After having some gastric problems as of late, I've decided to look at my caffeine intake. I've always been one for coffee and diet colas, but it wasn't until I was starting to get symptoms for my MCTD I'd use them as a coping tool for the fatigue.
Turns out I was having roughly 6 cups of coffee worth of caffeine a day! I've been spending the last couple of weeks having a coffee once every other morning and whilst I think the last of the withdrawal symptoms but I've got my final exams in about 7 weeks (early September) so I'm finding studying without my coffee very hard!
Does anybody have any fatigue helping tips that has helped them keep away from caffeine? Anybody managed to go completely cold turkey?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Amy
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AmyJ3
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My GP suggested when I was 14 that I was allergic / intolerant to caffeine. I used to get crippling stomach pains by about 10am and I always had a morning cup of coffee - I never could stand tea! I had no tests to see if there really was a problem, but if doctor said it was a problem then my mum was going to be sure to keep me off the caffeine! Decaf coffee was a new thing at the time, cafe hag had just come onto the shelves. God it was disgusting! I soon stopped drinking that I've been caffeine free for over 30 years now. I don't even have chocolate. My rheumy was horrified when she found out that I drank no coffee on the say so of a GP who did no tests and wanted me to have some proper testing done, but you know what? Stopping the caffeine stopped the stomach aches, I cannot stand the smell of coffee now and I don't miss it at all. So I'm sticking as I am thank you!
Sometimes, your body just knows that something isn't right, doesn't it? I'm currently being investigated for anything that might not be the caffiene but I do feel I'm sleeping better at least by cutting it out!
Decaf tastes okay, but it doesn't give me the early morning boost I need, which is annoying because the morning is the best studying time for me, personally. I'm hoping I can be off it in the next few months or so!
I recently got off the coffee and diet coke and only drinking water because my kidneys and I cannot drinks sweets not even from fruits. Still going thru the withdrawal but in our case and your exams the best med will be to rest and study after taking a nap or when u have most energy during the day. Im mostly not a morning person so for me is at night.
I'm a morning person more so than an evening person, but I need to start incorporating a little cat nap into the late afternoon to see if I can get a second boost.
Hope you feel better soon and the withdrawal is over soon!
We have an article about managing fatigue on our website which has lots of information and advice that you may find helpful? You can read it at lupusuk.org.uk/managing-fat...
Reading through it looks like what my long term goal really is - to be able to sleep properly, lose some weight and get some exercise done.
The big issue is the pacing, which I'm guilty of, because my course runs from September-July and we're expected to be in the books pretty much daily! But I guess I just gotta be more gentle and frequent with the studying rather than trying to do big blocks in one day.
I think pacing is the thing that most people find to be particularly challenging. It is hard to hold back from doing lots of days when you feel good and it can be difficult to plan all of your activities.
stopped drinking tea about 8 years ago i only drink redbush . coffee make me feel sick and both make my heart race and im left feeling jitter never drink canned drinks of any sort . fizzy water is my only demon with the occasion french passion fruit syrup add only a little to slightly flavour dont drink any alchohol either . have bcome a caffiene/alcohol / addiitive purist . we stuff so much crap down our throats its like they make it so we think its ok to consume it . not so its all tainted with total chemicals that do god knows what to out organs ...pgp
Funnily enough, since I've started cutting down the caffiene, I've noticed having even a single pint makes me feel as bad as having 5! I'm a really bad student lol, can barely drink coffee and can't tolerate alcohol any more. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something!
I kneel at your feet. No way will I give it up. After all the other things I have given up coffee is the only one I cannot and will not. So best of luck.
Love the username! I'm down to one every couple of days and have been finding I've been napping more than recently or drinking loads of water. Coffee will always be dear to my heart, though!
I have MCTD too. I was bothered by GERD a lot until I started taking baclofen, a life changer! Coffee was making GERD worse but once I bought my own espresso machine and ordered low intensity coffee (intensity 3) plus baclofen then i managed to not get gerd and still have coffee. Sorry if this is jot what you wanted to hear but i couldn't live without coffee. For me it's like medication. Nothing helps more w fatigue. The only other thing that helped w fatigue was excercise. Aerobic walkin or slow running the intensity should be such that you are abke to talk without running out of breath while excercising
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