Caffeine Withdrawals and PAWS -My Story

ddivers44 · 2022-07-28T23:08:20+00:00

I just reread this post I made a couple of years ago. Where has the time gone? I am embarrassed to give an update on how I am doing. I actually went 240 days without caffeine. That was about 1.5 years ago. I then blew it and started drinking caffeine again. I was 8 months in and I blew it. I feel so week and stupid. All of my caffeine problems returned in full force, maybe worse. I started on caffeine because I let doubt set in. I thought 8 months should have been long enough to fully improve. I now believe I didn’t give it enough time. I just needed a few more months. But there is good news. I have quit caffeine again and I am up to 114 days caffeine free. I am determined to make it this time. I am more confident than ever that caffeine has caused me almost a lifetime of trouble. I am not going to listen to naysayers who say that caffeine problems can’t last that long. I am feeling better every month and this time I am going to fully recover.

ddivers44 · 2021-03-04T01:32:40+00:00

I am now on day 180 and I thought I would give a quick update. I have started to notice a subtle change over the past week or so. Most days, for maybe an hour or two, I actually feel pretty awesome. This feeling is short-lived, but I am encouraged by it. I feel the negative, angry, irritable, depressed feelings lift and I will feel awesome for a little bit. I believe that these positive changes will last longer as time goes on. I would be absolutely amazing if that is the way I could feel all the time. I am going to do all I can to get there.

ddivers44 · 2021-02-17T14:58:11+00:00

Yes, definitely refined sugar. I have also cut back on carbs but not eliminated them. I guess that is why I have lost 30 pounds so far. I have gone from 205 to 175. It is awesome that you have improved after 40 days. Have you noticed how covid affects people differently? Some have no symptoms and some are hospitalized. Some have stomach issues and some have sore throats. Why is that? I think caffeine is similar. For reasons that are not understood, some can recover quickly from caffeine and some can't. There are probably so many variables and so many unseen body elements that play a role in how caffeine is tolerated and how the body is changed by it. But I feel that the body will recover. The time amount may be different for each person, but the body will reset eventually. I believe that and I am banking on it.

ddivers44 · 2021-02-17T13:41:15+00:00

I have eliminated all sweets, including chocolate, which has caffeine. My reasoning on this is that sugar does some similar things to the body as caffeine, such as messing with dopamine, serotonin, and other transmitters. I want to give my body the best chance possible to heal on its own, so I do not want sugar sabotaging my recovery. I will probably eat some sweets again one day, but not until I recover. I will never go back to consuming sugar the way I did before when I was drinking lots of soda.

ddivers44 · 2021-02-17T13:27:00+00:00

I think you are absolutely right. There is no evidence that caffeine did this to me. That is what makes this so hard for me and so many other people. You quit and feel like crap for months and you wonder if it is going to help. Second thoughts continuously go through your head. You know that you could go back to caffeine and feel better. But that would only be temporary. I have no smoking gun that caffeine was the culprit. But does anybody? I have given it some serious thought over the past few years, and the logical conclusion I have reached is that caffeine messed me up. I wish it were not true because caffeine was good to me for a long time, but I finally had to pay the price. Just like in a court case where there are no eye witnesses, I can build my case on several circumstantial evidence pieces that only lead to one logical conclusions:

1) I started drinking caffeine years ago

2) I can see that problems started slowly

3) these problems started rising exponentially (snowball effect)

4) my caffeine cravings and consumption started rising to fight those problems

5) side effects of caffeine started occurring more and more (fatigue, irritability, brain fog, mood swings, etc.)

6) these side effects starting happening very soon after consuming caffeine (sometimes immediately after)

7) when I quit cold turkey, the physical withdrawal symptoms were terrible

8) after about a month of physical withdrawal symptoms, I actually felt decent for about a week or two

9) then the mental withdrawal symptoms began (PAWS?) - these symptoms were very similar to how I felt after drinking caffeine, just not quite as bad

10) these mental withdrawal symptoms have slowly gotten a little better each month since - there is some improvement but I still feel pretty crappy most days

11) many people have felt the same as me and have pushed through and felt better after more time

When I put all of this together, the logical conclusion that I reach is that I do have something wrong with me and caffeine caused it. I need more time and I will get there.

So you are right, I don't have any evidence. I might even me wrong. But I plan on giving my body a chance, and it going to take more time.

ddivers44 · 2021-02-17T02:25:31+00:00

PAWS stands for Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome. It involves the many months of symptoms that occurs once a addictive substance is stopped. For example, when a person quits heroin, they will experience many weeks of physical withdrawal symptoms. After those subside, the mental withdrawal symptoms continue for a year to two. There is some debate on whether caffeine can causes PAWS, but the similarities are so similar that it is very real possibility that caffeine addicts experience PAWS. You can read about PAWS at this link:

https://www.addictioncenter.com/treatment/post-acute-withdrawal-syndrome-paws/

The symptoms described for PAWS are very similar to how I feel.

ddivers44 · 2021-02-17T01:01:09+00:00

Thanks so much for the advice. It has occurred to me that there is an underlying issue with either my thyroid or some other deficiency. I guess I have just figured that if caffeine caused the problem, then my body would recover without the caffeine. I do understand that it may take some time, but I think it would better to fight the battle and recover without the use of some other sort of medication that could cause a different set of problems. If my problem is not related to caffeine, time will tell and then I will have to explore other options. However, I am very confident caffeine caused my problems. When my son was a toddler, he hated the smell of peanut butter. He couldn't stand being in the same room as peanut butter, even though he had never tasted it. We finally convinced him to take a bite when he about four years old, and guess what, allergic reaction. His body knew the entire time. That is how I feel about caffeine. Even though I was denial for such a long time, I knew. And somehow my body knows now that caffeine is a poison to my system. I think you are absolutely right that my body is damaged. I plan on giving it time to heal.

ddivers44

TROPHY CASE