Gave up caffeine what a difference!

[gaz1983]

Hey all I posted here first just after Xmas when I was suffering a particulary bad few days of anxiety and depression (due to giving up alcohol dead after a spell of heavy drinking)
It passed thankfully but for reasons unbeknownst to me at the time came back with a real vengeance this time last week when me and the other half were on a weekend break

I cut my caffeine down drastically and to no later than 2PM in accordance with Paul Mckenna sleep book (really works btw) but what I found was I was then subconsciously trying to cram my alloted 3 cups of coffee in in quick succession

Well it all hit home last Fri and Sat and Sunday my little weekend away turned into a horrendous spate of really intense depression filled anxiety attacks that I desperatley tried hiding from my gf in order not to ruin the holiday

After a lot of soul searching on what could be cause I came to the conclusion that the "high" of three cups of strong coffee then the corresponding low of abstaining for 16hrs plus was just too much and it would appear I was right

You see for the last few days I have tapered off my caffeine substantially and today I have gone without sticking to peppermint tea or decaff tetleys and I feel A LOT BETTER in direct correspondance to the amount I cut down ie today none drank at all and feel excellent day before one cup drank and felt better after around 7hr which is when it starts to dissapate etc

Id say 90% of my symptoms are gone the difference is remarkable and I attribute at least some of the mild depression I have remaining to caffeine withdrawal

IMO some people are sensitive to caffeine more so than others and I just wonder down the years how many times my symptoms have been caused by this all along

Obviously Im going to monitor things as I go along and now thoe double shot cappuccinos will be a thing of the past but hey feeling "normal" again is worth it so far

[smudger]

This is fascinating. I am trying to give up coffee to help my depression (I drink cafetiere coffee, v strong. I have purchased Nescafe half caff today. trouble is it tastes rubbish compared to the real stuff. Do u miss it? What is the best way to deal with the craving ?

[gaz1983]

I do miss it particulary in the morning so far the sides havent been so bad just a feeling of drowsiness and fuzzy headedness really not a patch on the anxiety I was getting seriously it was really bad thought I was really starting to lose the plot so Im more than prepared to substitute

Yeah decaff lacks the "tang" of tea or coffee but I find it does enough to trick the brain into thinking youve had a proper cup

Ive suffered anxiety on and off for 9 years this summer

It was originally caused by an over extended subscription to anti acne antibiotics (were talking years) back then there wasnt much on the net really about anxiety compared to now so I had to conclude what it was and sure enough a few weeks after stopping my symptoms went

What this taught me is that its best to trust your gut instinct

[smudger]

Agree totally. I know diet n exercise has a direct bearing on my depression. In fact thats not instinct, thats proven!I crave coffee first thing in morning. I could go without it I guess for the rest of the day. Maybe I could just live with that.Glad that you have made such a positive impact on your health. :D

[Louise2009]

Hiya,
At the beginning of this year I cut caffeine out altogether and I suffered TERRIBLE withdrawal. I never would have believed it, but it was definately caffeine withdrawal. I too had really bad depressive anxiety attacks and felt terrible - I thought I had gone back to square one which was about a year ago, when I first got ill. The withdrawal passed after about 8 days, and now I really feel great. I cannot recommend it enough. - stopping caffeine has really helped - I certainly do not feel as edgy or up and down as much as I did before. Cutting out sugary foods has also made a huge difference and also exercise.

Louise xx

[pheetuz]

Ive gotta agree with ya, cutting down on my intake of caffine has definately helped my anxiety, although i think it would be strange to cut it out altogether, i love tea far far too much lol :)

Over half of my major panic attacks i can directly relate to caffine intake aswell, ie, a strong cup of coffee or three an hour or so before.

/Pete

[gaz1983]

Thanks for the postive messages all

Its such a relief honestly to have felt "normal" and not get obsessive thoughts over stupid things and when I have today I have just shruuged them off with the contempt they deserve as opposed to a week ago

Caffeine withdrawal a bit more pronoucned now strange feeling of hunger and slight fuzzyness but like I said definately worth the trade off

[claire_2910]

Hey i drank lots of caffinee in pepsi, hot chocolate and cups of tea. now all i drink is water and twinings. i used to crave a glass of pepsi, but when i actually had a sip after not having it for ages i dont know what i was missing!! :/
what else is caffinee in/what else is good to cut out??? x

[maz1967]

i drink decaf tea, it tasts the same as ordinery tea.. i got headaches for about a week but now i dont miss it at all

[mamatuz]

hallelujah i am not alone, i have had an inkling that my anxiety was excarbated with caffiene, i drink cafitiere coffee in the morning and often feel totally loopy loo and sick afetr a couple of cups:wacko:
me thinks mr caffiene will be gettinh the old heave ho.:yesyes:

cheers a'body

Ali. xxxx

[Jannie2948]

Agree totally, stopped having everything with caffeine in it after having a bad panic attack after a large coca cola in the pub! Felt absolutely terrible, had to go home from work and don't know how I got here, terrible train journey. I now don't take anything caffeine at all, read all labels and have only decaf tea and coffee but very few. I am very careful and read all labels, you would be surprised how many things it is in, even some headache tablets. Haven't had any caffeine since about November last year.

All the best

Jannie x x

[Mick36]

I have a couple (sometimes 3) cans of diet Pepsi a day. Would you guys think it would help if I cut this out??

Many thanks

Mick

[flumpy]

I have a couple (sometimes 3) cans of diet Pepsi a day. Would you guys think it would help if I cut this out??

Many thanks

Mick


Why don't you try it and let us know?? We're all on a learning curve, desperately seeing what works for us! :winks:

[Mick36]

I think I will Flumpers!:D

[Liliana83]

Good for you..sad to say I love my coffee so much I can't just quit it! But I have cut down my intake and only drink it 3 times a week...sometimes 4.

[Willowlrp]

noone is alone here i dont think hehe i drink decaff stuff now and it all tastes the same to me hehe i missed it at first but a few weeks ago i had a sip of my other halfs normal coffee and it was disgusting :)
give me decaff any day :yesyes:

[mamatuz]

hello ,
just thought i would update how the old non coffee days are going....

i feel less anxious,although i am attending CBT at the mo as well so it may well be a combo of the two, one thing i have noticed is that my wee is clear, i always have drunk min 2 litres of water a day even when i was a hardcore coffe drnker but then my wee was like IRN BRU (fellow scotties will understand ) hahaha
i think that is a good indication nest pas?
my taste buds have come alive just likwe when i gave up smoking.

i also seem to sweating more but could that be purging?

anyway hope everyone is keeping head above water.

hugs AliBali xxx