DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Has anyone kicked a serious coffee habit?

I've been drinking it for decades and have even been grinding the beans instead of buying it already ground.

I know I'm addicted and I know I'm reaching the age where it's less healthy than helpful.

How do you know it's an addiction and not just a preference?

When you can't function without it. When you get headaches if you don't have it. When you plan your morning around making sure you have it available.

Why?

Shakes and occasional rapid heart beat.

When I try to go without it, I get HUGE headaches and fatigue.

Not sure I could do without it at this point. Maybe just cut back a little, see if you feel better.

When I was in school, working as near 24 hours a day 5 days a week as a human can, I had a seizure type event on a Sunday morning. Doc said it was caffeine withdrawal and not to stop drinking coffee until I had a better schedule.

I hope you find something to make you feel better.

For me it's a preference, that's why I ask. I love my coffee but not having it doesn't cause me any issues.

That's exactly my concern. I want to enjoy my old age healthily.

I've read about A-Fib starting at older age and sometimes it's as simple as coffee. They've also talked about heart disease and strokes.

Because.

I have some issues with it. In my old age I get jitters more than ever. I've been making mine a bit weaker. I'm thinking that making it weaker and weaker over a period of time that eventually it will be weak enough to not bother me.

Black coffee bothers me the most so I've been adding a bit of cream or creamer. It seems to do me better. The bitterness of black coffee has been giving me a bit of a twisted stomach after two cups. With cream in a weaker coffee it's much easier on me.

I'm hoping that eventually I can give up coffee in the morning and just drink vodka instead. *lol*

I haven't quit, but have cut way back. It got to the point I couldn't write my name due to the shakes.

For a while I mixed my regualr roast with an equal amount of decaf to start cutting down on the caffine. Now I can use just regular roast but can limit myself to 1-2 cups. If I go out after that and want a cup, I buy decaf.

Just start cutting back. It isn't like smoking where you really need to just quit. You can limit your intake and suffer no real impact to your health, but you do need to take some time to wean yourself down.

I never developed a taste for coffee. Bleh. I'll drink bottled water, juice, or an occasional Diet Pepsi. (which also isn't great, but it's a small part of my beverage menu.

I get headaches if I skip it, but I know they are caffeine related, so if I'm in a rush and skip my morning cup of coffee, I grab something else with caffeine to substitute and avoid the headaches.

To the OP, I grew up with coffee and toast since I was 4 or 5 years old. When I graduated high school, and just stopped drinking it for some reason. Went 20+ years without touching it, then about 1-2 years ago I quit drinking soda, except on a rare occasion, and began drinking coffee at work in the morning to replace the lost caffeine.

Otherwise I could do with or without it. I just have to replace the caffeine to avoid the headaches.

I love seeing people think they can kick coffee for Lent then spend the next 20 or so days in a horrible mood because they didn't realize coffee is an addiction.

Not love, but I enjoy the situation

Same here (I wasn't going to post unless someone else said this already). I've been trying to quit Diet Coke recently, but it's so dang good, especially with lime. But that's for a different thread. Back to coffee...

I remember having a small cup of coffee when I was 10 or 11 years old and liking all the sugar and cream I put in...but I never tried it again. I don't think I've even sipped a taste since too. We have one of those Keurig coffee machines in the house, but I've only used it twice for hot chocolate.

I do drink a lot of unsweetened tea per week, but I'll drink 3-4 glasses one day and then go a few days without drinking again. So maybe that's a suggestion for the coffee drinkers, try drinking some tea to wean off of coffee (though you're replacing one caffeine drink for another, though I don't know how much caffeine is in tea compared to coffee).

Just for the non coffee drinkers. My wife has never liked coffee, but she enjoys the aroma. Works great for me because she likes to make it but not drink it.

Recently, she's been using a nutribullet and various shakes. One of the shakes called for coffee. It didn't take long for her to develop a taste for it. She doesn't drink much, but in the 21 years we've been married, we finally had our first morning coffee together.

I saw one article on line suggest increasing decaf, but....blah#@#

I also saw someone suggest Red Ginseng and that seems really weird, but maybe somebody else has tried it and can testify its effectiveness.

My wife says drink tea, but I think I might as well drink warm water.

I've ever heard of the occupation as a human can. Did it require trade school or a college degree?

There was a time that I would drink a couple pots of coffee a day and I think I just developed a tolerance to it. I wouldn't get the jolt of energy or anything yet at the same time never had any issues with it either.

I drink significantly less now. I go for periods without drinking it at all. The body adapts to changes in the amount of caffeine fairly quickly-- I have noticed significant adaptations in just a few days both to increases and decreases to the amount.

As coffee does have some significant health benefits, especially when you grind fresh beans yourself as opposed to using the stale pre-ground stuff that most people drink, you might not want to quit altogether anyway. 1-2 cups should be fine. Just reduce the amount you drink gradually and you should be fine. Maybe drink half of what you are used to on the first day, and half of that on the second day, etc. If you need a little more, drink a little more but drink less than you did the previous day. Same idea if you want to quit altogether.

"working as near 24 hours", as in as close to 24 hours per day. I was in a hospital based radiography program and working two security jobs.

