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amanito

Coffee addiction

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I have this stupid coffee addiction ... sometimes it works out to reduce, but I always go back. I drink coffee from the early morning until mid afternoon and sometimes even one or two extra energy drinks. I think I never drink water, only coffee :s. In the night maybe a beer, max half a glass of water.

I feel that my addiction is getting out of hand, if I don't drink anythink I get raaaaaaaaaaging headaches. Needless to say I take frequently paracetamol, dimethylergotamine and aspirin lately to combat the side effects.

A while ago I went shopping with my wife, I didn't have coffee in the morning ... I was getting so dizzy from the headaches I just couldn't walk anymore. When I drank some cola it was getting better ...

I'm pretty worried about my health. It's scary to see how addictive caffeine is. Anyone else who has this?

I'm wondering how long it would take for the headaches to stop if I start to go to one or two cups a day and then to zero.

For the ones who think this is a joke, it ain't .. My headaches are fucking strong, :s

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My misses just gave up pepsi from 1.25 ltrs to nothing and she was having head aches almost migranes and even nausia at times, she had to just laydown in bed and try and relax and get rid of it..

Possibly you could swap to tea untill you weene off it?

I dont really know how i can assist.

I had to give up "mother" as i was having 3 cans a day and when i stopped cold turkey it took me 3 weeks to notice that every single morning when i was at work (when i would normaly get my first can) i would get head aches, dizzyness, sweats and almost throw up..

Like i said before maybe a "healthier" substitute like tea??

My head chef was told by his doctor that he had done so much damage to his body that he is to take NO stimulates what so ever, being nicotene, caffiene, alcohol anything..

Just throwing in my 2 cents mate..

Chef

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I get crazy strong withdrawal head aches from coffee. Even 1 strong cup a day for 1 week will mean i get withdrawals.

It normally lasts 2 or 3 days. I get dizzy and bad stomach too.

If ive been drinking heaps and wanna stop I just space out my coffees more and more over a few days until there you are not drinking a cup each day then you can stop or keep it like that.

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a few years ago i became very dependent on caffeine. sleeping 1-4 hours a night, 3-6 coffees a day, i couldn't function without it.

decided to stop for a week when i had a break from work, and i had a week long chronic headache and flu symptoms, it was no fun at all.. but after that week i felt a lot better, it's hard, but it is doable.

as chef pointed out, tea might be a better option, i drink 1-3 pots of tea a day, sometimes 5, and occasionally i wont have tea for a day or 2, and feel no withdrawal symptoms. tea is also really healthy anyway, so not only is it good as a coffee substitute, but it's good for your health.

buy high quality chinese loose leaf tea, you can re-use the same leaves up to 7 times depending on the type, but usually 3-5, so it actually works out to be just the same as tea bags if not cheaper, and the difference in taste is significant. read up on the difference between loose leaf and tea bag tea, tea bag tea consists of the lowest grade waste, and will often be bitter.

caffeine dependence and withdrawals are definitely no joke, i feel your pain brother, you can overcome it if you want to, and you will increase the quality of your life if you do.

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I don't know if it applies to those above maybe Chef more than others.

Many people have allergies to their favourite things and can sometimes take those substances that cause the allergy to excess and it can indeed become an addiction.

It's like the brain ignores the connection between the substance and the symptoms.

I have a book buried somewhere that mentions a weird phenomenon that happens in the case of allergies that is particularly pertinent to a coffee/caffeine addiction.

I can't remember the title of the book or find anything to reinforce this on the web so don't take this as medical advice.

Anyway it went something like this

When we ingest or come in contact with an allergen our body reacts with a histamine response or other allergic symptoms - nausea, vomiting etc and sometimes this can be a delayed reaction so we don't make the connection between the allergen and the reaction.

Now the really interesting part

For many allergic reactions the symptoms can be switched off with another dose of the allergen, this has even been used to reverse anaphylaxis resulting from the ingestion of peanuts.

