Probably OT, Thinking of Quitting Caffeine

[Celtoid]

I drink about two Mr Coffee size pots of coffee a day.

i've been this way for more than twenty years, so I'm not sure what would happen if I quit, and what benefits it might have. I sleep like a baby even when my world is falling appart, with the only exception the time last month when I had pneumonia and had to sleep sitting up to breathe. My blood pressure is on the low side and I'm a very laid back person...coffee is my crutch to make me rise to a standing position, walk, prepare to teach my class and generally live the day.

If I quit coffe, I'm afraid that I would turn into gumby or some other gelatinous creature.

[fancypiper]

Caffeene! My drug of choice since the age of 8! I have enjoyed coffee for 54 years and I will only quit it when I am unable to get someone to lift a cup to my lips after I am unable to do so.

[fancypiper]

Mmmm.. coffee

I think I'll go make my 4th cup this morning. I am almost awake.

[chas]

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."

Not likely. Caffeine is about as close to an intelligence drug as any of the artificial ones mad scientists have tried to cook up. In addition to generally making synapses fire faster, it does have some memory-enhancement effects.

When I was in college, people thought I didn't work that hard. Then someone studied with me for an afternoon, with Morning Thunder and everything. We got done in four hours what it would have taken him eight to do normally (his words).

I can't handle coffee. I found awhile back that I was crashing in the afternoon after a few cups. I pretty much stick to tea except for maybe every other weekend. I probably do 4-6 16 oz. cups a day. I try to cut back periodically, but truth is, I really love it. As someone pointed out, you might try green tea; even regular black tea has half the caffeine of coffee. Tea is also easier on the gut, it (especially green) has other health benefits, and it's a lot cheaper.

[cj]

I gave it up for awhile when I was pregnant several years ago. I had horrible headaches for days. We Southerners love our iced tea, so that's what made me go back on it. Yes, I know there's caffeine-free tea, but not in restaurants. I now have to not have any caffeine after about 11:00 a.m. or I'll have trouble sleeping. But I need some Diet Coke to wake me up.

From what I've read, the jury's still out on whether caffeine is terribly bad for you--plenty of friends and family members drink coffee and/or cokes into their 80s and 90s with seeminly no ill effects. But everyone's different, and you have to decide if it's harming you or not--I certainly am not qualified to give any medical opinions on it. I gave up smoking, which they KNOW is harmful, so I figure I'm doing good as far as personal vice damage control goes!

[markv]

I gave up all caffiene and softdrinks of any kind about two years ago for health reasons.

After drinking two to three+ mountain dews and a cup or two of coffee a day from the age of about 15 till thirty and smoking for roughly the same time period I developed severe Gastro Esophogeal REflux Disease, GERD. It's basically really nasty chronic heartburn. Caffiene causes the LES muscle (the sphincter that seperates your stomach from you esophagus) to relax and loose its ability to contract. Smoking does the same thing. Thanks to my "I am invincible" years I now am on daily meds to restrict the amount of stomach acid I produce. Eventually it may require surgery.

The years of caffiene and nicotine also have agrevated my PVC condition that I've always had but never really bothered me until I was 30. That one is a skipped or extra ventricular contraction that if you get enough of them in a row (usually late at night) it makes you feel like you got run over by a truck. Not usually fatal but not having more than two even heart beats in a row for half an hour at 3AM sure gets your attention!

I really had a hard time giving up coffee, smoking was actually easier since I knew smoking was slowly killing me. But coffee? everyone drinks coffee, how can it be that bad? It is! Like someone else mentioned, I also found out that after I got my tastebuds back I didn't like coffee or Shudder! beer as much as I had when smoking.


I still have flare ups of GERD even on meds but since giving up all coffee, tea, alcohol and pop I haven't had a real episode of PCV in two years other then under extreme stress the occasional noticed missing beat.

Coffee and caffiene are rather insidious. You don't realize the damage they are doing until it pretty much is too late.

The only real problem is going out to eat and getting a beverage other than water.

If your thinking about quiting, then do it. It sucks for a week or two but your body will thank you. If you feel tired, go out to your car during lunch and take a nap. Worked for me


Mark V.

