Sara's Friend - Info about caffeine & nicotene withdrawal please?

[Guest guest]

Okay, this is rather weird, but I'm sure of it now. _Every_ time he

quits drinking coffee--and he has to *quit*, to have none at all--his

stomach feels almost entirely better the next day, and now, after three

days, he's still a little sore but having no pains, no " fullness " or

heartburn, and almost no belching.

 

Unfortunately, he's got an *awful* headache. I hear this is pretty

normal when a heavy coffee drinker like he (or I--but I'm weaning

myself; I'm down from three-plus pots a day (I know!) to under half of

one. quits suddenly. He can't really take any OTC painkillers for

it, since they upset his stomach too (none worse than Excedrin...which

has caffeine!).

 

Also, it makes me think back to how this started, with his quitting

smoking--and he was a heavy-to-way-heavy smoker for, seriously, 21

years, and he quit cold-turkey with me. I also read something, when I

quit the cigarettes, about how you have to drastically reduce your

coffee intake when you quit nicotene, because nicotene blunts the

effects of caffeine somehow. (I can't remember where I read that--can

anybody back it up?)

 

Any other information or links about caffeine and/or nicotene withdrawal

would be appreciated, as well. There's a lot of very _basic_

information out there, from the government and the tobacco industry, but

I've not felt like I've gotten the " real scoop " . And I trust you guys.

[Guest guest]

Congrats to your friend for wanting to quit coffee! Headaches are

quite common when going through caffeine withdrawl. Some suggestions

for your buddy:

 

1.) LOTS of water! Detox, detox, detox!

2.) Lymphatic drainage! Very gentle detoxing massage, done by a

massage therapist on a massage table, takes about 30-60 minutes, you

won't feel like anything's happening. Reactions vary: the client might

start laughing, crying, or be cranky all day, or quiet and withdrawn,

or just want to go home and warmly & safely coccoon for the rest of

the night. That's all normal. It's as much of an emotional cleansing

as it is a physical one. But it's amazing. I fell asleep having mine

done and I never fall asleep on a massage table! Drink NO LESS than a

FULL GALLON of water over the course of the rest of the day, before

going to bed. If you have the session RIGHT before bed, still drink at

least a half-gallon (yes, you'll pee at night. You WANT this to

happen!) before bed and plenty the next day as well.

3.) Burdoc (a detox herb)

4.) More water!

5.) White Willow Bark (for easing the pain in the headache)

6.) Feverfew (GREAT herb that dilates the capillaries in the brain.

This characteristic makes it a great remedy for migraines, and it

helps with other types of headache as well, and I imagine it'd help a

caffeine-withdrawl headache, too.)

7.) Fruits and sugars are very yin. Red meats, tobacco, fried foods,

and coffee are very yang. Try to stay in the center, which will have

the bulk of your diet being veggies and whole grains. These foods,

then, will help with cravings and detox. The biggest thing, too, is to

avoid refined sugars/chocolate. They are SO yin that they'll stimulate

a craving for something yang. This's why many meat-eaters are

alcoholics and if not, they're at least addicted to chocolate or

sugar. The body attempts to balance itself when it gets too far to one

side, often by craving something that is drastically opposite. While

it's fun to swing from yin to yang, it's not real healthy, short- OR

long-term.

8.) Half a lemon, squeezed in lukewarm-to-warm water first thing in

the morning (even before breakfast) will also help clean out any

acidic residue left over from coffee. He probably WILL use the

bathroom a couple times over the next few hours, this is desirable.

What comes out may not be real solid. That's also fine.

 

Hope that helps.

--Jen

 

herbal remedies , Sara Thustra

<sara.thustra@e...> wrote:

> Okay, this is rather weird, but I'm sure of it now. _Every_ time he

> quits drinking coffee--and he has to *quit*, to have none at all--his

> stomach feels almost entirely better the next day, and now, after three

> days, he's still a little sore but having no pains, no " fullness " or

> heartburn, and almost no belching.

>

> Unfortunately, he's got an *awful* headache. I hear this is pretty

> normal when a heavy coffee drinker like he (or I--but I'm weaning

> myself; I'm down from three-plus pots a day (I know!) to under half of

> one. quits suddenly. He can't really take any OTC painkillers for

> it, since they upset his stomach too (none worse than Excedrin...which

> has caffeine!).

>

> Also, it makes me think back to how this started, with his quitting

> smoking--and he was a heavy-to-way-heavy smoker for, seriously, 21

> years, and he quit cold-turkey with me. I also read something, when I

> quit the cigarettes, about how you have to drastically reduce your

> coffee intake when you quit nicotene, because nicotene blunts the

> effects of caffeine somehow. (I can't remember where I read that--can

> anybody back it up?)

>

> Any other information or links about caffeine and/or nicotene

withdrawal

> would be appreciated, as well. There's a lot of very _basic_

> information out there, from the government and the tobacco industry,

but

> I've not felt like I've gotten the " real scoop " . And I trust you

guys.