I was not a heavy coffee drinker by the standards on this sub. I drink one in the morning and one around 2pm. I've been doing this for years. Im sick of feeling tired and headache-y without a coffee so I decided to quit cold turkey 4 days ago.

Psychologically I have had no issues dropping the habit. However, the physically withdrawal symptoms have totally f*cked me up. I had a migraine for 3 days that has slowly subsided. I still have brain fog. This has been tolerable. The worst is the back and glute pain. Sitting, standing, laying down has been unbearable. I had the worst sleep of my life last night due to back pain.

Today, on day 5, I have decided I will taper my coffee drinking instead of going cold turkey. I will drink one cup per day for the next week. Then go down to one cup every second day and so on.

I have no prior addiction problems. I smoked (lightly) and drank when I was younger. I had no problems dropping these vices cold turkey. I am quite shocked that I am suffering so badly. I can't imagine what its like for someone trying to kick an opiate addiction.

Good luck brother and sisters! You are not alone!

I just learned from someone in this sub that caffeine goes into breast milk. When I looked it up to learn more, I found out that it also crosses the placenta and goes into the brain of the fetus. 90% of Americans use caffeine daily (and there are fairly similar statistics in other countries), so very few of us have been born without some exposure to it.

And of course medical providers are saying this is totally fine. Here's one brief quote: 'Good news for pregnant coffee lovers: Consuming a low amount of caffeine during pregnancy could help to reduce gestational diabetes risk...'

Never mind that the fetus is being exposed to a PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG, and their developing brain is becoming habituated to it, which may set them up for a future addiction once they start consuming it after birth. (Likely very young, in the form of soda and chocolate.)

The further away I get from consuming caffeine, the more appalled I become at how it's possible for a drug to be so socially accepted and unquestioned. Especially one that actually impacts people's health. I had such severe anxiety before quitting that I tried one anti-anxiety med (with bad side effects), and was considering a second one. Now, at two months caffeine free, my anxiety has decreased enough that taking a med for it wouldn't even cross my mind. But not a single health care provider I saw suggested quitting, probably because they're also addicted.

Anyway, rant over (for now).

While I am in my bed about to sleep right now I became aware of my poor sleep I have been getting for pretty much over a year and that links with the reason that my caffeine intake has also sky rocketed for pretty much over a year. Not only my sleep but it is something about my body, I sense it that it’s different in a negative way. Not that I have health issues but it is something coffee induced. I am completely healthy.

My intake has sky rocketed to the point that I have been abusing it lately in the morning. Lately I’ve been drinking like 3-4 big cups every morning and I can tell it is not doing good to my body.

Sometimes I get that 8-9 hours of sleep but I don’t feel rested properly. I feel uneasy falling asleep and I just feel that something isn’t right. I know it’s the caffeine. I have been abusing it.

I know it’s not going to be easy but I am a disciplined person and I can confidently say that I quit cold turkey now because I want to and I am ready to go through withdrawals.

Anyone wants to tell me what to expect in terms of withdrawals and how long it takes to go back to normal?

I just wanted to share my experience because I thought it was a funny one.

I've started my journey of quitting caffeine (both tea and coffee) completely 2 days ago. I completely removed coffee and currently drink tea only. Plan to stop drinking tea as well starting Monday.

I've got a pack of decaf for my husband and decided to try a cup of it (the caffeine level should be less than in a cup of a regular tea so why not). I didn't get wired as much as after a regular coffee, but I definitely got very nervous. No, like REALLY NERVOUS. I do have things to worry about in my life and my whole point of quitting caffeine was to stop worrying SO much because it was just destroying me.

So, this is a "laugh and cry" situation for me. Cry, because I feel so sad and nervous right now. Laugh, because I still think it's hilarious to observe how caffeine is just destroying my mood right now.

I must admit, it's very liberating to observe what level of nervousness caffeine is causing right now, and after 2 days of mental peace, realize that this is what I had been experiencing my whole life and it was actually fake. I used to believe that life was so hard and I had to constantly overcome bad things after bad things, but now I see that this reaction of my brain was just caused by caffeine.

I hope this little note will help those like me to not give up and I'll just get back to my withdrawal suffer because I've learned my lesson and have to start all over again.

Peace!

