I had my last cup of coffee on Monday morning, and have since been experiencing a host of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, including blinding headache, nausea, alternately shivering and sweating, and persistent muscle pain.
It sounds ridiculous, and I never thought I might be addicted to caffeine. Until I tried to give it up.
Earlier this week I took the decision to cut out caffeine for a while, because I felt it might be having an impact on my mood, my ability to concentrate, and my decision-making – particularly at weekends, when I didn’t drink as much coffee. I’d read that caffeine addiction could produce these effects, and I wanted to see if I had a problem.
It turns out I did!
By Monday evening, just twelve hours after my last cup of coffee, I was already feeling different. I felt incredibly bright and alert, almost hyper-aware of my surroundings. At this stage, I thought giving up caffeine was going to be a pleasure!
Next morning (Tuesday), reality struck. I woke with a headache – a classic caffeine withdrawal symptom. This persisted throughout the morning, and finally peaked around lunchtime. I ate lunch, then felt so overcome with nausea and headache I had to swallow two painkillers and sleep for half an hour. I felt better when I woke, but quite shook up, as I hardly ever get headaches like this.
That evening, the headache threatened to return, so I swallowed another couple of painkillers, then ended up asleep on the couch – again, something I rarely do.
Next day (Wednesday) I felt fine, although not as alert as usual. I had a nasty post-lunch energy crash, but managed to survive the working day without relapsing into my caffeine habit.
In the evening, I started feeling a strange pain in the back of my thighs as though I’d been exercising, or sat in an uncomfortable chair for too long. I also felt tired, and once again, ended up falling asleep for an hour.
I had a bad night. Shivering one minute, sweating the next. The pain in my legs was so bad it kept waking me up through the night.
This morning (Thursday), I still had the leg pain, which actually felt worse for the first few hours. It began to subside towards lunch, only to recur just as badly in the afternoon. This evening it’s playing up again, and I’m honestly wondering how I’m going to sleep tonight.
As these are all classic withdrawal symptoms, it’s safe to admit I was totally addicted to caffeine without even knowing it. That’s the nasty thing about this stuff. An addiction to caffeine creeps up on you, and gets a hold of you silently. Most people probably don’t realise just how addicted they are.
Being in a permanently stressed state like that induced by excess caffeine consumption can have devastating effects, which is the main reason I’m now determined to break my addiction!
Sadly, I really like the taste of coffee. 
Suggested reading
Caffeine
Be careful with caffeine
Coffee and health
Symptoms of caffeine withdrawal
(I’ll report again after nine days – the period of time it takes for the body to be considered no longer addicted to caffeine.)
And my latest update here (four months on).
2 Comments
I gave up caffiene twelve years ago. It gets easier and easier, and you will feel better in the long run.
Thanks, Gareth. I already feel much better for not being addicted to the stuff. I do miss the taste of coffee though – especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings, or after a meal.
I’ll have coffee again, one or two cups per week, but I’m not ready yet…