Now this was kind of a bid deal because I absolutely LOVE coffee. Latte. Cafe au lait. Regular cup of joe. I don't care just give me anything fresh roasted, organic or simply non-instant and I'm happy. I probably drink 2-3 cups of coffee on any given day and sometimes much more. There is the obligatory morning cup and then another one sometime in the afternoon. There are countless cups to drink while reading the NYT on Sunday mornings or while studying at whatever coffee shop I choose on the weekends. Coffee is my study buddy, my comfort drink, my friend.
But I was over it. And on January first I had my last real cup of coffee. I switched to black teas for a few days so in an attempt to prevent withdrawal headaches. Then I went to decaf teas only. And I survived. Now there were a few afternoons in clinic when I was convinced all I needed was a shot of espresso to make my headache disappear. (And I did get one migraine, but I think it was probably the dehydration, skipping lunch and a busy overbooked clinic that did it, not the lack of caffeine.)
Somehow I made it, including one night on call without a single cup of coffee. And I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. However the hospital coffee leaves very little to be desired and there are no good/convenient coffee shops between home and work so that probably helped. But in any case, I now know I can live without coffee, and it isn't even that difficult. But I
And so yesterday for the first time in almost two weeks I drove 10 minutes out of my way and ordered a grande nonfat latte. And it was wonderful. Coffee and I are back together, at least for now.
I envy your resolve! I get a headache if I don't drink my "obligatory" morning cup, and if I don't have a therapeutic level of caffeine in my blood I really can't get work done... so where you addicted at that level? How do you feel now about being productive?
ReplyDeleteI want to be at a place where coffee gives me the boost when I really need it... not pull me down if I don't have it....
Oh and what rotation would you suggest doing this on? I am thinking psych :)
I was that addicted. And going cold turkey was much easier that I expected. But DO NOT even think of attempting this during surgery. Psych might be good but for me it was often needed because the pace is bit slow and thus it was a nice way to split the day, take a break, etc. (It can get loud on the ward with screaming, talking, crazy patients and I looked forward to sitting and enjoying quite and a cup of coffee quite often.) But hey, try it! You can always go back like I did. ;)
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