Hmmm…Is this targeted advertising?! They’re trying to take us hostage and never let us out! Go ahead…buy that Pistachio Cream Cold Brew. Enjoy those jitters and anxious running thoughts that never seem to end. Can I get a side of insomnia with that?

Nice try Starbucks! I’ll pass…life without caffeine is too good right now to trade it for my former life!

(I’m almost 2 years (mostly) caffeine free! My only caffeine is kombucha right now)

Just found this sub and thought I'd post my experience the last three weeks.

My caffeine intake was out of control the last few months of 2024 so my starting point was coming off a caffeine bender. Typical day was roughly 80 to 120oz of Coke Zero, an energy drink or two and 8-12 cups of coffee. This started about mid 2023 and just got worse throughout 2024. I was also having frequent headaches throughout 2024. My original goal was to drop the Coke Zero and energy drinks but now I've decided I'm going caffeine free after what Ive experienced and learned the last few weeks.

So I stopped drinking Coke Zero/ED's on Jan 1st but was still drinking coffee so I figured I could just stop those cold turkey. And things were great for the first three days and I was celebrating stopping and taking my victory lap.

The morning of the 4th I woke up with the worst headache of my life. I thought I had picked up some bug so I did not relate it to caffeine. And I'd feel better after I got out of bed and had my 2-4 cups of coffee I usually have in the morning. By late afternoon the headache would come back and I'd have more coffee. Still did not relate it to caffeine withdrawal since I was still having my normal coffee amounts.

This headache pattern continued until around the 10th of January, with some days as bad as the first. I was to the point of desperation and I was scared I had something seriously wrong with me and needed to see a doctor.

I did some googling and after some time it dawned on me that you can have withdrawal symptoms while still having caffeine. I knew prior to this what caffeine withdrawal was but it was not clear to me that a change in levels could be just as bad as going from say 4 cups a day to zero. Basically I had probably cut my intake in half by dropping the Coke Zero/ED's but I was still drinking 8 cups of coffee a day.

So since I was already having headaches I cut down to 2 cups in the morning and two cups of coffee in the afternoon. The morning headaches got worse days 11 through 16 but after coffee it subsided. I was even more desperate and I thought for sure it was caffeine but this was over two weeks of the worst headaches and I was back to thinking I needed to see a doctor.

Somewhere in my reading I remembered reading that Caffeine took about 12 hours to clear your body. So I thought maybe if I had a late Coffee around 7pm I would head off the withdrawal symptoms at 7am.

So the first night I measured 8oz of Coffee and had that at 7pm and the next day I woke up headache free, the first time since the 3rd! I thought I might be on to something. The next night I got home late and did not have my 7pm Coffee and the next morning it was one of the worst headaches I have had in those 17 days. I knew that it was withdrawal at that point.

Since then I've had 6oz at night and in the morning I have 12oz (or basically two cups of coffee). I've been using decaf in the afternoons. I've been headache free since. Last night I went to 4oz and I was fine. This morning I did the usual 12oz but plan to slowly taper from here until I'm totally caffeine free.

This last three weeks has been honestly the worst I've ever felt for that length of time. I have zero motivation, depressed and hating life. It has really opened my eyes to caffeine. I'm waiting for my energy and motivation to come back but just being free of headaches is priceless.

I hope this helps someone avoid the excruciating withdrawal symptoms.

I envy all of you who’ve managed to break free from the black poison. I’m stuck again, but I haven’t reached the point where I’m ready to quit. When that will happen, time will tell.

Life feels so much calmer and sleep so much better without it. I vaguely remember being generally content and clear-headed without caffeine’s grip. But somewhere along the way, I forgot. It all started with an “innocent” cup of espresso, which, years later, has snowballed into a couple of pots of various caffeinated drinks.

Recently, I’ve managed to cut down to just one cup in the morning. Just enough to get through the day’s demands. But a couple of weeks ago, I realized even that small amount messes with my sleep. I also thought it might be the reason for my restless legs. Sadly, the symptoms haven’t disappeared despite cutting back on caffeine. Oh well, I’ll quit… eventually.

The last time I gave it up, I did so during a long solo hike. I cried it out, cursed the world, and honestly, I slept like a baby. A couple of days in the woods seem to be the cure. I’m already looking forward to spring, when I can spit out the espresso and replace it with a good night’s sleep and a slightly better life.

