Four months ago, almost to the day, I took a long, hard look at my lifestyle, told myself “caffeine is nasty stuff“, and stopped drinking tea and coffee completely. A couple of weeks later, I was over the awful withdrawal symptoms, and could safely declare I was caffeine free.
Since then, I’ve had a few people contact me, and others have left comments on those original posts, so I’ve written this update to let the curious among you know how I’m going with my caffeine withdrawal.
I’m free!
The short answer is, I’m still free of the grip of caffeine, and can choose to drink a tea or coffee when I want one, without any of the side effects of addiction or withdrawal.
The key is moderation. I now limit myself to tea or coffee only at the weekends, and am convinced this is how I’ve managed to avoid slipping back into my old ways of always having a steaming cup next to my keyboard.
As a consequence of staying caffeine free, my moods have become much more stable, my concentration has improved, and boy, do I enjoy those cups of coffee at the weekend!
No long-lasting effects
I don’t suffer any of the longer lasting effects being experienced by some of the people who have contacted me. I’ve heard from people who went cold turkey on caffeine, who now have severe headaches and/or nausea when they drink tea or coffee, or eat chocolate. This isn’t the case with me.
The body takes approximately nine days to become free of caffeine. So if you’re still experiencing unpleasant withdrawal symptoms a couple of weeks after cutting it out, I suggest seeing your doctor. He/she will be able to confirm that what you’re experiencing is caffeine withdrawal, and advise you what to do next.
Don’t give up
If you’re still in the early stages of caffeine withdrawal, experiencing the horrible symptoms I did, then you have my sympathy – but stick with it. They should only last a couple of weeks, then you’re free!
I don’t consider myself a particularly strong person with immense willpower, so if I can do it, anyone can.
