The never ending caffeine cycle (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 day ago by AddLemmus@lemmy.ml to c/adhd@lemmy.world

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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?

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[-] Zarobi@aussie.zone 2 points 1 day ago

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.

this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2026

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