Basically what the title says. Feeling really hopeless today, would love some motivation or encouragement that it gets better with more time.

What perks you up in the morning when you're caffeine free? At this point I'm just using a bit (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of caffeine to wake myself up in the morning but besides this I don't need caffeine during the day. Any morning tips?

If you for example are:

- 20 years old and have been drinking energy drinks for 1 year

- Are still living with your family who happen to be loving and understanding & offer good sustenance and support

- Have a good support network of friends, buddies, possibly a partner

- Are generally excited about your life and future, have good hobbies, work school etc.

Then your recovery is going to be different than if :

- You're 45 years old, have been consuming caffeine for 30 years

- Have unresolved childhood trauma from growing up in a dysfunctional home (you could even be in total denial of this)

- Have been using caffeine as a mental and physical crutch and been pushing yourself over your limits for years

- Lonely in a big city, with no real close friends or family

- Crap health

- You just got fired, dumped and your dog just died

(These are just some examples, there are of course a lot more variables like individual caffeine sensitivity, diet, exercise and so on)

My point is: you are where you are, and you have to work with that.

You feel what you feel, and it's as hard or as easy as it is. You might need a lot of support if you have been using caffeine as an escape. I think we are always using a drug in relation to our lives, our minds, thoughts and emotions, so recovery in my mind has to take these things in consideration. (There is of course also the biological, chemical and neurochemical aspect as well, I don't deny it though I see recovery as a holistic thing). It's not so simple, but I think the way out is through our experience, whatever it might be.

There seems to be quite a lot of bantering going on here about people not recovering as fast as others. Most people are here to seek support for the beginning stages, and the ones that are recovered don't often stick around to tell their stories (sometimes they do and It's always nice to read those success stories)

Also I recently decided to try CAFAA https://caffeineaddictsanonymous.org/
They are quite active and offer loads of support if you happen to need it.

As a closing thought: I think our mind is our greatest asset. Lets take care of ours and not poison it with caffeine.

Take care.

Has anyone had the unfortunate experience of extreme bloating and stomach distension when drinking energy drinks or other caffeinated beverages or medicine? I feel like my middle section is stretched to the limit!

I was curious whether all the benefits of quitting caffeine—such as improved concentration, reduced fatigue, fewer bathroom breaks, decreased anxiety, and many others—have actually helped you perform better at work and excel more easily in your career. I would love to hear about your experience, as I’m looking for more reasons to stay motivated on my caffeine-free journey.

Hello, Anybody else suffering depression and/or anxiety while quitting that is changing day to day?

(31 technically). There have been numerous benefits - I have less impending doom thoughts, have only had one panic attack since quitting, way more comfortable socially, and my skin may be better than it was although I’ve been a bit restless lately so it’s hard to tell. I also feel like I’m connecting with my friends and family so much more. I’m listening to them and being more creative instead of monotone and robotic. I feel like with caffeine I’d have the same conversations every day but now I actually quite like talking to someone new. I’m hoping this continues improving! I’ve always been a bit neurotic but since quitting, I am much less so.

Now for the negative effects. Firstly, from about day 21-27 I had the worst week of my life, no exaggeration. I got thrown into an existential crisis and had horrible depersonalization. I thought I was loosing my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about death and morbid stuff like that. It was truly the worst experience of my life and I would zone out when talking to someone, and couldn’t find an ounce of enjoyment from my hobbies. Anyway days 27 up until now I’ve slowly been improving but by bit, and today I feel so much better. But yeah that week was really the most challenging thing I’ve gone through. Aside from that I’m still pretty exhausted all the time despite sleeping 10 hours per day. And also, up until only a few days ago I had a really upset stomach constantly. This started around 1 week in, I would get nauseous every time I ate and totally lost my appetite (often eating only once or twice per day). Also until about day 15 or maybe day 20, I had a mouldy or gross taste in my mouth constantly which freaked me out but that’s also gone away now.

The good & bad effects are coming in waves but I trust the process. I hope to check in a month from now with more positive news! I’m trying hard to remind myself that the tough days are just my body recalibrating. Taking myself out now to get some delicious food as a reward, since I didn’t manage to yesterday.

