laying off coffee

unclehobart

unclehobart

New Member
ARRRGH! I've just had a sudden headache surge due to caffeine withdrawal.

36 hours ago I had an incident of skipping heartbeats, lightheadedness, arms felt cool, disconnected and dizzy and my heart flat out felt sore. It subsided after an hour... but still wanted to run down to the clinic to get an EKG to make sure there wasn't some kind of time bomb brewing. I went out into my driveway to ask a friend that was helping me pull my stereo from my wounded old truck if he would haul me over there... when I stepped on a nail... argh! Which brings up the major external overhaul on my place that most of you are probably unaware of... but thats a different story. The work crew got sloppy and I stepped on a rusty caltrop. Now my trip to the clinic was twofold... yay for me.

My dad ended up coming on over and fetching me. I was given a tetanus shot and ran a clean EKG... I kinda figured it would be clean. I heard them call out my BP numbers and I knew the cause instantly. I was having an over the top hypertensive episode. Right then when I was feeling pretty good I was topping 160/95. The two hours prior I was surely spiking into the 180 range. It was the end result of cold meds with gobs of pseudoephedrine, lots of caffeine, already starting with a mild borderline BP, and glancing into some food allergies at a restaurant 2 days prior. Getting a little corn or soy in my system always makes my BP jump up 15 points for a few days. Coffee will add 10 for 4 to 6 hours. The pseudoephedrine does god knows what.

So.. In summary, I am purging caffeine from my system to give my BP and heart a needed rest. The trouble is... I am now entering the drifty/dreamy area of not really being quite awake and attentive. When bedtime comes I crash hard. I figure two more days of this and I will really start experiencing the glory of proto-migraines. I should be clean in about a week.

The trouble is... I really like coffee. Decaf is about as hollow as a political promise. bleh.
 
wouldn't a slow wean be easier on everything (and everyone lol)?

Real coffee then a decaf then a real coffee then a decaf...I've done it that way before and not suffered a great deal.

Or halfcaff?

It's a chemistry thing, the way it works on the body. I don't know that a sudden purge of it is always the best idea.
 
catocom said:
Made your own "bathub Crank" right there in your own body huh?
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It sure did keep the head clear. :D

Even my general antihistamine had pseudoephedrine in it. I would get one without... but being allergic to corn cuts out 97% of over the counter meds. I have to take what I can or simply go without.
 
Leslie said:
wouldn't a slow wean be easier on everything (and everyone lol)?

Real coffee then a decaf then a real coffee then a decaf...I've done it that way before and not suffered a great deal.

Or halfcaff?

It's a chemistry thing, the way it works on the body. I don't know that a sudden purge of it is always the best idea.
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I did something like that in the past and made mixed batches on the fly that were one scoop of caffeine to 3 decaf... but I felt that cold turkey was better for my ticker in the short run. I'm not really serious about giving up caffeine. I just needed the short term purge to drop my BP until all vestiges of cold meds and food allergies are gone.
 
laying off coffee......Goodluck.....God Bless......Its a hard habit to kick or to just stay away from for awhile.....Hate those withdrawl headaches....
 
unclehobart said:
ARRRGH! I've just had a sudden headache surge due to caffeine withdrawal.

36 hours ago I had an incident of skipping heartbeats, lightheadedness, arms felt cool, disconnected and dizzy and my heart flat out felt sore. It subsided after an hour... but still wanted to run down to the clinic to get an EKG to make sure there wasn't some kind of time bomb brewing. I went out into my driveway to ask a friend that was helping me pull my stereo from my wounded old truck if he would haul me over there... when I stepped on a nail... argh! Which brings up the major external overhaul on my place that most of you are probably unaware of... but thats a different story. The work crew got sloppy and I stepped on a rusty caltrop. Now my trip to the clinic was twofold... yay for me.

My dad ended up coming on over and fetching me. I was given a tetanus shot and ran a clean EKG... I kinda figured it would be clean. I heard them call out my BP numbers and I knew the cause instantly. I was having an over the top hypertensive episode. Right then when I was feeling pretty good I was topping 160/95. The two hours prior I was surely spiking into the 180 range. It was the end result of cold meds with gobs of pseudoephedrine, lots of caffeine, already starting with a mild borderline BP, and glancing into some food allergies at a restaurant 2 days prior. Getting a little corn or soy in my system always makes my BP jump up 15 points for a few days. Coffee will add 10 for 4 to 6 hours. The pseudoephedrine does god knows what.

So.. In summary, I am purging caffeine from my system to give my BP and heart a needed rest. The trouble is... I am now entering the drifty/dreamy area of not really being quite awake and attentive. When bedtime comes I crash hard. I figure two more days of this and I will really start experiencing the glory of proto-migraines. I should be clean in about a week.

