Caffeine - Rollercoaster into Hell

[Tom Bender]

Caffeine and other stimulants I have tried provide a nice boost but it's a rollercoaster that goes a little less high and decends a little lower with each cycle.

[Lisa Starr]

Yep. And if you make caffeine a habit, the withdrawal can be horrible. Years ago, I drank a pot of coffee every morning and look out if I didn't get it. After a particularly bad trip out of town with very limited caffeine intake and relentless headaches, I vowed to stop drinking so much. I now drink two 10 oz mugs each morning and that's it for the day. No soda, only decaf tea or water for the remainder of the day. I actually feel more energetic without it.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Well - the mixed outlook on caffine is proabably - our ban happy government will probably tax the daylights out of it one day - then finally just ban it.

Until then - bottoms up while it's still not as socially unacceptable as pulling some goo out of a nostril in public....

Having experienced the terrible headaches Lisa speaks of - I agree - moderation on the caffine intake is the way to go. I still crave my two cups of Joe each morning - but - draw the line at any more.

Very odd behavior for me - I'm the god of self indulgence....;).

[Curt Harms]

For age 50+ men - me at least - less caffeine = less trips to the bathroom. Decaf coffee doesn't have the same effect so caffeine seems like the culprit.

[Jim Koepke]

It used to be rare to see me without a cup of coffee in hand.

Now after heart surgery my coffee consumption is seldom more than one mug a day:

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jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Jim,
It might be more fun to fill that mug with beer! :)
Fred

[Adam Grund]

I’m mid 30’s, and drink approx 40 oz coffee a day most days. An iced coffee on top of that here or there.
I’ve never experienced the highs or lows. It doesn’t really give me a boost, I can go without on days if I need or want with no negative effects.
My liquid diet is literally coffee and water though, I do switch over about 11:30 or so and drink about a gallon a day. Yes I have a lot of pee breaks in the day 😂

[Matt Day]

Caffeine and other stimulants I have tried provide a nice boost but it's a rollercoaster that goes a little less high and decends a little lower with each cycle.

It sounds like you’re on a pretty strong stimulant to post this thread. Lol

[Tom Bender]

It sounds like you’re on a pretty strong stimulant to post this thread. Lol

No, just a pliable head, a cup of tea in the morning gets to me in the wee hours.

[Nathan Johnson]

Like almost everything, there are benefits and drawbacks.
What's good for one may not be good for the next.
Thread title's a bit dramatic.

[Jim Koepke]

Like almost everything, there are benefits and drawbacks.
What's good for one may not be good for the next.
Thread title's a bit dramatic.

As you imply, the consumption of one of the world's favorite beverages affect different people differently.

Tom appears to have a higher sensitivity to caffeine's effects than others among us. This is a common phenomenon of many substances containing stimulating or relaxing elements.

Some of coffee's effect may be mitigated by adding dairy cream to a cup of coffee.

jtk

[Rick Potter]

As mentioned above, some are more affected by caffeine than others. My drink of choice is Diet Dr. Pepper, and I drink at least one 42 oz. big gulp per day, and two on really hot days. I normally sleep well, and never have a thought about getting a morning drink of it, usually starting with lunch.

Many days I drink a lot of iced tea, and until recently used regular tea bags because the decaf was not quite 'right'. A few months ago, I discovered Tetley Decaf tea bags (British Blend...from Amazon), and they have a great taste, so I now make it a gallon at a time. So I guess I have slowed down on caffeine a bit.

I did swear off of caffeine and sugar for about a two year period, and had a mild headache for maybe two days, but that was all. I finally gave up the hunt to find a steady supply of caffeine free Dr. P, and went back to my misguided ways. When I regressed, I didn't really notice any difference.

Looks like I am fortunate that it does not seem to affect me much. My brother is the opposite. He will not drink a soda with caffeine, or even eat Rocky Road ice cream after 6, because of the caffeine in the chocolate ice cream.

[Jim Koepke]

He will not drink a soda with caffeine, or even eat Rocky Road ice cream after 6.

Won't eat Rocky Road ice cream after 6? :eek::eek::eek:

My favorite time to eat ice cream is in the later hours of the evening.

jtk

[Art Mann]

Everybody needs at least one vice. Mine is caffeine. I think that is pretty benign as vices go. I haven't had a bad experience yet.

[Jason Roehl]

I spend half the day wondering if it's too late to drink coffee, and the other half wondering if it's too early to drink beer. Somewhere in between I drink a bunch of water.

[Bob Grier]

I'm with Jason. I drink 40 oz of coffee most mornings and wonder if it is too soon for beer. I don't notice a problem with the coffee and beer is forgotten in the fall when I stop working in the yard. I do have a problem with ice cream.

In the evening sometimes I can't stop eating ice cream until it is all gone. Result is I have a very restless night of nightmares and feel sick the next morning. I seldom bring ice cream home from the store. Just not worth it.

