Day Three of Detox
I’m cranky. I can't think straight. And I’m bouncing off the walls. It's Day Three of Detox, and I’m channeling Diana Ross in the movie “Lady Sings the Blues,” when she’s going cold turkey in her padded jail cell. Forget cigarettes, Jimmy Choos, or crack cocaine. Caffeine has got me in its grip. And hello, I know I’m not the only one. A super-sized coffee-to-go has become the accessory-du-jour for celeb and soccer moms alike.
Yup, a cup of joe is definitely my own mother’s little helper. It started innocently enough when my kids were small – one cup to get me up enough to gently shove 'em onto the school bus, another later in the day to push me through the carpooling, and lots in between. But because my doctor says caffeine is causing my sleepless nights, I've decided to embark on my own personal rehab – cutting down on the number of cups I drink per day, switching to a half-caffeine, half-decaf brew, and even buying caffeine-free Diet Pepsi. Though I’ll NEVER give up that morning mug, I am cutting back.
So how’s it going? Well, just today I showed up at the wrong time for a hair appointment, took a DVD back to Blockbusters only to find the box was empty, AND tried to return something from Staples to CVS. Fortunately, after giving up on getting anything done, my friend Lucy, home nursing the flu, called to ask would I mind picking her up a pound of ground Starbucks house blend? Mind? One good ten-minute whiff of the air in my local Starbucks and I felt positively revived.
So now that I’m breaking my grip on my drug of choice, I’m looking for a good substitute. Please, please, please tell me they make caffeine-free chocolate.
Comments
I really got a kick out of your story, and SOOOO identified with it. As I write this, I have my afternoon cup of coffee in hand, which I deperately need if I expect to be able to stay awake to go out later tonight - and we're not even talking about a late night...we're talking about leaving the house at 7PM! Just like your friend, if I'm sick, I can forgo the chicken soup and tea, but NEVER my cup of java!
Loved your funny look at Caffeine's powerful grip. Major abdominal surgery and two weeks in the hospital forced me to kick my caffeine habit, which was delivered via Coke and Excedrin.
You wrote "my doctor says caffeine is causing my sleepless nights". Laurie, please ask this doctor for a prescription for Ambien CR 12.5 mg. I drink 2-3 cups Starbucks at work but my sleepless nights wound up being diagnosed as being caused by(ugh) advancing age and husband's-louder-than-ever-snoring. Why suffer? I bet you had epidurals instead of all natural childbirth, right?
Coincidentally, I am going through my own coffee-detoxing. I'm two weeks in and I can say that I am sleeping much better. I have gone cold turkey on the coffee, instead switching to black tea or green tea. The teas I'm drinking have 1/2 to 1/3 third of the caffeine in the same size cup of coffee. So I'm still drinking the same number of cups of tea, as I was coffee, but only getting 1/2 to 1/3 of the caffeine. Try some yummy chai tea - with a splash of milk, it is addictive!
Another thought is to just carry around a large Starbucks coffee cup filled with water (with the lid on, of course, to hide its contents) -- I think that the Starbucks cup itself has some mystical qualities.
Kicking the Extreme Coffee Habit is difficult -- been there, done that. Five years later when I resumed drinking my cups of caffeine, I started out by doing that half/caf/half/decaf thing and I'm feeling just fine.
Good luck and I hope that you're feeling and sleeping better!
I am also a recovering coffee addict. I was up to 14-16 cups a day. Talk about tachycardia! I gradually cut back until I have reached 2cups in the am and that is it! Tried cold turkey but the headache was so bad I couldn't do it that way.
GOOD LUCK
I agree with the tea thing! I was forced to quit caffeine and instead switched to green tea only which has the slightest bit of caffeine but also has a ton of good stuff in it including something that helps keep your metabolism up and thus lose weight. This helped me kick the habit and lose weight in the process! I can't sing green teas praises enough although I do also love a cup of chai tea latte every once in awhile.
