I Had a Caffeine Addiction, So I Quit–This Is What Happened (2018) | Hacker News Reader

I Had a Caffeine Addiction, So I Quit–This Is What Happened (2018)

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10 pointswajdiben21 comments

> Here's my setup at home: A Rancilio coffee grinder ensures each cup is made with freshly ground beans, and a top-notch Italian Ascaso espresso machine pours the perfect espresso shot (with the creamiest crema), not to mention a frother to create the fluffiest almond milk ever—no sugar needed.

On a tangent, but as Italian I always find funny how fancy the coffee and wine people get outside of Italy. In Italy we drink cheap coffee out of a cheap moca and in the south we buy wine by the liter (from $2 per liter). Yes in Italy we get fancy sometimes but not each day, fancy stuff is supposed to be special, daily routines kill the special factor.

That’s funny, I don’t view daily routines as killing the special factor. I prefer to optimize for quality where ever I can as often as I can, that way I get to enjoy it more often in the short amount of time we have to walk this earth. I’m not knocking the $2 cheap coffee; if it brings you joy, then great! To each is own.

In terms of “addiction to coffee”, this optimization for “specialness as often as possible” puts me in a spot where if a place serves bad coffee, I’ll just opt for tea or something else that I will enjoy. It reminds me that I drink it because I enjoy how it tastes; not because it amps me up.

So, another reason to drop the addiction if you get withdrawal symptoms: If you have to go to the hospital and stay over for a surgery, you won't get caffeine, and only very limited doses of pain medications. The headache was worse than the gallstone pain I went in for.

Anyways, there's your TMI for the day.

For me, I feel like caffeine is a constant reminder of how stressful my life is. The day I can forego caffeine is the moment I feel like I've made it in life. But for now, when I sometimes go cold-turkey on it, within days I will have someone reminding me of some business chore that has to be completed. A cup of coffee helps me find the motivation to complete the task.

The same goes for work. Shit hits the fan during the day, and to offset the frustration I drink coffee.

It's the same for past-time. When I start slipping from my workout routine, a fast line of pure caffeine just before I should be going to the gym sets my mind on going to the gym.

And I don't take it lightly -- when the stress from expectations and accumulated responsibilities start appearing at the same time of the year (as they in some wicked way always do) I start piling on caffeine. Once I was even hospitalized.

Years ago in simpler times, I was able to take a week-long vacation in a forest cabin without electricity (or coffee). The first day I did not want to do anything, so I slept 20 hours instead, waking up occasionally for an hour or so before going to sleep again. This continued for the next two days, and the people accompanying me thought I fell sick. On the fourth day, I finally felt like actually doing something. I felt like a lot of the stress and crankiness was gone, and I became more open about helping others again. Yet, at the same time, this is exactly how I end up finding new responsibilities - worthy of the added concentration of caffeine - again.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of java that my thoughts acquire speed, my hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I--I AM IN CONTROL OF MY ADDICTION!!!

Switching to green tea for a few weeks before getting fully off of caffeine helped to alleviate headaches for me.

After a year or so of no caffeine, I started working in an office where they have one of those Starbucks machines and the temptation of delicious iced coffee from freshly ground beans was too much for me to withstand so I started back up again. There was no decaff option for iced coffee unfortunately.

Despite repeatedly saying that she's given up caffeine, the author has instead dramatically cut her consumption (which is a good idea, but a different thing!). I find the immediately abutting sentences "… now that I'm not drinking caffeine …. While it does have caffeine …" rather bizarre.

> I'll pour myself a green tea, which I probably only have once a week. I prefer the taste of the traditional toasted rice flavor, and now that I'm not drinking caffeine, I definitely notice it when I have one of these. While it does have caffeine, there are other benefits that outweigh the caffeine content such as being packed with antioxidants to reportedly help fight inflammation as well as other anti-aging properties like boosting brain health and lowering your risk of stroke and heart disease.

I recently quit coffee and was also surprised to get more energy (after the headache was gone), especially in the late afternoon and evening.

That's really unfortunate since I really enjoy the taste of coffee.

You could always switch to decaf!

Coffee has no effect on me, or a paradoxal one (I am sleepy). My brother is the same. I wonder if there is some genetic component.

I can go from 6 espresso a day to no coffee for a week, without any effects.

This is fantastic because I like coffee a lot (except some days, and then I do not drink any).

I've quit caffeine for extended periods (the longest recent time was over 5 months). I get headaches for a day or two, but the constant fatigue doesn't leave until I start having caffeine again.

I'm done avoiding caffeine. Like waking up early, quitting caffeine may or may not make you feel better or otherwise improve your life; subjective bloviations of the self-absorbed notwithstanding.

I have taken breaks from coffee repeatedly over the past two years or so and, at least in my case, the worst of it passes after 48h or so. The two days of headaches are pretty debilitating for me, but I feel like I have a bit more respect, in lack of a better word, for coffee as a psychoactive drug. The whole world is actively hooked on caffeine and we all seem unaware of it.

It's not uncommon for me to go without coffee for a few days if I'm traveling or just out of coffee at home, but I've never never experienced caffeine withdrawal symptoms. How many ounces of coffee did you drink daily and for how long? I typically have 2-3 ~8 oz cups per day.

Roughly the same, I would say.

caffeine addiction is way more intense that i realized it would be. I quit about a year and half ago, the obvious withdrawal lasted i think 9 days. exercise helped with the headaches. I initially had problems sleeping, i dreamed about drinking coffee. I was in a haze and couldn't think straight. caffeine causes so much digestive and body issues, im becoming skeptical of all the claims of how healthy coffee and caffeine are.

Now i just drink socially, for taste, or if i really need an energy boost. Im careful not to drink to many days in a row. Quitting for me wasnt some magical life enchancement, i didn't suddenly get more energy or stop being anxious. It is nice being free from the addiction though, I can just wake up and get going, I don't need to plan my life around drinking a cup.

I've been mulling over getting off caffeine (two cups of very strong cold brew per day) to hopefully improve energy levels, and make getting off sleeping pills easier.

Interesting anecdote, but those withdrawal symptoms seem a bit exaggerated for one cup of coffee per day.

nice advertisement

Interesting that she's drinking dandelion tea now. Grounded dandelion ("cicoria", Italian for chicory) was used as a replacement for coffee during WWII in Italy.

It is still common in France, especially as the morning coffee.

I drank 3+ espresso's a day for years. Read some books regarding circadian rhythms vs. sleep vs. caffeine vs. adenosine.

Decided to quit coffee. Quit the next day for a year or so. I had zero symptoms like the articles mentions or anything like that. No substantial effect at all.

tl; dr highly suspicious of this article.

I think "I didn't have withdrawal symptoms so no-one does" is a bit of a dodgy position. I don't think much of the post (a long post about how she doesn't drink caffeine, which ends with her recommendation for caffeinated green tea), but you need only browse this thread to see that there are people for whom caffeine withdrawal symptoms are real. My own are very mild (just some headaches), but that doesn't mean everyone's are.

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