I'm trying to cut down on the amount of coffee I drink. Until a couple of weeks ago I was having sometimes 8 cups a day. I started off by going down to 4 and the last few days I've had only 2 a day. I even managed a couple of days with none.
I feel fine now, although a little 'off' on the third day so I think I'll be able to carry on. I don't intend to stop completely and could always swap to decaf or fruit teas if I need to - but I like my coffee and see no problem having a couple of cups a day. I just realised I was having too much.

Anyway, the last couple of days my skin has gone bananas and I'm getting a bit spotty. I can feel a lovely one starting on my nose - lovely !.
Do you think this is due to getting cutting down so much ?. Hadn't crossed my mind that if could effect my complexion.

Val

What have you been drinking instead?  Try drinking more water.  Sounds more like too many wet and dark days to me. I haven't touched coffee yet this year - have been ill and still haven't got my taste and sense of smell back properly.  Went off tea and alcohol so have had a good start to the New Year - really needed to cut back on the red wine.  Have lost half a stone too. But boy have I been feeling sorry for myself - not a nice way to loose weight.  However will curb my alcohol from now on.  Honestly I think spots are down to hormones and diet not lack of coffee. 

Funny ceejay, I was exactly the same at New Year's - felt like rubbish but it did wonders for my chocolate addiction!  lost 4 pounds too, because I completely lost my appetite.

Of course, now I'm healthy I'm struggling to stop it coming back :D

Could be your body detoxing - think this often shows through the skin.

I cut down on coffee a few years ago - like you, I was drinking too much :) I have one first thing, then drink black blended tea/green tea at work together with glasses of water. I drink a couple of cups of decaff coffee in the evenings and the occasional cup of perc'd or expresso at the weekend. Didn't notice much difference really, but it's supposed to be better drinking less coffee and more tea, so it has to be good :D :D

Daisy

My brother had a coffee filter machine in his office.  Him and a colleague drank far too many cups throughout the day and the longer this machine stayed, the stronger the brew they would produce.

One day he realised he'd got a caffeine problem - he was late for work (never was good at getting up early) and if he didn't have time for coffee would just grab a spoon or two of instant coffee from the jar and eat it off the spoon!

He now drinks the weakest coffee you could possibly imagine!

I cut down on coffee when pregnant and I have now given up completely with feeding Noah myself. I feel much better - and its a bit of a challenge to stay off it when I am up all night and could really do with a cup to boost me. I've tried de-caff but it all seems a bit pointless drinking it and I do drink more tea but I've stopped drinking coke as well.

I do feel better for it though. Although perhaps I just have a smug "my body is a temple" glow :D :D :D

Thanks all.

I have always had lots of water anyway - actually my two main drinks have been coffee and water !. Now I'm not having the coffee I'm probably not having enough liquid per day so I do feel I need to have more water.  I guess I usually have about 4 pints of water a day so maybe I'll up it to 6 !. I keep a pint glass by a water filter and have always been good at drinking plenty.

I'm just annoyed about the spots - never had a great complexion anyway. Maybe it is just hormones..................but I'll pretend it is the detox !.

Val

As coffee is mostly water...you would need to replace the coffee with glasses (cups) of water to keep up how many you have been drinking :)

I havent drunk coffee for about 11 years now, i drink barley cup.

I started getting palpitations not long ago and was told by the doc to avoid coffee. I felt terrible for days, with headaches, dark circles under my eyes, feeling hot/cold, and my complexion was rubbish too.
I'm back to drinking some caffiene....but nearly as much as I was.

Try some hot water instead of coffee.  I've been drinking it for a few weeks now at work and find it makes all the difference as I was constantly drinking tea. 

Jill

Val, you are already drinking 4 pints a day?  We've gone metric over here so perhaps my memory is not good, but isn't that already the recommended 8 glasses (one cup to a glass) of water?  Mind you, if that was while you were drinking coffee too I believe it is also recommended that you drink a glass of water for every cup of coffee you have as coffee, and to a lesser extent tea, is dehydrating.