This was said to also apply to a coffee addiction where the second cup of coffee will switch off the allergic symptoms and make the drinker feel good, subconsciously reinforcing the coffee addiction.

Coffee gives you the feel good hit from the caffeine and an energy burst from the combined sugar/caffeine but typically gives vague delayed symptoms if one is allergic so it's easy not make the connection between the coffee and the symptoms.

So if your second cup of coffee is making you feel better than the first it could be an allergy.

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Apparently regular tea has more caffeine (theanine) than coffee. Perhaps to reduce your dose you use half your regular coffee spoonful and use half decaf in every cup? A pain in the ass but better than going cold turkey? After a week or two long interval you could use just a 1/4 regular coffee and 3/4 decaf, then after another week or two just switch to fully decaf.

I had a coffee caffeine addiction at age 9 and the first day of holiday camping when everyone somehow forgot coffee, I got rageing headaches and wanted to tear everyone's faces off for forgetting it. Yuck.

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I must be addicted as well. I will have 3 during the day then 3 to 4 during the night. I enjoy it though, I often have a strong one b4 bed with a. Cig and still get my normal 8 hours sleep. If I quit cigarettes which I really should, my coffee intake would be quartered. COffee and tObacco must surely bE one of the most comPlete plant synergies out there.

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yep, when i finally gave up tobacco for good, i had to give up coffee for 12 months too. I can now drink coffee

again without that ciggy urge, but rarely do. Tea is my thing now.

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COffee and tObacco must surely bE one of the most comPlete plant synergies out there.

 

South_Park_Characters__Tweek_by_Zwerg_im_Bikini.jpg

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Honestly guys, I think a lot of it is probably psychological. Personally I don't find caffeine addictive at all, but I guess it could just be my body chemistry.

Last year I was drinking at least 8 cans of sugar free red bull a day for about 5 months, then had to abruptly stop, because I could no longer afford the $20 a day habit. Didn't effect me in anyway, apart from causing me to become constantly hungry and eat to much unhealthy foods.

Even now, I can go for a month having 4 no doz pills in the morning and 2 at lunch, then a week or 2 without and I don't get any withdrawal symptoms.

Maybe these headaches you guys talk about might be dehydration from lack of water that you would usually get from your coffee? I mean, not trying to offend anyone here, but it's just inevitable that a person is going to feel like shit if there only drinking half a glass of water a day. You should be drinking at least 2 litre's and idealistically you would really want to drink over 4 litre's.     

Anyway, just a suggestion.

Peace

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could be the water thing that your sayin..? ^^

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@fancy - not everyone drinks that flavoured instant powder stuff when they refer to "coffee"... i also read something a few years back (could be wrong) where apparently tea has 2 types of caffeine, one is stronger than the caffeine in coffee and the other is weaker, but given that, standard "black" tea has around 50% the caffeine as a standard cup of coffee, and green tea are around 33%.

and i really dont envy your habit as a 9 year old...

@incog - that's crazy man...

yeah i enjoy coffee too, love the taste (real coffee never instant), but i only drink it now when studying and not really when on holidays, and my intake averaged about 5 double shot coffees a week for 20 weeks, and i had no withdrawal symptoms after cessation, but this is years after my dependence.

@ sally - interesting read, i dont think it applies to me though, i'm fortunate in that i never really experience hayfever/allergic reactions.

and since it's become a theme, check out this classic...

 

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Maybe these headaches you guys talk about might be dehydration from lack of water that you would usually get from your coffee?

 

Considering caffeine is a diuretic I cant see how this would help with hydration? If you look up what effects caffeine has, things like headache make a fair bit of sense when people stop using. Obviously everyone has different results.

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Honestly guys, I think a lot of it is probably psychological. Personally I don't find caffeine addictive at all, but I guess it could just be my body chemistry.

Last year I was drinking at least 8 cans of sugar free red bull a day for about 5 months, then had to abruptly stop, because I could no longer afford the $20 a day habit. Didn't effect me in anyway, apart from causing me to become constantly hungry and eat to much unhealthy foods.

