Caffeine Withdrawl

Yesterday I decided that my caffeine dependence had become... well, ridiculous. I seriously imbibe caffein all day, every day. So I decided to quit. Today. Woke up this morning and was ok. Then the afternoon hit. I had a pounding headache, was whiny, exhausted, cranky, horrid. So I gave in and ran to the gas station for a diet soda.  I figure one a day for a few days will still wean me down.

I expected a bit of a headache, but I really felt awful. Maybe I'm just still feeling whiny : ) It's not that I never intend to have a a cup of coffee or soda again, but I want to be able to make it through the day not needing it.

Who's broken their caffeine addiction? Cold turkey, or a slow decrease?

I have yet to completely break the addiction, but I've found that a slow decrease works best for me. Cold turkey may work best for others.

I'm a wimp when it comes to pain, and I find it easier to deal with a lower-grade headache than a pounding one. I can resist the cravings and take an aspirin by reducing.

My vice is coffee, so I am slowly mixing regular and decaf until I'm drinking just decaf.

I've just made it through the withdrawl process for the second time in my life and it was just as ugly this time as it was the first time.  I should NEVER have started back.  I just went cold turkey, because I know that if I justify one, I'll justify the next one, too. 

Best of luck!  You can do this!

Cold Turkey worked for me. It took two weeks, of afternoon headaches and crankyness to come through. I drink tea instead. Its sometimes hard becasue Id love a cappacino when i see my mum or sis having one, but I remind myself of how much better I feel when I dont have coffee and how sick I feel when I do have it. I used to get sweats and feel very edgy when I had it. I became accusotmed to these feelings, and it was only after I gave it up that I realsied how much better my stomach felt, my skin looked, and my energy levels were more stable.

Now I just drink the ends of my mums cappacino!, or if I really feel like one, I make a TINY cup while Im making my tea, so that I have a little taster, which satisifes me and then my tea which is a distraction.

Have you tried dandelion coffee?its decaff and really nice with hot foamy soya milk on top.

Good luck!!

I tried gradual many times and it never worked for me; I decided to go cold turkey.  The first three days were pretty horrible - I had three days of migraines and I just wanted to sleep all day, but once that had passed I started feeling better.  That was five months ago now, and I haven't had caffeine since then. :)

Took me a little over week then I stop having the headaches. I stayed off for about a month then I made some sun tea one day not thinking and after I drank two glassed it hit me that I was drinking caffeine again. But I did not have any problems readjusting to not having the caffeine again after that.

 I didn't quit drinking coffee but i buy 1/2 decaf 1/2 caffeinated..that works well for me...I didn't feel like i had to totally give it up so i just cut back a little....

I stopped drinking caffeine about a month ago, just wanted to get healthier and my coke and mountain dew addiction was annoying. The first week I had a bad migraine, it was awful but now I feel great and do not miss the taste at all and have become well adjusted to caffeine free sprite zero and I am drinking more water. Now I do have a half of cup of tea or coffee a few days a week in the morning (which both have caffeine) but that is it. They say too that eating an apple is like all natural caffeine, that may have helped with my migraines, just thought about that now.

Good luck, being caffeine free is so much healthier in the long run.