July 20, 2005
Day Fifteen
I quit coffee two weeks ago Tuesday.
Some of you may recall that the first week of July was a little distracting for us: sick kids, sleepless nights, barf. Well, what with the general fatigue and misery, I figured it would be a good time to go off coffee.
This made sense at the time, I swear. More broadly, I try to spend a few weeks away from caffeine every few years, just to show that I'm not completely addicted. Although, of course, I so totally am.
The headaches and whatnot passed almost unnoticed in the first few days... when both your small children are sick and so are you, another headache isn't going to be that big a deal. So that part worked, I guess. But the psychological and social effects -- the forgetfulness, shortened attention span, mild aphasia, and such -- have persisted. (As have the cravings. I have sensual, almost lustful thoughts about a leisurely cup in my favorite coffee shop.)
Go back to caffeine now? Or tolerate another couple of weeks of this, in the hope that it will get better?
Posted by douglas at July 20, 2005 11:42 PMGive in to the Dark (Roast) Side, Doug....
Posted by: Bernard Guerrero at July 21, 2005 12:23 AMIt gets better slowly.
Decaf is a good placebo in the early days. Switching to tea also helped in my case - and they have a vast range of the stuff over here - even tea that tastes like coffee (almost).
After 6 months I don't even think about coffee any more. I feel a lot more alert than I did when I was drinking it by the bucket load.
I probably felt like this after a month or so but the trouble is I can't remember when the change exactly happened.
Posted by: Frank O'Connor at July 21, 2005 01:18 AMIt gets better slowly.
Decaf is a good placebo in the early days. Switching to tea also helped in my case - and they have a vast range of the stuff over here - even tea that tastes like coffee (almost).
After 6 months I don't even think about coffee any more. I feel a lot more alert than I did when I was drinking it by the bucket load.
I probably felt like this after a month or so but the trouble is I can't remember when the change exactly happened.
Posted by: Frank O'Connor at July 21, 2005 01:20 AMI say stick with it Doug. It's hard as hell, I know, I've been there. I used to drink about at least a 6 pack of coke a day, often more. Then when I say my dentist one time and he told me that do to the farked up nature of my teeth I had to stop drinking all pop, now, or I would have denture by the time I was 30. So I bit the bullet and went cold turkey. It was hard. Headaches, fatigue, unease, everything you are describing I went through, but it does get better. 6 months later I didn't even miss pop, and these days I drink maybe three or four caffine drinks a year, and I often feel jittery and on edge when I do.
You are master of your body, don't let it tell you otherwise.
Good luck!
Posted by: Mike Ralls at July 21, 2005 01:57 AMGo back, but only small amounts, and ritualize it. Then switch to a half-and-half mix, then to decaf on every other cup, and so on. Soon enough, the ritual will wake you up, not the effects of the coffee.
I think that maybe you get a lot more physiological changes on caffeine than I do -- yes, it's unfair, the guy with the coffee cup icon can take it or leave it -- and maybe your repeated trials at cold turkey are a sign that you don't want this a/d/d/i/c/t/i/o/n/ d/e/p/e/n/d/e/n/c/y/ harmless beverage any longer.
Is Charlie Stross around? I know he had to give up coffee -- stomach problems -- and he wrote science fiction stories about coffee supremacy.
Posted by: Carlos at July 21, 2005 02:04 AMSo is this a permanent thing or just a few weeks to get the tolerance back down?
Posted by: Andrew Reeves at July 21, 2005 02:26 AMSo you've inspired me. I've been flirting with this idea myself. It is now day 2. No headache, although I am sleepy and quite gummy-brained. I am sure my patients will love that. Vacation next week, so this is a fine time to stop. If Doug can give up coffee, surely, *I* can...
Posted by: Natalie at July 21, 2005 05:31 PMNatalie, go for it... with this caveat: It may or may not be worth making yourself miserable. But if you're making spouse and child miserable, leave it be.
"Gummy-brained" is good. One objective measurement: I notice that my rate of spelling errors soars.
Andrew, it's just for a few weeks. (Maybe a very few.) Proof-of-concept.
Carlos, I'm not sure if tapering is the way to go. Might be worth a try. But I do seem to be getting a real physiological effect.
Doug M.