How and Why I Cut Out Caffeine

How and why I cut out ….

Caffeine

I loved coffee.  I loved it so much that freshman year of college, the university Starbucks was getting a lot of business from me.

Cappuccino was my favorite.  I’ve have three to four of these a day.  They counter acted the late nights, staying up till 3 or 4 am and then having to go to freshmen 9 am classes.  Philosophy class had my full attention.

I continued my daily dose of cappuccino, in conjunction with Regular Coca cola and, one, of my absolute favorites…Thai iced tea, which is sweet tea with condensed milk.  Sugar, caffeine and more sugar.  What could be better?

This went on for quite a while with no apparent problems.  I didn't really have difficulty sleeping from the caffeine, and all in all it seemed to fit in with my college lifestyle.

It was in the summer, while at home, that I had an experience with caffeine that I had not had before, but I suspect that the sheer volume of caffeine I had been consuming pushed my body to the limit and it said, I can’t take this any more.

“I can’t take this anymore” came in a very specific form. I remember it very clearly. It was morning, and I was standing in the kitchen at my parent’s house, drinking my first cup of coffee.  

All of a sudden, I felt faint and dizzy.  My whole body felt achey and I saw the walls of the kitchen closing in on me.  I sat down on the kitchen stool and tried to come to terms with what was happening.  Was I having a heart attack?  Did I just come down with the flu?  

Later I was told that I had had a panic attack.  

I won’t say that I totally quit caffeine after this incident, but it was the beginning of the end for my habit.  I researched the cause of panic attacks.  One is being predisposed to them.  I’d experienced anxiety before, but not to this extent.  So I looked further and discovered that caffeine can have an effect on anxiety.  At least, it does for me.  

So I tried green tea, which has less caffeine, and I enjoyed it.  White tea is also lower in caffeine and there’s so many varieties. I tried decaf coffee, but it still has caffeine, just a much lower amount.  In fact, I finally got to the point where I couldn’t drink decaf coffee or even regular green tea.  I opted for the decaffeinated green tea, which seems not to effect me, as long as I drink it in the morning.

Other sources of caffeine? Soda? Yep, had to give that up.  But I have more reasons for that and also alternatives and I shall delve into that in another post.

Chocolate…Dark chocolate contains caffeine.  I love chocolate, but I limit myself to 70% cocoa content or less.  85% gets me pretty wired.  But under 60% and I honestly don’t like the taste.

Was it fun or easy to give up caffeine?  No on both accounts.  First of all, it’s a social thing, so I would have to say “no thank you” to coffee after meals or meeting for coffee.  Also, I definitely went through withdrawal.  I’m not a morning person as it is, so it’s pretty difficult to get started in the morning without any stimulant (except my few bites of the dark chocolate!!).  

But to me, I felt that if I could do something to limit the amount and severity of a panic attack, which I think is one of the worst feelings in the world, it was worth it.  I still love the smell of coffee, and when a friend gets a cappuccino, even now I stare in envy at her treat. 

Chamomile tea for me, please.  

Side note: This is just my personal experience and opinion.  I always say talk to a Doctor before making any significant changes to your diet/lifestyle.