caffeine ups and downs

[ViviTheMage]

I've been off pop/caffeine for about 4-5 weeks now..it was rough coming off, haha.

I feel good though, I had some mexican coke yesterday at 3PM...normal 340mL bottle, and holy shit it sucked. I was up until 3AM, I was in bed at about 11:30, but could NOT sleep...wtf.

I used to stay up til about midnight, 1AM, and go to bed, when I drank pop, but without pop I am in bed around 11:30 which is fine, but why does my sleeping habit freak out with that little bit of caffeine?

Anyone else have this happen?

 

[lxskllr]

Might be a coincidence. Coke has pretty low levels of caffeine.

 

[JS80]

I had a double espresso this morning and I regret having a Coke Zero for lunch. My chest is thumping like crazy.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Short of drinking it really close to bed it doesn't seem to matter whether I drink caffeine or not. Then again sometimes I get uncontrollably sleepy after drinking energy drinks. I always drink diet though so no sugar int he equation.

 

[ShawnD1]

Liver failure.

 

[Crono]

Caffeine tolerance. It wears off after a week with no caffeine intake, but a few days consuming caffeinated beverages will make you mildly tolerant/dependant, such that you need to up your intake to get the same buzz.

I am the guru of caffeine.
Used to work the night shift at a lab.

The level of caffeine in soda (esp. Mountain Dew, which is practically a light energy drink) is enough to keep you up if you have it anywhere from 4 to 7 hours before going to sleep. Green tea (below 30mg caffeine average per cup, IIRC) is about the only caffeinated beverage I feel safe drinking before going to bed if I need sleep. Soda, black tea, coffee are a definite "no" 5 hours before bedtime for me if I've let my tolerance slip by going a few days or week without coffee or energy drinks.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Liver failure.

I don't drink alcohol...but I used to drink a lot of pop...like never been off the caffeine train since I was very young.

This isn't the first time I have been off caffeine for a few weeks and tried some more pop, same shit happens every time....I cannot sleep until super late.

 

[mattpegher]

At this point I dont get any of the highs. I do get a wicked headache if I dont get enough coffee. Not sure how anyone that works night and day shifts does it without caffiene.

 

[Crono]

At this point I dont get any of the highs. I do get a wicked headache if I dont get enough coffee. Not sure how anyone that works night and day shifts does it without caffiene.

Ah, the caffeine withdrawl headache. Sucks, and usually kicks in hard the second day after regular consumption of coffee or energy drinks stops.
The lethargy is pretty bad, too.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Ah, the caffeine withdrawl headache. Sucks, and usually kicks in hard the second day after regular consumption of coffee or energy drinks stops.
The lethargy is pretty bad, too.

I don't get the headaches myself, I just get the inability to sleep if I have caffeine, after not having it for a few weeks.

 

[Crono]

I don't get the headaches myself, I just get the inability to sleep if I have caffeine, after not having it for a few weeks.

Yeah, that's fairly normal

Usually people only get withdrawal headaches if they have several hundred milligrams of caffeine a day regularly and then stop... which is several cans of soda, a couple cups/drinks of coffee (even less for nasty Starbucks, which is caffeine packed since they use terrible beans), or an energy drink or two.

 

[mattpegher]

Ah, the caffeine withdrawl headache. Sucks, and usually kicks in hard the second day after regular consumption of coffee or energy drinks stops.
The lethargy is pretty bad, too.

Second day? How about if I dont get a cup by 10am. Of course I drink about 64 ounces of coffee/day. More when I work nights. At this point the soda doesnt even count. Havent gone a day without coffee in 15 years. Can you say addict?

 

[ShawnD1]

I don't drink alcohol...but I used to drink a lot of pop...like never been off the caffeine train since I was very young.

This isn't the first time I have been off caffeine for a few weeks and tried some more pop, same shit happens every time....I cannot sleep until super late.

Most liver failure is caused by acetaminophen. Do you take pain killers on a regular basis?

 

[Crono]

Second day? How about if I dont get a cup by 10am. Of course I drink about 64 ounces of coffee/day. More when I work nights. At this point the soda doesnt even count. Havent gone a day without coffee in 15 years. Can you say addict?

No wonder, that's nearly Roosevelt territory (interesting fact: Theodore Roosevelt is the originator of the phrase, "good to the last drop").

 

[mattpegher]

No wonder, that's nearly Roosevelt territory (interesting fact: Theodore Roosevelt is the originator of the phrase, "good to the last drop").

Like any drug, caffiene loses its potency after repeated use. At this point I can have a cup and still go to bed.

 

[Crono]

Like any drug, caffiene loses its potency after repeated use. At this point I can have a cup and still go to bed.

I know. The downside is that you aren't getting the full effect of caffeine at that point... you need that much just to maintain .

I love coffee as much as anyone, but it's not good for my stomach in those quantities. Heartburn and reflux kick in for me if I drink more than 3 or 4 cups a day.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Most liver failure is caused by acetaminophen. Do you take pain killers on a regular basis?

I take nothing, never have...not even when I broke my arm, or got stitches, haha. I also never drank alcohol or coffee, nasty stuff!

I used to drink pop.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

I take nothing, never have...not even when I broke my arm, or got stitches, haha. I also never drank alcohol or coffee, nasty stuff!

I just drank pop.

Have a good night!

 

[ViviTheMage]

Have a good night!

 

[rcpratt]

Coke/Mt. Dew never seemed to bother my sleep patterns when I still drank that crap.

 

[zCypher]

If it has really drastic effect, you were probably having way too much.
I usually have at least 1 or 2 coffee during the day and occasionally I'll have a Coke or two as well. When I don't, all seems well. If I do, I can still sleep that night. It just doesn't seem to have a dramatic effect on me. If I drink too much caffeine, I get the jitters. I try to stay well away from that limit though.

 

[fatpat268]

I don't even really feel the effects of caffeine. I can drink an energy drink and still fall asleep an hour later.

I'm not too addicted to it either. I can go days without caffeine. Occasionally I'll get a small headache, but nothing I can't ignore.

 

[destrekor]

I know. The downside is that you aren't getting the full effect of caffeine at that point... you need that much just to maintain .

I love coffee as much as anyone, but it's not good for my stomach in those quantities. Heartburn and reflux kick in for me if I drink more than 3 or 4 cups a day.

I'm absolutely addicted to caffeine (pills are way too fucking convenient!).

I need to seriously cut back (gradually one day at a time, until I hit zero intake)... but I fear the whole process. My job is a security guard with two shifts that start at 5:00 am so I'm up between 3:30 and 4:00, and I sit/stand in a small shack of sorts. Cutting back on caffeine will make it easier to fall asleep earlier the night before, but less caffeine will seriously make it much more likely I end up falling asleep on the job. :|

That I dread the feeling less than par until my body adjusts.

You people who have cut back/quit, convince me, somehow!

 

[bobdole369]

First your going to have to explain wtf "pop" is.

Caffeine is a fairly easy drug to kick with relatively minor withdrawals.

My tolerance to caffeine is ridiculous anymore. It doesn't matter if I drink a 2 liter of crazy caffeine coffee washed down with 30 nodoz. I'll go right to sleep. Wish I could afford blow some days.

 

[dr150]

OP,
You grew a resistance to caffeine, which wore off when you abstained. So when you drank that Mexican coke, it hit you hard. This is akin to forming more of a resistance when drink hard liquors.

BTW, try Yerba Mate tea bags at Trader Joes, etc. It'll give you a higher energy high than caffeine, but without the jitters. It's a smooth high and it's what South American wholeheartedly choose to drink instead of coffee in their coffee-rich countries.