[James Waldron]

I spend half the day wondering if it's too late to drink coffee, and the other half wondering if it's too early to drink beer. Somewhere in between I drink a bunch of water.

You've ruined my whole day (morning, at least) with such a sad story! I'll worry about you at least until I have my second beer.

Beer: it's not just for breakfast!

[Erik Loza]

I love coffee/espresso and drink a lot but recently quit drinking cold brew. It was so strong (or at least the brands I was drinking) that my stomach started to disagree with it. I'd give up alcohol before coffee and that's saying something.

Erik

[Alan Caro]

Tom Bender,

My first serious job after when I moved to CA from London was very labor intensive, I once worked 90 hours in a week. I was, correspondingly, a serious coffee drinker. I didn't realize the level of the addiction until I noticed that every Saturday I had a headache- it was caffeine withdrawal. I decided I would count the number of cups per day. The number was 18 and I decided to turn off the coffee taps suddenly and switch to caffeinated tea. This wasn't too painful, a gradual detox.

Later, I decided that I would only drink cappuccinos and as that is time-consuming and messy, the fuss factor would help reduce the cups per day. For years I had a maximum of 4 cups per day, and over time - this is the mid '80's, the frothed milk and sugar was eliminated, so it was a kind of quite watered down espresso. About five years ago I decided that the limit would be two cups per day.

This is the very high mileage machine I've used the last 12 years, a Seaco Aroma:

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This was ultra-reliable until about a year ago:

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The boiler blew the O-ring connecting the two halves and I had to wait 5 weeks for parts from Bulgaria of all places. I used a permanent filter in the meantime which made very good coffee, but in much larger quantities-a cup was about double the size.

The Bulgarian repair worked and I've having the dregs of the second daily cup while writing, along with a few almonds.

Fellow coffee addicts, listen to this with your tenth cup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Ocydot-vA

(Bach (1685-1750) "The Coffee Cantata" BWV 211)

Does anyone else remember years ago- mid 70's?; the commercials with football players and business executives as "coffee achievers"?


Alan

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Been drinking a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi Max every morning for years. When I wake up a bit groggy it gives me an edge. Can't drink it after noon though. There is an "old wive's tail" here about giving kids real ice cream about a half hour before bedtime. Supposed to give them a short rush while they get ready for bed and then a low to get them to sleep. My parents did it with my siblings and I, and I did it with my kids. Seemed to work.

[Jim Koepke]

Been drinking a 2 liter bottle of Pepsi Max every morning for years. When I wake up a bit groggy it gives me an edge. Can't drink it after noon though. There is an "old wive's tail" here about giving kids real ice cream about a half hour before bedtime. Supposed to give them a short rush while they get ready for bed and then a low to get them to sleep. My parents did it with my siblings and I, and I did it with my kids. Seemed to work.

Interesting post Perry. My iron has been testing low for a few years. Recently, my iron supplement was doubled. Coffee is still in my morning wake up process, but the extra iron also seems to be having an effect before the consumption of coffee.

The sweets before bedtime has been precticed by some and shunned by others. It often seems to work for me.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Interesting post Perry. My iron has been testing low for a few years. Recently, my iron supplement was doubled. Coffee is still in my morning wake up process, but the extra iron also seems to be having an effect before the consumption of coffee.

The sweets before bedtime has been precticed by some and shunned by others. It often seems to work for me.

jtk

What does SWMBO say about that?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Having worked in air traffic control maintenance and in diagnostic imaging maintenance, until my retirement I worked a lot of crazy hours, consuming gallons of coffee to stay awake and alert. Finally about 20 years ago I noticed after installing an x-ray tube on a CT and working all night to tune it, after switching to a can of Coke about 0600 after completing the project, observing a couple patient exams and going home, while sitting in my recliner I could literally feel my heart beat. This situation(coffee all night to stay awake and a can of pop before going home from a different hospital) repeated it self a couple weeks later and it scared me! I quit drinking pop almost completely drinking maybe 1-2 cans per year and changed the formula for my coffee. I now drink a very weak coffee that is 1/2 decaf and 1/2 regular. I drink it constantly, morning until bed time.

[Jim Koepke]

What does SWMBO say about that?

She doesn't say anything about it. Besides she stays up much later than me. It used to be the other way around with her going to bed early and me being the night owl.

jtk

[James Waldron]

She doesn't say anything about it. Besides she stays up much later than me. It used to be the other way around with her going to bed early and me being the night owl.

jtk

Well, we can certainly guess with a measure of confidence how you became grandparents, but how the devil did you become parents? :confused:

[Jim Koepke]

Well, we can certainly guess with a measure of confidence how you became grandparents, but how the devil did you become parents? :confused:

Methinks you have confused going to bed with being asleep. :D

jtk