Posted: 3/18/2008 6:21:27 AM EDT
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I once tried to quit caffeine--in residency. The abstinence stopped a week later when the intern under me told me he like me better when I drank caffeine. In college I could consume a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke and go right to bed. Now I have 6-8 cans a day. I've read "quiting caffeine" threads, and I've read articles about the pros and cons of caffeine. In moderate quantities (2x12 ounce coffees or 6-8 cans of soda) caffeine improves mental function and athletic performance, is an appetite suppressant, and elevates the mood. The cons include withdrawal symptoms, a temporary rise in blood pressure, and jitteriness. Some of the purported medical issues--osteoporosis, kidney, and bladder cancer, may be more related to the delivery system (no calcium), and concommitant stimulate addiction (tobacco is a huge risk factor for bladder cancer). On one hand, I don't like to be addicted to a substance and feel the requisite withdrawal symptoms every morning. On the other hand, I believe that caffeine has helped me get that extra edge in school and in my profession. Thankfully I no longer have to work up to 36 hours straight, or stay up all night studying. I suppose the biggest fear I have is that the consumption of huge quanities of aspartame and other substances in diet beverages and in everything else, is eventaully harmful for you. If you need a reason to quit something, there it is. I like physical and mental challenges. I want to see if I can make it through Easter Sunday (3/23) with narry a drop of a caffeinated or artificially sweetened beverage. So far, I have a 1 out of 10 headache after consuming a 12 ounce can of Diet Dr. Pepper this AM--3 hours ago. Normally I would be sipping on my 3rd can by this time. |
Coffee or Tea Problem solved. ETA: Another option: www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/search/ProductDetail/SIAL/C8960 |
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Caffeine is connected to a ritual that I really enjoy. The first thing I do is make a pot of coffee when I get up. I sip my coffee and I read something non-work related and I ease into the day. I am up before the spouse and kids, and it is MY time. Is the coffee bad for me? I don't know and frankly I don't much care. I think the mental benefits of "my time" outweigh any negative potential health impacts. I can understand not wanting to be addicted to a substance. I stopped drinking caffeine in the afternoon many years ago. It led to me sleeping better at night. Frankly if you are concerned about health impacts then I would cast out your false idols (soda) and return to the coffee drinking fold. Sugar is not necessary in coffee. Life is not sweet. It is strong and bitter. SAVOR THE FLAVOR. Cream? Bah. I only put enough skim milk in my coffee to cut the acidity. Seriously, what is so bad about caffeine as long as there are some limits? |
Gots to have 1 vice. Besides its gone beyond addiction and into a new realm. |
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Day 1 Recap The symptoms today were mild. I felt mentally slow, and didn't feel as if I was walking smoothly. Got a little lippy with a social worker at the hospital and a guy in the KFC drive through who was trying to sell me more than what I wanted--even after saying "that's all". Very mild (1/10) headache. Took a nap this afternoon because I felt pretty tired. Made it through a 2A discussion with the wife over dinner without raising my voice (right after I told her it was an individual right, similar to the rest of the Bill of Rights, NBC news echoed my statement). I think I'm going to bed now. What's really interesting is that my pulse has been in the 50s all day, and normally it's in the 70s. Also, I normally sweat a bit but my pits were dry today. |
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Day 3 Recap 5/10 Headache began after counselling a suicidal patient. Then my next patient was an older fellow with a ridiculously loud voice and stinky feet. I took some ibuprofen and all was better. I believe that I would have been fine with more normal patients. What has helped me the most, I believe, is getting 9-10 hours of sleep per night during the first few days. 3 days with no caffeine baby! |
i made it...lent ends tomorrow, i may set my alarm for midnight coffee. these guys feel your pain: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=610372 www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=684606 |
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I was in your shoes - would drink a 2 liter of diet coke then go to bed. If you quit cold turkey like I did, you will feel physically sick. As in maybe death sick. It will pass in a couple days. Maybe take some Advil for the headache and otherwise stay in bed. You are a master of your own body. |
good luck--i am a horrible soda addict and I know it--I've kicked the habit twice and cant seem to kick it again. |
+1 That is exactly why I like it. |
LOL, I did that for Lent one year & my wife force fed me Mountain Dew. This year I gave up soda but do have a couple bottles of sugar free tea a week & I am much better. |
lent is over, back on the caffeine...i am back old friend. haveing coffee now...love it. |
| I quit drinking coffee last year for about 8 months. A couple months ago I started drinking it again. I didn't miss the coffee while I had quit. In fact, I generally slept better and was less prone to mood swings (which stem from caffeine withdrawal for me). I started up again ironically right after my wife quit coffee do to being pregnant at the time.That and a lot of new changes at my workplace required coffee for me. There are times when work/life is difficult to get through due to other stresses. Right now, I have coffee in the morning and around lunctime - but no later. Caffeine will keep me up all night if I have it late in the afternoon. Moderation is the key. Don't get so hooked on coffee that you can't function without it. |
So you needed coffee because of changes at work and stress but you are saying don't make it where you need it to function. Not trying to be an ass but it sounds like you are drinking it because you need it. Are you saying you are hooked on coffee again? |
| I quit caffeine cold turkey and never noticed any changes whatsoever. Now when I buy a soft drink, I always get caffeine free. It tastes better to me because it isn't as bitter without the caffeine. And I don't really care for coffee, but when I do drink it, I get de-caf. I have grown to hate caffeine. It'll make you as jittery as hell. |
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I used to drink only pop. Probably 6 a day. I quit about 8 months ago. I rarely get head aches anymore. I fall asleep easier. I wake up easier. I lost 10 pounds with out altering my diet or my exercise. My teeth brightened up a little bit as well. Caffeine sucks. I also look forward to not being like most people who have permanent make a mother fucker puke his ass off when he smells it coffee breath. Seriously, you coffee drinkers are second only to smokers when it comes to bad breath, yet some how smoke brushes away and coffee doesn't. Yuck, nothing makes me want to puke more than smelling some nasty ass coffee breath while looking at your yellow brown hybrid colored coffee stained teeth. I'd rather sit in a room full of dudes smoking cigars and eating cheese than to be the poor guy stuck in a conference room with a room full of coffee drinkers about a half hour after they quit drinking it. Dried rotten coffee breath is ferocious. 
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Week 1 Recap The first 2-3 days were a bit of a challenge, but I now feel completely free of the grip of a nonessential stimulant. I'm still tempted, but I find a glass of pure water incredibly refreshing. Pros: Not sweating Slower pulse Lower blood pressure I've lost, not gained weight I feel as if I am sleeping better Richer I'm slightly calmer Cons: Withdrawal is a bitch. For the first few days you want to sleep forever, you feel slightly confused, you are a bit irritable, and you have a mild to moderate headache. However, if you can take about 3 days of that, you are free and clear. |
I drink Diet MD or Diet Vault but I tell you what if I go one day without caffeine in that form I have the most horrible headache that lasts for hours upon hours until I get caffeine. I am addicted to caffeine. I wish I could quit it, but the headaches put me down. 
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Dude, if you need an 'upper' just get a script for some Adderall. It's everything you love and nothing you don't need (no aspartame, no sugar, no high fructose corn syrup) - just pure amphetamine 
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Ween yourself off. Buy a tumbler and fill it with ice and then pour soda into it and drink her down in the morning. Just a tiny 4 oz shot will chase the morning headache away. Most people have an oral fetish and have to be drinking, chewing, inhaling something. Try switching to water. I used to be in your shoes, drinking it before bed, a two liter bottle per day. You can do it. And don't believe all that hype that cafine is good for you. Just like eggs are supposed to be good for you. You will consume enough cafine throughout your normal day so you don't need to seek it out. |
This is said as there's a half-empty 1L of Diet Dew in front of me and a bottle of No-Doz in my locker. Remember that many of the great surgeons of the day - Halstead, et al. were hooked on cocaine. The horrible hours they kept were possible in large part due to the stimulant addiction. Residency hours continue that tradition, and I don't recall ever seeing a resident that didn't use a decent amount of caffeine. Good luck in continued quitting. I've tried and been successful for up to a month at a time, and can usually pare down the amounts during less demanding schedules. I'll be on call 4 out of 7 days this week, though, so consumption will increase. Unfortunately, I'm still at the mercy of up to 48-hour call shifts despite having finished residency a few years ago. Though not essential, this nonprescription stimulant still finds a place in my toolbox. Most people prefer that the anesthesiologist be awake and the patient asleep, not vice-versa. 
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rrrrrhhhhjfgfdgf headache 
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Addict! I did the same just before I started school. Made myself drink Water (cold from the Fridge) and kept bottles of water (not bottled water) in there at all times to keep the habit of reaching in for a drink from starting the process. I will note that while I was off the caffeine, I: Slept better Didn't piss as much. Had fewer ups and downs (when I did the Atkins, I got the same effect) in tired/alert during the day. AFARR |
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Coffee and tea are two of the healthiest things that you can drink. The latest info on coffee shows that people who drink two or more cups a day have half the rate of liver cancer. Carbonated beverages are a completely different matter. There is a big dispute which will kill you first: the high fructose corn syrup or the carbonation. |