Dang, Caffeine really is a drug

I recently quit caffeine after drinking it daily for about 15 years.

A little over a month ago I had a Coke with lunch, then in the afternoon a pot of coffee over the course of about two hours. I always make my coffee extremely strong.

About an hour after I finished it I was having chest pains. Taking my pulse, it was at 100 and would skip heavily. This continued for about six hours and scared the crap out of me, so I gave up caffeine. The following day I had a slight headache but otherwise no problems.

A couple days ago, still caffeine free (switched to water instead of sodas and coffee) my friend offered me a Mountain Dew and I drank it at about 10:00pm without thinking anything of it. About a half hour later I was so revved up I had no idea what was going on and thought maybe I was going insane, but was too giddy to care. When I was still wide awake tapping my foot at 6:00am it suddenly occurred to me I had consumed caffiene with the Mountain Dew. This was shocking since I'd never had this reaction before, but then again my body had constantly been swamped with caffeine, also.

Without caffeine, I think I feel overall better and have more energy than when I was on caffeine. I don't need two cups of cofee before my sleepiness goes away when I wake up, for example. I never considered
caffeine to be a 'real' drug before I dropped it.

I found this little chart from the Erowid Vault.

Oral Caffeine Dosages
Threshold 10 - 20 mg
Common 50 - 150 mg
Strong 150 - 400 mg
Heavy 400 + mg
LD50 (Lethal Dose*) 192 mg/kg in rats


Onset : 5 - 10 minutes
Duration : 1.5 - 5 hours
Normal After Effects : up to 24 hours

* LD50 = dose which will kill 50% of the tested animals. It is estimated that fatal doses for humans are between 1 and 4 grams of caffeine, depending on body weight and tolerance.

[edit on 11/12/2004 by Simulacra]

I wonder how much caffeine is in a regular cup of coffee or 20oz Coke.

www.faqs.org...

By means of comparison, a 7 oz cup of coffee has the following
caffeine (mg) amounts, according to Bunker and McWilliams in J.
Am. Diet. 74:28-32, 1979:

Drip 115-175
Espresso 100mg of caffeine
1 serving (1.5-2oz)

Brewed 80-135
Instant 65-100
Decaf, brewed 3-4
Decaf, instant 2-3
Tea, iced (12 ozs.) 70
Tea, brewed, imported 60
Tea, brewed, U.S. 40
Tea, instant 30
Mate 25-150mg

And...

According to the National Soft Drink Association, the following
is the caffeine content in mgs per 12 oz can of soda:
Coca-Cola 45.6
Diet Cola 45.6

Caffine is a big time drug. Some of its uses in pediatrics:

Given to neonates for apnea: Either directly or in a form called amminophyllin (sp) that metabolizes to caffine.

Treatment for migranes

It is a pretty potent CNS stimulant.

I used to be a coffee hound. I drank it nearly continuously. I liked fresh brewed, instant, decaf, coffee and chicory, and I drank it strong and black and without sugar.

My bladder began to react negatively and I had to give up the caffeine. So I bought some decaf, because, afterall, it was the taste of coffee I liked and the caffeine was just lagniappe.

Wrong! Very soon, I found that I was no longer interested in coffee. I would think of fixing a cup now and again, but I would get distracted and forget or I would brew a cup and forget to drink it.

I had to come to the conclusion that, even though I did like the taste of strong unsweetened coffee, it was not the taste that kept me drinking it, it was the addiction to caffeine.

Do I miss it? No, I don't. I used to order a cup of decaf in a restaurant after a meal now and again, but I found out that wait staff think that it's all in the customer's head and will serve regular coffee in a decaf carafe without compunction.

Thus, my coffee days are behind me forever.

Caffeine is. great. It's my vice of choice. It's a tool, to help you push your body and mind just a little further.

I am an unrepentant addict, with a growing collection of empty bottles and cans cluttering my room.

I have also suffered from caffeine overdose- and it is NOT fun. Not lethal, but enough to put me into a hurting. Not fun. Sometimes I forget my limits and end up regretting it. Sound familiar?

Nothign wrong with caffeine, jsut like there's nothign wrong with booze if you know when to draw the line.

DE

Originally posted by taibunsuu
A couple days ago, still caffeine free (switched to water instead of sodas and coffee) my friend offered me a Mountain Dew and I drank it at about 10:00pm without thinking anything of it.

Without caffeine, I think I feel overall better and have more energy than when I was on caffeine. I don't need two cups of cofee before my sleepiness goes away when I wake up, for example. I never considered caffeine to be a 'real' drug before I dropped it.

I have hilited in bold the key words in your original post. Hmm.. If all the beverages you drank normally were caffinated, dehydration is a very likely problem. Caffiene, being a stimulant, is a diuretic and tends to clear the body of fluids (ie makes you pee). Symptoms of dehydration include lethargy and a rapid heart rate. If you suddenly stopped caffiene, and replaced your fluids with water, you were probably doing your body a favor in more ways than you realize.

Also, many people don't realize than headaches they get are likely caffiene withdrawl headaches. Ever look at the caffiene content on headache powders like Goody's or the content on a bottle of Excederin?

Caffine is one of the many common drugs we cling to in America. We have your stimulants behind door number one: nicotine, theobromine (chocolate - which also has andamide-like effects that act like THC), and theophylline (tea). Sedatives can settle behind door number two and it's main representative is alcohol. All effect the body in some way. Most of these drugs aren't necessarily bad in reasonable quantities, but be aware of how your body reacts to them. Moderation is a wonderful thing.

