Caffeine Withdrawal Question

[SiouzQ.]

Hi Folks, I have a mystery to solve ~ I've been getting a headache every Tuesday for the past few weeks it seems! Here is the back story ~ starting in early January I have done a pretty fabulous job of changing my lifestyle, going from a partying bar-hopping musician who went out at least four nights a week, smoked and drank prodigious amounts of beer, staying up real late, and drank massive amounts of coffee to get going in the morning. Now I have done an about switch to being a go-to-bed-fairly-early girl, and go out maybe two nights a week at the most, an almost ex-smoker and drinker (I have cut WAY back on these activities) and ex-coffee drinker. I have been working out 3 to 4 times a weeks and eating very healthy (I always did that at least)!

Back to the coffee mystery ~ I weaned myself from caffeine very gradually over the course of about a month and a half, adding more and more de-caf until I was drinking only the de-caf. I ran out of de-caf at home a couple of weeks ago and decided to start drinking tea in the morning instead. But then I started having just ONE cup of regular coffee at work in the morning, often not even finishing it. I work Wednesday through Sunday, so that is one cup of coffee five days in a row. Just to note, I rarely drink any soda. So Monday and Tuesday are my days off, and by Tuesday I have a mounting headache; today's has been particularly bad and it finally occurred to me I may be having withdrawal symptoms AGAIN, even with such a small amount of caffeine.
Do you think that it is possible that I have become THAT sensitive to it now? >:(

[janharker]

So stop having that one cup in the morning and see if the headaches go away. (NOTE: tea has caffeine in it.) If not, then at least you've eliminated one possibility. If you need a hot drink, try caffeine-free hot tea instead and see if that helps. And drink only caffeine-free soda.

Would it help to look at that 'sensitivity' as an actual addiction? Seems to me that you easily moved back to the coffee.....

[CathyA]

Yes. I think its real possible.

[jennipurrr]

A couple years ago I quit drinking caffeine for about 6 months after years of having a coke in the morning. I fell off the coke wagon and noticed it had a HUGE effect on me...I had become so much more sensitive to it than before. I did not have headaches, but felt jittery/anxious/hyped up. Actually, a couple of weeks ago I had a coupon for a latte and OMG it was awful. Its been a good deterrent to becoming a regular caffeine drinker again. Good luck!

[SiouzQ.]

Silly me! I forgot about caffeine being in tea, but it is the Trader Joe's White Pomegranate something or other (fruity) and it says nothing about having or not having caffeine in it...
I'm actually thinking this headache is really a sinus problem after all. I've been trying Sudefed since last night. When I woke up this morning the headache was lurking, so I took another dose of Sudefed, went to work and it kept getting worse; even though my breathing is clear, the front of my forehead above my eyes and my cheeks were hurting and I felt pretty crappy after lunch. I then took the next dose of Sudefed and it finally started easing up tonight.
But I will experiment with no coffee at all, not even the one cup at work, and see if that was part of the culprit too.
Thanks for responding :)

[CathyA]

I've been having alot of small headaches recently. I remembered my ENT telling me that March and October were the worst times of year for sinus problems. Spring is running a little late this year, so maybe your problems are sinus related. Those fruity teas usually just have herbs in them and not caffeine for the most part.
If you're going to stop even that one cup of caffeine, you may get headaches for a week or 2.
If it is your sinuses, you might try adding Mucinex to the sudafed and drinking alot of water.

[SiouzQ.]

As a singer, I discovered Mucinex last year, thank god! I have the most annoying post-nasal drip often times which gets in the way of hitting those high notes! In January we had to cancel a gig because I was pretty sick, and the next gig we had was on March 26 and I'll be darned if I didn't wake up that morning with a cold, AGAIN! Mucinex to the rescue! Whatever this upper-respiratory thing is that has been going around all winter is awfully tenacious ~ every two weeks or so it rears its ugly head and I feel yukky, but not so bad that I have to miss work like the first go-round. But it never seems to really go away fully...I've been using the Neti-Pot faithfully for over a year, and I like it. Again, I'm getting a lot more sleep (7-8 hours a night now, after years of 4-5 hours), eating super-duper healthy, and exercising. I just want this sinus crap to go away for good without resorting going to a doctor (earlier today I was thinking of making an appointment but would rather not, as I have no insurance). I'll see if the headache goes away by tomorrow or the next day; if not, maybe I should go to the doctor in case it is a sinus infection...

[CathyA]

Hi SiouzQ,
Just curious.......have you ever had mono? Seems like people who got mono in their teens/early 20's have alot of recurring colds/sinus problems. That Epstein-Barr virus is a pain in the arse!

[SiouzQ.]

Nope, no mono ever that I know of! At least I slept great last night and feel quite good today, except for the tiny little lurker headache. I think I'll be fine today!

[puglogic]

SiouzQ, do you think you might be dehydrated? How much water do you drink? That's always my first suspect, well, that and midlife hormones....

[SiouzQ.]

I think I drink plenty of water throughout the day...I'm starting to suspect that it could have a hormonal component to it. I better not get full-on migraines like some of my friends have when they reached menopausal age. I've had a history of migraines in the distant past which seem to have been caused by working in a photo lab around all the chemicals. They would always start with the crazy aura thing; I haven't had one in a very, very long time, at least! Just plain, old annoying throbbers!
I'm going to go drink some water now...

[janharker]

Just a note: Generic Claritan, aka Loratadine, is usually $4 for a 30 day supply at big box pharmacies. Like Krogers. You need a prescription, but the stuff does work. Most antihistamines make me drowsy, but not this stuff. And it's just 1 tiny pill for 24 hours, taken as needed.

[Selah]

You can also get loratadine on an OTC basis at Wal-Mart, CVS and Wal-Greens. It's more expensive than the $4/month a prescription can get you, but CVS is offering a bottle with 365 tablets for about $48. I keep my allergies and sinus problems at bay by taking two acetominophen/diphenhydramine (Tylenol/Benadryl) tablets at night, and one loratadine in the day.

I also have one or two cups of coffee a day...I gave up ALL caffeine for three years and felt absolutely miserable! I never got that big burst of energy that so many people report experiencing when they give up caffeine, but rather felt lethargic, depressed and unfocused. Experiment and find out what works best for you. Good luck!