I love you caffiene (confessions of an addict in withdrawal)
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 10:39 pm
I'm writing this for myself, if you wanna read it, be my guest. I will likely transfer this to what passes for my blog. I take no responsibility whatsoever for what may follow.
None.
I love caffiene. I've gone the better part of my life hopped up on caffiene and I love it. I'm afraid to say how much caffiene I typically drink in a day because it's too embarrassing. If you look on my medical records where it says "Blood Type" in the little space next to it, it says "caffiene", okay?
The only drink that I drink that contains caffiene is tea. I was literally raised up on it since my Dad let me take sips from his tea cup as a child. I didn't know it would become a lifelong habit, much less a dependency. I've never even seen it as a dependency until about the last 3 days when I drastically reduced my tea consumption to such a point that it's comparable to jamming the breaks of a semi careening down an icy hill on the Blue Ridge Mountain Highway on a foggy night in January and grinding to a dead halt.
Why?
I got sick about 2 weeks ago. Started with seasonal allergies (I hate you ragweed!) then developed into a sinus infection and the icing on the cake was a rip roaring case of bronchitis. Went to the doctors, got all sorts of meds (you name it, I've been taking it) and finally addressed the issue of hydration which is part of making bronchitis and all the rest go away.
I started by drinking more water and when that didn't do the trick, I had to face the beast in my tea cup. Damn! So I cut my caffiene intake by about (holy hell) 80% and am now, for all intents and purposes, in the throes of withdrawal. The good thing is that all my symptoms have disappeared (!), and have now been replace by withdrawal symptoms.
Here's a copy of typical caffiene withdrawal symptoms from a website. Let's see how I'm doing:
Whew! I don't have a headache!
Now that's odd. I don't feel sleepy. I feel like I'm floating. It says nothing about eye sight. I feel like I have tunnel vision. Like my brain isn't connected to my eyes. (?) I think the main symptom I'm experiencing is like how I felt at the mall today when I had the almost overwhelming urge to reach out and grab a stranger, slam them against a brick wall and just beat the hell out of them.
Is that irratibility?
Well, I didn't do it, mainly because I don't have the physical energy to pull it off. And no, I don't feel like throwing up but the day isn't over yet either.
Today was the second day I've gone without all the meds I had. I'm wondering if the impulse to committ a deadly crime is a fair trade off? So far I'm good with it.
Only 2 cups of tea today! I stepped on the scale earlier to see that have lost 3 pounds (!!!), I drank tons of water (good girl, Jersey) and I haven't been jailed yet!
I can do this!
.
None.
I love caffiene. I've gone the better part of my life hopped up on caffiene and I love it. I'm afraid to say how much caffiene I typically drink in a day because it's too embarrassing. If you look on my medical records where it says "Blood Type" in the little space next to it, it says "caffiene", okay?
The only drink that I drink that contains caffiene is tea. I was literally raised up on it since my Dad let me take sips from his tea cup as a child. I didn't know it would become a lifelong habit, much less a dependency. I've never even seen it as a dependency until about the last 3 days when I drastically reduced my tea consumption to such a point that it's comparable to jamming the breaks of a semi careening down an icy hill on the Blue Ridge Mountain Highway on a foggy night in January and grinding to a dead halt.
Why?
I got sick about 2 weeks ago. Started with seasonal allergies (I hate you ragweed!) then developed into a sinus infection and the icing on the cake was a rip roaring case of bronchitis. Went to the doctors, got all sorts of meds (you name it, I've been taking it) and finally addressed the issue of hydration which is part of making bronchitis and all the rest go away.
I started by drinking more water and when that didn't do the trick, I had to face the beast in my tea cup. Damn! So I cut my caffiene intake by about (holy hell) 80% and am now, for all intents and purposes, in the throes of withdrawal. The good thing is that all my symptoms have disappeared (!), and have now been replace by withdrawal symptoms.
Here's a copy of typical caffiene withdrawal symptoms from a website. Let's see how I'm doing:
Regular caffeine consumption reduces sensitivity to caffeine. When caffeine intake is reduced, the body becomes oversensitive to adenosine. In response to this oversensitiveness, blood pressure drops dramatically, causing an excess of blood in the head (though not necessarily on the brain), leading to a headache.
This headache, well known among coffee drinkers, usually lasts from one to five days, and can be alleviated with analgesics such as aspirin. It is also alleviated with caffeine intake (in fact several analgesics contain caffeine dosages).
Whew! I don't have a headache!
Often, people who are reducing caffeine intake report being irritable, unable to work, nervous, restless, and feeling sleepy, as well as having a headache. In extreme cases, nausea and vomiting has also been reported.
Now that's odd. I don't feel sleepy. I feel like I'm floating. It says nothing about eye sight. I feel like I have tunnel vision. Like my brain isn't connected to my eyes. (?) I think the main symptom I'm experiencing is like how I felt at the mall today when I had the almost overwhelming urge to reach out and grab a stranger, slam them against a brick wall and just beat the hell out of them.
Is that irratibility?
Well, I didn't do it, mainly because I don't have the physical energy to pull it off. And no, I don't feel like throwing up but the day isn't over yet either.
Today was the second day I've gone without all the meds I had. I'm wondering if the impulse to committ a deadly crime is a fair trade off? So far I'm good with it.
Only 2 cups of tea today! I stepped on the scale earlier to see that have lost 3 pounds (!!!), I drank tons of water (good girl, Jersey) and I haven't been jailed yet!
I can do this!
.