I have the dreaded caffine addiction( coffee only) and cannot get off the stuff. I tried and got a very huge weird headache that felt like my head was pumped up by a bicycle pump. Nothing helps, not even coffee after the withdrawal sets in. I have to take a nap which is very easy because I feel strangely drowsy. Then it's back to the brew. It's a love hate relationship.

I've weaned myself to drinking half decaf, half regular coffee as was noticing I was getting too reved up in the mornings.

One side effect in women who drink tons of coffee is it can contribute to fibrocystic breast disease, where your breasts ache. I found reducing caffeine consumption eliminated the achiness.

If you want to cut down, try using a smaller cup.

I've switched to complete decaf before, and had a little withdrawal for a couple days i.e. slight headache and lethargy, but truthfuly don't notice much difference be it decaf or caffinated.

I like the warmth of coffee and the aroma and taste.

And there is nothing better than a frozen cappachino topped with whipped cream!

I've been drinking Dr. Pepper religiously for several years..I'm not sure the details of a caffeine OD as DeusEx has exprienced(what did u experience Deus?)I.ve had nights I.ve woken up with my whole body in tremors but no pain other than heartburn from too much fountain soda..I have tried to stop or even cut down on the intake amount but the headaches are unbearable and no pain reliever seems to work so after three days of the headache i give up and drink a soda(A BIG ONE).My question to all of you is how long do the headaches last?

Taibunsuu you had a slight headache but did it last for more than just the one day?

I've tried several times to quit drinking it but the headache breaks me any advice on dealing with the headaches would be great

Originally posted by DeusEx
Nothign wrong with caffeine, jsut like there's nothign wrong with booze if you know when to draw the line.
DE

i agree with the general idea of this, but it is MUCH easier to get addicted to uppers than downers.

i also gave up soda. mostly over the sugar content since high fructose corn syrup (aka. extra sugary sugar liquid) is the most obvious cause of overweight america. and i can't get myself to get into diet soda since it is chemical fizz. anywho, i drink tons of water now. it made a drastic difference in how i feel. besides, then when i really need to stay awake, i hit up Dr. Pepper and he brings on the medication. hehe.

daved

Originally posted by Simon_Boudreaux
I've been drinking Dr. Pepper religiously for several years..I'm not sure the details of a caffeine OD as DeusEx has exprienced(what did u experience Deus?)

Once upon a time, I WAAAAAY overdid it. Too much studying, no eating, plus two cans of monster and a Bawls shotgunned in like an hour. I had this beautiful adrenal dream, then I crashed.

symptoms include nausea, aches and pains, tremors, feelings of coldness, constant need to urinate, etc. Generally unpleasant experience.

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx
Once upon a time, I WAAAAAY overdid it. Too much studying, no eating, plus two cans of monster and a Bawls shotgunned in like an hour. I had this beautiful adrenal dream, then I crashed.
DE

I would contribute that to the no eating part, your putting your body into a catabolic state when you don't eat and consuming coffee while in a catabolic state surely won't do you any good.

I have been drinking coffee since I was a child is tradition back home.

I think I will drink it until the day I die.

My wife and I ran out of coffee a couple of months ago and right around mid afternoon I started getting a terrific head ache. We ended up going to the store later and I swear, the moment I stepped into the coffee aisle and smelled the coffee, myu head ache instantly went away. I guess that would indicate a physchological addiction to caffiene as well. Was a real eye opener though for sure.
There was a tribe of native americans, I forget which one but they made a concoction called 'black drink' that contained a dose of caffiene sufficient to induce halucinations.

[edit on 14-11-2004 by twitchy]

I used to drink coffee from the time I woke up, till after supper....around 7 or 8 in the evening. For some reason, about 2 years ago I just simply lost the taste for it. I've had, maybe, 3 or 4 cups since then...no withdrawls, no loss of energy or anything. Also, I haven't had a soda in probably 5 or 6 years.....wow..... I am boring......i just don't need the caffeine i guess....i drink alot of water and juices and they satisfy my thirst just fine...oops...other than a few beers every now and then

Originally posted by marg6043
I have been drinking coffee since I was a child is tradition back home.

I think I will drink it until the day I die.

Me and you both, Sister!
The only down side to drinking it as I do is, it doesn't work as I'd like it to work come around 0330hrs. But, I like the taste.

I just read that it takes 4 hours for the caf. to be halfway through your body. A handy piece of information if you don't want to stay up all night.

[edit on 15-11-2004 by Thomas Crowne]

Thomas I can drink coffee all day and I am so inmune to the effects that it does not bother my sleep at all, and I get one before bed too.

I used to drink coffee religiously, until I started to get heart problems, irregular heart beat, hot spells, mind racing a million miles and hour etc. I found once I cut out of the coffee as much I started feeling alot better, especially when I drank water whenever I got the craving for a cuppa.

Now I tend to only drink it when I need to stay awake, wake up quickly or if I need to concentrate. It is a drug, a potentiall fatal one, but so is any other chemical. Too much vitamin c can be bad, as can too much water. Like most things, used in moderation it's wonderfull, but you will always get that percentage that will go too far.

.. pushing our own boundaries is what has helped the human race survive & grow in knowledge, technology etc etc (with a few casualties along the way)