When caffeine withdrawal end?

[Javfly33]

I'm on four day off caffeine. I'm determined to quit this habit for good.

The thing is, it's been harder than i thought. I am so tired I can't get any work done. Not only that I have like an overall uncomfortably in all my body when I sit in the chair to get work done. Maybe this is psychological idk. 

I need to know how much this symptoms will last because the work is piling up and I am so damn tired and unfocused .

My reasons for quitting: I hated that I needed to have coffee in the morning or less I won't be able to do anything. I don't know what it's like to have a stable amount of energy. It has hurt so much my productivity. Because I just get 1 hour of intense stimulation where I open 20tabs and then the rest I get a crash of energy. Also when I don't drink coffee I feel so much more relaxed and no anxiety.

[Enlightenment]

@Javfly33 9 to 12 days maximum

[Average Investor]

15 minutes ago, Javfly33 said:

Also when I don't drink coffee I feel so much more relaxed and no anxiety.

Caffeine was giving me anxiety and I was not even aware of it for a long time. You'll be glad you quit. For me it was one of the easier things to quit, but it depends on the intake you had and for how long. Your energy will be much more sustainable once you get rid of it. If you add in better diet and exercise it will really give you a good boost in your regular energy too.

[Javfly33]

2 hours ago, Average Investor said:

Caffeine was giving me anxiety and I was not even aware of it for a long time. You'll be glad you quit. For me it was one of the easier things to quit, but it depends on the intake you had and for how long. Your energy will be much more sustainable once you get rid of it. If you add in better diet and exercise it will really give you a good boost in your regular energy too.

Thanks bro that will motivate me this fatigued lethargic days for sure

[Hansu]

For me, first 4 days were terrible. Then there was couple of days of mild symptoms until they disappeared too.

You can try and see if decaf coffee helps. A lot of time addictions are just half of a chemical addiction, and half of a habit.

[nistake]

The first days are the worst. After that, it'll get better. In my case, it took about 2-3 weeks total.

[flowboy]

Congratulations on doing this!

I'm currently on day 24. Definitely functioning better than how I was on it.

Others have given accurate information on how long withdrawals last. It's about a week in my experience, although you have to stick it out for 3 weeks to really feel sharper and better than you were before you quit.

Which is not that long, it's over before you know it.

I recommend accepting that you won't be fully functional in the first week. Any guilt over this will be counterproductive. In the end, you will have a peak coffee-like state (but much calmer) all the time, pretty soon. Which is in everyone's best interest.
 

 

[flowboy]

About lethargy: it's important to realise that caffeine makes you borrow energy and recovery from your future

So when you go off it, you may find yourself sleeping 9.5 hours a day and wonder whether this is the new you.

Remember that you're just catching up on all those disrupted S4 sleep phases in your caffeinated past

[LfcCharlie4]

If you were seriously hooked like 7-10 days, after a couple weeks energy becomes much more stable, as long as your diet and sleep are in check stc

[Michael569]

It would depend on how heavy you were caffeinating. If someone came from 5 coffees a day after 15 years of doing that you may have withdrawal for 3 months until your adrenals adjust to the energetic need. This is why sometimes cold turkey is not the best way as it can give you severe depression because you have developed lazy adrenals. 

Anyways for a regular user on 1-2 occasionally, you are unlikely to suffer more than a week or two. 

[Gili Trawangan]

18 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

It would depend on how heavy you were caffeinating. If someone came from 5 coffees a day after 15 years of doing that you may have withdrawal for 3 months until your adrenals adjust to the energetic need. This is why sometimes cold turkey is not the best way as it can give you severe depression because you have developed lazy adrenals. 

That's interesting. How would you suggest going about it if not cold turkey?

[Scholar]

Take Brahmi it will help milden the symptoms. I drank one cup of coffee a day and it took 3 weeks to recover more or less. There are reports of people struggling for months with withdrawal.

[Gili Trawangan]

1 minute ago, Scholar said:

There are reports of people struggling for months with withdrawal.

I tried once for about a month, cold turkey, and couldn't make it stick. It just drains the life out of me and during that month it didn't seem to get any better. So I'm interested in other methods besides cold turkey.

[Scholar]

1 minute ago, Gili Trawangan said:

I tried once for about a month, cold turkey, and couldn't make it stick. It just drains the life out of me and during that month it didn't seem to get any better. So I'm interested in other methods besides cold turkey.

