No more Coffee

[xMenace]

I decided to give up the coffee. I've been a regular drinker for the last 24 years. Most days I'd drink many cups.

My main driver is my eyes and BP. While I've always had decent BP, it's crept up over the past few years. My doc says dropping the coffee can shave 10pts off my BP.

I haven't had a drink since Monday June 16th. My BP at my endo's yesterday was 120/80.

I've had headaches all week. Unusual ones that don't hurt like normal headaches. I thought it was a cold, but my endo yesterday said it sounds like the coffee. It's a typical withdrawal symptom.

My question is: are there other withdrawal symptoms? I can't say it's been hard, I keep a glass of water at my desk and I drink herbal tea when I can't stand anymore water. I'm also bringing lots of veggies to snack on. Anyone else done this?

[Jill-O]

When I got off it, I had severe headaches and was sick to my stomach. Now I have it occasionally on weekends, but not during the week.

[Handybear]

I have been caffeine free for over a year now, but I drink decaf coffee. I also find that plain water is boring so I add a little lemon or lime to it. Also you can try some of the flavored seltzer waters. They are flavored with natural fruit flavors contain no caffeine and are sugar free with NO artifical sweeteners, and can be quite thirst quenching.

[fgummett]

Stopped caffeine completely when I was Dx'd... for both BP and Lipids Some minor withdrawal at first but no problems since. Still like the smell of fresh brewed, but I just drink cold water these days. I found coffee a vicious cycle where you drank it to wake up, but that lead to some dehydration that made you sleepy, so you drank more which affected your sleep at night... so then you had to drink it to wake up next morning...

[RobiJo]

Good luck with this John.

I'm not a coffee drinker, though I have MORE than my fair share of Diet Pepsi and other diet pop/soda. If I don't have one I can get very cranky. And will even arrange my schedule to get some if needed. It's probably something I should cut back on, but not willing/able to do this just yet.

So another symptom to watch for might be crankiness and snapping at people without meaning to.

[duck]

You're going through the DT's, man, just like a recovering whatever addict. The couple times I gave up caffeine, I had ween myself off and/or take one of those motrin/caffeine painkillers to stem the tide. The way I would do it is if I was taking one of those pills a day for the first few days, I would increase the time between to one every 36 hours, one every 48, and then cold turkey from there.

Good luck.

[owlyn]

When I tried giving coffee up one time (after I was first dxed), it took about a week or two to get over the withdrawal symptoms. I was fine, but I just like it too much, so I went back. I have cut back for the most part, though- just two cups a day and one cup of tea during the week. And of course, a small soda with lunch. Weekends are open season on coffee, though.

[KarenBC]

It's regular tea that I'm addicted to...when I've tried getting off it I get killer headaches and am majorly cranky. You think a low blood sugar cranky is cranky? I'm awful when I'm in tea withdrawal mode.

I like my tea, it and my dog are the most dependable things in my world at the moment :) I don't smoke and rarely have a glass of wine...so a caffeine vice is one I'm willing to have.

I don't mind a cup of coffee now & then, but since I like sugar in it, and haven't acquired a taste for the artificial sweeteners in it I've not been drinking it since being Dx'd.

[gettingby]

Good Luck John.
I will say this. My sister gave up all caffeine (decaf coffee, caffeine free drinks, decaf tea) and she got soooo sick. Her doctor finally told her that she needed some caffeine in her day or she would stay sick:confused: . Just a thought.

[EazyE77]

Good luck with the choice to help yourself in the long run. I was an avid coffee/cappachino drinker when I was married 3 years ago and since divorced and moving back home I haven't drank it very often at all. After dx 2 years ago I switched over to diet soda from regular soda and drank that a lot for a while then I stopped drinking dt soda so much and drinking a lot more of the flavored drink mix you can get a lot of places that is sugar free and basically tastes like flavored water and comes in a nice range of variety. I'll sneak in a few bottles of diet mt dew a few times a week to keep myself from getting completely tired of the same ole stuff.

[notme]

I have given up coffee before John and it was not fun. I drink two cups in the morning and then no more. I also suffered headaches.....the wicked ones you are describing. The coffee that I love, has stopped being sold at my locat grocery store and I am also toying with the idea of giving up coffee. It would defintely lower my 1/2 and 1/2 consumption.

