Does anyone take caffeine pills?

[kimblebee]

I hate to admit it but I am addicted to caffeine. Not so much that I have to have it every day, but if I go a few days without it, I get a wicked headache.

I'm thinking that if I take a caffeine pill every couple days that I can keep the headache at bay. I don't get super jittery when I have caffeine (in the form of a fountain drink) and as strange as it is I sleep better when I've had my drink.

So, like the title asks, anyone here take them? How do you feel when you take it?

 

[perditax]

I'd get super jittery.

That said, green tea extract is supposed to be good--maybe look into capsules of those rather than something like no-doze.

 

[kimblebee]

I'd get super jittery.

That said, green tea extract is supposed to be good--maybe look into capsules of those rather than something like no-doze.

Thanks for the recommendation. I wasn't thinking but I definitely don't want something that's going to keep me awake and all jittery. Maybe I'll wait and ask my dr when I see him next month.

 

[brockash]

I hate to admit it but I am addicted to caffeine. Not so much that I have to have it every day, but if I go a few days without it, I get a wicked headache.

I'm thinking that if I take a caffeine pill every couple days that I can keep the headache at bay. I don't get super jittery when I have caffeine (in the form of a fountain drink) and as strange as it is I sleep better when I've had my drink.

So, like the title asks, anyone here take them? How do you feel when you take it?

I don't take caffeine pills, however I do get the really bad headaches if I've had caffeine for a few days and then don't have any for a day or two. It's just a withdrawal symptom and it will pass. Mine usually last a day or 2 and then I'might good...unlesx/until I go a few days drinking caffeine again.

 

[kimblebee]

I don't take caffeine pills, however I do get the really bad headaches if I've had caffeine for a few days and then don't have any for a day or two. It's just a withdrawal symptom and it will pass. Mine usually last a day or 2 and then I'might good...unlesx/until I go a few days drinking caffeine again.

I know it's withdrawal..that's what I'm hoping to avoid lol

I drink too much caffeine and I'd like to cut it way down but I don't because of the headache. It's not just a little headache..it's lying in bed all day with the blanket over my head and no one making a sound around me. It's brutal and totally annoying because I did this to myself..

 

[DLgal]

I know it's withdrawal..that's what I'm hoping to avoid lol

I drink too much caffeine and I'd like to cut it way down but I don't because of the headache. It's not just a little headache..it's lying in bed all day with the blanket over my head and no one making a sound around me. It's brutal and totally annoying because I did this to myself..

Just do a gradual step down from the amount you are drinking. It will take a long time but you can get down to one cup of coffee or one soda a day from where you are, without any headaches. Decrease your intake by 1/4 for a week, then cut back 1/4 for another week and so on.

I wouldn't recommend regular intake of caffeine pills. They can cause heart damage.

 

[kimblebee]

Just do a gradual step down from the amount you are drinking. It will take a long time but you can get down to one cup of coffee or one soda a day from where you are, without any headaches. Decrease your intake by 1/4 for a week, then cut back 1/4 for another week and so on.

I wouldn't recommend regular intake of caffeine pills. They can cause heart damage.

Ok, so maybe caffeine pills are a bad idea lol
It was just an idea off the top of my head, no research done or anything like that.
I have tried the gradual step down..several times. I think I go too extreme too quickly though because I always revert back to my current habit. Caffeine is a bad (legal) drug.

 

[Lynne M]

I think the caffeine pills are much stronger than a cup of coffee.

The headaches really do go away after a couple of days if you go cold turkey. That's all you have to get through. But I think the step-down method will be a better way to do it. Just plan it out. Sit down and figure out what, say, 1/8 of your daily intake would be, and cut down by that much every day for a week. Let's say you have four cups of coffee a day. Make one of your cups a half-cup.

Then the next week, take another 1/8 off, so you'd drop down to 3 cups a day.

 

[Poohlove]

My sister in law had a nasty Pepsi Max habit, like anywhere from 8-12 a day. After a stern warning from her doctor she gave it up but had to cut back gradually. She has been Max free for about a year now and she said she feels much better now but that cutting back was really hard.

I know exactly the withdrawal headache you are talking about. When I was about 19 I drank a lot of mountain dew and cappuccino to stay awake at an overnight job I had. I got sick and didn't have caffeine for a day and had such a wicked headache it scared me straight lol.

 

[ronandannette]

I know it's withdrawal..that's what I'm hoping to avoid lol

I drink too much caffeine and I'd like to cut it way down but I don't because of the headache. It's not just a little headache..it's lying in bed all day with the blanket over my head and no one making a sound around me. It's brutal and totally annoying because I did this to myself..

