off the sauce

[adina]

Yup, that's right. I'm officially coffee free, starting tomorrow. Fear not, it's only a trial run, to see if it the root of my problems.

What problems, you ask? Muscle spasms all up and down my back, which are killing me. And they have gotten significantly worse this past few days, when my coffee consumption has greatly increased (hey, I've got a lot of work to do).

So, a week trial, coffee free, and we'll see how I feel.

Wish me luck.

[Frog]

I wish you all the luck in the world, adina.
I love a good cup of coffee but have never been hooked on it, though my wife can't function without it. Hope it helps with your back problem

[frleal70]

Are you using any artificial sweeteners in that coffee? Good luck, I know you can do it. I have cut way down. Still partake occasionally. All in moderation.

[Skyman]

Back in my uni days I was a regular Caffeine addict. my daily consumption was something like: A coffee in the morning with Breakfast, a 600ml coke on the way to uni, a coffee at uni a 600ml coke or a coffee with lunch, a coffee in the afternoon, a 600ml coke on the way home and a coffee when i got home, followed by another coffee in the evening (and yes I could sleep) My favourite coffee shop has a drink called the socrates, which is basically 6 shots of espresso and a timer. you have 600 seconds (10 minutes) to drink them and your photo is taken and your time recorded and placed on in their hall of fame. the record is sub 10 seconds, but the trouble is you scald your tongue doing it. so regulations state you must wait 4 minutes if going for the record. I have done it three times! although never near record time. but these days i am restricting myself to 1 coffee a day.

[Kajuah]

i drink tea
i get irritable without tea
i need to drink at least 6 cups a day, which is 2 cups of coffee
i love my caffeine

[AgingEyes]

I guess I may be one of those who is not affected much by caffeine, particularly coffee. I have once nodded off in a coffee shop after finishing a cup of coffee a few minutes ago. I drink three cups of coffee everyday, with the last cup around 9pm or even later. It never affects my sleep. My experiences tell me that if I'm tired, a cup of coffee will not keep me awake. So, yes, I can drink coffee any time during the day with no worry.

But then, I only drink small cup of coffee each time. Mostly with a 6 oz cup but sometimes it's 12 when buying in a coffee shop (some places don't sell 6-8oz cup anymore). So I guess if you drink only a small cup of coffee each time, then you can have quite a few cups each day.

Good luck adina !

[Medley]

I don't see colors 'till I've had my second cup, but I'm sure I could quit if I wanted to.......

If you feel up to it, exercise. I've found that exercise is key to getting a good night's sleep, which is key to starting your day refreshed and energized. At least that's how it works for me.

It doesn't have to be a major calorie-burning experience either. I do low impact water aerobics. 50 minutes, 3 times a week- followed by ten minutes in the spa. And the stress just evaporates.

Just a thought. Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it's going.

Think of us as your support group. :thumbsup:

- Joe U.

[Liz]

Ahhh......caffeine. I usually drink 2 cups of coffee a day only in the morning, although once in a while, I have a Latte' in the afternoon.

However, caffeine helps my migraines. It acts as a catalyst when used with aspirin, acetametaphin, etc. Excedrin includes caffeine and it helps my migraines more than anything else. Sometimes it's the only thing that works for me - aspirin and/or acetametaphin doesn't do it - add the caffeine and the pain lessens almost immediately.

Liz

[ciddog91]

i drink tea
i get irritable without tea
i need to drink at least 6 cups a day, which is 2 cups of coffee
i love my caffein

I will substitute tea for coffee, but I also use a lot of honey in mine.... Add the sugar and I know it cannot be good for me, but it is a great way to sooth the soul....

Good Luck Adina...

Phil

[adina]

Well, half a day down.

Caffine actually helps my migraines as well, so I'm hoping that's not an issue. And I do work out regularly. Sleep isn't my issue, I can sleep just fine.

I've been getting spasms up and down my back the past few days, and have a had a LOT of coffee this week, so was thinking maybe the excessive caffine was contributing. It's either that or the flip that landed me on it, but man, my back has been killing me.

I tell ya though, I don't know if I can edit without it.....

[Photo-John]

That's a terrible idea. Actually, it's not. It never hurts to experiment to see if you can eliminate a problem. I've been drinking tea for the past week because I've been sick. It's still caffeinated, but my caffeine intake is definitely way down. This is a regular pattern for me. I drink shitloads of coffee daily. And when I get sick I switch to tea because coffee just doesn't feel right. I made my first pot of coffee in a week this morning, though. It is delicious.

In the scale of vices, coffee doesn't count. So I don't worry about it. I buy really good coffee that doesn't need sugar. That way I'm much less likely to drink soda, which I think is far worse because of the corn syrup.

