I was hoping that the article would also mention some approximate amounts you have to drink per day to start to get withdrawal effects. Are there no studies of this?
As one personal data point, I drink 2-4 cups daily and a few months ago I decided to suddenly stop just to see what happens. The results were very unexciting: I felt nothing. No headaches, no fogginess, no significant loss of alertness (although I did need more time to "warm up" in the morning from my groggy morning states). Otherwise I felt normal and after a week of unexciting I just went back to drinking coffee because it tastes good and works when you need it.
At least from my personal study then, it seems 2-4 cups daily is not enough to get any adverse effects.
I quit Coffee/Caffeine around twice a year for the amount of around 3 - 5 weeks for some sort of cleaning of the system. It is always awful, I get bad headaches, I feel tired, I can't concentrate, I basically loose 1-2 days of productivity. However, after that, I start slowly, only with one espresso per day, and then gradually move back up until I hit the 5 cups a day again, and that's when I quit cold turkey again.
I do agree that my body feels great when I'm not drinking coffee, however I like the taste of it so much, that I always have to fall back to it. Still going cold turkey twice a year feels good.
> I like the taste of it so much, that I always have to fall back to it
I find decaf actually helps with this. I like both the taste and the ritual of coffee, but don't like the jitters it gives me if I have more than one or two cups a day. So I typically switch to decaf after the first cup, and still enjoy the rest.
Unfortunately this was easier to do before I moved from California to Denmark. Here it's easier to find nonalcoholic beer (every supermarket carries it) than decaf coffee (fewer than half do), and it seems to be regarded with a degree of cultural suspicion.
I start slowly, only with one espresso per day, and then gradually move back up until I hit the 5 cups a day again
Sometimes it's not the substance itself, but the amount; have you tried differing amounts, or limiting to only certain times of day? What you describe sounds like a roller coaster to me (albeit not as severe as some I've seen).
EDIT: My personal story: used to drink tons of coffee in hight school; had heart palpitations, quit; used to drink tons of Dr. Pepper through college; decided to quit due to sugar and phosphoric acid; used to drink tons of tea late in college and after; stopped when I stopped working from home. Nowadays, it's one cup (perhaps 16 floz at most) of coffee and one cup of tea per day, always before noon - it has to be fresh ground coffee and good loose tea, though. Has health benefits and doesn't make me jittery, can quit or take a hiatus any time I want, or double down on a slow day. Moderation, with the occasional variation.
I'm guessing that the pressure to put it in the DSM had something to do with being able to bill health insurers for drugs which help with the withdrawal symptoms...
Why is everyone calling it the "bible of psychiatry" now? I had never, ever heard that name until this year when the media ran a bunch of slam articles on the DSM V.
Fascinating. I drink a lot of caffeinated soda, and yes when I stop for an extended time I can feel the effects, the headache, the foggines. But in general in 48hrs its gone, I vacationed at a place in Hawaii that had no caffeine available left on Friday stayed for a week. By Nonday all "withdrawal symptoms" were gone. I subsequently went back a couple of times and 'prepped' by stopping caffeine intake two days before departure and felt fine for the whole trip.
Long way of saying I suspect it would be challenging to apply for long term disability if you couldn't afford to buy/ingest caffeine :-)
Possibly, they put this in the DSM because people often consult with many symptoms due to caffeine withdrawal, rather than any medical or psychiatric condition. They want to make sure that psychiatrists are aware of this and at least ask the patients about their caffeine consumption before making the wrong diagnosis.
What I would like to know is, is caffeine consumption a zero-sum game? I.e. assuming you consume a constant amount of the stuff (let's say two cups of coffee a day), once your brain has adapted to this intake, is there any advantage in the habit compared to me never drinking any? Or does it effectively make your now adapted mind work just like if you had never consumed any caffeine at all?
I've gone clean a few times now, and the effects and time-frame given in the article seem head-on. I have a feeling that I function no worse without any caffeine than when i was drinking regular doses, except my mental performance is more even throughout the day (no spikes after a cup of latte and no tiredness in the evening after I stop drinking). Also, I sleep a lot better.
Additionally, being completely off caffeine gives me a powerful tool strictly for emergency use - if I really need to drive all night without falling asleep at the wheel or push out a new release before going away for a week, one cup of coffee works like magic. I do reserve it for really important cases only, and made it a rule to not drink any for at least two weeks after that to clear up again.
