This is killing me (kidding the habit)

[Maritime Q-Scout]

ok so during exams I was pumping myself full of caffeine. I'm a coffee drinker, but one maybe two per day. During exams 2 large coffee, can of red bull, bottle of Coke, and Motrin IB pills (2 x 400mg).

Not the worst thing in the world, but not nearly good for me either. It's been two weeks and I've cut back to a coffee a day (usually medium sometimes large).

My withdrawl headaches are killer, I'm tired ALL the time, even after I drink coffee.

Any suggestions/tips to help the withdrawal symptoms? What else can I be doing to kick the habit?

[burn_this_city]

I'd start smoking.

[Boblobla]

I heard blow is a great way to kick a nasty coffee habit.

[Ducay]

My parents always said something about cold turkey being good for quitting. You may want to try the sundried tomato deli turkey at Safeway.

[Frank MetaMusil]

My advice is to quit drinking coffee while on vacation. That way you can substitute your morning cup of joe with a beer instead and if you need to sleep during the day you have that option available.

[Boblobla]

I <3 CP. So far, the best ways to kick a coffee habit are: Cigarettes, Cocaine, Deli Meats and Drinking in the morning.

[Street Pharmacist]

Controlled dose tapering. Get caffeine pills and decrease dose slowly over 2 to 3 days. Home brew = approx 100mg per cup. Double that for timmy's/starbucks etc. Most caffeine pills contain 100mg per dose so start at where you are at now and decrease by 1/4 to 1/2 of a pill daily per week. Headaches and tiredness are also very likely to be related to hydration status (think clear urine all day long) and sleep hygiene (think regular bedtimes, avoid sedatives like alcohol before bed for a while) as well

[Russic]

My wife has been off coffee for just over a year now (pregnant last year, breast feeding until now) ... she claims giving up coffee has been 100x's worse than giving up drinking. She actually has the calendar marked for when she can start drinking coffee again. I can't recall how long her withdrawal symptoms lasted so I can unfortunately be of little help.

[HotHotHeat]

Green tea?

[Starfishy]

Originally Posted by Russic

My wife has been off coffee for just over a year now (pregnant last year, breast feeding until now) ... she claims giving up coffee has been 100x's worse than giving up drinking. She actually has the calendar marked for when she can start drinking coffee again. I can't recall how long her withdrawal symptoms lasted so I can unfortunately be of little help.

Your wife doesn't drink coffee while she is breast feeding? Does she drink alcohol while breastfeeding? I only ask because my wife is currently breastfeeding and enjoys her daily coffee, she has even started having a glass of wine while out for dinner. (Baby is almost 6 months)

[Table 5]

Lock yourself in a hotel room and will yourself to quit, war-hero style.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Kidding aside about the morning beers, I really do think vacation is the best time to quit drinking coffee. It helps break your routine of grabbing one on the way to work (or at work) and also allows you to control your stress, headaches, etc. much better.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Lock yourself in a hotel room and will yourself to quit, war-hero style.

If it works for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it can DEFINITELY work for something as wussy as a coffee addiction!

[malcolmk14]

Eat small snacks throughout the day, keep hydrated, and avoid sedatives before bed.

Order decaf.

[blankall]

There's only one way to quit an addiction:

Stage One: preparation. For this you will need: one room which you will not leave; one mattress; tomato soup, ten tins of; mushroom soup, eight tins of, for consumption cold; ice cream, vanilla, one large tub of; Magnesia, Milk of, one bottle; paracetamol; mouth wash; vitamins; mineral water; Lucozade; pornography; one bucket for urine, one for feces, and one for vomitus; one television; and one bottle of Valium.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by blankall

There's only one way to quit an addiction:

Stage One: preparation. For this you will need: one room which you will not leave; one mattress; tomato soup, ten tins of; mushroom soup, eight tins of, for consumption cold; ice cream, vanilla, one large tub of; Magnesia, Milk of, one bottle; paracetamol; mouth wash; vitamins; mineral water; Lucozade; pornography; one bucket for urine, one for feces, and one for vomitus; one television; and one bottle of Valium.

Don't forget KY jelly for the electrical sockets.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Starfishy

Your wife doesn't drink coffee while she is breast feeding? Does she drink alcohol while breastfeeding? I only ask because my wife is currently breastfeeding and enjoys her daily coffee, she has even started having a glass of wine while out for dinner. (Baby is almost 6 months)

American Academy of Pediatrics recommends holding feeding for 1-2 hours per drink to minimize exposure. Acute exposure seems to be fine with alcohol, though recent evidence suggests delayed psychomotor development with chronic exposure. Because we don't know where the line between acute exposure and chronic is, the least possiible is always the preferred option. Though I doubt a drink here and there would be chronic. Caffeine is actually ok, though irritability and difficulty sleeping have been reported with large doses. Very little caffeine gets into the milk, plus the fact that relatively so little milk is ingested make it actually quite safe.

[frinkprof]

Seeing your location, it depends heavily on if you bought from the St. Thomas Tim Horton's or the SUB Tim Horton's. Given that the SUB Tim Horton's is run by Sodexho, they likely put something in it that makes the withdrawal symptoms much worse, but you will be much better off in the end for no longer consuming anything from there. Hang in there. (I expect only Maritime Q-Scout will understand this).

[Locke]

Take up cocaine?

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Green tea?

That's how I quit. I started drinking a thermos of green tea every morning, and followed it up with about 6 litres of water. That lasted 2 years until I went to Costa Rica, and would wake up every morning with a coffee, chased by a cigarette.

Cigs are the only thing I've managed to get rid of, and that was 4 years ago.

I'm a slave to caffeine now and forever. Embrace it.