Weaning yourself from caffeine?

mrsvedo · January 2014

I was just thinking about the fact that I should probably start weaning myself from caffeine so that it's not such a huge shock to the system when I do get KU. Right now I drink on average at least one 22 oz soda a day and sometimes two. If I don't have any within a 24 hour period, I start to get headaches and if I go 36-48 the headache is unbearable.

Have you started drinking less caffeine/soda/coffee during your TTC journey? How have you weaned yourself from it or did you just go cold turkey?

Xan921 · January 2014

I figure I'll just go cold turkey. I need my tea or diet coke in the morning to get me moving; I'm not giving it up until I have to. I suffer from horrible migraines so I'm not scared of a caffeine withdraw headache...that actually sounds nice compared to my norm lol.

nfp147 · January 2014

When we first started TTC I went cold turkey and I was fine. I only got headaches from decaf, but didn't get them from no coffee.

After a year I said "fuck it" and started drinking coffee again.

Mustard76 · January 2014

I didn't do it for purposes of TTC, but I gave up coffee for a month last year. I quit cold turkey, from drinking at least a pot of coffee a day to nothing. I had a headache for about a week, but after that I was completely fine. It wasn't a fun week, but I made it with Tylenol and tons of water.

Sewilson33 · January 2014

I haven't quit caffeine, I'd go NUTS! When I do get a bfp I will cut down to only one coffee a day. I don't drink soda ever so the only cutting I would do is 1 of the 2 coffees I drink.

lindsayandjamie · January 2014

I cut down to 1 a day on most days. I can go without it and it doesnt make a difference for me, but i love coffees so i have a habit more than an addiction. I would suggest easing back your soda intake gradually to a level you would be comfortable drinking if you were pregnant.

cinderin · January 2014

I cut down to one caffeine drink per day while TTC and cut it entirely while PG... until the end of 3rd tri - with about one month left I would drink one small (8 oz) serving of coffee in the AM. I was so tired at that point it was the only way. I worked FT right up until I went into labor :-)

BackseatDriver · January 2014

I weaned by doing half regular and half decaf for a bit and then switching to decaf completely. That was as far as I went. I didn't cut caffeine completely.

Aimothy · January 2014

I reduced the amount of caffeine I was drinking, but I have not given it up. I used to drink 5-6 cans of pop a day. I started by reducing it a can at a time until I was only having one can in the morning. Then I rotated my caffeine pop with an uncaffeinated version. I did that until I was only drinking the uncaffeinated kind.

Then I switched to having a coffee in the morning.

LuckyAngel07 · January 2014

I did it similarly to @Backseatdriver. I started doing half caff the last few months, and when I got the BFPs, I switched to tea in place of my morning coffee. I'll do a green tea or a chai, depending on how I'm feeling that day. That way, I still have a tasty hot beverage for my mornings, but I'm well below the 200 mg limit most docs consider okay. The RE just told me this morning that 16 oz of coffee per day is okay, especially if I already drink caffeine, but to remember that things like chocolate have caffeine in them, too, so if I were to have 16 oz of regular coffee, I really couldn't have anything else containing caffeine for that day.

mrsvedo · January 2014

Awesome, thanks for the responses. I think I'll start for now by making sure I'm only drinking one 22 oz a day and not the more-than-occasional 2 and gradually reducing from there. I also like the idea of mixing caffeinated with decaf version too.

BruinsBabe33 · January 2014

I don't do caffeine unless I have the occasional cuppa, my husband is a fiend and he cut it out for a while and took cinnamon pills to avoid the headaches. He claimed it worked.

R.Wilsonny · January 2014

I used to have 2 cups of coffee a day, but I cut back to one about 5-6 months ago, and ever since last weekend, I can't even smell coffee without feeling nauseous. I'm hoping it will pass eventually because I enjoy my morning cup.

abt8113 · January 2014

I've just gone cold turkey, but I've never been a huge caffeine drinker. I'll occassionally have some kind of coffee that doesn't taste like coffee and coke, but only when we are out somewhere. I have noticed that I go through cycles. When I'm in a "screw it" kind of mentality, I drink a lot more caffeinated drinks than if I'm really focused on being healthy or TTC.

poppies717 · January 2014

FWIW, lots of women don't cut out caffeine and get BFPs. Others cut it out and get BFNs. I'd keep drinking caffeine until you get a BFP and then start weaning unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

Apollo11235 · January 2014

poppies717 said:

FWIW, lots of women don't cut out caffeine and get BFPs. Others cut it out and get BFNs. I'd keep drinking caffeine until you get a BFP and then start weaning unless your doctor tells you otherwise.

I don't think fertility is the issue. It sounds like she wants to cut back slowly, ahead of time, so that she doesn't have to go cold turkey when she gets here BFP.

OP, I've always heard that small amounts are fine during pregnancy, so I would think if you cut back to just one a day now, you're probably more than fine. You and your doctor can decide if you need to go any further than that once you do get your BFP (my guess is it won't be necessary).

DangerMuffin23 · January 2014

I'd still drink the soda twice daily, but cut each serving down starting with the "dose" that's later in the day. Ex: cut the pm dose to 16 oz for a week, the do both am and pm at 16 oz for the next week. Then cut pm to 12oz for the next week and so on. Till you're at a comfortable level. Supposedly it's ok to drink up to 200 mg if caffeine a day when pregnant. Ex: an 8oz dt coke has approximately 45 mg of caffeine. Hth

Weaning yourself from caffeine?

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