Coffee Addiction

[bcaddkid]

Ok ok, I know it isn't heroin or blow, but I'm seriously starting to have issues with coffee. I can't stop or cut it down. Going back to school has tripled my coffee intake to 6 espressos a day, minimum. I need to stop, desperately. I can't stand being this addicted to it. I need it to function. This isn't normal.

I briefly quit, only to relapse in the past few weeks. School, boredom, "pressure to succeed", long hours with little sleep, I can find a million things to blame but it doesn't solve the problem, which is ME. I can't quit. I WANT to quit. Badly.

Do I just start cutting down/ordering decaf instead to slowly get me out of the rut? Do I start buying bottled water instead? I don't know what to do

I'm considering the following plan of action:

1-half-ing the amount of coffee I drink per day.
2-gradually introducing decaf, until I'm down to one caffeinated coffee per day.
3-Bringing it down to one single caffeinated espresso per day, with anything else I feel like having due to boredom or whatever being decaf
4-Eventually just skipping the decaf altogether and only doing one a day.

Any ideas?

[Dixie_Amazon]

Try mixing half with and half without caffeine. Tastes better that decaf.

[SnappyCloud]

Why don't you want to be "addicted" to coffee? Is it making you feel bad? Raising your blood pressure, etc.

Do you take prescribed stimulants? Should they be adjusted/changed?

I'm having a large cafe latte as I type...

[UnleashTheHound]

If you stop caffeine cold turkey, it can have rough withdrawl effects like severe headaches, and other things. The best way to stop is to reduce your intake a little day by day.

Last time I stopped, I didn't mix with decaf. Decaf tastes awful. Instead I used less coffee (sometimes adding more milk), until I hit half a cup, then I stopped completely.

But I only stopped to see if I could do it, and to see what effects it might have. After about a week, I started back up.

[theluckyone]

There are several very...very good reasons to not drink too much coffee. Caffine over-d is not fun. Caffine is a stimulant similar in function to the neurotransmitter norepinephrin. It can raise blood pressure, dialate arteries, cause heart failure(rare). The withdrawl from caffine addiction should last no more than 72 hours and should be pretty minor. In the mean time, try drinks with natural additives like gingko biloba, st. johns wort, Vitamins E and B12. All of these help produce noradrenaline and dopamine which may help you get over the caffine. Also caffine free teas are nice if its the warm drink ur after.
Try to keep your intake of caffine even otherwise you may be getting the roller coaster effect that makes your life a living ****. I personally prefer a rockstar mid-afternoon.
Stim meds if you take 'em great, if not talk to a doctor about the energy thing, it could be a sign of depression or bipolar which you would want to know as soon as u can.
Ive been up too long time for another cup of coffee or some

[KarmicWhiplash]

My Doctor is saying to cut back on the coffee but he doesnt really stress it too much. All my blood tests are better than normal. I go through a bag of starbucks esspresso roast beans in 2 to 3 days. Caffeine is a natural stimulant and most people in my family who have ADD like myself drink simmular ammounts with no ill effect. I agree with the comment above. If there isnt a specific reason for you to cut back on your coffee then why bother. Nothing wrong with a little self medication.

[karennerak]

I was quite a Coffee (Caffiene) addict, before i was put on Concerta for my ADHD...

I took Caffiene supplement tablets, even though, i was suffering with palpatations in my chest!!!!

But When i told my psychiatrist, he told me NOT to take any more!!...
I threw away the remainder tablets!

[bcaddkid]

That's the thing, my blood tests are just fine, and my ECGs, blood pressure, and heart rates are all on the "significantly better than average" level.

I just need to quit. I rely on it too much. I feel so dead in the morning, and then by the time afternoon comes, I drink a double espresso just because I'm bored at school..then another, then one after a couple hours of being at home, then bed..no troubles sleeping. I just need to quit.

Karenrak, though the pound of espresso roast in 2-3 days is quite the amount of coffee, you'll be glad to know that it actually contained less caffeine than Starbucks' house blend. The darker roasted a coffee is, the less caffeine it contains. If you wanna save yourself some cash, get a really light coffee. More caffeine=a need to drink less coffee in one sitting=you being able to make a pound last longer.

Unless, like me, you like your coffee to not taste like water. In which case, ugh, just get an even darker roast? Sumatra maybe?

See, ^that right there is why I need to quit...

[Crybaby1898]

man addiction it sucks huh... just like ice

[KarmicWhiplash]

Actually I tend to pick my coffee by the flavor. Sumatra and french roast seem like they have to much of an acid content, The italian roast is pretty good but I tend to like the flavor of the esspresso roast the best. I thought about just buying a coffee tree and making a green house for it. Learning how to roast my own beans. Oooooh my brow is starting to sweat and my mouth is salivating just thinking about it. OK Im on my way to the coffee grinder to make a fresh pot. Peace

[madness]

I work for Starbucks and I actually quit drinking caffeine for about a week. I take 40 mg of Adderall XR a day. Caffeine can actually cause a medicated ADDer to be overstimulated(anxious), it doesn't feel good. Now I strategically time my coffee and medication so I don't experience the side effects. I have been in recovery from severe drug and alcohol addiction for three years. Personally I think caffeine isn't really a problem unless the consequences outweigh the benefits. I believe that is for each individual to decide.

[Ian]

I drank a daily espresso for the last 22 years. I'm three weeks into quiting and I notice the difference. Years ago I was more of a hound, but for the last several years I've only had one a day. I used to be really into it though and roasted my own coffee.

Like all addictions I'm better off without it in many ways. The one I needed to address was that it was so hard to digest. I didn't used to be sensitive to it so much, but now that I'm running again, my body is flying through calories again and the coffee is so obviously a drain on the system.

I prefer the energy I get from running than what I ever got from coffee. It's easier to be tired and go to sleep too which is a long standing problem. I really like the running, so I'm hacking stuff out of my life that interferes.
Good luck finding a balance. I quite cold turkey and it wasn't too big a deal. I was edgy and had a few headaches for three days. Since then it's pretty much been a breeze.
Cheers!

[Adamant1988]

I noticed that my caffiene intake dropped significantly once I started taking medicine for my ADHD. I guess the coke (soda) was the only thing making me do as well as I did during some classes...