There's quite a bit of controversy as to whether it matters what fluid (water, tea, coffee etc) you drink - some experts say only water, some say it doesn't matter :)

Daisy

Yes, about 4 pints - over a day that doesn't seem much really so without the coffee I should really increase it.
I've always drunk lots of water - luckily I love it !.

Have you ever heard of a waterholic?  I read something about it in the newspaper some years ago and I don't remember how much water is too much but people get many of the same problems as alcholics.  Like liver problems which are apparently due, as much if not more, to overworking the liver as they are to the composition of the drink.  Whether a person can become too impaired to drive a car I don't recall either.  But, amazingly, a woman has just died in the U.S. from this ailment.  She was in some stupid contest where people had to drink as much water as they could without relieving themselves.

Not in any way to suggest that you are one.  :)  I doubt the recommended daily intake of 8 glasses plus some coffee is going to do it.  I imagine it has to be really, really excessive.

See http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm

and this http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/womenshealth/features/watermyth.htm is interesting about 'The Water Myth' :)

Daisy

I think it's not so much the amout but the speed in which you drink it. I remember years ago a young girl died in a nightclub. She had taken some sort of drug and ended up drinking loads of water - far too much and that's what killed her.

Apart from a break last summer (bad sciatica) I've done quite a bit of running. Nothing major - but I do like to make sure that I don't dehydrate. I ran today - so had a pint a couple of hours before, a little bit there and another pint when I got home. I'll have another one during my dinner.

You'd think with my 'healthy' lifestyle I'd be spot free and 9 stone !.

I gave up drinking coffee a few years ago and used to chain drink the stuff at work to try and keep awake as was bored of my job :D :D

I have a couple of cups of tea in the morning and then that is it for me for my caffine fix :)

Lucy
xx

I don't drink anything caffeinated after lunch - unless I go out to dinner or am at friends' who don't have decaff :) My son (doesn't drink coffee) has given up drinking decaffeinated tea all together :D However he demolishes chocolate, so who is he kidding ??? :D :D :D

Daisy

I used to drink a few cups a day.  I couldn't drink coffee first thing but by 10am my mind would turn to my first fix.  I tried decaff but it didn't satisfy the coffee hankering.  However, I only like coffee with sugar so rarely drink it now and never get that craving feeling anymore.  I have to admit to being a tea bag though   BTW can't stand Coca Cola or equivalents so tea is my only caffeine vice.

I am addicted to coke. I start to feel really ill if I have a day without it. I also get a great thirst and whatever I drink can't get rid of it until I drink the coke. I have in the past been known to walk to the nearest shop 4 miles away just cos I needed coke. I also eat loads of chocolate, infact people always say that as long as I have coke and chocolate I'm fine!!!
I hate coffee but do drink loads of tea.

Exactly the same, Pepsi Max or Coke zero and although I wouldn't walk 4 miles to get it, I would send OH to shops to get some for me. I have cut back on my chocolate addiction since xmas, I was completely addicted to cadbury's Turkish delight choc, nearly went nuts when they withdrew it. We were in spain for new year and I had to have Milka as they didn't have Cadbury's in shop, wasn't the same and i've not had nearly as much since we came home - which is good :D . I hate coffee and only have tea at breakfast and supper.

Sounds like you really do have an addiction to caffeine.  I would say it's time to gradually, very gradually cut down on the amount of coke you drink every day.  If you don't sooner or later you might find that you start getting headaches or palpitations and will have to cut it down anyway. 

Chap I work with was an international athlete. He started to have problems and his GP tore into him because he was drinking lots of Coke etc. He's now eating a healthy diet and has cut out the Coke, Pepsi Max and is feeling much better. He's only in his twenties :(

Daisy

I know I have an addiction to caffeine so I limit myself to two small (vending machine size) bottles a day at work and two mugs of tea :D I already get migraine but I have cut out caffeine completely before and it didn't help :-(

Got to agree on this one.  You don't say whether you're drinking diet or fat coke - if it's fat, then you definitely want to start weaning yourself off it as the sugar won't do you any good.  In any case coke isn't that great - just think of how beautiful pennies turn out from it...

