coffee withdrawal support group

[marshac]

It needs to be made for newcomers like myself. I haven't agreed to live by the D&Cs yet (heck, they haven't even talked about them), but when I do agree.... I try to live up to my word. Until then however.....I had Starbucks this morning. It was de-lish.

How I will miss thee o trifecta of chocolate, shots, and milk...

Unintended consequences.... kicking the starbucks habbit equates to about half the tithe.

Woe, Woe, Woe sayeth the starbucks shareholders...

[NeuroTypical]

Hey marshac,

Glad to hear of your "health related wallet fattening". It can be hard. Maybe not as hard as giving up smoking, or maybe just as hard.

My parents both smoke and drank coffee. My mom used to stick her cigarette butts in a coffee can and wet them down with her coffee. That lovely blend produced a smell that basically cured me of desiring either.

Remember, if you give up the taste, you can continue to enjoy the smell - ain't no D&C against that!

Good luck!

LM

[gaspah]

when i joined the church i decided to give up drinking coke (i used to drink >2L daily) and saw it in 'the spirit' (not the letter) of d&c to give it up and it was far harder than giving up smoking cigarettes ~3 years ago. I learned to not replace it with something similar(ie soft drinks in my case), but replace it with pure fresh healthy water. If adhering to the WoW is something you desire then Heavenly Father will give you the support you need to accomplish that (though you gotta meet him half way ).

Remember, if you give up the taste, you can continue to enjoy the smell - ain't no D&C against that!

sure there's no d&c against that, but isn't it like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit

[Captain_Curmudgeon]

Caffeine patch?

[yenni]

May I join in this support group? I don't drink coffee but am hooked on Pespi which I commonly refer to as carbonated coffee

[marshac]

sure there's no d&c against that, but isn't it like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit

Indeed. Tantalus would call it hell.

For me coffee is something I literally need to get me through my day- not because i'm addicted (although I probably am), but because i'm not able to catch much sleep- ~5 hours or less is how much I get at night during the week, and perhaps 8 on Saturday. Since our ward meets at 9AM (if we moved a few blocks over it would be 12:30...), i'm guessing i'll be able to pick up 7 hours on Sunday.

I didn't really drink coffee before school.... now I leave home, go to the drive-through and head out. By the time I get to school (about a 45min drive) i'm ready to go. It's my routine. For smokers I hear that the oral fixation is one of the hardest things about quitting.... I suspect freeing myself from my routine will be just as hard.

So i'm here for ya newfound brothers and sisters- please share any tips or tricks to get the monkey off your back. :)

[marshac]

Caffeine patch?

"Laugh" wasn't the right word. I snorted. Is there a button for that?

[Captain_Curmudgeon]

For me coffee is something I literally need to get me through my day- not because i'm addicted (although I probably am), but because i'm not able to catch much sleep- ~5 hours or less is how much I get .... I didn't really drink coffee before school....

Similar story here. Two years at BYU and then into the Navy, where six hours was normal and 2 or 3 sometimes necessary (condition 3 in the Med and an unfortunate watch rotation). You can't afford to not be alert when you have the conn and lose steering with full speed ahead near shoal waters at 2am in the morning.

After 4 years of this, back to BYU to finish an MA where I was turned into the Honor System about once a week for drinking Postum (coffee flavored) from a thermos.

[Moksha]

Taper off with decaf mocha lattes. Of course, Captain Curmudgeon's idea of a caffeine patch withdrawal system sounds workable.

:)

[SMG]

Similar story here. Two years at BYU and then into the Navy, where six hours was normal and 2 or 3 sometimes necessary (condition 3 in the Med and an unfortunate watch rotation). You can't afford to not be alert when you have the conn and lose steering with full speed ahead near shoal waters at 2am in the morning.

After 4 years of this, back to BYU to finish an MA where I was turned into the Honor System about once a week for drinking Postum (coffee flavored) from a thermos.

:eek: Just for drinking POSTUM?! Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't postum... NOT coffee? Maybe I'm just a gal from almost literally the middle of nowhere, but that DOES strike me as a matter of people needing to mind their own darn business or find a hobby!

[Moksha]

:eek: Just for drinking POSTUM?! Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't postum... NOT coffee?

It had the appearance of brownness.

[Maureen]

..After 4 years of this, back to BYU to finish an MA where I was turned into the Honor System about once a week for drinking Postum (coffee flavored) from a thermos.

How long ago was this? Was there a time when postum was considered evil?

M.

