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Comment by joslin01 | Hacker News Reader

> I've never experienced withdrawals

I don't believe you. How long have you gone without it? When did you start drinking caffeine? What's your definition of withdrawal?

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Different people react differently. For a variety of conditions, I take moderate doses of opioids (tramadol 50mg qds or codeine 60mg qds) and benzodiazepines (tamazepam 20mg daily), both of which are well-known to cause dependence. I've abruptly stopped both a number of times (strongest example - going without the tramadol for three months, after taking that dose for over six months) without any ill effects or withdrawal (other than the original conditions returning to about the same as they were before treatment).

Edit: with -> without

My caffeine usage has varied quite a bit. At one point I was drinking a cup of coffee in the morning, some caffeinated drink during the day, and then tea in the evening, around seven o'clock. When I was eating a college dining hall diet, I was drinking a caffeinated soda with every meal, plus coffee in the morning, and tea (mostly green) on average once per day. These days I hardly drink any caffeine. The transitions between these patterns have always been abrupt, and I've never felt drowsy or had a craving or headaches or anything following a reduction of caffeine consumption.

As a kid I was taking 30mg amphetamine daily, which I stopped taking abruptly and had no withdrawal (I did eat a huge amount in the days following, but the drug was causing me to not eat and lose weight). I had been taking it for about 6 months. Later I was taking 54mg methylphenidate 5 days/week for about two years, and I stopped taking it abruptly and again experienced no withdrawal symptoms.

Different people react differently to drugs.

> What's your definition of withdrawal?

Headaches (the most frequent symptom my wife experiences, as do my friends), excessive sleepiness, exhaustion, shaking hands, etc...

It's possible, however, that I may have been slightly more tired, but beyond the threshold of noticing this; or slightly slower reaction times. This isn't a scientific study.

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