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griffin tucker
Canberra
Australia

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coffee/chocolate/cola/energy drinks = caffeine = narcotic. how do i get off the stuff???

recently i stopped smoking. again.

i want to reduce the amount of drugs in my system, so, i wish to take myself off the narcotic drug known as caffeine.

i drink up to 10 or more coffees per day (granted that it's just instant coffee; less caffeine than a shop-bought coffee) and the narcotic is contained in not only coffee, but popular cola drinks, huge amounts are contained in ever-increasing-in-popularity energy drinks, even in chocolate.

i've even heard from an unreliable source that caffeine is contained in apples!

does anyone know of, or heard of a way to stop intake of caffeine altogether? i'm also keen to hear your suggestions!

i will note my progress here on TED Conversations over the next few months. i wish to be as close to caffeine-free as possible.

Topics: caffeine cola drinking too much coffee drugs energy drinks narcotics sugar tea the dark side of chocolate

Closing Statement from griffin tucker

with a total of 20 cups of coffee a day at one stage, averaged out to 12 coffees per day over a week, and now down to about 6 or 7 coffees per day, i think i will eventually kick the caffeine habit. i'm still not sure if i'll kick the caffeine habit before cigarettes or the other way around, but i will let you know, here:

http://www.ted.com/conversations/12440/caffeine_addiction_how_do_i_k.html

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Debra Smith 200+
- +1
Jul 4 2012: I think the only solution for caffeine based products is to slowly wean yourself off and watch out for the head aches. Just a little less each day might work for you. It is slow but in a month or two you will be free.
- griffin tucker 10+
  - 0
  Jul 5 2012: good advice. especially for me, going cold-turkey with coffee isn't really an option. meanwhile i'm still smoking cancer-sticks (cigarettes) but i am slowly reducing the amount of coffee i drink. at one stage i was at drinking 20 cups of coffee a day, i'm down to about 7 or 8 now. still reducing.
  
  do you think kicking cigarettes and coffee at the same time would be a good or bad idea?
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
    +1
    Jul 5 2012: Hi Griffin!
    You look healthier already to me! Quiting both is hard to do but very worthwhile. If you are going to challenge yourself and feel lousy, it might as well be in such a good cause. Years ago a former surgeon general of the USA (I;m Candfian but we rely on US figures too as a startng point= just dvided by 10) said that quitting smoking is harder than quitting heroin.
    YIKES!
    I never everr smoked but after I had a major tumour removed which was life threatening a few years ago, some of my kids started because they were so panicked and it was hard for them to quit. Their battle was so arduous and so important to me that I could do nothing but wait and let them know=only when they brought it up - that I would pay for any product that might help. I advise you to make it as easy on yourself as you can. If that means nicotine gum - chew it, If that means patches -puy them on! Do anything to increase your chances of success.
    As these substances you are eliminating are both addictive and I use neither, I also advise you to watch and see your experience and think about your own nature. You might be better with a big challenge - maybe a huge one rather than a more manageable sized one as it takes all your attention that way - I tend to do better that way. Know yourself, Shakespeare said, then as the night follows the day - you cannot then be false to any man.
    - griffin tucker 10+
      
      0
      
      Jul 5 2012: if i were to gnōthi seauton, i would think that challenging everything at once has definite arduous results. i'm just not that mentally-capable.
      
      HOWEVER;
      
      if i were to think of this as a huge challenge, then dividing up the task into steps is what will keep me head-strong, and perhaps more importantly, motivated to reach my goal.
      
      thank-you kindly for your comments, Debra!
  - Debra Smith 200+
    
    +1
    Jul 5 2012: I really hope you reap the prize of a healthier life, Griffin!
griffin tucker 10+
- 0
Jun 18 2012: took up smoking :(

i will never quit cigarettes. i will never give up cigarettes. i'll tell you why.

