Coffee Withdrawal

I was not able to quit coffee back in March.  I went through a week of unbelievable headaches and fatigue and just couldn't do it.  Thinking back on it now, I was consuming daily granola bars, which had corn in them and I think I was reacting to them and not realizing it.  This definitely would have created the fatigue, headaches and other symptoms.  So, just recently, after being mostly off corn and feeling better, I quit coffee again and it has been 8 days since I quit.  I went through three days of headaches and fatigue which was to be expected and then felt better.  So, I'm feeling pretty good coffee free.  For me, this was necessary.  I have so many health issues at the moment that I really wasn't feeling well when I was consuming caffeine.  I envy those folks that can consume caffeine with no detrimental side effects.  For now, I have to try to eliminate caffeine, alcohol and sugar.  Perhaps some day I will be able to indulge now and then.  I'm just looking forward to feeling better.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

I just figured out that I'm reacting to my latest medication.  I seem to be reacting to corn-based products and rely heavily on a Corn Allergens website, which I love (http://www.cornallergens.com/), my problem is sometimes deciphering ingredients in medications and other such challenges.  The assistant at my new MD/Nutritionist/Naturopath office is currently calling drug manufacturers to see if any of the currently availabe inhalers are made without corn ethanol.  I have been having challenges finding a medication to control my asthma ever since the changeover from the CFC inhalers to the HFA inhalers, which has a propellant called HFA-134A.  Typically, this propellant is made with corn ethanol.  Not good for someone with corn allergies or sensitivities.  My previous doctor seemed to busy to assist me with such research and information.  This is unfortunate.  I had dome some of my own research and thought I had found a medication for asthma which did not contain any corn-derived ingredients.  I looked at the ingredients in Theophylline.  I typically search for the medication I want and google the medication name and add "inactive" and come up with the inactive ingredients for the medication.  One of the ingredients was hypromellose.  I looked over my list of corn-derived ingredient names and didn't see hypromellose.  So, I requested the medication from my doctor and she complied.  I began taking the medication on Wednesday with one dose in the evening and then another dose the next morning...I have been feeling awful for a long time, so I didn't notice a reaction.  I did notice that my breathing wasn't getting any better.  I was continuing to use my fast-acting inhaler (Ventolin) every 4 hours.  Waking up in the middle of the night to use your inhaler is not fun.  So, I figured maybe it would take a couple of days. Also, my Dr. mentioned I could take up to two pills 2x/day, but to start with 1. So after three days of 1 200mg pill 2x/day, I upped it to 2 pills.  I just started this last night.  I was concerned because I was still using my Ventolin every 4 hours.  This morning I wake up short of breath and take 2 pills and use my inhaler.  After about an hour or two I begin to feel "weird".  Nauseas, anxious, headache, tight in the chest, dizzy, restless and just "not right".  I decide to look up the ingredients in the Theophylline again.  I read the hypromellose and decide to look up that.  I read that it is a shortened word for Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose.  Ohhhhhhh, that is on the corn-allergen list.  And just like that, I realize what I've done.  It all makes sense now.  So now, I will stop taking the Theophylline, call my Dr. to let her know and hope they had some luck with a corn-free inhaler.  I'm still not positive that the Ventolin is corn-free.  I have calls into glaxosmithkline, the company that manufactures the Ventolin, but it's been a month and I haven't heard anything.  They did mention that it could take that long or longer to get the information I need.  It just seems wrong that it should be this difficult to get the information I need to be well.

Giving Up Coffee - The withdrawal sucks

O.K. This sucks. I have a huge headache that no amount of ibuprofen is alleviating and I'm so tired I could fall over.

I've tried to give up coffee by gradually cutting back, but for me that's asking the impossible! The more I drink, the more I want. I have one sip and I just become a monster wanting more...MORE.

I love coffee and I love how I feel when I have had coffee. It's the way I feel after the coffee wears off that I hate. It's the roller coaster of energy highs and lows. I wake up exhausted and can't function before a cup of coffee or two. Then, around 1pm, I am once again exhausted. This, to me, is not so good. I think, too, that having to have that cup of coffee (or espresso...evil smile) at 1:00 or 3:00 makes it more difficult to get good sleep, which continues the evil morning syndrome!


So, I am trying to go without coffee to see if it will eventually even out my energy. But, as I said, the process of withdraw is a bummer.


Today is day 1 without coffee. Today, my list of complaints is headache, fogginess, fatigue, irritability, nausea, really "jonesing" for coffee.


More tomorrow.

http://www.naturalnews.com/012352.html

Desktop Recipe Widget - Cuisinart.com

Desktop Recipe Widget - Cuisinart.com

Saturday January 23, 2010 4:07pm

I wanted corn bread, so I had some.  Baked it and ate it.  I know I have reactions to corn.  Now? The pain creeping up the back right of my neck, my pulse and hear is racing.  Feeling nauseas and I am sure my face is turning green.  Noise is making me crazy. The kids in the background, just having fun.  Damn.  I hate this.  What was I thinking?  I feel like my body is racing too fast and It wants to slow down, but can't.  I'm also angry at myself, frustrated and....Ugh!

