Caffeine Withdrawal

[cybrkitn]

So last summer I made the decision to cut back on the amount of regular soda I've been drinking. I've been limiting myself to just 8 oz per day and have been drinking more water and unsweetened (homemade) iced tea. I've lost about 13 pounds with this change as well as changing the way I eat

This is all well and good, but since last summer I've been dealing with caffeine withdrawal headaches. The only way to get rid of them is to take Excedrin b/c Tylenol no longer works for me. Has anyone who has cut back on their caffeine intake gone through this? I don't want to live off of Excedrin.

Before anyone says to switch to diet soda, I can't. The aspartame upsets my stomach. I've tried drinks with Splenda in it but have the same problem. The only difference is that I can't take drinks or food with aspartame. I only have a problem with Splenda when it's in drinks. Food is not a problem .

 

[Christine]

If you have done a slow withdrawal from caffeine, the headaches should abate somewhat quickly. If they are not, I would look at other reasons for the headache.

Also, homemade iced tea (if you are not using decaf) will have as much if not more caffeine than a soda might. Tea has about half the caffeine of coffee, similar to a soda.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

So last summer I made the decision to cut back on the amount of regular soda I've been drinking. I've been limiting myself to just 8 oz per day and have been drinking more water and unsweetened (homemade) iced tea. I've lost about 13 pounds with this change as well as changing the way I eat

This is all well and good, but since last summer I've been dealing with caffeine withdrawal headaches. The only way to get rid of them is to take Excedrin b/c Tylenol no longer works for me. Has anyone who has cut back on their caffeine intake gone through this? I don't want to live off of Excedrin.

You do know this, Excedrin Migraine contains acetaminophen, aspirin, and Therapeutically Active Caffeine, don't you? Each gelcap of Extra Strength contains 250 mg Acetaminophen, 250 mg Aspirin, and 65 mg Caffeine.

Congratulations on your weight loss.

 

[Jennasis]

YES. Just before my wedding in 2005 I cut Diet Coke out of my diet (the phosphorous, the sodium, the caffeine ect). A few days later I developed chronic daily mind-blowing headaches. Skull-splitting pain from the minute I opened my eyes, until I cried myself to sleep at night. I went to the doctor who put me on all kinds of pain killers, narcotics, and migraine meds...which did NOTHING (other than give me the added side effects that come with those meds). I went to a neurologist for an MRI of my head because I thought I had a brain tumor.

After the MRI, and chatting with the neuro, we figured out it was the quitting caffeine that spun me into a cycle of withdrawal headaches. It was too late to just start drinking Diet Coke again (tried it, but the headaches were too much at that point). It was months of trial and error with anti-seizure meds and stuff like that before we found the trick.

Keppra. A drug used to prevent seizures. Stayed on that for several months, and it saved my life! The headaches went away and I put the Diet Coke back in my life.

 

[Northstar]

You wouldn't still be having caffeine withdrawal headaches if you stopped with caffeine last summer.

But I think, because you're still consuming some caffeine (in the unsweetened tea), that you may be having a timing problem. My DH, a moderate coffee drinker, always used to wake up on weekends with a headache. It took us years to realize what the problem was... because he was sleeping in on weekends, he wasn't getting his morning hit of caffeine when his body expected it, and so was in withdrawal by the time he woke up.

Two possible solutions: 1. Cut out caffeine entirely. Drink herbal or decaff teas.
2. Make sure you space out your caffeine-containing drinks across the day, and have a regular schedule.

 

[cybrkitn]

You do know this, Excedrin Migraine contains acetaminophen, aspirin, and Therapeutically Active Caffeine, don't you? Each gelcap of Extra Strength contains 250 mg Acetaminophen, 250 mg Aspirin, and 65 mg Caffeine.

Congratulations on your weight loss.

Yes, I knew that. I had gone through caffeine withdrawal when I was pregnant with DS8. I would have a cup of hot tea and regular Tylenol when I had a headache and that usually did the trick. But this time around that isn't working.

The headaches aren't every day (thankfully) but will be at least twice a week. I thought that I should have adjusted to less caffeine by now.

 

[HM]

At this point, I'd cut out the caffeine altogether (no coffee or tea unless it's decaffinated and definitely no soft drinks). You'll have a headache for a couple days and then that should be it. If you continue to have headaches, there is another underlying reason.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[FireDancer]

So last summer I made the decision to cut back on the amount of regular soda I've been drinking. I've been limiting myself to just 8 oz per day and have been drinking more water and unsweetened (homemade) iced tea. I've lost about 13 pounds with this change as well as changing the way I eat

This is all well and good, but since last summer I've been dealing with caffeine withdrawal headaches. The only way to get rid of them is to take Excedrin b/c Tylenol no longer works for me. Has anyone who has cut back on their caffeine intake gone through this? I don't want to live off of Excedrin.

Before anyone says to switch to diet soda, I can't. The aspartame upsets my stomach. I've tried drinks with Splenda in it but have the same problem. The only difference is that I can't take drinks or food with aspartame. I only have a problem with Splenda when it's in drinks. Food is not a problem .

Have you considered black coffee. I am a bit of a caffeine addict myself but get it all from unsweetened tea and coffee. You get zero calories and none of the chemicals that are in soda.

 

[cybrkitn]

You wouldn't still be having caffeine withdrawal headaches if you stopped with caffeine last summer.

But I think, because you're still consuming some caffeine (in the unsweetened tea), that you may be having a timing problem. My DH, a moderate coffee drinker, always used to wake up on weekends with a headache. It took us years to realize what the problem was... because he was sleeping in on weekends, he wasn't getting his morning hit of caffeine when his body expected it, and so was in withdrawal by the time he woke up.

Two possible solutions: 1. Cut out caffeine entirely. Drink herbal or decaff teas.
2. Make sure you space out your caffeine-containing drinks across the day, and have a regular schedule.

I have been drinking between 8.5 and 16 oz of unsweetened tea in the morning. By lunch, I'll have an 8 oz glass of regular soda then switch to water the rest of the day. Timing could be the answer.

Have you considered black coffee. I am a bit of a caffeine addict myself but get it all from unsweetened tea and coffee. You get zero calories and none of the chemicals that are in soda.

I'm not a coffee drinker. The only time I have anything like it is a Starbucks mocha frappacino (which is very rare) and coffee ice cream (also very rare).

I read the caffeine contact on the Lipton regular tea and it's 55 mg, Lipton decaf has 5 mg and regular Coke has 23 mg of caffeing per serving.

I wouldn't mind switching over to decaf tea, except the decaf hardly has any taste compared to the regular tea. And I need taste. I'm not one for putting lemon in my tea. Most herbal teas have caffeine. I think I only found a few that don't, but there is only 20 teabags per package and I make about a gallon of unsweetened tea to last me a bit.

 

[cybrkitn]

After the MRI, and chatting with the neuro, we figured out it was the quitting caffeine that spun me into a cycle of withdrawal headaches. It was too late to just start drinking Diet Coke again (tried it, but the headaches were too much at that point). It was months of trial and error with anti-seizure meds and stuff like that before we found the trick.

I've had an MRI done due to problems with my hearing in my right ear. It came back negative. I'm seeing an ENT next week who will be sending me to get a CT done (based on what the hearing specialist I went to said). The issues with my hearing could be the cause of my headaches as well. I'll talk to the ENT and see what he says.

 

[Hannathy]

I seriously doubt it is the caffeine at this point. You are ingesting caffeine and it has been months since you cut back.

I think it is more related to your hearing issues especially since you aren't having them everyday which would be more the case if it was from the caffeine.