Caffeine Detox

Post by **JohnB** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:38 am

After over 7 months of continuous daily coffee; either french press or espresso or both, I decided a few days off to clear out the system would be a good idea. That minor nagging caffeine headache was getting old & I was feeling lousy. How many days does it take to get all the caffeine totally out of your body?

Post by **Niko** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:56 pm

Probably about 3-4 days for an average human.

...in my case about a year

Post by **JohnB** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:12 pm

My plan was to hold out until my shipment from PTs arrives on Friday. Sounded good but my will power is fading fast. Had a decaf cappo yesterday which was very disappointing. From my experience so far I'd say that decaf Espresso is best tossed into a tall milk drink with syrup.

Post by **jmcphail** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:17 pm

The constant headache just destroys me.

Post by **Niko** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:02 pm

just eat a BUNCH of chocolate and it'll go away

Post by **JohnB** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:53 pm

No regular coffee since Tuesday & my headaches are gone. Have to say I feel better also but my energy is down! No surprise there but it is unfortunate that something as enjoyable as drinking good coffee has to bring along such nasty side effects.

Post by **Niko** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:31 pm

Just goes to show you can't live without coffee

There was a time when I didn't drink coffee for a month

I can't remember why or how or anything....it was a big blur - see what lack of coffee does?!

Your energy level should back as soon as you start drinking again :P

Post by **coffeeowl** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:17 am

I drink one or two doubles before bed every evening.
A double and usually an Americano in the morning.
A few shots (usually) or an americano during the day.
That's the list of things thatkeep me happy&healthy.

NO other coffee, only espresso based drinks and I don't drink milk.

And: I'm not coffeine addicted. If I don't drink coffee, I don't have headache but rather I get my asthma attack sooner or later.

Post by **JohnB** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:41 pm

My caffeine fast ended a day early! I was half way through changing the starter in my daughter's Volvo when the Postman showed up with my new Aeropress. Had to try out the new toy & I was definitely in need of sustenance to get through a very unpleasant job. I haven't checked on a scale yet but it looks like the Aeropress uses more coffee then Espresso! Another fun coffee tool but a bit of a bean hog.

Post by **zoey** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:18 pm

Caffeine is not stored in the body. It's excreted in the urine.

Post by **JohnB** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:42 pm

I read that it can take 12 hours to get all of the caffeine from one cup out of your system. What I meant to ask was how long to get rid of the effects of the continuous caffeine intake. Headache, shakiness, ect.

Here's one article:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/caffeine4.htm

Post by **zoey** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:38 pm

I looked it up on a program my wife has for work (she's a internal medicine physician/heptologist and a gastroenterologist). The program is a physician written and quarterly reviewed/updated. Ironically, called "UpToDate".

They indicate that metabolism is via the hepatic system (liver) by CYP1A2. Interestingly enough, the half-life of caffeine is: neonates: 72-96 hours (range: 40-230 hours). Children >9 months and adults: 5 hours.

Time to peak (serum levels): Oral: Within 30 minutes to 2 hours.

And yes, the next time someone jokes about needing an "I.V. of caffeine" you can tell them that there actually is such a thing! It's in a combination with sodium benzoate.