As I said Brahmi can be really helpful, I felt better around the time I started taking it. Apparently caffeine has depression suppressive effect by affecting serotonin levels/sensitivity. Brahmi affects serotonin aswell by balancing it.

[Roy]

@Javfly33 Quitting cold turkey will cause a lot of mental and physical discomfort. Also ego backlash, which will discourage you from trying to change the habit again when you fail to quit the first few times.

Think about it, it's just coffee anyways, it's not like it's heroine or something where you should quit immediately. Just come up with a solid plan, because most people including probably you and definitely me just don't have the willpower to quit cold.

Consider trying a strict regiment like this over the course of weeks so your body can adjust (customize depending on your addiction level);

Week 1 - One coffee per day

Week 2 - One coffee every OTHER day

Week 3 - One coffee every 3 days

Week 4 - One coffee every 4 days

And so on until you feel you don't need it anymore. It's important NOT to replace it with other things like tea or pop. Simply drink water in it's place and pretend it's the coffee you usually drink. It's hydrating and great for you!

[Javfly33]

40 minutes ago, Roy said:

@Javfly33 Quitting cold turkey will cause a lot of mental and physical discomfort. Also ego backlash, which will discourage you from trying to change the habit again when you fail to quit the first few times.

Think about it, it's just coffee anyways, it's not like it's heroine or something where you should quit immediately. Just come up with a solid plan, because most people including probably you and definitely me just don't have the willpower to quit cold.

Consider trying a strict regiment like this over the course of weeks so your body can adjust (customize depending on your addiction level);

Week 1 - One coffee per day

Week 2 - One coffee every OTHER day

Week 3 - One coffee every 3 days

Week 4 - One coffee every 4 days

And so on until you feel you don't need it anymore. It's important NOT to replace it with other things like tea or pop. Simply drink water in it's place and pretend it's the coffee you usually drink. It's hydrating and great for you!

I know, but I am already 5 days in so I think I'm going to quit it already. Before I reduced to 1 coffee a day, I tried to do one each x days but I would be craving it the rest of the days so I would go back to drink it daily.

1 hour ago, Scholar said:

Take Brahmi it will help milden the symptoms. I drank one cup of coffee a day and it took 3 weeks to recover more or less. There are reports of people struggling for months with withdrawal.

God damn motherfuc***. 3 moths? I hope mine won't be that bad I was just doing 1-2 a day I expect my wd will last as yours.

[Michael569]

1 hour ago, Gili Trawangan said:

That's interesting. How would you suggest going about it if not cold turkey?

Very slowly. For a very heavy coffee drinker, 1 cup less every fortnight is a good strategy to prevent severe withdrawal. Start with the one you think is giving you the least kick and replace it with green tea. Then in 2 weeks cut the one that is the latest and replace it with green tea....and so on. Until you end up with 5-6 green teas (depends on coffee amounts) and then cut down the green tea to 2-3. At that levels, it is perfectly fine because the benefits of green tea far outweigh the mild stimulative effect it has. 

[Gili Trawangan]

16 hours ago, Scholar said:

As I said Brahmi can be really helpful, I felt better around the time I started taking it. Apparently caffeine has depression suppressive effect by affecting serotonin levels/sensitivity. Brahmi affects serotonin aswell by balancing it.

Cool, thanks. 

 

15 hours ago, Michael569 said:

Very slowly. For a very heavy coffee drinker, 1 cup less every fortnight is a good strategy to prevent severe withdrawal. Start with the one you think is giving you the least kick and replace it with green tea. Then in 2 weeks cut the one that is the latest and replace it with green tea....and so on. Until you end up with 5-6 green teas (depends on coffee amounts) and then cut down the green tea to 2-3. At that levels, it is perfectly fine because the benefits of green tea far outweigh the mild stimulative effect it has. 

Sounds like a good system. I'll keep it in mind for the future, right now I can't find the courage to undertake the whole project... (typing this while drinking a cup of coffee and enjoying the hell out of it ) 

[LfcCharlie4]

Here’s a hack I found 

16oz Celery Juice on An empty stomach every morning. 
 

it’s healing to your body and energises you subtly throughout the day. 
 

However, if you have abused caffeine for years, you will get withdrawals for a while’ 

[Roy]

51 minutes ago, LfcCharlie4 said:

16oz Celery Juice

@LfcCharlie4 Celery is legit my least favorite food in existence. It makes me gag. I refuse under any and all circumstances to eat it ever again haha.

Is there another alternative with the same benefits?