I am QUITTING COFFEE for 100 days

[Korven]

I am making this thread mainly to keep myself accountable and to report on any positive/negative effects from quitting coffee (as a heavy user since 10+ years).

These are the main reasons for my 100 day no coffee experiment:

- Poor and unrefreshing sleep. I never get a good night's sleep and I am certain this is contributing to a lot of health/life problems. Coffee is the main suspect.
- TMJ symptoms, horrible neck and jaw and shoulder tension that has gotten gradually worse over the past years.
- Anhedonia/depression. The only time life is enjoyable is when I drink a cup of coffee and experience "coffee euphoria", which of course is fleeting and is soon to be replaced by dullness/boringness/restlessness. I feel like a robot or husk of a human? Like my emotional bandwidth is severely limited; I only have two emotions "on coffee" and "off coffee".
- Energy levels. I have made some good progress with my energy levels but they are not great. Again I suspect the poor sleep has a lot to do with poor energy levels.
- Rosacea that flare up on and off. Maybe from coffee-induced gut inflammation?
- Feeling "split"/confused. There was this experiment done on spiders where they were given different psychoactive drugs e.g caffeine, marijuana to see how it affected the spiders' spider web weaving. Sometimes my brain feels like the caffeinated spider web, which makes it difficult to make any good decisions or solve problems in life.

- Addictive behaviours. My hypothesis is that coffee causes a low-grade stress response that is fuelling cravings for things like porn and drugs.

I have been drinking coffee for a large part of my life and am a "you can pry coffee from my cold dead hands" kind of guy so this decision is not an easy one for me. As I mentioned, the immediate effects from coffee feel amazing to me, I literally get high/euphoric and pleasantly relaxed and socially outgoing. And the withdrawals symptoms are so bad that it is extremely difficult for me to quit this drug. But if quitting coffee would allow me to fix at least some of the problems mentioned above then I feel like it would be worth it, e.g getting a good night's sleep.

I will be drinking some black tea for the first week or so just to stave off the worst withdrawal symptoms but the plan is to wean off all caffeine long-term.
Cheers guys

 

[Hans]

I am making this thread mainly to keep myself accountable and to report on any positive/negative effects from quitting coffee (as a heavy user since 10+ years).

These are the main reasons for my 100 day no coffee experiment:

- Poor and unrefreshing sleep. I never get a good night's sleep and I am certain this is contributing to a lot of health/life problems. Coffee is the main suspect.
- TMJ symptoms, horrible neck and jaw and shoulder tension that has gotten gradually worse over the past years.
- Anhedonia/depression. The only time life is enjoyable is when I drink a cup of coffee and experience "coffee euphoria", which of course is fleeting and is soon to be replaced by dullness/boringness/restlessness. I feel like a robot or husk of a human? Like my emotional bandwidth is severely limited; I only have two emotions "on coffee" and "off coffee".
- Energy levels. I have made some good progress with my energy levels but they are not great. Again I suspect the poor sleep has a lot to do with poor energy levels.
- Rosacea that flare up on and off. Maybe from coffee-induced gut inflammation?
- Feeling "split"/confused. There was this experiment done on spiders where they were given different psychoactive drugs e.g caffeine, marijuana to see how it affected the spiders' spider web weaving. Sometimes my brain feels like the caffeinated spider web, which makes it difficult to make any good decisions or solve problems in life.
View attachment 44128
- Addictive behaviours. My hypothesis is that coffee causes a low-grade stress response that is fuelling cravings for things like porn and drugs.

I have been drinking coffee for a large part of my life and am a "you can pry coffee from my cold dead hands" kind of guy so this decision is not an easy one for me. As I mentioned, the immediate effects from coffee feel amazing to me, I literally get high/euphoric and pleasantly relaxed and socially outgoing. And the withdrawals symptoms are so bad that it is extremely difficult for me to quit this drug. But if quitting coffee would allow me to fix at least some of the problems mentioned above then I feel like it would be worth it, e.g getting a good night's sleep.