[Penny]

A few years ago, I was drinking a pot of coffee and a couple Diet Cokes a day. I quit the soft drinks before, because I decided they were causing my stomach problems. It made a difference when I quit, now I might have one a month. I drink my coffee black, with no sweetener, but have cut it back to 2 a day. It didn't seem to make any difference when I tried cutting it out, in my BS or how my stomach feels. My blood pressure sometimes gets so low, I drink a cup of coffee to get it to go up.....it works. So maybe it would help people who have high blood pressure, to give it up?????

[Fred&CharlesFan]

Good work John,

I have given up coffee, and Tim's and all other associations with that exquisite bevearage for the past 6yrs for 40days during Lent.
Like everyone else, headaches seem to be the number 1 side-effect (although, after year 1, those headaches were not nearly as bad).
I have found that there is something soothing about just drinking hot water (vs. cold water), that can help get curb the urge for having another medium/single cream.
Also learned while trying to push fluids during a cold, discovered a 50/25/25 mix of herbal green w/ extra water (i.e. weak tea) & 25% ginger ale was not as bad as I thought it might be. Yes, HOT ginger ale ( I had to recall my own advice to the children that you cant KNOW you don't like something (i.e. broccolli, or Hot gingerAle) if you don't try it!!!).

No other side effects that I recall about going cold turkey on coffee.
You're already 5 days into the adventure!! You'll be fine. Good luck! Your Bp will thank you.

[Kim_in_TN]

While I have never been a coffee drinker, I have tried to quit caffeinated sodas. Everytime, I get bad headaches for a few days. Sometimes I will just drink a sip or two to sort of wean myself off of them and relieve the headaches just a bit. Caffeine also causes my heart to race and brings on anxiety attacks and now I've also discovered, hot flashes. Don't suppose you have to worry about those though! ;)

[candy43]

Hey John,

I'm proud of you. Giving up coffee is hard. I know b/c I had to cut down on it drastically from 5 to 1 cup of half-decaf/half regular a day. See, I have a mitral valve prolapse and coffee aggravates the "flicking". My doc calls my mvp a chick flick, not sure whether to laugh or take offense..jk, :) anyways I digress.....Its amazing how much better I feel, not to mention cutting out the annoying heart palpitations that made me feel i was having a heart attack instead of my mvp acting up!! Kudos to you. :) and if you find you still crave a little occasionaly, consider the 1/2 and 1/2 although quitting cold turkey is way better!!

[bkburns]

I cut out all caffeine and sodas at the end of March. I was drinking 2-4 cokes or mountain dews a day. The last coke I had was March 27 at 3:32 PM, finished it as I walked into my Dr appt where I recieved my Diabetes diagnosis :argh:

For a week or two I was grumpy, tired, irratable and generally unlikable. My head hurt, but it went away.

Good luck!

[Eddy]

I'm curious to know if your basal rates change. I know that coffee consumption pretty much doubles my basal requirement the following two hours, after which point it gradually begins returning to normal. (Of course, Eddy-grade coffee is far from the weak, watery, toilet-water swill that most people try to pass off as coffee. :D)

[xMenace]

I'm curious to know if your basal rates change.

Just what I need: more frickin work! Actually I'm overdue for a basal test review. I haven't checked a thing since Oct or Nov.

I do feel better, except for the headaches. I don't crave it, but I have to remind myself not to turn into Tim's. The headaches aren't bad. Well today I had a bad one for about 10 minutes. Mostly they just hang around in the background.

[grace girl]

I gave it up a few years ago...it had gotten to the point where even a half a cup made me so jittery I thought I was coming out of my skin.
I remember the headaches, but also just this general sense of mental fogginess...like I wasn't 100% engaged. It all faded away during the second week.
The motrin that Duck suggested probably isn't a bad idea.

[notme]

Does Motrin have caffeine in it? I know last time I came off coffee, I started popping Tylenol. They use caffeine in Tylenol to speed up the effectiveness of the pain reliever. So....I figured out a way to get my caffeine anyhow. :D

[Dewey]

I've tried to cut back on coffee in the past, but it's very difficult to stop drinking it altogether. I often wind up fluctuating by going through bouts of having a little or having a lot. I've been drinking coffee since I was like, 5, so it's too difficult to quit. It's almost like being addicted to cigarettes...but, coffee's not as bad for ya!