It would also be interesting to see research on coffee's effect on a wide range of personality types. I've quit and haven't used in ~19months. Back then I'd drink 3-4 espresso's a day. Quitting was one of the most unpleasant and unbalancing experiences of my life. I kept a log of headaches, moods and fatigue before and after going cold turkey; and it was a long while (months) before the fogginess, tiredness, muscle spasms and irritability became manageable.
The rush and withdrawal effects of coffee on individuals seems to me to differ widely. I have friends that only got a slight barely notable buzz from it, but for me, I got the buzz, pleasure and motivation from my morning espresso. It was my on switch.
I think when I began to realise my psychological dependency was a bit unusual, was when I noticed how jittery and restless I was before my morning espresso. The first sip would correct that and bring with it a strange zen-like calm; the hustle and bustle of the day would dim to a dull hum and I would regain my presence of mind and I could function again. I promptly decided to quit.
Sounds exaggerated, unless he had insane tolerance levels or the coffee was very weak. Typically you count ca. 70mg for a cup of coffee, though of course it varies a lot with type. If we assume 50mg, that's 2500mg...
For comparison, weight lifting supplements tends to max out at about 400mg, and from experience if you take those amounts and then don't do a hard workout, you're bouncing off the walls and it's horrible. I find it hard to imagine effectively spacing out 2500mg in a way that'd leave me focused rather than jittery as hell, despite a very high tolerance level, and without wrecking any hope of decent sleep....
Then again, tolerance levels for caffeine varies greatly - at one point I'd often drink a red bull right before sleep.
"Voltaire was also known to have been an advocate for coffee, as he was purported to have drunk it at least 30 times per day. It has been suggested that high amounts of caffeine acted as a mental stimulant to his creativity." - wikipedia
Coffee is small dosages is not bad for you, many studies say that in fact it's healthy in a long term.
In my case, I drink my morning black coffee, and one espresso after lunch and another after dinner. It fixes my daily "addiction" and I don't see it interfering in my life like an actual drug would, say cigars/alcohol/etc..
It's really hard to separate if it's small amounts of coffee that's useful or the brain chemistry / lifestyle of people who drink small amounts of coffee regularly.
I had a massive caffeine addiction (think 2 large cans of redbull a day) about a year ago until I quit cold turkey. It may be in my head, but after about a month off the stuff I felt like I had more energy than ever.
I quit caffeine and ended up regretting it. I felt tired a lot more, even a year later. Staying awake after lunch became a real challenge for me. I'm just saying this to temper the confirmation bias here - I think people who quit caffeine and got nothing out of it probably don't feel any particular need to share their stories.
I read once that the level of energy you feel from caffeine is actually your normal energy level, and that the 'boost' you feel is actually the caffeine dragging you out of a low.
Or something like that. And I can only presume this is after you've been consuming it for a while.
Up until recently I would drink about a pot of coffee a day. I've also gone cold turkey and while I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times, I've felt more energised (especially in the morning) and definitely less irritable.
I'm also finding that my sleep these days is amazing!
I used to drink two cans of Mountain Dew per day. I was 100% dependent upon it -- without my Mountain Dew I couldn't function at all. Anyway, I recently took a few weeks off between jobs, and during that time, I decided to quit caffeine cold turkey as well. I feel great! Some benefits include:
-Sleeping better
-Being awake and functional in the morning, even before the caffeine kicks in
-Having a consistent energy level throughout the day
-24oz of soda/day is not healthy, so getting that out of my diet was definitely a good thing
The only downside is that the startup I work for now has a tab with a number of local coffee shops that I can't take advantage of :(
I can do without caffeine, but I actually enjoy drinking coffee. I love the taste, the smell and the ceremony of preparing it. I like to make turkish coffee and espresso in my moka pot. I've also recently bought a french press. I don't smoke, so making coffee gives me a reason to take a break from the computer. Maybe I could switch to tea, but tea isn't as exciting for me.
As I read this article and thought to myself, "hmm maybe I should go cold-turkey for a couple weeks" since I certainly have been building up a tolerance, I got an alert for this email (I can't make this up):
This raises a very interesting question: what is an optimal stimulant (or stimulant enabler) dosage routine? I think it's clear that in the short term something like caffeine is a net positive. But how do we mitigate negative longer-term effects like tolerance and dependency?
