I love caffeine, but it messes me up bad. Absolutely debilitating headaches. I’ll go six months or something without, and then relapse until I get woken up by a jackhammer in my skull and give it up again. Sigh. I don’t understand the studies that actually suggest it’s good for you.
I have occasionally tried giving up caffeine, and once the initial withdrawal headache passed, all that happened for me was more migraines (even after several months without it) and about 3 lb of weight increase. Daily caffeine does help me to prevent headaches.
Funny how caffeine for me causes headaches, and for you prevents them. I used to get bad migraines (the throwing-up-painful kind) when I was young. I wonder if that has something to do with it.
Yeah, it is so strange to me too, I expected it (quitting) to help but it does the opposite. I do get the migraines still, just fewer if I do daily pattern of caffeine. Relaxing is my biggest trigger now, it was periods before, those were the absolute worst.
It’s weird to ask, but are you young? I’ve seen it suggested that migraines tend to recede in those 35+. I was very, very grateful for them going away as I got older. As long as I stay away from the caffeine, the worst headaches I get these days are just a mild annoyance. Especially compared to the I-wanna-kill-myself ones I got when I was in high school.
No, I am in my 50s now. Migraines started at 18, were worst in my 30s, so painful that I didn’t understand when the doctors asked to rate the pain, so bad that when I went through natural childbirth my only comment was “well, it wasn’t as bad as a migraine, at least.”. And yes almost always with vomiting. Turned out it was birth control pills making them more intense but I didn’t know that until I stopped them. Hormonal IUD did not have that effect, nor does menopausal hormone treatment. Now I do still get them, much less often and they do vary in severity now, not straight to 11 on a scale of 10.
I will also say they are well managed with the sumatriptan injection, 90% of the time or better it works and doesn’t even feel dopey, just fixes it. For 20 years now, it’s worked. The problem was that when it didn’t work it sometimes was a 3 day thing and I couldn’t drink at all, even a sip of water caused vomiting. This bad has only happened like 6 times total, you used to be able to go to the doctor and get pumped full of something like heroin, it didn’t touch the pain really but put me so far away from it and I’d sleep and wake up without the headache. But now, because it didn’t really work, and there’s such a backlash against opiates, they won’t - even though this is a once every 4-5 years thing and nothing else works either. Now nobody but emergency room will touch it and all they do is IV liquids so you don’t die from dehydration, and something in it to stop the puking. But it leaves the headache there.
Whoa, I find it weird that people get withdrawal symptoms. I drink too much of it every day and I’ve never had so much a slight headache from quitting cold-turkey.
I love caffeine, but it messes me up bad. Absolutely debilitating headaches. I’ll go six months or something without, and then relapse until I get woken up by a jackhammer in my skull and give it up again. Sigh. I don’t understand the studies that actually suggest it’s good for you.
I have occasionally tried giving up caffeine, and once the initial withdrawal headache passed, all that happened for me was more migraines (even after several months without it) and about 3 lb of weight increase. Daily caffeine does help me to prevent headaches.
Funny how caffeine for me causes headaches, and for you prevents them. I used to get bad migraines (the throwing-up-painful kind) when I was young. I wonder if that has something to do with it.
Yeah, it is so strange to me too, I expected it (quitting) to help but it does the opposite. I do get the migraines still, just fewer if I do daily pattern of caffeine. Relaxing is my biggest trigger now, it was periods before, those were the absolute worst.
It’s weird to ask, but are you young? I’ve seen it suggested that migraines tend to recede in those 35+. I was very, very grateful for them going away as I got older. As long as I stay away from the caffeine, the worst headaches I get these days are just a mild annoyance. Especially compared to the I-wanna-kill-myself ones I got when I was in high school.
No, I am in my 50s now. Migraines started at 18, were worst in my 30s, so painful that I didn’t understand when the doctors asked to rate the pain, so bad that when I went through natural childbirth my only comment was “well, it wasn’t as bad as a migraine, at least.”. And yes almost always with vomiting. Turned out it was birth control pills making them more intense but I didn’t know that until I stopped them. Hormonal IUD did not have that effect, nor does menopausal hormone treatment. Now I do still get them, much less often and they do vary in severity now, not straight to 11 on a scale of 10.
I will also say they are well managed with the sumatriptan injection, 90% of the time or better it works and doesn’t even feel dopey, just fixes it. For 20 years now, it’s worked. The problem was that when it didn’t work it sometimes was a 3 day thing and I couldn’t drink at all, even a sip of water caused vomiting. This bad has only happened like 6 times total, you used to be able to go to the doctor and get pumped full of something like heroin, it didn’t touch the pain really but put me so far away from it and I’d sleep and wake up without the headache. But now, because it didn’t really work, and there’s such a backlash against opiates, they won’t - even though this is a once every 4-5 years thing and nothing else works either. Now nobody but emergency room will touch it and all they do is IV liquids so you don’t die from dehydration, and something in it to stop the puking. But it leaves the headache there.
Oh crud, your case sounds far worse than mine. Glad you have them somewhat under control.
If I suggested my migraines were worse than childbirth to my wife, she’d kill me. Our child was, uhh, very reluctant to joint the world.
Whoa, I find it weird that people get withdrawal symptoms. I drink too much of it every day and I’ve never had so much a slight headache from quitting cold-turkey.
that doesnt seem harmless.
It sounds like a rare reaction. Some people are allergic to water but you wouldn’t say, “that doesn’t sound harmless.”
Maybe the diuretic nature (u pee more) gives you a headache. Next relapse, drink a glass of water or three.
I thought that too. It doesn’t seem to help. At least not quick enough.