[Chappo]

John,

Many times i've tried to quit coffee - using replacement therapy with decaff. I also get those headaches when i don't drink coffee - it's usually a slight pain in the upper back of my head that just sits there, and doesn't go away.

Best of luck with quitting!!!

[Alene]

Hey John,

I'm proud of you. Giving up coffee is hard. I know b/c I had to cut down on it drastically from 5 to 1 cup of half-decaf/half regular a day. See, I have a mitral valve prolapse and coffee aggravates the "flicking". My doc calls my mvp a chick flick, not sure whether to laugh or take offense..jk, :) anyways I digress.....Its amazing how much better I feel, not to mention cutting out the annoying heart palpitations that made me feel i was having a heart attack instead of my mvp acting up!! Kudos to you. :) and if you find you still crave a little occasionaly, consider the 1/2 and 1/2 although quitting cold turkey is way better!!

I get heart palpitations almost every day. I thought it was anxiety/ stress, but it must be the caffeine... (too)...

Does anyone know if the heart palpitations can cause any health problems or can they be signs of something serious going wrong? Maybe I should call my Dr...?

[-sammy-]

my mum tried to give up coffee and she started to get badf headaches. i love coffee and i cant give it up lol too addicted :)

[xMenace]

So we're a month and a week in. No problems. No more headaches.

I had three cups though. Let's just say Americans don't have a clue how to make a decent cup of tea. I couldn't stand another lukewarm herbal.

[bghunter]

I will give up coffee right after I give up air.:D I don't drink a lot of it but now and then, gotta have a cup.

[cyberus]

I will give up coffee right after I give up air.:D I don't drink a lot of it but now and then, gotta have a cup.

I'm with you on that ...

... on my death bed right after I make some sort of inappropriate remark to the cute young nurse ;) my coffee cup will slip from my dead hands

[matingara]

I had three cups though. Let's just say Americans don't have a clue how to make a decent cup of tea. I couldn't stand another lukewarm herbal.

i am an American and i make the best cup of tea you are ever likely to consume! :D

i was lucky though. my Australian grandmother taught me how to brew it at a very young age.

i almost always use high-quality, loose tea and a warmed teapot.

my in-laws make tea with tea bags and coffee that looks (and tastes) like dishwater. i have been told i am churlish when i refuse their offers of tea or coffee.

in that situation i would rather drink shampoo.

:D

-- Joel.

[volleyball]

Never been a coffee drinker. It had no effect on me so I never bothered. caffeine doesn't boost me, never has, same with my kids, could fall asleep drinking tea.
but i have a friend who will have headaches by 2pm id they haven't had some caffeine by then

[barbarac]

For those of you that have given up coffee. Did it really help you lower BP and cholesterol?? What kind of difference did you see?

[xMenace]

For those of you that have given up coffee. Did it really help you lower BP and cholesterol?? What kind of difference did you see?

It's lowered my BP, but I don't really know by how much. I also upped my ACE from 5 to 10 at the same time. I am feeling much less tense. I used to have a bit of chronic tightness in my chest. That's gone.

The test will come next week when I'm back at my home office with all the free coffee I can drink.

[Nifr]

The test will come next week when I'm back at my home office with all the free coffee I can drink.

Yep, that what kills this lovely idea for me. My office splurges on good coffee, not those icky, weak, black-water producing brands. I can't stay away. Good for you sticking with it, let us know how it goes at the office...

[ant hill]

Good Luck John.
I will say this. My sister gave up all caffeine (decaf coffee, caffeine free drinks, decaf tea) and she got soooo sick. Her doctor finally told her that she needed some caffeine in her day or she would stay sick:confused: . Just a thought.

Hey Cindy, That's good advice and John I would just back off on coffee rather than go cold turkey. I have never had coffee but a coke drinker and should just back off. ;)

The test will come next week when I'm back at my home office with all the free coffee I can drink.

Aww that's is going to be hard John, Try just have one and stretch it!!! And see how you go. :confused: