soo miss cup of tea

[pammie00]

i was told not to have tea or coffee as it increases panic attack but i really miss it
has anyone had the caffine free
is it as nice

i have not had a cup tea for bout 8 weeks
as im scared it will bring them on

[nomorepanic]

decaf coffee and tea are both great. I can't tell the difference to be honest.

Try Rooibos tea that is good.

[pammie00]

thanks i will try that

i really miss tea

x

[tinkytink]

i have just started caffeine free and i think i prefer it to normal now:yesyes: xx

[pammie00]

oh this is good i will def have to try it
..thanks all x

[ladybird64]

I have been on caffeine free drinks since March..weird thing is I have gone right off coffee!

I have tried a few different caffeine free t-bags and too many of them are as weak as dishwater..I'm now drinking PG tips Pyramids decaff, £2.29 for a box in Sainsburys and they make a lovely strong cuppa.

I originally tried Red Bush..ewww!!

[pammie00]

ewwww my daughter got me some that red bush i really not like that
tbh it put me off and would rather have pop
but i will try the pg tips thanks
i usually get ringtons i think they do a de caf one i will have to ask

thanks for reply x

[Meltdown]

Organic deacaf tea tastes best...

However, I have been down this road, and most of the time drinking tea caused panicky symptoms because I expected it to!

I now drink 4-5 cups of (strong!) tea a day without problems. I still avoid coffee, though, because it definitely brings on palpitations. But tea is OK as it has much less caeffine.

It is important not to let this thing stop us doing things we enjoy (including drinking tea!)

[paulaf]

I stopped all caffiene afew weeks ago, just drink decaf coffee now. I used to spend a fortune at starbucks so will probably save some money now!

[juliej]

Typhoo Decaff is my favourite :) x

[Meltdown]

Caffeine content of various drinks:


double espresso (2oz) 45-100 mg
Brewed coffee (8 oz) 60-120 mg
Instant coffee (8 oz) 70 mg
Decaf coffee (8 oz) 1-5 mg
Tea - black (8 oz) 45 mg
Tea - green (8 oz) 20 mg
Tea - white (8 oz) 15 mg
Coca Cola (12 oz can) 34 mg
Pepsi (12 oz can) 38 mg


Notice that tea has much less caffeine than coffee! What I'm saying is don't cut out tea just because you think it makes you jumpy, it may well be (as I have found) that it is just the association you make with drinking tea that has that effect!

[jude uk]

I drink coffee tea and it never brings anything on. I know it can for some but I believe that is because some drink toooooooo much coffee or tea...mmm having said that I have about 7 cups of coffee a day. 4 normal and 3 decaff
As for the decaff stuff.......it tastes good and I dont notice the difference.

I would stay off the fizzy drinks as they are high in caffine

[Typer]

Me too, Typhoo decaf is the best....having tried nearly all of them

[Cococj]

Caffeine content of various drinks:


double espresso (2oz) 45-100 mg
Brewed coffee (8 oz) 60-120 mg
Instant coffee (8 oz) 70 mg
Decaf coffee (8 oz) 1-5 mg
Tea - black (8 oz) 45 mg
Tea - green (8 oz) 20 mg
Tea - white (8 oz) 15 mg
Coca Cola (12 oz can) 34 mg
Pepsi (12 oz can) 38 mg


Notice that tea has much less caffeine than coffee! What I'm saying is don't cut out tea just because you think it makes you jumpy, it may well be (as I have found) that it is just the association you make with drinking tea that has that effect!

While I think it's a valid point that believing something will make you jumpy often will there is no doubt that drinking tea will increase anxiety, however I'll add my own thoughts on that.

Firstly judging from those measurements that's not a UK based set of stats, it's also based on averages, if you drink your tea strong - as we tend to in comparison with say the US - then the amount of caffeine increases significantly. However if you are a lifelong coffee and tea drinker it's more likely that you're not going to feel the effects of caffeine enough that it's going to bother you significantly, only if you stop for a while then start drinking caffeine again.

That being said, and to contradict myself somewhat, after I quit drinking alcohol a few years I started drinking far more tea, I found it upset my bowels at the time and I stopped drinking it, for 3 years I didn't touch caffeine based drinks until this year, now that my anxiety is considerably better. It's taken me 2-3 months to get used to drinking caffeine again and that's without worrying about it, even the amount of caffeine in a drink of tea can have an effect on your body, you just don't tend to notice it as much when you're a regular drinker.

Having said all that, anxiety is well known for - either artificially or actually - increasing sensitivity to drugs, caffeine included and the bottom line is, if drinking it is making you worry about drinking it then it's already been implanted in your brain whether it's actually a physical effect or an imagined one.

[jothenurse]

I use to drink a lot of pepsi and eat a lot of chocolate. When I started getting tachycardia with the panic attacks, they suggested that I cut back on my caffeine. I don't drink the pepsi any more (will sometimes drink a Sprite or something without caffeine), but I still eat chocolate.
Do you think just having a small pepsi every once in awhile would hurt?

[Meltdown]

the bottom line is, if drinking it is making you worry about drinking it then it's already been implanted in your brain whether it's actually a physical effect or an imagined one.

And that's my point, really.

Just because we think something is causing panic, doesn't mean we should avoid it, as this just sets the whole cycle going again. Particularly if it is something we enjoy doing (such as drinking tea, or eating chocolate).

I used to think that tea and chocolate caused me to have palpitations. Even one square of chocolate would set me off!

Is the caffeine in chocolate so powerful that just one square could set me off? No of course it isn't! it was all in my mind!

So now I eat chocolate (Lindor!) when I feel like, and drink quite a lot of tea (never coffee though!)

The trouble is, tea and coffee REALLY DO have a psychoactive effect, so it's difficult to distinguish between the real effect and the imagined one. All I am saying is don't assume that the effect is wholly real, and deny yourselves things which may not really be harming you!

[Kelley]

Hi.
I too have been a caffeine addict and cut it out as i thought it was adding to my panic symptoms. I felt just as you do, missing a nice cuppa meant i had to investigate my options!
I read up on decaf variants and learnt that they still contain caffeine and to add to the problem, the process in which caffeine is distracted is in the form of chemicals which are the same used in paint thinners! Not good!
So.......after praying for an answer, i stumbled across a tea called 'Roiboos'. It's health benefits are astounding and there is no caffeine at all. This is something worth googling! So far i have most of my family onto it who have also got their friends / families onto it too. It is so close to black tea you won't really notice the difference. Just make it up the same as you would your normal tea, i add milk and sugar.
For coffee, i also found a substitute called 'Bambu' which is also caffeine FREE and organic.
If you really miss a nice coffee, there are some great organic decaf choices out there which have been processed naturally. Makes a nice treat :yesyes:

Kel.

[Annabelle]

i have to agree that typhoo decaff is the best - tastes just like normal typhoo - i tend to alternate so i will have caff tes first thing in the morning but for the rest of the day i'll have decaff, until about 5 when i'll have another caff tea, tha**** i can still drink tea like its going out of fashion but without the heart palps!!
luckliy i cant stand the taste of coffee!!

xx

[Going home]

Ive also been a fan of decaf tea for a number of years because I find that drinking more than a couple of cups of regular tea and coffee can trigger palpitations. Alot of cafes do decaf tea and fresh coffee these days too so I always ask for it, and you can't tell the difference at all. So no need to give up your cuppa :)

Anna xx

[xBettyBoopx]

May I ask all you de-caf drinkers if any of you smoke &/or drink alcohol? Just wondering! Oh and do you eat choccy?

I only drink tea (ordinary) and water. If I don't have something to give me a bit of umpf (lol @ spelling), I'd never get outta bed.:blush::blush::blush::doh::doh::doh:

Els

[StressedEric]

I've started having fruit tea for a refreshing change! Don't drink it all the time but makes a change from normal decaff tea and I find it quite relaxing! :)

[gallnimrod]

Hi Pammie,
just wondered if staying off the caffeine has made any difference to you? Do you still feel anxious, are the panic attacks less?
janex

[Going home]

To answer Elspeth's question...I gave up smoking some years ago, drink a glass of red wine with a meal and only ever eat a couple of squares of dark choc at a time. If I drank ordinary tea and coffee, smoked, and swopped back to eating milk choc I don't know about getting me going every morning, i'd be swinging off the lights! :ohmy::D

Anna xx

[tinydancer]

i can also vote for PG tips decaff - i live in france so have to get people to bring them over/send them to me as decaf tea (of the traditional kind) doesnt seem to exist here!

I miss the odd can of coke......i know you can get the decaf version of that in UK...but not easily in france! sigh!

Im not sure if staying off the caffine is making a difference to my levels of anxiety/panic...but i figure its not going ot do meany harm to cut it out!

[alwaysanxious]

hi pammie i lovemy tea2 and for a year have been drinking decaf pg tips and i cant tell the difference lovely.....

lisa