Thursday 29 May 2008

Life Without Caffeine


Today drugs were in the news here in Scotland. The Scottish Government was announcing its thoughts on the subject.

I'm on day one of Life Without Caffeine, a little experiment I'm performing on myself, so it was interesting to hear all this talk of addiction on the radio all day.

Yesterday, I found this on the internet. It's a cheery wee test to find out how much caffeine would kill you! (It takes a lot, by the way).

And today, I read a cheery list of the possible symptoms of caffeine withdrawal:
"Headache – (often described as being gradual in development and diffuse, and sometimes throbbing and severe)
Fatigue -- (e.g., fatigue, tiredness, lethargy, sluggishness)
Sleepiness/drowsiness -- (e.g., sleepy, drowsy, yawning)
Difficulty concentrating -- (e.g., muzzy)
Work difficulty -- (e.g., decreased motivation for tasks/work)
Irritability -- (e.g., irritable, cross, miserable, decreased well-being/contentedness)
Depression -- (e.g., depressed mood)
Anxiety -- (e.g., anxious, nervous)
Flu-like symptoms -- (e.g., nausea/vomiting, muscle aches/stiffness, hot and cold spells, heavy feelings in arms or legs)
Impairment in psychomotor, vigilance and cognitive performances"


And, yes, I've had a fair number of these symptoms today and so I am sending myself to bed early.

Incidentally this is well worth a visit - it's bizarre but yet I believe it could be addictive itself. Lift the mice into the armchair and see what happens. It's educational, honestly.

9 comments:

That Hideous Man said...

If I don't get my caffeine fix I get completely immobilised with a blinding headache that painkillers won't touch!

Strangely my Dad is the opposite - one whiff of caffeine and he gets a migraine!

Doorman-Priest said...

I could drink 128 cups of green tea before croaking. That's good then.

I hadn't a clue what four-fifths of the things on the list were.

Anonymous said...

I love the mice! It doesn't tell me enough about the effects on the brain, but I still love them!

Sorry you're suffering today. I don't drink enough coffee to get withdrawal, I don't think. I guess I'd find out if I went cold turkey!

Nice blog! :)

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I love the photo.

Every time I've tried to go off caffeine, I've weaned off gradually. If your symptoms get too bad, you might want to give yourself a little hit.

Annette said...

I too, love the photo. I also loved the mice and the coffee intake.
When it asked you to pick a mouse I picked alcohol,because I know 2 or 3 people that are alcoholics.(they were before I met them I may add) It was a bit difficult to understand but it was interesting.
As for the coffee, well, it said I would be dead after drinking 302 cups, well, thats tomorrow taken care of then.

Mr. Nighttime said...

I accidentally smashed the carafe to my coffee maker this morning.... I was half asleep when I tried to make a pot, so that was my first mistake.

I will be in mourning until I can get a replacement carafe from a friend, who just happens to have a second coffee make identical to mine, and is giving me hers.

I wonder if one can get the DT's from caffeine withdrawal?

AnneDroid said...

Nightmare, Nighttime!

Doorman-Priest and Annette, we COULD all work out your weight now by taking your information to that website...

Anonymous said...

I've been a caffeine user and abuser for 45 years until the day before last Thanksgiving (2008) when my heart flipped out and went into atrial Fibrillation. They electro cardioverted my heart on on Thanksgiving back into normal sinus rhythm. Caffeine is one of the triggers for various types of heart arrhythmia, So caffeine is not an option for me anymore. The withdrawal symptoms were minor for me most likely because I had no choice. I now truly feel the best than I've felt in years. I feel like the monkey is off my back! I no longer have the ups and downs of trying to make it from coffee break to coffee break. Instead of coffee, tea or colas, I drink water and diluted fruit juices. I can't say that I now feel terrific all day every day, but I do feel much better then when I was taking caffeine every day. Life is also simpler not having to think about where to get the next caffeine fix all the time. Good health! Lon

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