Even now, I can go for a month having 4 no doz pills in the morning and 2 at lunch, then a week or 2 without and I don't get any withdrawal symptoms.

Maybe these headaches you guys talk about might be dehydration from lack of water that you would usually get from your coffee? I mean, not trying to offend anyone here, but it's just inevitable that a person is going to feel like shit if there only drinking half a glass of water a day. You should be drinking at least 2 litre's and idealistically you would really want to drink over 4 litre's.

Anyway, just a suggestion.

Peace

 

at the time of my dependence and withdrawals i was drinking 3/4L a day, not including coffee, and now i drink 3/4/5L every day.

everyone is different, dependence and withdrawals are very real, but not everyone may develop these, you're pretty lucky that you didn't experience either, they're not pleasant...

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I know someone who's an addict, and this is no laughing matter. Caffeine is like any other drug, the headaches you are feeling are withdrawal symptoms.

I suggest you wean your intake bit by bit every day and perhaps trick yourself into thinking you're drinking something that is caffeinated when it is diluted. If you have a sibling or wife, they could help you do this.

Here's what I mean; I am a tea addict, I drink regular not-decaffeinated tea, sometimes 3-4 cups a day. I feel tired in the morning, but after a cup of tea I'm ready to go. I once drank a decaf by accident and felt as if I drank a regular cup of tea. This shows that at least some of this is placebo. Maybe you could try that out, drink a cup of coffee that is half decaf and half regular, or dilute your energy drinks with water or what not. It would work better if you get another person to do it for you, that way you don't know which drinks are diluted and which ones aren't.

Best of luck!

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Considering caffeine is a diuretic I cant see how this would help with hydration? If you look up what effects caffeine has, things like headache make a fair bit of sense when people stop using. Obviously everyone has different results.

 

I'm not saying it's definitely the cause, but caffeine being a diuretic is more or less irrelevant in the situation of getting water into your system, when your drinking coffee, compared to getting barely any water, when your not drinking coffee (or liquids containing caffeine). 

Plus, if you look up the symptoms of dehydration, it also fits perfectly with the scenario posted by the OP. dizziness, headache and diminished energy, which was instantly relieved by drinking liquids.

Cnht, good for you, what do you want me to say? But considering I can buy caffeine pills from Safeway which contain 100mg of caffeine each and no warning on the pack of caffeines extremely addictive nature and which also state you can safely take 500mg of caffeine a day, then I have to seriously question the actual seriousness of caffeines addictive powers. 

Peace 

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i'm just discussing my anecdotal evidence, say what you want, it's a discussion.

my position is that caffeine is both physically and psychologically "addictive", regardless of what anyone thinks or what safeway says.

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Getting off of caffeine is more of a mental battle. It's a drug like any other.

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Plus, if you look up the symptoms of dehydration, it also fits perfectly with the scenario posted by the OP. dizziness, headache and diminished energy, which was instantly relieved by drinking liquids

 

Caffeine containing liquids.... Dont forget important details

I dont discount the possibility of dehydration causing these symptoms but I can guarantee that some will feel those symptoms after stopping frequent caffeine consumption regardless of how hydrated they are.

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A cup of coffee contains heaps more caffeine than a cup of tea. tea contains fuck all caffeine and it also contains calming substances like theanine. Even a mild cup of coffee 150 mls contains approx 2% caffeine and coffee also contains other stimulating purines like theobromine, theophylline and theacrine. A cup of robusto can contain 3%.

Coffea robusto (which most of the cheap shit is made of) is bitter and contains twice as much caffeine as Coffea arabica (which tastes milder and has better nuances and flavours).

Caffeine also upregulates adenosine receptors with chronic ingestion, and it acts as a stimulator of cerebral acetylcholine release. When its cut off abruptly you will have more receptors picking up the same levels of adenosine and you will have less acetylcholine-mediated cerebral function.

if you suffer from low blood pressure like me, coming off coffee can really fuck with that.