I will be drinking some black tea for the first week or so just to stave off the worst withdrawal symptoms but the plan is to wean off all caffeine long-term.
Cheers guys

Good luck to you. I've had many similar issues to you due to coffee. I also get hypoglycemia when doing HIIT when I drink coffee and my hunger is generally increased when I drink a lot of coffee.

I got off coffee for like 3 weeks and now only drink it once a day. Definitely better this way but I think I'd still be better off it completely. However it's so damn good haha.

 

[Dolomite]

I hope you are successful. I quit drinking coffee earlier this year and am much calmer. I even quit eating chocolate every day. Coffee is an accepted addiction but it still interferes with your life and you will enjoy not having that to deal with.

 

[Dutchie]

Good luck with your experiment!
I've never been a coffee drinker,but I can sympathise with the difficulty of giving something up which you love to eat...or drink in this case

 

[Korven]

Good luck to you. I've had many similar issues to you due to coffee. I also get hypoglycemia when doing HIIT when I drink coffee and my hunger is generally increased when I drink a lot of coffee.

I got off coffee for like 3 weeks and now only drink it once a day. Definitely better this way but I think I'd still be better off it completely. However it's so damn good haha.

I hope you are successful. I quit drinking coffee earlier this year and am much calmer. I even quit eating chocolate every day. Coffee is an accepted addiction but it still interferes with your life and you will enjoy not having that to deal with.

Good luck with your experiment!
I've never been a coffee drinker,but I can sympathise with the difficulty of giving something up which you love to eat...or drink in this case

Thanks @Hans @Dolomite @Dutchie , I appreciate the support. Maybe this sounds a little dramatic but it's honestly scary to let go off coffee as its the only vice or chemical dependency I have in life, and I really have no idea what it feels to be uncaffeinated as it was so long ago. What do I do when I feel bored or tired or 'meh' if I cant drink coffee? Just reading this makes me realize I have an issue with coffee lol and need a break.

Interestingly about the taste of coffee (which I love) is that when I tried drinking decaf, it just tasted "meaningless" or like nasty bean water. Which makes me think I don't love the taste of coffee... I am just addicted to caffeine.

I know many people can drink 1-2 cups per day and have no issues but for me I am at a point where it is a net negative. For many years I drank coffee with only benefits and still had good sleep etc, but now obviously something needs to change.

 

[Hans]

What do I do when I feel bored or tired or 'meh' if I cant drink coffee?

Yes that's the difficult thing. I haven't found a good replacement yet. I'm currently drinking tea but I don't enjoy it that much. Sugar free coke is something I have now and then.

 

[Perry Staltic]

If you have tough withdrawals you could try what I did and sometimes still do - take a sip and spit it out into another cup. That way I can get the taste without the same caffeine load. I probably get a little absorption via the gums. Now I don't even miss coffee any more.

 

[Dolomite]

Giving up the rituals that go with coffee or smoking can be difficult but you will be free like a kid without all that extra stuff to do. You don’t have to substitute another beverage.

 

[-Luke-]

Good luck with your experiment!

- Addictive behaviours. My hypothesis is that coffee causes a low-grade stress response that is fuelling cravings for things like porn and drugs.

Interesting thought. I had similar thoughts/experiences when I drank coffee in the past, even though I never could put my finger on it really.

In general, coffee/caffeine is an amplifier for me. If I feel good and drink a cup, I'll feel even better. If I feel stressed and/or depressed, it makes me even more stressed and depressed. Since the stressed/depressed state is more like the status quo for me, and the relaxed state is not more than a temporary relief, I have given up coffee completely. It's just not worth it. I still eat dark chocolate quite regularly, so I may give it a try to stop that, too.

 

[canadianboymike]

I am making this thread mainly to keep myself accountable and to report on any positive/negative effects from quitting coffee (as a heavy user since 10+ years).

