Over the decades, I keep switching between caffeine times and caffeine-free times.
It’s like this:
- need an extra boost for morning or afternoon, and it is really important
- it becomes a regular thing again, at least 1xmorning, 1xafternoon
- ups and downs are too strong, switching to guarana
- it works, even boost now
- It turns into madness, e. g. not enough sleep, and it prevents me from napping, or even night sleep is not good anymore. Also, completely dysfunctional in the morning.
- optionally increase up to double dose
- unpleasant withdrawal
- back to start after a month, year or two years
Right now, I’m on day 3 or 4 of a very unpleasant withdrawal again. Headaches, poor sleep quality, muscle and joint pain. Also, the Elvanse boost is really diminished, a lot. Tragically, in terms of productivity and mood, it worked really well with caffeine, just too much madness.
Do you think just staying off for good is the way to go?
Honestly, it reads like an unhealthy relationship with drugs lol
I used to do the same. On and off with massive amounts of coffee per day. Whiplash from caffeine withdrawals. This was before my diagnosis though; back then I only knew that caffeine made me feel calmer and focused.
There’s medications you can talk to a doctor about; in my experience they are more effective than caffeine and smoother in their effective timings. I used to take Vyvanse, once per day in the morning. Lasted all day, no sleep problems, no jitters etc. I’m not a doctor so this isn’t medical advice, just sharing my experience.
I had to stop because it interacted with a new medication I absolutely had to take. If my situation didn’t change, I would still be taking it.