Every week I take a "detox day" - typically Sunday. I cut out caffeine and generally add a fair bit of exercise (preferably 45 mins of cardio). I find this helps cleanse and reset my system. I also free-run my sleep on the weekends, further helping to "reset" everything. My logic here is that I can be stimulated for most of the week while taking a day to undo any longer-term effects that may be done (such as the increase in adenosine receptors). As a result I try not too schedule anything too important on detox day, as I'm a bit less sharp mentally. I actually don't mind working then - the only effect is that it takes longer to "warm up". It's the social obligations where I want to make sure I have that extra little kick ;)
I've been interested in supplementing with modafinil for a while, but I refuse to do so just yet on the grounds that we don't understand how it works well enough. That, and since the drug is relatively new we don't have studies on long-term effects. As much as I love stimulant-enablers and mental optimization, I refuse to do so at the risk of my health.
I quit drinking any caffeine for a week once, an experience I won't forget any time soon. I think some have varying degree of withdrawal symptoms but I recall a couple of days in having one of the worse migraines I have ever experienced, if I moved my head it hurt, blinked or even chewed my head would ache. I got hand tremors, I became incredibly fatigued and somewhat antisocial as well. After a week I returned to normal but have since started drinking coffee and tea again as it is hard to not drink any of those (especially client meetings). So it's definitely an addiction, one that your body is quite dependent on.
Although even though I tried to stop drinking, I never once had the urge to make a tea or coffee, it's weird in that caffeine addiction seems to be one of those things we don't feel like we need and more of just a habitual need if anything. I never got to the point in my week detox where I felt like killing people for a caffeine fix or stealing from loved ones.
It's surprisingly hard to avoid caffeine, it's in more things than most people realise. It's in soft drink, it's in chocolate, a lot of decaf coffee still has low levels of caffeine. While if you want to live a life without, tea, coffee and chocolate you might mostly avoid ingesting caffeine, lets be realistic, it's unavoidable...
When I have coffee or tea on a regular schedule and it's interrupted I get mild but irritating headaches. This was happening a lot a while ago and I got sick of it and quit. I was only drinking that much of it at the time so my withdrawal wasn't too bad, although I'm sure there's individual variation as well.
Now that I don't have it on a regular basis, I'll have a small cup of weak tea if I'm tired and have a lot of work. The effect of even a small amount is immense when you don't use it regularly. I can have it at about two in the afternoon and I'll still be alert way past my bedtime.
The only problem with is tea or coffee smells so good when someone else is having some ...
We had our baby girl earlier this year, which led to sleepless nights and several cups of coffee during the day. My dad who has been practicing yoga for decades recommended a different route, which involved a 10 minute session involving deep breathing.
One thing led to the other and we built this app to help everyone who may have this problem.
Sorry for the shameless plug but seemed very topical.
Interestingly, I've found that a significant part of my own addiction is behavioural. If (for whatever reason), I know I'm not going to be able to drink tea for a few days, as long as I have something to replace it with that has an appropriate amount of ceremony to it I don't really exhibit the withdrawal symptoms the article mentions.
On the other hand, if I just try and stop I feel useless for about a week (possibly longer, I've only stopped for that long once).
I'm surprised to see the caffeine withdrawal horror stories:
I drink what I think is a lot of caffeine. I just counted what I've had today, a normal day in terms of caffeine: 1 cup of aeropress coffee in the morning, which I make very dark/thick, so it might count as 2 cups, perhaps more, of "normal" coffee... And since the morning, another 9 shots of espresso, and a couple of cans of coke zero.
When I go off of caffeine, I get a mild headache for a few days to a week, and that's it.
.
One mildly interesting story: I used to play a lot of counterstrike, at relatively high levels, but below 'pro'.
Once, I went off of caffeine, and went through the withdrawal. During withdrawal, my counterstrike ability worsened. After withdrawal, I was noticeably better than I had been when on caffeine. But, when I finally went back on caffeine, I was on a whole new level. Opponents that I had trouble with before were almost comically easy to beat. I can definitely see why caffeine is consider a PED for certain Olympic sports.