These are the main reasons for my 100 day no coffee experiment:

- Poor and unrefreshing sleep. I never get a good night's sleep and I am certain this is contributing to a lot of health/life problems. Coffee is the main suspect.
- TMJ symptoms, horrible neck and jaw and shoulder tension that has gotten gradually worse over the past years.
- Anhedonia/depression. The only time life is enjoyable is when I drink a cup of coffee and experience "coffee euphoria", which of course is fleeting and is soon to be replaced by dullness/boringness/restlessness. I feel like a robot or husk of a human? Like my emotional bandwidth is severely limited; I only have two emotions "on coffee" and "off coffee".
- Energy levels. I have made some good progress with my energy levels but they are not great. Again I suspect the poor sleep has a lot to do with poor energy levels.
- Rosacea that flare up on and off. Maybe from coffee-induced gut inflammation?
- Feeling "split"/confused. There was this experiment done on spiders where they were given different psychoactive drugs e.g caffeine, marijuana to see how it affected the spiders' spider web weaving. Sometimes my brain feels like the caffeinated spider web, which makes it difficult to make any good decisions or solve problems in life.
View attachment 44128
- Addictive behaviours. My hypothesis is that coffee causes a low-grade stress response that is fuelling cravings for things like porn and drugs.

I have been drinking coffee for a large part of my life and am a "you can pry coffee from my cold dead hands" kind of guy so this decision is not an easy one for me. As I mentioned, the immediate effects from coffee feel amazing to me, I literally get high/euphoric and pleasantly relaxed and socially outgoing. And the withdrawals symptoms are so bad that it is extremely difficult for me to quit this drug. But if quitting coffee would allow me to fix at least some of the problems mentioned above then I feel like it would be worth it, e.g getting a good night's sleep.

I will be drinking some black tea for the first week or so just to stave off the worst withdrawal symptoms but the plan is to wean off all caffeine long-term.
Cheers guys

Goodluck with that. Just a tip, something that helped me immensely when I quit coffee….

Make sure to have a ton of sugar. A giant fruit smoothie or fresh fruit with added white sugar and maybe honey. When you’re craving coffee you’re mostly just needed the energy so this will give it to you and it won’t have the same crash and adrenal issues as with caffiene. It should actually repair things

 

[LadyRae]

I am making this thread mainly to keep myself accountable and to report on any positive/negative effects from quitting coffee (as a heavy user since 10+ years).

These are the main reasons for my 100 day no coffee experiment:

- Poor and unrefreshing sleep. I never get a good night's sleep and I am certain this is contributing to a lot of health/life problems. Coffee is the main suspect.
- TMJ symptoms, horrible neck and jaw and shoulder tension that has gotten gradually worse over the past years.
- Anhedonia/depression. The only time life is enjoyable is when I drink a cup of coffee and experience "coffee euphoria", which of course is fleeting and is soon to be replaced by dullness/boringness/restlessness. I feel like a robot or husk of a human? Like my emotional bandwidth is severely limited; I only have two emotions "on coffee" and "off coffee".
- Energy levels. I have made some good progress with my energy levels but they are not great. Again I suspect the poor sleep has a lot to do with poor energy levels.
- Rosacea that flare up on and off. Maybe from coffee-induced gut inflammation?
- Feeling "split"/confused. There was this experiment done on spiders where they were given different psychoactive drugs e.g caffeine, marijuana to see how it affected the spiders' spider web weaving. Sometimes my brain feels like the caffeinated spider web, which makes it difficult to make any good decisions or solve problems in life.
View attachment 44128
- Addictive behaviours. My hypothesis is that coffee causes a low-grade stress response that is fuelling cravings for things like porn and drugs.

I have been drinking coffee for a large part of my life and am a "you can pry coffee from my cold dead hands" kind of guy so this decision is not an easy one for me. As I mentioned, the immediate effects from coffee feel amazing to me, I literally get high/euphoric and pleasantly relaxed and socially outgoing. And the withdrawals symptoms are so bad that it is extremely difficult for me to quit this drug. But if quitting coffee would allow me to fix at least some of the problems mentioned above then I feel like it would be worth it, e.g getting a good night's sleep.

