Bearsong

I quit coffee 3 years ago and I don't miss it. The coffee grind was too much up and down in terms of energy and I woke up feeling like I was six feet under. If I want a energy rise I choose yerba mate, roobios, or green tea, a much nicer ride. It's also quite nice not to be a slave to any chemical!

vja4Him

Actually, yes several doctors have recommended that I quit caffeine. I have numerous health issues, including: hypertension, angina, hypoglycemia, acid reflux (very, very, very, very, very bad case!!!), and sleep apnea.

I've already quit drinking coffee numerous times in the past, and always feel so much better when I stop drinking coffee. My problems with angina have really been getting me scared lately ... It's been difficult to make it up the overpass sometimes (shouldn't be though, because it's only a short hill), and also I notice that when I'm in the swimming pool at the club, if I exert myslef too much, I get terrible chest pains (angina).

I'm hoping that by quitting coffee, I will have less trouble with angina, and based on experience in the past when I quit coffee, I'm expecting to sleep better too!

I will miss coffee, because I've always enjoyed drinking a wide variety of brews .... But my health is much more important .... And since I need to depend on my health to ride my bicycle everywhere -- work, play, errands, shopping -- I really need to take better care of my health .... !!!

Yen

A question for those of you who gave up coffee and feel better: How much coffee did you drink per day -- just one big mug in the morning, 3-4, or did you drink it all day long?

If you drank several cups a day, did you try cutting back to just one in the morning? If not, why? If so, did it make a difference, or did you need to give it up altogether?

I realize that some of you should not drink it at all due to certain health conditions (e.g. a-fib) -- but for the rest of you who weren't required to give it up for that reason, then why not just cut back to one cup? Unless you really didn't like coffee, don't you miss it?

Here's why I ask: About 15 years ago I started drinking a second cup per day, around noon. After the second cup, I always felt a heart flutter or palpitation, and high anxiety. Cutting back to just one cup in the morning completely eliminated those issues for me. If I'd given up coffee altogether without experimenting with just one cup, I might not have learned that I can tolerate one cup, but not two.

As long as I drink it in the morning, and not after noon, my sleep is not affected.

vja4Him

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I too have prostate problems, and pretty bad too. I have to get up at night at least once every hour to use the bathroom ... !!! That totally sucks, big time ..... !!! I can NEVER, EVER, get a good nights sleep, not even one night a month .... !!!

It's been eleven days now that I've quit drinking coffee, and I've already noticed a difference with my prostate trouble. Since quitting coffee, there have been several nights that I've only had to get up and use the bathroom two or three times. It will take time for the medication to kick up, but seems like it's starting to reduce swelling already ....

I just started taking a new kind of medicine for prostate last month, after not taking anything for at least six months (due to serious side effects with the previous medication).

Jean Beetham Smith 

A fib = Atrial Fibrillation, a cardiac arrhythmia. Can be silent and lead to formation of blood clots that eventually get pumped out of the heart to cause all sorts of evil things.

Personally, I working myself up to quitting coffee for at least the 20th time. I know it would help my GERD. However, pain doesn't seem to be an adequete motivator for me. I seem to need actual fear to get me to change bad habits. Its just one of those character flaws I'm finally facing.

pipes

I don't consider coffee a bad habit . Some folks can't drink MILK . Does that make milk bad NOOO ! But if you wana quit do your thing but that in no way makes coffee a bad thing .Just my 2 cents . A mans got to know his limiations Many morinings I fill up my 1 qt Stanley thermus bungee it to the top a my trunk bag and ride up to the park and drink it .Everyone should own a Stanley I own a pile a them . But I digress sorry.

vja4Him

Good questions .... Many years ago, when I first started coffee, around the age of 14, I was drinking sometimes 15 cups of coffee a day by the time I was 15. At one time, when I was working at a repair shop, I would have a contest with one of the repairmen, who had a huge coffee pot. I would drink 25 cups of coffee sometimes ... !!! I couldn't handle that very long, as it made me sick, and extremely nervous, and could hardly sleep ... !!!

I've tried drinking only one cup a day, but I still get addicted to coffee, and need to add another cup. I was getting used to drinking my second cup before noon most days. By midnight or shortly after, I would start getting terrible caffeine headaches.

I really miss drinking, and love the aroma ... !!! But due to my health problems, some which are serious, I have no choice but the quit. I can still enjoy my health drinks, and I'm hoping to increase my stamina for riding .....

vja4Him

Do you have problems which riding? That is a big motivating factor for me to quit coffee. I've also been having pains while lying down in bed, trying to sleep, especially with my left arm and shoulder, which is a sign of heart trouble ....

