Sweating and with a heavy headache, coming off caffeine was no easy feat. I hadn’t realised I was so addicted until I tried to stop drinking diet fizzy drinks. It wasn’t the aspartame that people tend to attribute as the biggest problem, as that was still in the diluting juices I fizzed with my soda stream instead.
I must have been taking caffeine in large doses although I really had no idea just how much it took to end up with withdrawal. I was obviously sipping enough of it as the withdrawal was very obvious.
I’ve heard people saying that caffeine isn’t addictive, but if you have ever ingested lots of it over a long time frame and tried to stop, you’ll probably get some of the symptoms I suffered with it. I believe caffeine is a mild painkiller, so perhaps lots of us self medicate by using it. Boots tells us that caffeine helps other pain relievers to work better, and is often in over-the-counter pain relievers, cold medications and diet pills.
I know that coffee and tea are the ones we know most about, but where I took most caffeine in was with my Diet Irn Bru and Diet Coke. My kids were also all imbibing it in larger quantities by wanting Pepsi Max which seems to be Diet Pepsi with added extra caffeine. Cocoa beans contain some caffeine, and Pro-Plus tablets / Energy Drinks contain quite high levels.
We all know people who take caffeine to keep them awake or to appear brighter, but where should we draw the limit? On the Diet Coke bottle beside me, I can’t even find how much caffeine is actually in it so keeping tabs on how much we eat/drink isn’t the easiest of tasks.
There is actually less caffeine in Coca-Cola and Coke Zero than in Diet Coke which surprised me.
In 500ml of fluids, there are approximately:
- Coca-Cola 48mg
- Coke Zero 48mg
- Diet Coke 64mg
- Pepsi 50mg
- Diet Pepsi 48mg
- Pepsi Max 92mg
- Instant Tea 48 – 62mg
- Instant Coffee 120 – 170mg
- Diet Irn Bru – (Approximately 50mg. I couldn’t find the exact amount anywhere)
Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and although we do end up with a dependence, it isn’t thought that it would affect our physical health.
Symptoms of withdrawal usually go away after a few days, and may include:
- Headaches
- Tiredness
- Irritability
- Brain fog (difficult concentrating)
- Anxiety
- Shakes
- Increased heart rate
Daily limits for health are not easily found.
I’ve seen it spoken about that levels around 500mg + of caffeine a day may cause some problems. Although caffeine is a well studied substance, each persons tolerances are different.
I used to drink about 4 litres of diet irn bru a day which would take me to around 200mg of caffeine a day. That’s not a massive amount in the terms of caffeine intake, yet I did suffer incredible headaches and used to get stressed if I thought I was about to run out of my liquid nectar which seems totally daft to me now. I didn’t suffer the other symptoms of withdrawal, but the headache was enough for me. There are times when I drink a Diet Coke that I can have indigestion, so I do think that caffeine has an effect on me.
Is caffeine safe?
Who knows, but the effects certainly seem to have been well studied. I think this is one additive to products we really all have to take our own responsibility for.
Pauline says
January 31, 2016 at 4:56 amHad Vodca + Iron bru when I was out last night. Not thinking it would keep me up all night! Don’t have coffee unless it is decaf. It’s 5am and still can’t sleep! Didn’t know it contains caffeine. Don’t take diet coke cause it keeps me awake! Stopped taking coffee cause it was makingy heart race also really making me hyper!! I am over 50 yrs old. Could I maybe more sensitive to the affects of caffeine?
Scottish Mum says
February 5, 2016 at 7:39 pmI’d imagine it’s possible, though you’d have to speak to your GP. Caffeine does affect me, as if I stop drinking coffee, I get terrible headaches for a few days.
Zoe says
October 17, 2013 at 8:54 amMy other half is limited to just one cup of caffeinated tea a day for health reasons and when he made that change I followed suit – it’s decaf coffee, tea and coke at home (although I’m not as strict as him and will enjoy some irn bru or proper coffee when out). It took us probably a month to get used to the very reduced caffeine intake, and now I really notice if I have even an extra two cups of proper tea in a day – wide awake!!
Mums do travel says
October 16, 2013 at 9:32 pmI used to drink lots of tea and coffee but gave up caffeine when I was pregnant with my daughter, who’s now 15. I’ve never been able to tolerate it since. If I have some accidentally I feel nauseous and shaky, almost like I’m getting flu. I now drink decaff coffee and redbush tea.
Susan Mann says
October 16, 2013 at 9:00 pmI am so addicted to fizzy juice. I never drink coffee or tea but tons of diet juice. I remember the caffeine withdrawal headache. It’s horrendous. x
Scottish Mum says
October 16, 2013 at 9:22 pmI was soo addicted to diet drinks. I keep them to a minimum now, but the headaches were awful.
Claire Toplis says
October 16, 2013 at 2:15 pmwow 4 litres of iron bur.
I drink alot of tea and have cur town my coffee it akes me a good 2 hours to get going in the morning sometimes
Vegemitevix says
October 15, 2013 at 8:55 pmLove my coffee and definitely notice when I run out. But do find my three cups a day and none after 3pm helps me achieve what I need to during the day. Vix x
Scottish Mum says
October 15, 2013 at 9:47 pmNone after 3 shouldn’t at least affect your sleep at night. Perhaps that’s the reason for my intermittent insomnia. I’ll need to try no caffeine later than afternoon and see if that makes a difference.
Anna@familyfoodfun says
October 15, 2013 at 6:56 pmI think the problem with caffeine is that it is in lots of things you wouldn’t necessarily think e.g. chocolate and irn bru (I would never have thought it in irn bru!) I used to get headaches if I didn’t have coffee first thing but in retrospect I was eating/drinking a number of other sources. I love coffee too much to give up so now it is my main source of caffeine (two cups a day!) Interesting reminders and points, thank you.
Scottish Mum says
October 15, 2013 at 9:50 pmI’d not have thought of chocolate, even though I knew it was possible. It’s really hard to avoid caffeine completely if we like coffee, tea or fizzy drinks. I have bought decaff coffee now and limit my diet fizz to mostly the odd bottle, or just from soda stream. I am glad I got rid of the headaches though.