I never used to drink coffee it made me feel very jittery and short of breath with just a sip, the guys where I worked as a kid (14) went on coffee runs, make that I went on coffee runs, and once I got a coffee and whoa jittery! Although a Lebanese store owner used to give make Lebanese coffee for me when I was a 14 or 15 plus some nice pistachio baklava, the coffee didn't bother me as much, weird.
Anyway 20 years later I started shift work and when installing equipment when the building I was working at was being built we had coffee breaks more to keep warm in an unheated concrete box during a Canadian spring. Now I like coffee (?) but most often it's a latte, cappuccino, espresso or some coffee flavoured drink but sometimes I get four shots of espresso.
Now I have GERD and caffeine is a trigger, at worst I am vomiting up stomach acid and my throat feels like there is a golfball stuck halfway down it. Yet I still drink coffee :(
I have GERD (hiatal hernia) and I stayed away from Caffeine for years because I was told it would trigger it. They also said to avoid spicy foods and exercise regularly. I started taking Prilosac and exercising regularly about 5 years ago. Now I can pretty much eat what I want (I go through a bottle of Sriracha every 3 months, it goes on everything :D). I think the key to managing GERD is the exercise and medicine. When I don't exercise I have more reflux. If you are not exercising regularly (which means exercising long enough to get super hungry), then you might want to try it to see if it improves your symptoms. Anecdotally, I think the GERD diet is total bullshit, I've tried it (with out meds) and I still experienced enough discomfort to convince me to take medication.
Edit: I forgot to mention I drink coffee every morning.
When I drink caffeine, I got really upset stomach, end up with diarrhea, racing thoughts, loops, frequently inability to concentrate on the come down.
I have a 250g bag of anhydrous caffeine powder. I always take some out with me in a plastic tube. If I can recommend something, it is not to swallow it. It quickly absorbs from the mouth and I perceive it to be much cleaner experience. Also, the duration is much shorter which makes it ideal to wake yourself up for the long way back home at night, but still does not prevent you falling asleep in an hour or so.
[+] [-] karpathy|12 years ago|reply
As one personal data point, I drink 2-4 cups daily and a few months ago I decided to suddenly stop just to see what happens. The results were very unexciting: I felt nothing. No headaches, no fogginess, no significant loss of alertness (although I did need more time to "warm up" in the morning from my groggy morning states). Otherwise I felt normal and after a week of unexciting I just went back to drinking coffee because it tastes good and works when you need it.
At least from my personal study then, it seems 2-4 cups daily is not enough to get any adverse effects.
[+] [-] terhechte|12 years ago|reply
I do agree that my body feels great when I'm not drinking coffee, however I like the taste of it so much, that I always have to fall back to it. Still going cold turkey twice a year feels good.
[+] [-] mjn|12 years ago|reply
I find decaf actually helps with this. I like both the taste and the ritual of coffee, but don't like the jitters it gives me if I have more than one or two cups a day. So I typically switch to decaf after the first cup, and still enjoy the rest.
Unfortunately this was easier to do before I moved from California to Denmark. Here it's easier to find nonalcoholic beer (every supermarket carries it) than decaf coffee (fewer than half do), and it seems to be regarded with a degree of cultural suspicion.
[+] [-] npsimons|12 years ago|reply
Sometimes it's not the substance itself, but the amount; have you tried differing amounts, or limiting to only certain times of day? What you describe sounds like a roller coaster to me (albeit not as severe as some I've seen).
EDIT: My personal story: used to drink tons of coffee in hight school; had heart palpitations, quit; used to drink tons of Dr. Pepper through college; decided to quit due to sugar and phosphoric acid; used to drink tons of tea late in college and after; stopped when I stopped working from home. Nowadays, it's one cup (perhaps 16 floz at most) of coffee and one cup of tea per day, always before noon - it has to be fresh ground coffee and good loose tea, though. Has health benefits and doesn't make me jittery, can quit or take a hiatus any time I want, or double down on a slow day. Moderation, with the occasional variation.
[+] [-] jotm|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] snarfy|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jebblue|12 years ago|reply
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20182037
...and for Parkinson's:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23879665
[+] [-] gruseom|12 years ago|reply
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/blogs/daily-dose/2013...
[+] [-] arbuge|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] AngrySkillzz|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eksith|12 years ago|reply
And failed at : http://eksith.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/quitting-coffee-cold-...
