Probably OT, Thinking of Quitting Caffeine

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:27 pm

I would like to here from anyone who has successfully eliminated caffeine from their diet. Especially I would like to hear of the benefits that quitting the bean has produced.

To keep this on topic, did it help your whistle playing?

MurphyStout · Post by **MurphyStout** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:36 pm

Well I've been caffiene free for the past 3 weeks. I was a pretty hard drinker too, maybe like 4 or so Pepsis a day. It wasn't that tough really but I don't know cause I don't drink or smoke so I don't know if that would be harder. I had a 20 year hangover for the first week with really bad headaches in the evenings. Outside of the headaches there really wasn't any side effects but I might have been in an even worst mode than usual. I don't really no why I quit, I just felt like it but I guess it's good cause that stuff rots your gut and is pretty nasty when you think about it.

And whether or not it effected my playing? I had a headache for a week so listening to whistles or playing whistles was a no no so I played flute

So I guess my whistle playing got a small amount worse but my flute playing got better.

RonKiley · Post by **RonKiley** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:48 pm

I gave up all caffeine about last march. I didn't notice any withdrawal type symptoms. My only source of caffeine was from diet coke. I switched to caffeine free diet coke and didn't have much trouble. I drank a lot of diet coke. I had three before lunchtime. Actually I still have some because I have half a chocolate bar about twice a week.
Ron

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 6:59 pm

I forgot to mention how much I drink of the stuff, appx 32oz of strong coffee per day. Totally overkill .

I hope someone posts a reply that says something like, "I became much smarter after quitting caffeine." or "I memorize tunes much quicker now, and I smile all day at my job, even when the boss gives me extra work."

Bretton · Post by **Bretton** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 7:05 pm

I haven't quit caffeine, but I have started tyring not to drink it right before a lesson or session. It makes my fingers twitchy (in a bad way).

I've also cut back on caffeine intake in the mornings. I have to have a little (8oz. coffee) or I'm groggy till about 9AM, but I used to have 16oz. with a shot of expresso thrown in for good measure.

-Brett

Whistlin'Dixie · Post by **Whistlin'Dixie** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 7:09 pm

Mary

mamakash · Post by **mamakash** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 7:39 pm

You can always drink green tea, which has some caffeine but not as much as coffee. Or you can make your coffee "half caf" and mix regular coffee in with decaf. It's a nice pick me up, but not so jarring.
I'm against the idea of giving up coffee or caffeine. And if you saw the line up at the dunkin donuts, more than half of America would agree with me. Oh, yea, we're all drug addicts, but by george, we get to work . . . well, maybe not on time, but we get there! and we've got coffee to thank for that. Oh, and crullers, they help too.

antstastegood · Post by **antstastegood** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 8:24 pm

I eliminated caffeine two years ago. But I wasn't a whistle player then.

Anyway, I gave it up cold turkey for Lent. The withdraw lasted about 2-3 weeks and mostly involved headaches. But after that, I was fine without caffeine. And I was more focused, alert, I slept better, and my heartburn problem was significantly improved.

After Lent was over I tried to start again, but I found that caffeine no longer agreed with me. It made me tense, nervous, and stupid. It aggravated my stomach, and I could go on and on.

So I now quite easily avoid caffeine.

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 10:24 pm

I haven't given up caffeine but I'm reasonably free to take it or leave it without serious withdrawal symptoms and this is a good position to be in.

Some years ago I decided to cut back to one strongish cup of coffee a day. I have that after my evening meal but some might prefer to have it after lunch. I think it is important not to have it to kick start the day. Other than that I allow myself to drink several cups of fairly weak tea per day. These contain caffeine but not much. I might have only one or two; I might have four or five. I don't suffer at all on light days.

I can go almost all day before I begin to feel as though I would really like some caffeine. I can get through most or all of the working day without any caffeine and without sufering withdrawal symptoms.

A year or two ago, I noticed after several weeks that I'd been drinking decaf for my one 'strong' cup of coffee a day for several weeks without even noticing.

If you plan to give up completely, I'd suggest that you don't go cold turkey but cut down first by using tea as I do and by allowing yourself one cofee late in the day for a while. I think that, if I were to give up completely, I'd suffer mild withdrawal symptoms for a few days that could be easily relieved through physical exercise and then no problem at all. The advantage of cutting right back, but no out, is that I get just as big a stimulus from a cup of weak tea as I used to get from strong cofee but I'm not a slave to caffeine in any respect.

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 10:39 pm

I'd rather give up breathing.....

Duckrasta · Post by **Duckrasta** » Wed Oct 08, 2003 10:56 pm

I gave up caffeine without knowing it. Root Beer is my best friend. I miss coffee sometimes though.

Monster · Post by **Monster** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:11 am

Ok, I'm going to cut back first. 2cups a day max for a few days. then 1 cup, late in the day (thanks Wombat) then NO cups. The idea is to stop coompletely antstastegood did it , and appearantly liked the results.

Hey, I knew somebody would come up with a supportive answer!

skh · Post by **skh** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 3:38 am

I stopped smoking about two years ago. Some weeks after my last cigarette, my taste buds came back to life and I couldn't stand the taste of coffee any more, so I stopped drinking that as well. I didn't get headaches or something, I just stopped.

Won't help you when you don't smoke in the first place

Sonja

Jerry Freeman · Post by **Jerry Freeman** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 5:27 am

Chuck_Clark wrote:I'd rather give up breathing.....

I seem to recall you're in law enforcement. Isn't it pretty universal that squad cars run on gasoline and coffee?

Best wishes,
Jerry

OutOfBreath · Post by **OutOfBreath** » Thu Oct 09, 2003 7:12 am

I used to drink two to three pots (full size "Mr. Coffee" style) of coffee a day.

I would often drink a cup of coffee before bed. When the doctor told me I needed to cut back on caffeine I said "okay," and switched to decaff. That night about 2AM I got lifted straight up out of bed by the worst headache I've ever had. Five extra strength Tylenol didn't touch it. I tottered out to the kitchen, head pounding with every step, and made a really, really, strong cup of instant coffee -- the headache faded by the time I was 2/3 finished with the coffee. (There's a reason so many "migraine" OTC medications include caffeine!)

After that I gradually cut back until I was "only" drinking 2 to 3 cups a day. Then, I had a heart-attack.

Since then (5+ years) I have been completely off caffeine and cigarettes. I can count on one hand the number of times I've gotten a headache severe enough to need Tylenol in that five years (I used to go through a full bottle of Tylenol about every four or five weeks). I fall asleep much more easily (surprise, surprise) and tend not to wake with a headache in the morning (before, if I slept more than five or six hours a caffeine headache would wake me up).

On the extremely rare occasions when I drink part of a regular cola, less than 1/4 of a can is enough to wire me up and keep me awake, even if I drank the cola in the early afternoon.

Caffeine is bad stuff...

John