The trouble is... I really like coffee. Decaf is about as hollow as a political promise. bleh.
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why in the name of all hell are you giving up coffee
 
I've been cutting back on caffeine, but I get a bit of a headache when I have none. I am getting better now, but my whole body cried with me when I smelled the coffee cart at the library yesterday and then went to Target for a few items and smelled the Starbucks. :cry:

I just keep telling myself that it is better for both me and the baby if I stay away from it. After the baby is born, soda and coffee is going to be a treat, not a drink.
 
Yes Freak there is...
I'm a caffiene junkie to the max!!!
Taper off is the only way!
 
Good luck with the caffeine detox, unc. I'm doing the same for the second time in my life, though I plan on sticking with it this time. I had issues very similar to what you described. It's been around a month and a half and I don't miss the caffeine much. I went cold turkey too. I had a cup of weak tea a couple of times this past week, however, to aid with my digestive problems (warm liquids are supposed to do that), but don't plan on making a habit of it.

BTW, here are some reasons to avoid caffeine and even decaffeinated products, as retyped from my copy of Caffeine Blues, by Stephen Cherniske, M.S.:

Decaf versus No-caf

Many of you who are coffee drinkers might be thinking, Why don't I just switch to drinking decaffeinated? First, you have to remember that decaf doesn't mean no-caf. Decaf coffee beans have undergone an extraction process to remove the majority of the caffeine, but there is still some left. A twelve-ounce cup of decaf typically contains at least 10 milligrams of caffeine, and possibly more depending on how it's brewed.

Second, you have to look at your own health reasons for reducing or eliminating caffeine. For example, if your liver can't properly detoxify caffeine or your adrenals are completely exhausted, 10 milligrams multiplied by several cups per day may still aggravate your condition. If your body reacts to coffee with allergic responses such as skin rashes or mood swings, or if you suffer from any of the problems listed in Chapter 5 [cardiovascular disease, including arrythmia, mitral valve prolapse, coronary vasospasm and hypertension, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, GI issues such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and ulcers, chronic headaches, etc.], even decaf coffee may be a problem.

Decaf and Your Stomach

The acidity of coffee is higher in decaf because robusta beans are commonly used to produce decaf coffee. Robusta beans have a higher caffeine content and a stronger acidity than arabica beans, so more of the coffee flavor survives the extraction process. But the acids and oils that carry the flavor can be harsh on the intestinal tract and are often a problem for sensitive individuals.

If you suffer from digestive and gastrointestinal disturbances (especially ulcers), eliminating coffee altogether is the healthiest choice for you. Coffee often causes a hypersecretion of stomach acid, which is why many people have to eat something with their coffee or suffer from acid indigestion. Moreover, decaf still frequently causes the malfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter, the valve between your stomach and esophagus. This malfunction allows the acidic contents of your stomach to reflux into the sensitive tissue of the esophagus, producing heartburn. If you commonly use antacids, gastroenterologists recommend that all coffee, decaf or regular, should be avoided.

Chemical Residue

The method of extracting caffeine from coffee beans may leave behind chemical residues. Unless you’re buying a higher-priced decaf coffee brand that is marketed as Swiss Water Process or CO2 extracted, you are exposing yourself to the residues of methylene chloride, the solvent used to extract caffeine in the great majority of decaf products. There is disagreement as to how much of a health risk this represents, but here is how I see it: (1) Testing shows small but significant methylene chloride residues in decaffeinated coffee and tea; and methylene chloride is carcinogenic.

Cholesterol

Decaf coffee appears to raise cholesterol levels higher and faster than regular coffee, a fact that most of us can’t afford to ignore. Even worse, it is the LDL fraction of cholesterol (commonly known as “bad cholesterol”) that appears to be affected the most. In one Stanford University study, drinking decaf for only two months raised LDL by 7 percent. Statistically, that represents approximately a 12 percent increase in heart attack risk in just two months. If you are suffering from a heart condition, you may also want to consider that the amount of caffeine remaining in decaf can still increase the heart rate of sensitive individuals.

Blood Sugar

People who are hypoglycemic or diabetic shouldn’t risk the blood sugar swings that caffeine causes. Decaf can still affect a sensitive person’s blood sugar levels. Diabetics can run a simple experiment on themselves by testing their blood sugar before and after a cup of decaf coffee and watching the blood sugar rise then fall within several hours. Hypoglycemics need only to observe their energy levels dip one to two hours after drinking decaf to realize that no coffee is the best choice for them.

Detox-ability

As you age, your tolerances change. Many people find that coffee, both regular and decaf, becomes difficult to metabolize as they pass the age of fifty. They’ll often recall that they could drink as much coffee as they liked in college, but now they suffer from indigestion, insomnia, tension, and the jitters. The liver no longer detoxifies the oils, acids, and caffeine the way it once did, and they find themselves looking for coffee alternatives.
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I did do a cup of real coffee yesterday and one and half today... which is still better than the twelve I was averaging. At least its keeping the screeching headaches at bay.

Now if only I could get to sleep. The residual pains zipping through my back from the tetanus shot are about friggin annoying.
 
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