I will be drinking some black tea for the first week or so just to stave off the worst withdrawal symptoms but the plan is to wean off all caffeine long-term.
Cheers guys

Coffee relaxes me considerably... In fact a sweet coffee at 3am will usually knock me out for a few more hours.

Keep us posted on your experience!

 

[crazypatriot]

I quit caffeine back in November 2021, and starting taking it again in July in lower doses.

My main reason for quitting was due to anxiety, personality changes, sleep disruption, and occasional irregular heartbeat.

The pros:
-Improved sleep
-Less irritability
- More stable energy
-no more anxiety or panic attacks
-improved digestion, no more diarrhea

The cons:
- became a lot hungrier
- gained fat more easily due to appetite
- took forever to wake up in the morning, even months after quitting. Exercise was the only thing that helped
- less motivation
- generally lazier personality, more chill (this was a problem as I write software for my job)

Why I started taking it again:
Basically realized I could keep 80% of the benefits and reduce 80% of the cons if I just keep my caffeine intake low. Just dosing it ONCE when I wake up, around 100-150mg max is all thats needed. Before quiting, I was taking 600mg a day, sometimes more. The half life of caffeine is way longer than its perceived effects, so I think most people take way too much.

I will never take caffeine in the afternoon again. Caffeine is like powdered stress. There seems to be some magic by taking small amounts alongside the morning cortisol spike, but it needs to be heavily respected like any other drug.

 

[Dutchie]

What about this 'faux coffee'? a.k.a. chicory coffee as a substitute.

 

[Brundle]

You could try progressively reducing the strength of the coffee, making weaker and weaker coffee while keeping the sugar levels the same, to wean yourself off it.

Maybe you could switch to an alternative hot beverage like lemon tea or hot chocolate?

I fell in love with the idea of coffee as Peat described it, thinking it would make me healthier and more productive, but my actually lived experience of it wasn't so good. Perhaps it's the caffeine? The hyperactive lust/porn craving you describe is something I also experienced with energy drinks.

 

[David PS]

I am wondering if progesterone would help as it does with smoking.

Progesterone may help quitting smoking

A very interesting article, on a topic that has been studied for decades but has not seen much mainstream media exposure mostly because it does not fit the narrative. Namely, that "addictions", including smoking, are mostly genetically determined and not much can be done about them except manage...

raypeatforum.com

 

[Vileplume]

I always had trouble sleeping with coffee in my diet, and I got a lot of bloating from it. I tried many different brands and brewing methods.

However, after switching to espresso, my sleep is much deeper and the digestive issues have resolved. I can drink tons of it, even until the late afternoon, and I fall asleep quickly and get deep rest. I think it has something to do with espresso having a better effect on the gut.

 

[Luann]

I'm about 2 weeks no coffee now and still getting used to the mornings.

Someone posted above to keep your blood sugar high steady, and that's true. For me, coffee masked the fact that I wasn't eating properly, once you quit coffee, you will have to face your energy levels. Good luck!

 

[DeadCatBounce]

Good luck. I did the same and feel a lot better.

 

[Lilac]

I recognize some of your feelings. I set up my morning coffee stuff around 5 p.m. And a part of me can't wait till morning and that coffee come. The subtle addiction of it.

I have been feeling rather good lately, and then I crave an afternoon coffee. But that is the cup that starts affecting my being able to drop off at night. And it also makes me more susceptible to a caffeine-withdrawal headache if I skip a day.

At my age, I have to engage my brain and go no further than the one delightful cup in the morning. Good luck.

 

[TheSir]

After 10 years of heavy use and your caliber of problems, don't feel discouraged if you still feel like crap at 100 days, or even more anxious and depressed than before. It can take up to 6-24 months for your body chemistry to normalize after prolonged substance abuse. /r/decaf is a good community for support.