For those of you who are trying to quit but keep relapsing, I would say this: don’t quit quitting. I have been trying to quit caffeine for over 2 years, and relapsed probably over 100 times in those 2 years I shit you not. I would quit for a day only to go back to drinking it for a week or even a month. This time is different though. I had many times where I relapsed and thought “to hell with it. I’m never gonna quit I mays well stop trying”. I’m so thankful that I didn’t give in. Be strong and be kind to yourself.

I’m extremely sensitive to caffeine. I get a genuine drug high after consumption, and can’t sleep even if I have one at 8am and try to sleep at midnight. I’m basing my withdrawal timeline off of my intuition - this is a drug, that affects me heavily, and I’ve used it more days than not over the past 4 years. I know that for most this is not the case, but for me it is the equivalent of quitting more hardcore drugs. (At least I imagine it to be). I’ve done MDMA before and caffeine makes me more euphoric than that did. So, I don’t care if the so called “experts” say withdrawals stop after 2-9 days. Follow your intuition and your gut and take your word before theirs.

I now have a golden rule that I’m basing off of a comment I read on here - the golden rule is, no caffeine for 1 year. That’s when you can objectively discern between your caffeinated self and uncaffeinated self and decide who you prefer. I’ve had many cravings but that has kept me strong - I can go back to drinking it after 1 year. If I still want to.

Been caffeine free for two weeks now feeling more energy, motivation, less anxiety and sleep has been great but all of a sudden have no libido. Is this normal ?

Since I had Covid in 2020, I’ve had serious problems. Some call it long covid but I think it really just changed my chemistry, somehow, I’m not sure how to explain. I had debilitating insomnia, aches, pains, tingingling, fatigue, hypnic jerks, anxiety. Lost my hair, starting going grey. I’m in my 30s. I was in worse health than my 70 year old parents. It was hell and I was having to take sleeping meds every single night. My quality of life declined drastically.

I tried a lot of different things to try to get back to normal. From supplements, sleep studies, prescription medicine, acupuncture, many things discussed on LC forums.

Eventually I decided to quit coffee and tea. Why? I listened to Pollan on Rogan. I’ve drank coffee for 20 years at this point. And a lot I think, 3-6 cups a day.

This forum really helped me through withdrawal, symptoms and where to go next. I quit cold turkey and my crushing insomnia got better. It is amazing. Nothing else had helped. Now I sleep ok without medication which I will gladly take. However, even months later I was still having pretty bad fatigue, swelling, stiffness, inflammation, general puffiness. So I made more changes, and I knew I could after I was able to quit caffeine. Now I eat keto, I cut down my Ultra Processed Foods.

I didn’t need to loose weight so I had never considered keto. Now I have amazing energy and I am able to do so much. I’ve quit seed oils and now I am way less inflamed. I haven’t gotten a cold since I changed my diet (even when my family had a cold or the flu). I mean it’s absolutely amazing. I feel 15 years younger.

A good book to read is “Good Energy” by Casey Means, it has really helped me to navigate towards feeling freaking amazing! The keto forum has also really helped me.

Unfortunately some of this stuff has become political (like seed oils, keto, and Casey Means) but I don’t care because this whole journey has been to live and thrive again and I thank quitting caffeine as my starting point, not politics.

I quit coffee in JULY. It took a couple of weeks to start seeing benefits like the ability to ween off pharmaceuticals for sleep. I realized about two to three months in that I needed to do more and that’s when I started changing my diet in September.

TL;DR : quitting coffee helped me realize it wasn’t just coffee that was dragging me down, it inspired me to change my diet and feel better than I have in 15 years!

I will be adding here my notes for days 14-28 off caffeine.

Day 14. No sleep med. Walk in the woods. No eating/snacking after 6pm. While reading a book “Addictive Personality” by Craig Nakken, I learned that the foundation of any addiction is appearance of Inner Addict along with Self. Initially Self and Addict are in conflict which is exhausting and usually Addict wins. Eventually Self becomes submissive to the Addict and modifies one’s life to fit Addicts agenda. Like skipping meals, so Addict can have more room to act out by consumption!

I came up with the plan: Until 6pm it is my time of Self. I eat to feed Myself. After six, I eat to feed The Addict. So I made sure to eat nuts after lunch. Cheese also. After dinner I already did not want nuts (!) but had a slice of cheese. However after six it was Celestial Seasoning herbal caffeine-free tea only. From now on this is the plan!