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But if you want a shit hot brew - the best infact - buy Grizzly Blend from Montana Coffee Traders. Man - its worth the coin!

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now i want some... i dont even really know pricings for coffee beans, what's a reasonable price for decent quality and how much is the grizzly blend?

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I've always been a coffee drinker - and I like it super strong. Used to be a 6-8 cup a day person, now happily on one strong one in the morning and occasionally a second in the arvo. I have tried to quit a few times and have suffered almost unbearable headaches, dizziness and terrible mood.

I cut down my intake about 5 years ago cos I felt that I wasn't functioning mentally as well as I should have been, especially later in the day after a number of cups.

The way I was able to cut down was to draw myself coffee deadlines and bring them back to earlier in the day, gradually. Started by saying no coffee after dark - went with that for a while, then no coffee after 3:00PM, no coffee after midday etc....

Got to a stage where I'd have my morning coffee first thing at home and then another when I got to work. Eventually was able to lose the first thing coffee which is great because I now don't wake up hanging for it.

Now several years into my one-a-day routine, I actually find that while the one makes me feel great (or normal at least), an afternoon coffee doesn't actually pick me up. If I start o sag in the arvo, I tend to go a Yerba-mate or some B-vitamins which seems to work better for me.

Don't know if this would be appropriate for others, but it's got me to a stage where I'm comfortable with my addiction. Good luck.

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I grew up with coffee, having two cups in the morning before school, one or two when I got home from school and in the night decaf and I was only a child.

Tea is just a replacement as it also contains caffein, that's like from going to heroin to methadon. About the liquids: I get all that through coffee and energy drinks. The whole blabla liters water per day is really a myth if you get enough liquids through food and other drinks. But well, it's super unhealthy all that coffee for heart, liver, kidneys.

Today I only had three cups ... from tomorrow on I'll only start to drink filters instead of a whole pot full of coffee and drink less and less ...

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I'm still not completely convinced that caffeine is this dangerously addictive drug that people claim it to be. I mean, obviously I've known a few people who claim to get withdrawals symptoms from not getting there daily coffee hits. But I doubt there's any actual brain chemistry going on that's actually causing the addiction, but rather people convince themselves they need it, which causes a psychological addiction. 

Also, just like cannabis, some people might be using coffee to relieve the symptoms of other conditions so that when they stop, they start getting the symptoms of the condition they were using the substance for in the first place. 

With coffee these so called withdrawal symptoms, would probably be due to a bad diet, lack of sleep or not enough water. I mean, I know some people here who have claimed to be caffeine addicts will want to come out telling me about how brilliant there diets are and how they sleep for 9 hours straight every night. But in my experience, it just isn't the case with people who claim to be addicted to caffeine.

Just thinking back now, I actually remember years ago I'd be dry reaching and ready to pass out from dizziness on my way to work, if I didn't stop at my local servo for an iced coffee, first thing in the morning. I'd also feel like shit if I didn't continue drinking sugar drenched energy drinks though out the day.  But back then I never used to even give a second thought to what I put in my body and certainly didn't concern myself with getting the right amount of vitamins and all the rest. But now I try to take care of myself, I can go from over 600mg of caffeine a day for long periods, to nothing, without any of these so called "withdrawal symptoms". It's not like I don't have an addictive personality either, I'm seriously a person who usually gets psychologically addicted to everything I enjoy and I do love the feeling I get from dropping 4 no doz pills, first thing in the morning. 

lol, it would not be a smart thing to be anywhere near me when I have no tobacco, even for an hour. I'm talking an 'extremely' short temper, major body aches and debilitating depression & anxiety. Basically I feel like my whole bodies shutting down without tobacco.

Anyway, personally I think it would be an interesting experiment to see if people who claim to be addicted to coffee got any relief from just dropping 1 no doz pill instead?

btw, it ain't a myth amanito. Ask anyone who's at the peak of there fitness, we are not koalas! The human body needs large amounts of straight water everyday to be able to operate at full capacity. But, whatever brother.

Peace

 

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