I have about 2 large mugs a day. The mugs about the size of a large McDonalds. Occasionally I'll have a cup or 2 small cups in the afternoon.

I like the idea of cutting back slowly because I actually do love the flavor. Like you say grinding the beans makes a huge difference in taste and smell.

Mrs Pasionatedawg had to cut back to 1-2 cups from 24-36 per day for health and medical reasons. Now if she would only listen to two docs she trust and quit the smokes then maybe her health/med problems would disappear/lessen(panic,anexity,depression,schiz,multiple personality). Soon as she awakens get smoke,then 2coffee-smoke(like train derailing) then smokes rest of day(pack or so) affecting mood,not as bad as coffee-smoke combo did,but bad enough.

24-36 cups of coffee per day?????

When I was younger I used to drink 3 2 liters of dr. pepper a day.

When I got older I drank 2 pots a day, or a couple of starbucks mochas with extra shots. Expresso straight, you name it.

I've since cut back to no coffee, and 1 cup of green tea in the morning.

Have to just cut back a bit slowly. I've seen half caffeinated but probably cheaper the way peen was doing it.

I can relate to the headaches...just have to lower your intake for a bit, then lower it some more.

I have stuck to the 1 cup, because i tend to over-due things.

My first thought is that he meant 24-36 ounces but it actually very well might be cups. I once knew a guy who would drink 30+ cups (3 large pots) of coffee a day. He would drink a pot at night and said it helped him sleep better (no, really.)

I'm thwt way with soda.... Drink way too much.... I've basically cut it out cold turkey... I'll let myself have one on occasion for special things but I had to go cold turkey.... Had shakes and headache for a few days

Gave it up 8 years ago. Wasn't a huge consumer of it, but enough.

One of the better decisions I've made. It's no problem for me to just get a water at dinner.

Every blue moon I get a massive craving for Dr. Pepper... And even more rare than that, I actually cave.

I drink 5 or 6 times as much water every day than I did when I drank pop.

Yeah, I don't drink much of it either. Every once in a great while I'll have a Sprite just as a treat, but other than that rare time I just drink water.

It was pretty hard. I struggled during lunch at work. A lot of times I'd end up getting an Arizona or something like that, and it's really not that much better than straight pop. Now I stop in the cafeteria and fill up my water bottle before I eat. I don't remember the last time I had anything other than a bottle of water with my lunch.

Aside from it being healthy, being fully hydrated just feels way better. Not so sluggish.

Wow! Some of you really, really drink/drank a lot of coffee! Pots of it?!? I would KILL PEOPLE if I drank that much!!! Not-to-mention if I drank an actual pot or two of it I'd have to pee nonstop for the first several hours a day. Like one of those naked statues.

When I lived in Hollywood (CA.) my roommates and I used to grind our beans at the local Ralph's supermarket. We ground them as fine as we could, on the "Turkish" setting. My stomach used to bleed after awhile! For real. But it was a great way to wake up.



I call ^it^ a 'cup of mud' because that's what it looks like to me. (Oh, delicious mud!) I use instant coffee with vanilla soy milk, with little or no water. It's pretty darn good, I must say. I usually drink one or two regular-sized cups (coffee cups) a day.

Yes that's correct 2 to 3 12 cup pots with at least 18 to 20 smokes.

lol, I used to do that but it was 40 smokes.

Remember back when I used to drink, it was a six pack of beer and a damn well near a pack of smokes in the 4th quarter of a Browns game...lol

Also, this doesn't really have much to do with the topic, but if you are looking for a replacement, then obviously water is best. It gets old sometimes though.

My daughter has been cutting up cucumber and putting it in a pitcher of water over-night. Refreshing as hell.

I used to drink it Morning, Noon, and Night. But the older I get the less I drink it. I didn't plan anything. For the last 5-6 yrs. I drink about 2-4 cups in the morning at work and by Noon I'm done. On week-ends I drink about 5-6 cups in the AM and then I'm done, don't know why, I guess I'm tired of it all the time anymore. Try a little green tea. It's hot and better for you.

6-10 cups every morning. ("cup" as in what's marked on the side of the pot) By 9-9:15, I'm done with coffee until the next day. If for some reason I'm somewhere where there isn't coffee, aside from the fact that I think about it - it doesn't bother me physically. (shakes, headache, etc).

Yeah 6 cups is usually 2 mugs.

I do a 16oz every morning at work and that's about it. Sometimes I have an extra during the weekends. And ocasionally I'll get a smaller cup from starbucks before dressing for hockey.

The Italian side of my family is big on drinking coffee in the PM. I just can't. lol

That's from caffeine withdraw...


Try a cup of green tea... add a little cinnamon to it. The Cinnamon will settle to the bottom.. but drink it.

This will help.. The headaches will usually last a few days.. once you get past them your good.

The thing with tea is you will get caffeine in a smaller dose... You make tea one cup at a time... not by the pot. Unless you use a 4 cup pot you can start backing off as to how much you drink.

Lots of acid in coffee... it gives me acid reflex.

by Rock above:

"Shakes and occasional rapid heart beat."

I call that: "Time to head off to work during rush-hour."