Anyway, I hope you find a solution to your problem. My guess is it's not coffee-related. It's just stress. When I'm at the computer a lot (which is all the times), I get a muscle problem in my left shoulder and neck. It's from the computer and not coffee. But I am often drinking more coffee just because I'm working more. The solution for me is better posture, stretching, massage, and maybe a visit to the chiro. Massage kicks ass.

Good luck.

[adina]

this sucks. that's all I have to say.

[Photo-John]

Whoah - I'm gonna have to censor myself! :blush2:

[Anbesol]

John - I would certainly think that Caffeine is unhealthy enough to be considered a serious "vice". That being said, I confess I'm a slave to the stuff - I've been drinking even more lately too, and its a requirement of my morning routine. If I don't, I usually get major headaches.

Good luck adina, in a couple weeks you'll be glad you quit.

[Skyman]

Oddly enough gram for gram tea has more caffeine in it than coffee, although the method of making tea allows less caffeine to enter the drink than for coffee. Apparently eating an apple will wake you up more than drinking coffee, although I have never verified this (its on the lid of a local juice) In terms of the back spasms, I recommend a good Chiropractor, often the problem is somewhere else but the back is trying to compensate. possibly even invest in a really good chair. I love the kneelsit chairs but they are stupidly expensive.

[adina]

1 day down, and I confess, the only way I made it was a sugar binge. Which I think in the long run is going to be worse. Add to that, my head is about to explode and fall off (after effects of the sugar?).

This was a dumb idea, and my husband is laughing at me.

In other news, my back is better, so I suspect it was either the fall, or the amount of time in front of the computer.

[Frog]

Hope that back continues to improve, Adina.
Is there a Caffeineaholics Annonymous?

[Anbesol]

1 day down, and I confess, the only way I made it was a sugar binge. Which I think in the long run is going to be worse. Add to that, my head is about to explode and fall off (after effects of the sugar?).

This was a dumb idea, and my husband is laughing at me.

In other news, my back is better, so I suspect it was either the fall, or the amount of time in front of the computer.

Adina - your head is hurting because its used to the caffeine. Caffeine is a strange beast, have too much and you get a headache, but if you are hooked to it, if you don't have enough - you also get the same headache.

[photophorous]

Quitting caffeine cold turkey is dangerous and likely to cause as much problems as having too much. I hope it works for you, but I tried it and got horrible headaches. Now I just limit myself to one cup a day...one big cup in the morning, followed by a bunch of water. You could easily get dehydrated if you drink a lot of coffee one day, and it's not always obvious. That could be agrivating the problem, but there's a good chance the original cause is too much time in front of a computer with bad posture...or something similar. That's my problem. The best thing to do for that is to strengthen your core, maintain good posture, and get up and move around often. Good luck. Back pain sucks.

Paul

[susaan]

I drink a lot of coffee..I live in JAVA.
(Its hard to avoid..)
BUT I take a lot of Vit C to help out the kidneys that can scream from too much ..Java

And when I get sick I visit a local Sensei for acupuncture and Chinese herbs.

-If there is no time (0r I'm too broke) to get to Chinatown,I use Bach Flower Rescue Remedy (easy to get from health stores)..stress reduction excellante bar none..quick,effective and good for EVERTHING ..from serious griefs to kiddie bumps,stray kittens that yowl in your ear all night when you bring them home,: tiredness,etc.

Best of luck..hope you get some relief.

PS..My husband,smart man that he is,just advised me to move my fan,or I would have a stiff neck in the morning....this is often the cause of stiffness in the body,exposure to AC/fans,breezes,especially when coming in from a hot place..maybe after exercise...like when you enter a freezin cold office,after shooting in the sun for hours..Chinese call it "wind invasion"-just means ya caught a chill,somewhere in the body...old school style remedy is drink hot drinks like ginger tea,soup,etc,wrap up,n sweat it back out...

[Franglais]

I'm currently on my regular 1 coffee per hour (expresso in capsules). The client provides it free. I'm so used to it that it makes no difference to me. Sleep like a baby. I know when I'm overdoing it - my fingers start trembing.

I did do a severance once. Completely stopped coffee, tea, Coca-cola - everything with cafeine/theine. After 24 hours I got a migraine that lasted for 24 hours. Then it was over.

If you're getting a backache - it's probably the stress, not the coffee. I get all sorts of odd things (mainly dizziness) when I have too much to do.

[adina]

Well, I lasted about 36 hours. Now just wasn't a good time to try, with everything I have going on.

Back is better, I think a combo of stress and computer time. But I am definitely cutting back on the coffee, I've been switching to water by about noon/1pm, which is when I try to have the computer stuff done by.

[walterick]

Dangit everyone already said everything I was gonna say

Stress, landing on your back. Dehydration can lead to muscle cramps and caffeine dehydrates you. Be careful of coming off caffeine as you will have to detox from it and that can suck too ;)