Caffeine addiction.

[WhisperingSilence]

I've realised i am like completely addicted to caffeine I didn't have coffee or like any fizzy drinks all day and got like the world worse headache I tried painkillers sleep the lot and nothing like seemed to work I decided to
Then have a coffee more so to like wake me up after having a nap than like anything else any ways after I had some of my coffee I found my headache going by the time I had like drank the whole mug my headache had completely gone I know this is withdrawals from caffeine and I need to basically find a way to not be addicted to caffeine but how do I do this when the withdrawal symptoms give me headaches where it pretty much feels like me brain is bursting out of me head?

[Celyn]

Firstly, did you drink much in general the other day? Could it have been that you were perhaps dehydrated?

If not, it may have been caffeine withdrawal symptoms (I was genuinely surprised when I found out this is a real thing). In this case, you could treat it like any other addiction and cut down slowly over a few weeks, rather than stop all of a sudden. Perhaps slowly adding more decaffeinated drinks instead of caffeinated ones. Alternatively, you could stop caffeine all together and deal with the withdrawal symptoms as they shouldn't last more than a few days since caffeine isn't as addictive or dangerous as other substances, so there's no real harm doing that, it's just not particularly pleasant to deal with.

[WhisperingSilence]

I carry a 750ml bottle of juice with me each day and drink that each day - i'd also like drank some fruit tea during the day as well so im like pretty much sure it was not dehydration...I've had no coffee today and just like drank coca cola and had one energy drink and no headaches. its like i need caffiene to kind of survive...

[Celyn]

Glad to hear that it wasn't dehydration then. And that actually makes sense...caffeine isn't the same as other 'addictions' but it can cause some physical dependence, the lack of which is said to make you feel tired, irritable and with headaches. Slowly cutting back, will help to reduce the severity of these feelings so you wont feel like you need caffeine so much.

[obelus]

Just to note, it's actually quite possible it was a dehydration headache. A female needs about 2.5 liters of fluids every day to be properly hydrated and more if they drink caffeinated beverages. Caffeine dehydrates the body, so beverages with that in them don't contribute as much to hydration as others. Whether your headache was from dehydration or withdrawal from caffeine, it wouldn't hurt to drink less caffeinated beverages during the day and to also make sure you're drinking enough fluids in general.

I think if you do want to cut back a little it would be important to know how much you drink on an average day. You can do that by writing down when you drink something with caffeine in it for a week or so. Then you can take out 2-5 caffeinated drinks per week and replace them with water or something else noncaffeinated. Replacing drinks slowly will help avoid caffeine withdrawal. I don't think it's necessary to cut all caffeine from your life unless you want or need to for other health reasons.

I would also try to aim for at least 1.5 to 2 liters of noncaffeinated fluids per day (if not the full 2.5) regardless of whether or not you decide to cut back on caffeine as a whole. Being properly hydrated really helps your body (and mind) feel good.

[WhisperingSilence]

Ive had dehydration headaches in the past and this headache was not due to dehydration as it felt different and as sooon as i began to drink the coffee the headache began to ease off.... im drinking 1-2 mugs of coffee a day and the rest of time im drinking, juice or coca cola.

[Nightblood.]

It might help to replace some of the juice and cola with water.

[Storyteller.]

I definitely agree that you should try to drink more water as that's a solid preventative measure (and also helps reduce your sugar intake, which could be part of the problem). It sounds like your body is accustomed to having a certain amount of caffeine every day, so my suggestions would be either to reduce the amount of coffee you're drinking and/or to not drink it on a regular schedule.

For example if you always start your day off with a cup of coffee, your body gets used to it and may not cope well without it. So you could have random days where you don't drink any coffee, and days where you don't have any until later in the day, and etc. You could also try slowly reducing the amount of coffee you're drinking - and take into account other sources of caffeine as well so you can monitor your overall intake. Depending on how your body works, it could also be worth considering a short "detox" - for example not drinking coffee for a day or two. I find that works for me; if I have a certain amount of caffeine for a few days in a row and then skip a day, I usually spend that day feeling pretty ordinary (irritable, headachey, etc) but then the next day I'm fine. In some cases that might be all you need, just long enough for your body to flush its system, but if you don't think you can put up with the withdrawal symptoms then I'd recommend just trying to cut down rather than go without.

I hope this helped a bit, and good luck with it all.

[WhisperingSilence]

I've been drinking the flavoured water - I still need the coffee in the mornings. I did try to do a day without any coffee but the headaches got like so intense I ended up having to buy an energy drink and drink half of it to make the headache go. I'm drinking flavoured ater and squash/coridial.

[Nightblood.]

You can always try taking something like Excedrin, I don't know the UK version. But they should sell migraine relief that has caffeine in it.

[lisarlee_123]

Caffeine in a large amount may cause serious issues, so better avoid using it. I think you can gradually decrease the use of caffeine instead of cutting it down completely. Good luck!