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Originally Posted by Bunny211
(Post 5825895)
Ok so, I am trying to wean myself off of coffee. Amazing how I switched from liquor to coffee. On a daily basis this is my caffeine consumption: Large Dunkin Donuts iced coffee with a turbo shot (shot of expresso) on the way to work. 1-2 more cups of strong coffee in the morning Diet coke with lunch Medium iced coffee with a shot of expresso around 1 1-2 more cups of coffee over the course of the day Diet coke with dinner Medium iced coffee with a shot of expresso before my nightly AA meeting. So...all together that amounts to about 10 "Standard" cups of coffee a day and 2 diet cokes. Holy crap. I'm starting to get really bad headaches lately. Not sure if it is from TOO much caffeine or caffeine withdrawals. I need to drink more water and I need to cut back on the coffee. What's the best way? Cut down immediately to 1 cup a day? Or cut out the evening coffee....or gradually taper down? Anyone have experience quitting caffeine? I'm such an addict. Who in their right mind drinks this much coffee?! I'm impressed that you are committing to this!! |
Ditto. Before I stopped drinking I had maybe 2 cups (tops). Now I have like 6 cups a day! I think it's because I started adding that crappy coffee mate sweet stuff. (Oh yeah, I'm also addicted to sugar...) Well, I'd start with cutting the evening coffee/diet Coke and switching to herbal tea or something. I also like the diet cranberry cocktail juice, especially the cranberry/cherry flavor. Whatever, it's all better than alcohol! |
In early sobriety I would keep consumption way down as it can cause anxiety. If you drink it daily, and stop suddenly, you can get headaches. Like anything else some people can have their own unique sensitivities to it It should be emphasized that THERE ARE HUGE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR PEOPLE DRINKING LOTS OF COFFEE!!!!!! Look it up. The information is all over the internet. There have been all sorts of studies. I can't believe nobody has mentioned it in this thread. |
Originally Posted by ScottFromWI
(Post 5825907)
I was forced to cut way back on caffeine after some limited sober time because it started making my anxiety go through the roof. Not sure why I never had that problem when I was still drinking, but now I can't drink more than one or 2 cups of regular coffee in the morning without being a nervous wreck for a while. The headaches are most likely from withdrawal....you are drinking a LOT of caffeine. Never seemed to notice this when drinking. Probably too busy trying fight through a hangover to notice anything else |
One of my delimas is this: going to an average restaurant your choices are so limited. I wish I was a big fan of water, but I feel like I need variety, which is basically diet soda or tea. I guess I need to retrain my brain to love water. However I totally agree with uncorked, "It's all better than alcohol"! Great thread, Bunny |
Originally Posted by FormerWineGirl
(Post 5827392)
One of my delimas is this: going to an average restaurant your choices are so limited. I wish I was a big fan of water, but I feel like I need variety, which is basically diet soda or tea. I guess I need to retrain my brain to love water. However I totally agree with uncorked, "It's all better than alcohol"! Great thread, Bunny That is totally possible. My favorite thing to drink is water. I love how it's natural, essential, fresh, refreshing, good for you and I actually like the taste. Have you ever been so thirsty that you craved for water so bad that you once you were able to drink it, it tasted so good? Take that as a reference point. Water can be delicious. And I like that it's one of the most important things for your body. Lack of water, second to oxygen, will kill you the fastest if you deprive yourself from things. As it happens, I totally LOVE fresh air. :) |
I'm going through this as well. Although, I'm only at about 3 a day. I find that extra water is good. Exercise and stretching help with the withdrawal headaches. I'd go slowly on weaning off. At least a caffeine addiction is much less daunting than alcoholism in my opinion. |
I went through this in May/June, but I was a heavy coffee consumer when I was a drinker. I found removing the alcohol and drinking lots of coffee left me very wound up (and crashing at the end of the day). I was up to 1-2 pots of coffee a day, so that's easily 10 mugs of coffee. I slowly weaned myself down to 1 large cup a day, and for the most part I've stayed at that. I also keep some green tea at work for through out the day. I mostly avoided headaches by cutting back slowly, but I had some other odd side effects of caffeine withdrawal like pain in the lower back. Luckily I didn't return to my old coffee intake. On the weekends, I might splurge and have a second cup of coffee. Coffee is healthy, but I agree with Scott that the anxiety level in early sobriety is bad enough that too much caffeine for me makes it go through the roof. |
Hi Bunny, I don't have any advice but I can share with you my situation. I have a large cup of coffee in the morning and that is it for the day. I've done it for 20 years. Any and all other liquids are caffeine free. IF...I drink a regular Coca-Cola or Pepsi in the afternoon, I feel like I'm on speed for about 5 hrs. I guess my point is that I believe caffeine is a stronger "drug" than people think it is. It may be the source of your headaches. |
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