I really need get into better shape, and increase my distance, so I can ride to job assignments farther away, and also go on longer rides. I've also quit drinking coffee many times, probably at least a dozen times.

vja4Him

Nobody here has said that drinking coffee is bad, as in evil, or sinful. For some people though, coffee (and any caffeine) is not a healthy choice. I also had to quit eating foods with soy, because I get terrible headaches, and sometimes nausea. I'm also allergic to certain nuts, but can get away with eating small amounts of peanut butter and nuts once in awhile ....

pipes

Well I beg to differ some have insinuated its bad for u and has bad chemicals in it ! Making it sound like quiting coffee is akin to quiting smoking . But maybe I read the replys wrong

linux_author

used to drink lots of coffee, but now i'm down to a single cup in the morning...

works better than this:

Bikehead

I have drank coffee till I was about 55, 64 now. Doctor said to stop.
So I set thinking one day,and remebered Gramppa, out on the farm,
use to drink,blackstrap molosses, in hot water, in the morning, instead
of coffee. I tryed it and it lookes dark like coffee, and taste somewhat
like coffee to me(but being 64 my taste buds, are not what they use to
be). I have been drinking it for about 9 years now, and don't miss coffee.
I use about a teaspoon, in a coffee cup full of hot water.
Well that's my 2 cents on beating coffee. Everyone have a good day, and get
out and ride.

DnvrFox

You need to see a doctor or emergency room ASAP!

kenkayak

AT 68 ive quit boose and feel awful almost as bad when I quit smokeng///these days my wife has been smileing at me weirdly.What

kenkayak

Ive given up boose[taxes to high]feeling awful./Almost as bad as quiting smokeing./ Wifes been giving me wierd smiles whats that all about./Kenkayak

stapfam

The other source of caffeine over here is Tea.

But if you have ever had Tea Bag tea- you would take up coffeee.

I was told when I had a prostate problem to give up caffein so I drank De-Caf. As soon as I had no prostate- I went back to the real stuff. No problems sleeping- no bladder problems- and no real craving for caffein.

For certain people -Caffein may cause a problem- but there are many like me that it does not affect.

Ekdog

@ OP,

I'm glad you feel better now that you've given up coffee. I drink a cup or two daily, and I feel great. I keep reading that it has lots of beneficial antioxidants, and just the other day there was a report that indicates it may lower the risk of certain kinds of cancer.

werewolf

This thread is an inspiration to me as I was thinking of quitting coffee this very morning.

stapfam

Quitting coffeee is no big deal and it is not hard-I did it 5 times last year

werewolf

Ha ha! It's not like I'm a lifelong coffee-drinker, tho. I used to drink tea. Tea-drinking is supposed to be quite healthy, isn't it?

grinningfool

I haven't had caffeine in ten years. It was a migraine trigger for me, and I gave it up. I do miss being able to enjoy a good cup of coffee when I catch a whiff of some brewing, but it's not worth risking a migraine.

ecrider

For those who have to give up coffee because of GERD, I recommend a cold brew system like Toddy. You steep about a pound of coffee (course grind) for 12 hours and it produces a concentrate. (Removes about 70% percent of the acids). You then can mix it with hot water. Personally, I mix it with milk, hint of vanilla, and sweetner to make an iced cappicino that rivals anything that Starbucks puts out. Only need one drink though. It's potent.

vja4Him

I've already been there many times ... !!! They can't find anything wrong. I've been to the heart specialist several times, seen many doctors, had an EKG many times, been through the scanning machine many times, had lots of blood tests ....

The heart specialist told me that sometimes heart problems don't show up, in about 5% of people with heart trouble. He suggested that I consider stints ....

vja4Him

There is a coffee, Kava, that is already 90% acid free. I haven't been able to find it anywhere in our area.

Today is 17 days without coffee! I'm definitely feeling so much better. The prostate medicine is kicking in, and I'm only getting up two or three times each night to use the bathroom. Several nights I only got up once!

I'm sleeping better, and can go to bed a little later than usual, and get up earlier. So I spend less time in bed, (only 6-7 hours now) than before (sometimes nine or ten hours, or more even, before!).

I haven't had any chest pains in quite a few days, and I've been able to push myself a little more on my bicycle. And no more headaches ... !!!

Terex

Good to hear you're feeling better. You just have to do what works for you.