Don't bother with the green tea. Although it is a stimulant, the compounds are not the same as caffeine and will not prevent the headache. I know it all too well...it is excruciating and nothing else helps. The good news is it takes very little caffeine to "fix" the headache; some OTC pain meds have it in (or at least used to). Are Excedrin and/or Anicin still on the market?

 

[bcla]

I think the caffeine pills are much stronger than a cup of coffee.

The headaches really do go away after a couple of days if you go cold turkey. That's all you have to get through. But I think the step-down method will be a better way to do it. Just plan it out. Sit down and figure out what, say, 1/8 of your daily intake would be, and cut down by that much every day for a week. Let's say you have four cups of coffee a day. Make one of your cups a half-cup.

Then the next week, take another 1/8 off, so you'd drop down to 3 cups a day.

Caffeine pills are plenty strong, but how much caffeine in cup of coffee isn't exactly consistent. What kind of coffee, and how big a cup? A 20 oz (maybe 625 ml?) cup of my style (4 tablespoons per 12 oz) of brewed coffee can have as much as a 200 mg caffeine pill. Cheaper coffee is often part or all robusta beans instead of Arabica, and that has more caffeine. The caffeine content can vary by a bunch too depending on how much it's brewed.

It can be hard to figure out how much one is consuming every day. I've heard of some people who just drink until the body says its enough.

If someone likes coffee but is easing off caffeine, espresso can be a way. Espresso actually extracts less caffeine (and coffee actually) from the grounds than brewed coffee. I've worked at places with machines that essentially made espresso and added water (aka an Americano). It didn't quite have the strength or caffeine of brewed coffee, but drinking it was a good way of easing off of caffeine.

 

[Micca]

Four words: Chocolate covered espresso beans.

 

[Kitty 34]

Four words: A cup of coffee!


I don't need pills as I take cupfuls.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Are Excedrin and/or Anicin still on the market?

Yes, DH took Excedrin when he was having really bad headaches this summer.


OP, you said you drink too much caffeine, but you are asking about a different form, so is it the sugar that's in the drinks with the caffeine that you are trying to get off of? Or is it that you think it would be easier to step down with pills?

I have tried the gradual step down..several times. I think I go too extreme too quickly though because I always revert back to my current habit.

I like the advice above to go very gradual. Maybe you could cut the pills in half? I would also replace the drinks you are cutting with something healthier, because maybe the routine of having something to drink is part of why you keep going back.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you're trying to get off caffeine, I'm sure you know caffeine pills are not the answer.

The slow, gradual cutback everyone is describing here is the only answer.

I'll do that myself one day. When I'm ready.

 

[tluvstink]

I guess I'm in the minority but I take 1/2 caffeine pill daily with a little bit of Pepsi or Coke.

That's the only soda I have and drink water the rest of the day.

It doesn't make me jittery and I do feel more alert after taking it.

I've been taking them since I was 19 and I'm 51 now. I haven't had any negative side effects yet.

I'm not trying to encourage anyone to do this but it works for me.

Terri

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Remember what happened to Jessie on Saved by the Bell when she took caffeine pills. ;-)

OP, the only way to get off caffeine without the headache is to wean down. Remove half a cup to one cup of whatever it is from your diet every few days.

 

[Gracie09]

Remember what happened to Jessie on Saved by the Bell when she took caffeine pills. ;-)

OP, the only way to get off caffeine without the headache is to wean down. Remove half a cup to one cup of whatever it is from your diet every few days.

So glad I am not the only one who thought of Jessie
Op try brewing half caffeine coffee and then increase the decaf to 3/4 and then all and then just step down from there.

 

[kimblebee]

Thanks everyone for the advice. It's not coffee that I'm drinking (I've only had two sips on my whole life and still think it's gross) but I do have a Big Gulp of Coke almost every day. I used to drink Coke from a can but One day I decided to stop that cold turkey because I was drinking way too much (3-4 cans a day). Now, I find it way too sweet and that's why I switched to fountain drinks..I find they are watered down a bit so I can drink it.

I know I Could easily switch to the next smaller size because I have done it before. Maybe like a PP said, I'm just not ready yet lol.

I know as of right now that it's not causing any ill health effects (I get a complete blood work up every month) because all my numbers are spot on.

Again, thank you for the advice. You have talked me out of trying caffeine pills.

 

[bcla]

Yes, DH took Excedrin when he was having really bad headaches this summer.

Anacin and Excedrin are just aspirin with caffeine. I guess a little bit of caffeine is supposed to speed up the effect of the aspirin. But it's less caffeine than a 12 oz caffeinated sofa. There are reports that caffeine and acetominophen don't be well together. Something about speeding up the liver toxicity.