[burnsbyrne]

I quit coffee a couple of times but I eventually restarted. I live with an Italian - they take their coffee seriously. I haven't quit again in about 15 years. My BP is 120/80, I've got no heartburn and I can go take a nap in the afternoon after drinking a double espresso. I guess caffeine affects people differently.
Mike

[Chuck_Clark]

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

Well, retired from law enforcement, actually. And your statement is only a little off. Actually, you can do law enforcement without gasoline. It is inconceivable without caffeine.

Long before that, though, coffee and I were life partners I started at age 10 when delivering newspapers on cold January mornings. Through college, I relied on it, adding No-Doz and Mountain Dew during exam weeks. As a young social worker, coffee allowed me to get through days in hell and then through masters degree classes at night.

Consider this: every programmer knows in his heart that the modern electronic world would never have existed at all without the "programmer's diet" - coffee, Mountain Dew, Jolt and those funny little round candies.

As for health effects, my doctor, a med school prof who's gotten me through four heat attacks and lots of other serious stuff (and who's not a coffee drinker herself) says that she's looked at all the research and so far can find no proof that coffee is inherently dangerous. (well, in moderate quantities, anyway - which mine probably aren't).

[Davey]

actually tea is much more caffeinated than coffee...

I desperately NEED to give it up, since it caused an atrial fibrilation attack 2 years ago....BAAAAD STUFF..BUT..I also self-medicate with the stuff (adhd)...baaad...

[chas]

actually tea is much more caffeinated than coffee...

Based on dry weight, that's generally true, but you use about 1/4 as much tea to make a cup. There are teas that have more caffeine than coffee (lapsang souchong and keemun come to mind), but most have about half as much per cup, and oolongs and greens are about 1/4 or less. There's also the issue of tannic acid which, in black teas, can make much of the caffeine non-digestable.

[Nanohedron]

Interesting. I used to easily go through two pots a day; my habit has been winding down of itself over time. Now, for breakfast, it's a pot of "espresso" (actually light roast brewed in an espresso machine -more caffeine of course...what else? ) with turbinado sugar and 2% milk. Then off to work, where I've let the same cuppa sit nearly idle some days. I didn't think I had it in me.

Davey, is it the caffeine or theine in tea doing the trick? I thought there was more of the latter. Anyway, I get more jangled from tea, myself; if you really want to fly, try a Japanese cha-no-yu (tea ceremony) sometime. You can get two kinds: usucha, or "thin" tea, which is thin only when compared to koicha, or "thick" tea. Now that's thick. Either way, it's formidable stuff.

[Redwolf]

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?

Well, for many years, caffeine was one of the substances I gave up for Lent (think 40 days, give or take the odd Sunday). It wasn't so bad...beastly headaches off and on for a week or so, gradually tapering off to nothing...nothing a bit of aspirin wouldn't take care of. NOTHING like giving up nicotine (trust me on this...it's been three and a half months, and I'm still battling clinical depression and intense cravings!). What was harder for me was giving up coffee entirely (I didn't even drink decaf coffee or tea during the fast, and I've never been a big soda drinker or chocolate consumer). I don't recall any particular benefits either...not physical ones, anyway (fasting from just about any addictive substance certainly produces spiritual benefits, to those who are so inclined). The first week is the hardest...after that, it gets easier and easier (and, with so many good caffeine-free substitutes for coffee, tea and soda available, it's an easier addiction to break than most).

That was me...your mileage may differ.

Redwolf

[glauber]

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?

Why would you do such a thing? Caffeine is the water of life! You can't play whistles without a high caffeine blood level.

[anniemcu]

Well, being an ADDult (yes, there are two d's in that), I find that caffeine doesn't affect me the same way it does others, like, say my DH...

I tell ya what, let's sit down and discuss this civily over a good strong cup of some exotic blend of coffee and see how we feel about it afterward...

[Forrest Aguirre]

I quit drinking coffee 16 years ago. One of the best things I ever did (outside of quiting smoking and drinking at the same time). I won't say I got rid of caffeine entirely, because I do eat chocolate and love a good hot chocolate. But I feel much more "myself" not having to rely on that early morning kick to wake up anymore.

How has it affected my whistle playing - well, I only started playing the whistle a little over a year ago, so that's a tough one. Um. How about "not at all"?

Forrest

PS: I do still *love* the smell of coffee, though.