Full Circle and Forgetting My Learned Lessons

The posting on my journal states February 24, 2009.  Almost a year ago.  I'm feeling more or less the same as I did last year.  Awful and out of control, no energy, headaches, agitation and anxiety, panic attacks, no energy, trouble sleeping and oh, no energy.  I have given up coffee 2 or 3 times.  I have fasted 2 or 3 times and each time feel wonderful and begin to make changes that will help me feel better constantly, and then I "fall off the wagon" so to speak.  There is a cycle and my mind plays games on me.  The cycle begins when I fee awful with reactions to medications (still trying to "wean" off of antidepressants) and food additives/preservatives...headaches, nausea, dizziness, agitation, asthma, puffy face and dark circle syndrome, acid reflux, trouble sleeping, acne everywhere, etc.  Then I resume my elimination diet, fast, or eat plain veggies and whole foods.  I feel better.  Energy, focus, lack of pain, etc.  Next, there is a party or some event where there is food and I decide I feel well enough to eat like everyone else.  I indulge a little and feel fine.  What has happened is my level of toxicity has lowered and my body can now accept a little abuse.  Well, this continues.  I continue to indulge more and more and think "maybe it was all in my head".  It gets tiring always eating salads, rice, veggies, fruits and not being able to eat what I cook for the family.  My body will begin to react to seasonings, salad dressings, and even salt.  Even whole foods like garlic and onions (which I love to cook with) will eventually bother me.  But, since I'm feeling o.k., I think "maybe it all went away".  And then I continue to eat whatever I want.  I slowly begin taking ibuprofen again.  Headache in the morning..intense...take 3 ibuprofen.  3 hours later and the headache is back.  I take 2 more ib.  Then I take a benadryl, hoping that will help.  I will take up to 9 or 12 ibuprofen in a day.  But, since the medications dull the pain and mask the symptoms, I feel o.k. and indulge in a restaurant sandwich and a diet pop.  I wake up at 3am with a migraine and take some meds.  I feel panicky and take some prescribed valium, knowing I wouldn't have to take it if I was watching what I ate.  I feel the freedom to eat what I want, while feeling awful and drugging my body into unawareness.  So, now I feel awful enough where I am ready to go back to rice, veggies, etc.  I think in my mind it's easier to take medications than it is to change my lifestyle and habits.  The peer pressure can be awful.  Saying "no" to food is almost taboo.  I must have a lesson to learn about saying "no".  I love to bake and cook.  Most of the foods that I bake and cook will bother me and I can't figure out how to alter the recipe and still have it turn out edible.  Darn.  Well, here's to learning.

How many Dr.'s did I see about my dizziness and nausea. Still, no difinitive answers.  Sometimes the dizzines precedes the nausea, sometimes they arrive together, but I know it's only a matter of time. I find myself trying in vain to stretch my neck to release some of the tension.


I wake up in pain every morning. Tension headache, neck ache, jaw ache, body aches. I want to cry. It's intense and I know if I can only make it to the kitchen and open the ibuprofen, take 3 and wait about 20 minutes, I will begin to feel better.  But, that is only temporary. 


The coffee is a vicious cycle right now. It helps ease the pain and improves my mood substantially, but then there is the drop again a few hours later as the caffeine and the ibuprofen wear off and I have to begin the cycle again.   Would I feel better if I am able to "quit" it?


The tingling is no longer in my hands and feet alone, but all throughout my body.


I am frustrated. Feeling hopeless and tired. I should cleanse and go back to my elimination diet in order to help my body
I have dark circles around my eyes, puffiness throughout my body, acne that means about 10 minutes of connect-the-dots.


I lost control over my diet and my health around Thanksgiving. Travel never helps. I keep thinking if I ignore my reactions to non-whole-foods that maybe they will go away. Everyone seems to think it's all in my head.


Aspartame was one of the first culprits I identified. This really provokes the dizziness and nausea. Carrageenan was another one I identified early on. This creates asthma attacks and headaches. Malted Barley, which is in just about everything is another ingredient that throws me off. One of the major offenders was corn starch. This mainly creates a great deal of pain, mostly in my jaw. I went to a TMJ specialist who ran a series of tests and determined it was not the joint. So why all the pain? It must be the muscle. They had no idea why. The pain was triggering migraines and a general feeling of wanting to kill myself. That' s what pain can do. I was taking acetaminophen at the time and for some reason decided to switch to ibuprofen. The pain subsided. I'm guessing it was the corn starch in the acetaminophen.


I wenth through an intense withdrawal from prozac in July after being off of it for 3 months, and now am going through citolopram withdrawal. 


I am going to give up coffee for a week and then either begin a water fast or a fruit/vegetable fast.  I will journal my results.