I used to be addicted to it myself, first the diet then the fat.  I finally stopped when I hit the 3 or 4 2l bottles a day stage and I couldn't actually eat anything without getting cramps.  Not a good situation - and I went cold turkey as a New Year's res.  Got the headaches and crappiness but I did get over it in time.

The tapping method used a lot by Paul McKenna could help - you should be able to google it.  I remember this time last year his "I Can Make You Thin" prog was no and there was a woman on it who was addicted to coke - she did 3 days cold turkey and couldn't face it any more, headaches, severe mood swings, the works - she tried the tapping as she was talked through it over the phone and all her symptoms went away and stayed away.  Not saying it's that effective for everyone but it might help - stopped me eating mini eggs at any rate, so it must do something :D

I drink the normal coke and know it is full of sugar and no good for me. I just feel so awful not having it. Having read this thread I think I might try to cut down at least a little. Interesting about the mood swings and the nervous system not shutting down at night properly.
I have sleep problems and feel constantly tired. My friends know when I have really over done the coke intake cos they say I am hyper!!!

Actually meant he has given up drinking caffeinated tea - sigh (make note to actually read what I have written BEFORE posting it :D)

Daisy

what about fruit teas they are nice or i sip though out the day lemon/ginger and honey with hot water

I like fruit tea - particularly lemon or orange :) Can't stand herbal teas tho' - especially camomile :(

Daisy

I'm not a fan of herbal teas either. Some fruit ones are ok.
I like the idea of hot water - slice of lemon maybe.

I don't like fruit or herbal teas as they remind me of Lemsips :)

It is amazing how much caffeine is in some products.  Even decaf. coffee and tea still have some, apparently the manufactures can't get it all out.  For health reasons, some years ago, I stopped consuming as much caffeine as I could.  After I had acheived my goal of no more pain I began to consume caffeinated things again to see how much I could tolerate without a return of symptoms.  WHOA Nellie.  One cup a day of decaf. tea was still too much for me. 

i love coffee! caffine is THE drug of choice!!! id prefer to give up choclate than coffee

10 years ago i gave up coffee, as i was having palpatations and my moods were very nasty could even say violent sometimes, had a brill doc who said come off the coffee and i did, i now drink herbal teas and plenty of water and i feel much better for it, but i love the smell of fresh ground coffee beans and my hubby takes his coffee that strong you could stand the spoon up in it
carolann

I gave up coffee about 13 years ago, I was getting palpitations and very bad headaches.  For the first month I felt terrible and the headaches were worse :( I'd been drinking loads of strong coffee as I was so tired all the time, so going without it was a real detox, but after about three weeks I started to feel better and the headaches disappeared :)   Turned out the palpitations and overwhelming tiredness were because my thyroid was underactive but I still couldn't drink anything with caffeine even after treatment :rolleyes:   These days I can have one coffee with caffeine in as long as it's early in the day, otherwise I'm really hyped up

I've got to say, this is all very interesting reading - especially you mentioning bad moods judge.  My temper can be downright nasty sometimes.  It depresses me - I don't take it out on the dogs of course, but I know they pick up on it.  And I've had palpitations for years, but only the odd one - I've noticed them a lot more lately.  Never knew what to put it down to - now I'm thinking it's the umpteen cups of tea I drink every day!

So the kettle is switched off, I'm going to buy some squash tomorrow, pack the teabags away and see what happens.

Also, until recently, I had a cup of coffee before I went to bed. I didn't think I had trouble sleeping, certainly fell asleep easy enough. Anyway, I've been told that yes, you can sleep ok, but your nervous system is still working overtime so it's not actually a good sleep and you don't fully relax.
Now, I don't know if it's a coincidence, but the last few mornings I've woken up feeling really refreshed and not at all sleepy which I usually do.

We only drink decaf tea and coffee, since giving up full caf my blood sugars are a lot more stable and my BP lower.

My blood sugar's never been an issue - it's always in the middle of the normal range.  But I do have dreadful trouble getting up in the morning - and I usually have a cup of tea right before I got to bed...

I'm insulin dependant diabetic and using de-caf has improved my health considerably.

That's interesting - I'll mention that to my dad, he's a diabetic but not insulin-dependant but helpful tips are always, well, helpful!  And he does drink a lot of tea.