this time it will be different. Weird part is, I drank more water, ate better, walked etc., when drinking. When I quit, I was the picture of healthy living - for two months or so. Then, gradually worked my way up to smoking like a fiend, and drinking coffee the way I used to drink - always had a cup in my hand and even drank it at night when I was already having trouble sleeping. Stopped walking. Ate crap food. Almost like I have some need to punish my body, take the alcohol away and just replace it with something else. Needless to say I started drinking again soon after, in even worse shape than before. At least I am aware of it this time.

Hughs Dad - I think it all depends on you, your metabolism and your triggers. Coffee definately, absolutely makes my withdrawals worse and I cannot drink it (I'm on day 3, and it literally makes me shake). Afterwards, with me I knew I was getting weird with the caffeine, so maybe it's just something to keep your eye on, but not necessarily worry about unless you notice a problem. Yeah, coffee can't kill you, some studies say it's good for you, but getting back into that mindset - that 'I have to have it' alcoholic thinking - thats whats dangerous. In my own opinion at least.

lovingseren

I think like everything about sobriety and recovery we find what works for us, and what doesn't.
We can only share what worked for us.

Seren

matt88

It's simple. They're stopping alcohol consumption. That doesn't mean they're quitting smoking, or giving up unhealthy food, or quitting coffee. They're just getting off the booze, the cigs are another issue. It's easy to lump it all together, and adopt the attitude of abstaining from anything detrimental altogether in one large swift wiping of the slate. That's probably the most effective approach to take really. But some like to take it one at a time, chipping away at their sculpture.

Me personally, smoking is a trigger as well. Since the nicotine stimulates, my body then in turn craves the opposite sedation that alcohol gives. While drinking, it was the constant interplay among the two in a chemical balancing act for equilibrum that gave me pleasure.

Zoobear

It talks about this in the Big Book. A new member was being naged by his wife about the amount of coffee he was drinking, he tried to stop and was soon back in the bar.
First things first.

Yardbird

One night on my way home from a meeting I stopped to get some coffee--ahhh, freshly ground, good quality coffee. It's my only remaining habit, and dang it, I'm going to enjoy it!

Anyway, I was driving through a sketchy neighborhood and another car pulled up beside me. A young guy got out with what looked like a gun, pointing directly at me. In a flash, I thought about what a bummer it would be to lose the car. More importantly, I grabbed the most important thing--my coffee!!

As it turned out, the kid was having a great time sticking a plastic gun at people and laughing to see them react. Dumb kid. But I was seriously ready to give up the car, as long as he didn't try to get my freshly ground French roast.

Now that's an addiction. But not a bad one--and it hasn't ever triggered me. Actually, waking up to a good cup of coffee without a nasty hangover is one of my sober life's joys.

hughs dad

Thanks for the posts... I too love coffee. I don't think I drink more of it now than I used to, I think I just look forward to it more.

tiburon88

I have a Starbucks down the street from me. I never see people panhandling outside the store. I never see people outside chugging 40oz cafe lattes. When the store closes at 10pm there is no need for a bouncer. Everyone leaves in a calm and orderly fashion. The point is that yes caffeine is a drug but is a much milder addiction then alcohol.
Tiburon
In Recovery Since 2002
"Take What Tou Want & Leave The Rest."