[ruthiechan]

If you need to have a starbucks fix nab the blended cremes. Those are tasty. Well, except for the tea one, the Tzao Tai Tea or whatever it's called, it's loaded with caffiene and it's an actual tea as well I believe.

[Maxel]

For me coffee is something I literally need to get me through my day- not because i'm addicted (although I probably am), but because i'm not able to catch much sleep- ~5 hours or less is how much I get at night during the week, and perhaps 8 on Saturday. Since our ward meets at 9AM (if we moved a few blocks over it would be 12:30...), i'm guessing i'll be able to pick up 7 hours on Sunday.

I didn't really drink coffee before school.... now I leave home, go to the drive-through and head out. By the time I get to school (about a 45min drive) i'm ready to go. It's my routine. For smokers I hear that the oral fixation is one of the hardest things about quitting.... I suspect freeing myself from my routine will be just as hard.

Firstly, I want to say I hope you're not physically addicted, as it will make quitting that much easier. Secondly- do you think the caffeine intake is what helps you 'get through the day'? After reading and rereading your post, I'm not quite sure if you drink coffee once you get to school/on your way to school, or if the mere habit of picking it up is what you're afraid of kicking. If the caffeine is something that helps you stay awake, you might be able to survive, for now, on caffeinated soft drinks. I know the irony of a True Blue Mormon suggesting caffeinated drinks is rich, but I'm thinking that your body might need time- a lot of time- to switch from drinking coffee to halting all caffeine intake. And, in work and school as intense as yours, putting yourself off your A-game could end up in disaster, for you and others.

In the end, it's a personal thing that you'll need to figure out. Mostly, you'll need to know what about the coffee itself (if any) you need to healthily function, and then find a healthy way to replace/make up for it, then wean yourself off of that if you feel the need.

Now, onto the original point of the thread...

So i'm here for ya newfound brothers and sisters- please share any tips or tricks to get the monkey off your back. :)

Although I've never been addicted to coffee or physical substances, I have before had a howler monkey lodged on my upper back. Though it might seem extreme, I recommend researching and prayerfully applying the 12 steps that Alcoholics Anonymous uses and apply them to your situation, if you have trouble kicking the habit. The Church uses the 12 steps in its Addiction Recovery Programs, and they are wonderful and they work. Good luck!

[Truegrits]

I used to drink Postum (can not find it anywhere), heard about Pero ((not available in my area, but my niece brought me some from Utah)) and what I have discovered is, that it is not coffee (((used to drink the "real thing" at the hospital/night shift))) nor even the "pretend" coffee, that I like! It is the flavorings...french vanilla, hazelnut, caramel creme, vanilla caramel...

I can add the flavorings to a cup of hot water, and find the taste delicious...{not bad added to hot chocolate, either }

So, marshac, maybe, this could help with your withdraw from coffee??? :)

[gaspah]

Indeed. Tantalus would call it hell.

For me coffee is something I literally need to get me through my day- not because i'm addicted (although I probably am), but because i'm not able to catch much sleep- ~5 hours or less is how much I get at night during the week, and perhaps 8 on Saturday. Since our ward meets at 9AM (if we moved a few blocks over it would be 12:30...), i'm guessing i'll be able to pick up 7 hours on Sunday.

I didn't really drink coffee before school.... now I leave home, go to the drive-through and head out. By the time I get to school (about a 45min drive) i'm ready to go. It's my routine. For smokers I hear that the oral fixation is one of the hardest things about quitting.... I suspect freeing myself from my routine will be just as hard.

So i'm here for ya newfound brothers and sisters- please share any tips or tricks to get the monkey off your back. :)

it's strange that you mention that you drink coffee because you only get 5h sleep, because I'm very much the same i get ~5h sleep a night and I don't drink caffeinated anything. This is because my body simply doesn't want to sleep that long, thing is I used to need more sleep when I drank Coke by the truckload, when I used to sleep 6-7h a night.

Also, as I said earlier, replace it with water, get into the routine of drinking lots of water, in the beginning of me switching from Coke I spent about the same amount of money buying bottled water, but after time I switched to regular tap water. But, during that first period I was more than happy to spend that money getting bottled water. Because it kept me in the exact same morning routine as before, and after about a week I had more energy than I could use, I was staying up most of the night not able to sleep (though that's calmed back down to a stable sleeping pattern).

Although I've never been addicted to coffee or physical substances, I have before had a howler monkey lodged on my upper back.

oh man, what are you doing!