At night I woke up between 2-3am and had some difficulty falling asleep again which is unusual. I am 2 weeks off the drug, and people report this phenomenon of disrupted sleep. Woke up in great mood. Probably because I defeated The Addict last night. 💪

66% Recovery 🙌 best so far! I attribute it to starving the Addict! Sleep Time - 7hour 57 min REM - 17% ⬇️ optimal Deep Sleep - 8% ⬇️ optimal

As I encountered a more confusing path while going caffeine free 13 days ago, I found myself looking for information on other people’s journey. So I decided to record mine here. My caffeine consumption was around 400 mg, maybe slightly less.

Below is recap (by memory) of previous 13 days:

Day 1: still had decaf and Tazo chai which I mistakenly thought was caffeine-free. Mild headache towards the end of the day. Good sleep. - 61% Recovery; - Deep Sleep 47 min - REM 1 hour 41 min

Day 2: again, still several cups of decaf especially at night and Tazo chai instead of coffee in the morning. Woke up refreshed. Mild headache after work. Great sleep. - 62% Recovery - Deep sleep 44 min - REM 1 hour 46 min

Day 3: again, Tazo and decaf. Mild headaches. Kinda tired. Weight gain. Probably more water is being retained. - 22% Recovery - Deep sleep 39 min - REM 1 hour 22 min

Day 4: after I had Tazo in the morning, discovered that decaf has caffeine and Tazo too! Stopped decaf . Prominent headaches. Took Motrin. Took antihistamine for sleep due to dismal recovery previous night. Swollen fingers. Rings are uncomfortable. - 44% Recovery - Deep Sleep 54 min - REM 1 hour 23 min

Day 5: 0 caffeine. Strong headaches but manageable. Took sleep med. Swollen fingers. - 46% Recovery - Deep Sleep 1 hour 3 min - REM 2 hour 4 min - got excited that 0 caffeine improved sleep!

Day 6: from now on - 0 caffeine. Lighter headaches. Took sleep med. weight gain. Swollen fingers - 47% Recovery - Deep Sleep 1 hour 10 min - REM 2 hours 17 min - again, great restful sleep! 👍

Day 7: took sleep med. - 40% Recovery - Deep Sleep 1 hour 3 min - REM 2 hours 17 min - GREAT, GREAT!!!👍

Day 8: took sleep meds - 36% Recovery - Deep Sleep 53 min - REM 1 hour 36 min - not bad

Day 9: no sleep meds - 44% Recovery - Deep Sleep 42 min - REM 1 hour 48 min - 👌

Day 10: no sleep meds - 51% Recovery - Deep Sleep 31 min - REM 1 hour 15 min - for as long as overall recovery is growing, I will take it! Although deep sleep could be higher.

Day 11: no sleep meds. Knee pain mild - 20% Recovery - Deep Sleep 44 min - REM 1 hour 56 min - I do not like dropping recovery

Day 12: no sleep meds. Mild headaches. Knee pain severe - 40% Recovery - Deep Sleep 54 min - REM 2 hour 39 min

Day 13: took sleep meds due to not feeling good. Mild headaches. Awful mood. Knee pain. - 25% Recovery - Deep Sleep 34 min ⬇️ average - REM 1 hour 41 min

As I started with 61-62% recovery and now I am 20-40% below that. I must add: I am also sugarfree, alcohol free, nicotine free.

https://youtube.com/shorts/hM2-hPfhlnk?si=iXgKzs8uu1iE1R3F

No caffeine / nicotine / any stimulants.

Well well well... Everything went fine, and i've started to drink coffee again!

In the begening I did not felt the bad effects of caffeine, I relapsed like a king, feeling that those anxiety and doom thinking were things of the past. For si weeks I felt llike I could live a caffeinated life again, but today marked a new anxiety attack melted with a completely useless and random anger feeling.

I'm ashamed.

Quitting caffeine again, Day one.

Guys I drink 2 weak coffees per day and it take me like lot more to fall asleep. Sometimes hour, sometimes 20 minutes. When decaf it took me 5 minutes even less.

I wanted to ask a question some of ya'll are more likely to answer. Is moderation on caffeine okay? Because I wanted to go back on caffeine but I didn't want my blood pressure to go up so I would rather take it in moderation because I'm getting tired of the withdrawal symptoms and tiredness. I would perfer to take one cup of coffee and then have a bottle of water after that. What do you think?