[+] [-] ChuckMcM|12 years ago|reply
Long way of saying I suspect it would be challenging to apply for long term disability if you couldn't afford to buy/ingest caffeine :-)
[+] [-] tachyonbeam|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] doctorstupid|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sdfjkl|12 years ago|reply
I've gone clean a few times now, and the effects and time-frame given in the article seem head-on. I have a feeling that I function no worse without any caffeine than when i was drinking regular doses, except my mental performance is more even throughout the day (no spikes after a cup of latte and no tiredness in the evening after I stop drinking). Also, I sleep a lot better.
Additionally, being completely off caffeine gives me a powerful tool strictly for emergency use - if I really need to drive all night without falling asleep at the wheel or push out a new release before going away for a week, one cup of coffee works like magic. I do reserve it for really important cases only, and made it a rule to not drink any for at least two weeks after that to clear up again.
[+] [-] jwilliams|12 years ago|reply
Caffeine is largely self-administered, so there is also situational tolerance. Even if you have some effect, you're conditioned to expect it.
The two combined means perceived tolerance varies quite a lot.
is there any advantage in the habit compared to me never drinking any?
There is the enjoyment of it.
[+] [-] thinkersilver|12 years ago|reply
The rush and withdrawal effects of coffee on individuals seems to me to differ widely. I have friends that only got a slight barely notable buzz from it, but for me, I got the buzz, pleasure and motivation from my morning espresso. It was my on switch.
I think when I began to realise my psychological dependency was a bit unusual, was when I noticed how jittery and restless I was before my morning espresso. The first sip would correct that and bring with it a strange zen-like calm; the hustle and bustle of the day would dim to a dull hum and I would regain my presence of mind and I could function again. I promptly decided to quit.
[+] [-] gruseom|12 years ago|reply
That's the story at least. Don't know if it's true.
[+] [-] vidarh|12 years ago|reply
For comparison, weight lifting supplements tends to max out at about 400mg, and from experience if you take those amounts and then don't do a hard workout, you're bouncing off the walls and it's horrible. I find it hard to imagine effectively spacing out 2500mg in a way that'd leave me focused rather than jittery as hell, despite a very high tolerance level, and without wrecking any hope of decent sleep....
Then again, tolerance levels for caffeine varies greatly - at one point I'd often drink a red bull right before sleep.
[+] [-] pdenya|12 years ago|reply
"Voltaire was also known to have been an advocate for coffee, as he was purported to have drunk it at least 30 times per day. It has been suggested that high amounts of caffeine acted as a mental stimulant to his creativity." - wikipedia
[+] [-] phatbyte|12 years ago|reply
Coffee is small dosages is not bad for you, many studies say that in fact it's healthy in a long term.
In my case, I drink my morning black coffee, and one espresso after lunch and another after dinner. It fixes my daily "addiction" and I don't see it interfering in my life like an actual drug would, say cigars/alcohol/etc..
[+] [-] Retric|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] staticfish|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] staticfish|12 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] jsonne|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thurn|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] narcissus|12 years ago|reply
Or something like that. And I can only presume this is after you've been consuming it for a while.
Up until recently I would drink about a pot of coffee a day. I've also gone cold turkey and while I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times, I've felt more energised (especially in the morning) and definitely less irritable.
I'm also finding that my sleep these days is amazing!
[+] [-] jsaxton86|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] peteretep|12 years ago|reply
Son, that is not a massive caffeine addiction.
[+] [-] phatbyte|12 years ago|reply
It's amazing how so many people in IT which by default are very smart, can be so ignorant about what they drink/eat.
[+] [-] dsego|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] magoon|12 years ago|reply
From: My Starbucks Rewards <[email protected]>
Subj: The next one's on us. In fact, it's already on your Starbucks Card.
[+] [-] zxcvvcxz|12 years ago|reply
Every week I take a "detox day" - typically Sunday. I cut out caffeine and generally add a fair bit of exercise (preferably 45 mins of cardio). I find this helps cleanse and reset my system. I also free-run my sleep on the weekends, further helping to "reset" everything. My logic here is that I can be stimulated for most of the week while taking a day to undo any longer-term effects that may be done (such as the increase in adenosine receptors). As a result I try not too schedule anything too important on detox day, as I'm a bit less sharp mentally. I actually don't mind working then - the only effect is that it takes longer to "warm up". It's the social obligations where I want to make sure I have that extra little kick ;)
I've been interested in supplementing with modafinil for a while, but I refuse to do so just yet on the grounds that we don't understand how it works well enough. That, and since the drug is relatively new we don't have studies on long-term effects. As much as I love stimulant-enablers and mental optimization, I refuse to do so at the risk of my health.