Edited February 22, 2009 by gaspah

[NeuroTypical]

Remember, if you give up the taste, you can continue to enjoy the smell - ain't no D&C against that!

sure there's no d&c against that, but isn't it like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit

I hadn't considered that. I know about alcoholism and porn addiction and such - but I was under the impression that one kids a coffee habit, it isn't exactly sitting there lurking in wait, ready to pounce and take over again.

I could be wrong though...

LM

[Iggy]

Indeed. Tantalus would call it hell.

For me coffee is something I literally need to get me through my day- not because i'm addicted (although I probably am), but because i'm not able to catch much sleep- ~5 hours or less is how much I get at night during the week, and perhaps 8 on Saturday. Since our ward meets at 9AM (if we moved a few blocks over it would be 12:30...), i'm guessing i'll be able to pick up 7 hours on Sunday. :)

You get a lot more sleep than I do - I get 5 hours each night if I am lucky, more like 4 to 4.5 hours is the norm. So don't use sleep as an excuse. Apple juice is a much better Wake Me UP than coffee, and it won't dehydrate you like coffee does.

[marshac]

So Sunday was my first day to church- i'll post an update once I get past some exams this week- I really wanted to swing into Starbucks on my way home on Sunday, but just couldn't do it... with one day behind me, I decided not to hit up starbucks on my way to school today.... two days down...a lifetime to go.

How are you doin yenni?

[prisonchaplain]

This may not help those in withdrawals needing support, but I would speculate that many adult converts to your church secretly pray that one of your Prophets will declare that the Lord no-longer wishes coffee to be included in the WOW, and that green tea will become a matter of conscience. I could be wrong...but probably not. :-)

[LittleWyvern]

I've heard that really dark chocolate has a similar taste to coffee. The good thing about dark chocolate is that you don't need a lot to feel chocolate-satisfied, and a good thing for you is that it still has a natural amount of caffeine. I'd recommend getting a Lindt 70% bar and nibbling on that. If you need an actual drink, just make a really strong hot chocolate or something.

[ninjormon]

Cold turkey is best. When I first met the missionaries I smoked cigarettes and marijuana daily, not daily more like hourly, and drank daily. When I met the missionaries and took the lessons I just had to choose which one was more important to me. I grew up in diffrerent churches and when I heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS I recognized it as where I wanted to be immediately, from then on I don't know why but I didn't have any problems. I was baptised and once I was confirmed it was easy, I knew where I stood and why. Good luck, if you really want to it won't be difficult.

[marshac]

Heh, did I say lifetime a few posts ago? It turns out I meant about 12 hours. Oops.

I think I need to finish out this quarter (it ends in 2 weeks) under the "old ways" and have a fresh start spring quarter. One thing I learned in psych is that if you learned in a particular state, you will test better when in the same state (state dependant learning).... so yeah. :)

LittleWyvern- I love dark chocolate. I pick up 85% coco bars every now and then... now THAT is dark choco. So bitter it's sweet. A single bar (usually 2" square) will last me at least a week... as you said, it doesn't take much.

[talisyn]

Indeed. Tantalus would call it hell.

For me coffee is something I literally need to get me through my day- not because i'm addicted (although I probably am), but because i'm not able to catch much sleep- ~5 hours or less is how much I get at night during the week, and perhaps 8 on Saturday. Since our ward meets at 9AM (if we moved a few blocks over it would be 12:30...), i'm guessing i'll be able to pick up 7 hours on Sunday.

I didn't really drink coffee before school.... now I leave home, go to the drive-through and head out. By the time I get to school (about a 45min drive) i'm ready to go. It's my routine. For smokers I hear that the oral fixation is one of the hardest things about quitting.... I suspect freeing myself from my routine will be just as hard.

So i'm here for ya newfound brothers and sisters- please share any tips or tricks to get the monkey off your back. :)

I totally sympathize. I didn't drink any soda pop for 6 years until I went back to a graveyard shift a little over a year ago, and found myself newly addicted to cherry coke >< Some nights it seemed all I could do to just stay awake (12 hour night shifts suck, but I bet you already know that ).

When I figure out what to do about my problem I'll tell you all about it. I have a feeling my solution involves baby carrots and copious amounts of sugar in hot chocolate form.

Edited February 25, 2009 by talisyn
can't get the little smiley face thingy to work

[gaspah]

stabbing a biro in my kneecap usually helps keep me awake... no need for caffeine...

i dunno... try drinking lots of water... try sleeping when you need to pee.. doesn't work..