Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by starpilot 2348 days ago
I'm so glad I'm not dependent.
3 comments

It's pretty easy to break through the physiological symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, but more difficult to stick to not drinking it, I find.
I find that the unique taste is what keeps me hooked, and not the caffeine. When Ramadan comes around, it only takes me a few days to get used to not having a morning coffee.
The headaches are pretty bad.
I went from seven cups+ a day to zero caffeine - I was most surprised that I didn't suffer any sort of physical withdrawal - I was anticipating immense suffering.
I used a product called Wean Caffeine to successfully avoid the headaches. It steps you down by 10mg every three days. For anyone wanting to quit, I highly recommend.

https://www.weancaffeine.com/

It’s a shame they start at 100mg. I think I’d need to start at 200-300mg. I guess I’d have to buy three packs and then use regular caffeine pills to fill in. Gets a little pricey though.

Such an awesome idea though.

Wow I had this exact idea for a product a few months ago. I’m glad someone is already doing it.
Can confirm. Went from drinking 2-3 cups a day to no coffee about a week ago and the headaches were very bad for a solid two days. As in, lay on the bed feeling like an unproductive potato bad.

That was the worst of it though. By day 4 everything felt back to normal. Hoping to keep this up for at least a month or two.

Having been addicted to caffeine and nicotine I found the migranes were equivalent, only with nicotine it would be every 30 minutes after injesting rather than 5 hours.

In both cases they were gone after about a week or two, but I could see how it would be difficult for people who have an easy time smoking (low vs high sin taxes, happen to be at places where you can smoke all the time like your own car and home vs. a restrictive apartment and public transit, whether or not your friends also smoke all the time). My addiction was only for about 2-3 years, too, not half a lifetime like with some people.

God that sounds like hell.
Yeah, I've gone through them. Often times it starts on a Saturday afternoon since I don't drink coffee as frequently on weekends.
There's good parts & bad parts. I can get ornery without it, but I really like having something I look forward to so much.
Having never gotten into the habit, I just don't see the point. I understand that some people feel like they need it to function properly, but isn't that easily solved by getting more sleep?

Instead of staying up late doing things, I just go to bed and do those things in the morning. I find I don't waste as much time and I'm excited to wake up. Rolling out of bed is much easier when video games or a good book is waiting for me. I guess coffee could fill that, but I guess it's not as interesting to me as a hobby.

There is no more point than there is to alcohol, tea, or sweets. It's mostly just for enjoyment- perhaps together with a good book.

Caffeine can also be employed strategically for exceptional circumstances, but that's a less common application.

The next on the list for me is discarding refined sugar products.