[+] [-] trumbitta2|12 years ago|reply
My hearing has always been higher than most people's.
Long story short, as part of the cure, the otolaryngologist prohibited me to even smell caffeinated coffee for like forever.
I instantly switched to decaffeinated coffee. The one I drink has half the caffeine it must have to be legally said to be decaffeinated.
I didn't experience a single effect of caffeine deprivation. Not a single time.
All in all, I don't think caffeine is a drug like others. I think is a drug to someone, and it isn't to someone else.
[+] [-] DigitalSea|12 years ago|reply
Although even though I tried to stop drinking, I never once had the urge to make a tea or coffee, it's weird in that caffeine addiction seems to be one of those things we don't feel like we need and more of just a habitual need if anything. I never got to the point in my week detox where I felt like killing people for a caffeine fix or stealing from loved ones.
It's surprisingly hard to avoid caffeine, it's in more things than most people realise. It's in soft drink, it's in chocolate, a lot of decaf coffee still has low levels of caffeine. While if you want to live a life without, tea, coffee and chocolate you might mostly avoid ingesting caffeine, lets be realistic, it's unavoidable...
[+] [-] aptwebapps|12 years ago|reply
Now that I don't have it on a regular basis, I'll have a small cup of weak tea if I'm tired and have a lot of work. The effect of even a small amount is immense when you don't use it regularly. I can have it at about two in the afternoon and I'll still be alert way past my bedtime.
The only problem with is tea or coffee smells so good when someone else is having some ...
[+] [-] shekyboy|12 years ago|reply
We had our baby girl earlier this year, which led to sleepless nights and several cups of coffee during the day. My dad who has been practicing yoga for decades recommended a different route, which involved a 10 minute session involving deep breathing.
One thing led to the other and we built this app to help everyone who may have this problem.
Sorry for the shameless plug but seemed very topical.
[+] [-] shekyboy|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] drakeandrews|12 years ago|reply
On the other hand, if I just try and stop I feel useless for about a week (possibly longer, I've only stopped for that long once).
[+] [-] dustyleary|12 years ago|reply
I drink what I think is a lot of caffeine. I just counted what I've had today, a normal day in terms of caffeine: 1 cup of aeropress coffee in the morning, which I make very dark/thick, so it might count as 2 cups, perhaps more, of "normal" coffee... And since the morning, another 9 shots of espresso, and a couple of cans of coke zero.
When I go off of caffeine, I get a mild headache for a few days to a week, and that's it.
.
One mildly interesting story: I used to play a lot of counterstrike, at relatively high levels, but below 'pro'.
Once, I went off of caffeine, and went through the withdrawal. During withdrawal, my counterstrike ability worsened. After withdrawal, I was noticeably better than I had been when on caffeine. But, when I finally went back on caffeine, I was on a whole new level. Opponents that I had trouble with before were almost comically easy to beat. I can definitely see why caffeine is consider a PED for certain Olympic sports.
[+] [-] dhughes|12 years ago|reply
Anyway 20 years later I started shift work and when installing equipment when the building I was working at was being built we had coffee breaks more to keep warm in an unheated concrete box during a Canadian spring. Now I like coffee (?) but most often it's a latte, cappuccino, espresso or some coffee flavoured drink but sometimes I get four shots of espresso.
Now I have GERD and caffeine is a trigger, at worst I am vomiting up stomach acid and my throat feels like there is a golfball stuck halfway down it. Yet I still drink coffee :(
[+] [-] DevMonkey|12 years ago|reply
Edit: I forgot to mention I drink coffee every morning.
[+] [-] fruitbatsh|12 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mordae|12 years ago|reply
I have a 250g bag of anhydrous caffeine powder. I always take some out with me in a plastic tube. If I can recommend something, it is not to swallow it. It quickly absorbs from the mouth and I perceive it to be much cleaner experience. Also, the duration is much shorter which makes it ideal to wake yourself up for the long way back home at night, but still does not prevent you falling asleep in an hour or so.