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caffeine

post #1 of 20
6/17/07 at 2:26am
Thread Starter 
I had experienced some pain in my kidneys, and upon further review I realise I consumed far too much caffeine.

I am not trying to make the 'withdrawal' out to be something awful, but i have occasional jitters and really shitty headaches. I was just wondering if anyone has advice. I would just take headache medicine, but it has caffeine in it. I have tried walking or drinking water, but the jitters and headaches continue some.

I realise this is styleforum and not webmd, but i thought some of you might have experienced this once or twice.

robbie
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post #2 of 20
6/17/07 at 2:32am
Yea caffeine withdrawl SUCKS. I simply avoid it by drinking more coffee. Many headache remedies contain caffeine as it does help but there are plenty without. Maybe go with straight tylenol or tylenol + aspirin (which is basically what those headache remedies are plus caffeine).
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post #3 of 20
6/17/07 at 2:35am
I went through some bad withdrawl symptoms (headaches, fatigue, inability to focus) when I tried to cut back, and they lasted for a couple weeks.

Don't go cold turkey. Try cutting the amount gradually. There are some good articles on http://www.teeccino.com. This is an all-natural coffee substitute that can be mixed with coffee and eventually replace it.

Unfortunately, a recent move and taking a demanding job have resulted in me consuming as much caffeine as ever. One day I will probably try again to get back down to 1 or 2 cups per day.
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post #4 of 20
6/17/07 at 2:35am
I would recommend either taking one of the headache medications with caffeine or having a coke. Have just a little bit of caffeine. Slowly reduce your caffeine intake overtime, don't do it all at once. Having just a little bit of caffeine should reduce the severity of your headaches and make them much more bearable.
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post #5 of 20
6/17/07 at 8:10am
Quote:
I am not trying to make the 'withdrawal' out to be something awful, but i have occasional jitters and really shitty headaches. I was just wondering if anyone has advice. I would just take headache medicine, but it has caffeine in it. I have tried walking or drinking water, but the jitters and headaches continue some.

I realise this is styleforum and not webmd, but i thought some of you might have experienced this once or twice.

Yep, caffeine withdrawal is certainly a bitch. Symptons of withdrawal start at around 24 hours, and reach their worse point at 48 hours. After that things start getting much better and you should be feeling much better after about 5 days, at most a week and a half if you had an extreme caffeine addiction. If you still feel bad after more than 2 weeks, you should see your physician - depression can be a long-term consequence of caffeine withdrawal if you're a heavy user.

The best advice is - drink lots of water (at least 2 litres a day, I like ice-cold myself, nice and refreshing), eat lots of fibre as this helps to minimise the effects of caffeine withdrawal (i.e. brown bread, wholewheat pasta etc.) and, if your headaches become too bad, a moderate amount of aspirin should do the trick.
Just watch out - a lot of non-prescription painkillers (like paracetomol and ibuprofen extra strength) contain caffeine in them, so check the packet first!

Out of curiosity, how many mg a day of caffeine did you tend to have a day, on average? (Average cup is about 60mg, pro-Plus is 50mg, Red Bull 80mg)
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post #6 of 20
6/17/07 at 10:26am
Switch to tea. You'll halve you caffeine intake just by switching, then you can taper down to a reasonable amount.
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post #7 of 20
6/17/07 at 10:53am
caffeine consumption affects your central nervous system because it's structurally similiar to the neurotransmitter adenosine. It basically makes you hypersensitive to it, and when you stop the caffeine, that's what gives you headaches. But once your body becomes used to the adenosine once again you can basically get the caffeine out of your system immediately. The fall can be pretty hard but it's usually passing. Switching to tea is the best option.
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post #8 of 20
6/17/07 at 2:33pm
Am I the only one who hates the taste of coffee? Caffeine doesn't seem to keep me awake either.
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post #9 of 20
6/17/07 at 2:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by terminat View Post

Out of curiosity, how many mg a day of caffeine did you tend to have a day, on average? (Average cup is about 60mg, pro-Plus is 50mg, Red Bull 80mg)

I usually have a monster, maybe a cup or two of coffee, and a coke or two on an average day. I tend to consume a shot or two of espresso if I am working at the mall.
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post #10 of 20
6/17/07 at 4:48pm
Quote:
I usually have a monster, maybe a cup or two of coffee, and a coke or two on an average day. I tend to consume a shot or two of espresso if I am working at the mall.

Wow, that's quite a lot lol - over 250mg a day! When I went cold-turkey on caffeine I had withdrawal symptons only for about 5 days, but I was only consuming around 150mg (either a couple of Red Bulls or a Relentless a day) so you'd probably be considered a very heavy user.
So for the symptons to last at least a week is probably going to be normal. On the plus side, anything above moderate caffeine use has been scientifically proven to help in fat loss and improve long-term memory, so look on the bright side I guess.

Good luck anyway With all my exams and revision I've got "re-addicted" to caffeine and I'm about to go cold turkey too, so I share your pain if that helps lol.

Edit: If you're worried about your kidneys, have a read of this http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/
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post #11 of 20
6/17/07 at 4:57pm
I quit caffeine once. Worst two hours of my life.
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post #12 of 20
6/17/07 at 6:37pm
You have my empathy. I hate to imagine what it would be like to have to choose between kidney health and my beloved friend caffeine...
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post #13 of 20
6/17/07 at 7:22pm
On an average daily basis, I drink a cup of coffee at eight am, ten am, and one pm. In between I drink Mountain Dew - approximately 2 liters a day over thr course of it. Usually a cup of tea before bed. Occasionally I'll throw in a rockstar. WHEEEEE
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post #14 of 20
6/17/07 at 9:14pm
I'm at about 5 cups of coffee per day.
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post #15 of 20
6/17/07 at 10:11pm
aside from yellowing your teeth, caffeine is also bad for your skin and irritates your stomach and intestines. its diuretic effects also cause fatigue.

in short, the negatives greatly outweigh the benefits. if you are on it, get off it. it's not worth it.
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