'quitting' or 'giving up' cigarettes implies that i am losing something. inhaling smoke and nicotine (amongst other chemicals) and spending ridiculous amounts of money on cigarettes is doing nothing but harming my body, attempting to fill an empty void, and losing money in the process.

i will STOP smoking cigarettes, and i will STOP my intake of caffeine eventually. just not now.

i was under an incredible amount of stress tonight, and smoking that first cigarette in over two weeks got rid of all the stress. somehow i kept on convincing myself and making excuses for myself that i should take up smoking again. eventually i caved. next time i'll have to prepare myself for such a situation.

i don't know when (or how) exactly i will give up nicotine and caffeine, but i will. i will also note my progress here on ted.com. excuse the pun, but don't hold your breath.
- pat gilbert 50+
  - 0
  Jun 18 2012: I smoked for decades. I quit Feb 7th of this year.
  
  I read this book and quit. It works and it was easy.
  
  I'm not going to preach or am I selling anything, I'm just saying it worked for me.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/The-Easy-Way-Stop-Smoking/dp/1402718616
  - griffin tucker 10+
    
    0
    Jun 18 2012: i've read it. unfortunately the hypnotism wore off on me after about 6 months, after i refused to attend the stop smoking work-shops that the book so conveniently dropped hints about through-out it.
    
    seems like everyone's trying to make a buck these days either from drugs or if not from drugs then from the absence of drugs.
    
    apologies for my pessimism, but i've been up all night due to the stimulant affect of the cigarettes and coffee.
    - pat gilbert 50+
      
      +1
      
      Jun 18 2012: Well at least it is not Meth (8^(l)
peter lindsay 30+
- +3
Jun 7 2012: You need to go on a holiday. Not a lie in the sun holiday, a walk the Kokoda track type holiday. There is no coffee or cigarettes and your so involved in coping with the trekking you don't even notice they're gone. You make it much harder on yourself by trying to quit in the same environment that you drink the coffee in. When you come home you still need to deal with the habit but the addiction is gone.
Adam Cross
- 0
Jun 6 2012: cold turkey is the best way but I have to say the headache is the worst kind of head pain. The back of your head and neck will ache and it is impossible to make it go away without relapsing. One day and then you're good though. It's nothing like quitting cigarettes.
- Kate Blake 50+
  - 0
  Jun 7 2012: I found sleep got rid of the headaches - but luckily I was in a job that had flexibility.
  
  One day, My caffeine addiction took ten days of the symptoms I mentioned below.
  
  I never smoked but too many have told me they could do without heroin, etc but could not cope with giving up cigarettes ...
  - Adam Cross
    
    0
    Jun 7 2012: Unfortunately I smoke cigarettes and quitting literally turns my brain into mush. I can't work effectively while trying to quit. I drink enormous amounts of caffeine and I've never had much difficulty stopping, maybe it's because it is in comparison to quitting smoking.
    - Kate Blake 50+
      
      0
      
      Jun 7 2012: Appreciate your honesty - sounds like those 3 gents below are also having great difficulty giving up cigarettes! I feel blessed to never have have had even a puff - who knows I could also have been addicted.
      
      Having worked on cancer wards/hospices for years I struggle to understand why anyone would waste so much money on such a slow and agonizing suicide plan!
Krisztián Pintér 200+
- +2
TED Translator

Jun 6 2012: i stopped successfully. multiple times.
- R H 20+
  - 0
  Jun 6 2012: Ditto!
- pat gilbert 50+
  - +1
  Jun 7 2012: Do you mean like it is easy to quit smoking I have done it thousands of times?
Mireille Chéry
- +2
Jun 6 2012: Well, I can read that temptation have walk into your home as a roommate!!

Listen Griffin, we all go through these situations and took control over it, so you can do it, for sure!!

I use to smoke cigarets while, while back, and I stop cold turkey, as RH mention below. One of the main reason, was I did not know that tobacco company, energy drinks etc...would actually put caffeine into their products, without me knowing it, and I would purchase it. When I realize that, I said to myself, they can kiss ....IF I CHOOSE KNOWINGLY TO TAKE CIGARETS, COFFEE ETC., and consciously put it in my own body, fine, this is my choice and I know that their is something in that product that I will get addicted to. On the other hand, why in the world, knowingly, that I would left someone else controlling me with nicotine, cafeine etc...

If I want to drug myself, I will on my own, BUT I WILL NEVER GIVE ANY POWER TO SOME COMPANY TO DRUG ME LIKE A STUPID PUPPET!!

That's the way I stop, I took over the power I was giving to them and stop, and in the same time spending all this money....I'm not a puppet and I choose to choose to stop!!

The question is, are you a puppet or a man that's want the best for himself? You choose!!

Peace!
- griffin tucker 10+
  - +1
  Jun 6 2012: thanks for your comments Mireille Chéry.
  
  although i don't believe i am a puppet, it would be fair to say that i was (and possibly still am) a slave to nicotine and caffeine, whether i choose to believe it or not. at one stage caffeine and nicotine didn't interfere with my daily activities. but it has got to the point that i could be considered abusing caffeine as a substance.
  
  the last time i stopped smoking, i unwittingly started drinking more coffee. then i took up smoking again, and still drank the same huge amount of coffee. although i'm not exactly a contender for 'narcotics anonymous,' i still have a problem, and i wish to solve that problem.
  - Mireille Chéry
    
    0
    Jun 6 2012: Where their is a will, their is a way ! I know that you will and can get over all this...that's my hope for you !
    
    All the best in that quest !!
R H 20+
- +2
Jun 6 2012: Oh man, just went, and are still going, through that. I also gave up dairy, wheat (gluten), sugar and corn syrup. 'Cold Turkey', or, just stopped one day. I love coffee. I love the smell and the taste. So I switched to decaf and am substituting more teas into my drinking - again decaf as much as possible. When I wake up in the morning, I drink a glass of water (room temp) with the juice from half a lemon, and nothing else for 20 minutes. Then I have another glass of water and try to eat only veggies and rice products. I still eat meats and eggs. Organic and local everything as much as possible. I'm not 100%, but much improved. The first few days were the hardest - bad headaches and stomache changes. Here's the noticeable benefits to date: clearer and steadier thinking; more patience with the public; calmer; took 6 strokes off my golf game; feel cleaner - less 'oily'. Good luck, my friend. Try the 'Nike' approach - just do it. It's working for me.
- griffin tucker 10+
  - 0
  Jun 6 2012: wow! i've heard that the myths about eating meat have recently been busted too, but the meat industry will most likely bury the media story.
  
  in the story, apparently only a complete vegan needs vitamin b12 supplements, otherwise all the vitamins and minerals are absorbed through dairy products. i'll see if i can find the story and post it here.
  - R H 20+
    
    0
    Jun 6 2012: Yea, I know about the meat and eggs vs. vegan protein info, and the amount of energy it takes for digestion and processing in the body. There's only so much I can do right now - and I don't eat it every day, maybe 3-4 times a week.. But regarding the caffeine, I was just like you. And I am glad that I have brought my intake way down to about nil. After about 2 months I still have occasions during the day where I'm tempted for the quick 'pick-me-up' that good strong delicious aromatic beautiful coffee provides - especially during work. But I don't do it. Believe it or not, I somtimes take a 10-15 minute nap! I come back refreshed, calm, and clear. All the best.
Kate Blake 50+
- +1
Jun 6 2012: Hi Griffin, good to talk to you again!

You know that the only way is to go cold turkey, but expect migraines, tremors, sweats and everything else that normally accompanies any drug withdrawal ... just because they are legal and commonly used people aren't usually aware that they are addicted.

Know you can do it because you are a very strong man - good luck and keep us posted!
- griffin tucker 10+
  - 0
  Jun 6 2012: hi kate!
  
  i'm interested in reducing my caffeine intake to zero slowly and have already started a plan to tally the amount of coffees i drink every day and reduce it by one every day, once i find an average. i am too scared to go cold-turkey, as i am with cigarettes (i'm wearing a nicotine patch) but eventually, just as i'm going to have to take off the last nicotine patch, i will also have to drink the last coffee (or hot-chocolate, as i plan to switch from coffee to hot-chocolate then to water)
  
  if i feel a sudden burst of strength that i can suddenly go cold-turkey, i will, but i don't think it will happen any-time soon, as i've only just stopped smoking (for the umpteenth time) and it is already providing to be a challenge, even with nicotine patches.
  
  i know i can do it, with time, and i will keep you all posted if not here, then in another post referenced to and from here.
  - Kate Blake 50+
    
    +1
    Jun 6 2012: Maybe not such a good idea to tackle both at the same time?
    
    SO just minimize as you can, we want to keep you sane and the caffeine addiction could be tackled last. Thanks for drawing it to others attention with this post.

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