Decaf vs no caffeine

I, rightly or wrongly still drink a decaf coffee, about 1 a day, certanly no more, but i am questonning whether i should be going completely cafffeine free if i want to get a better handle on this (currently on nortrip 30mg and diet) - how many of you stll have decaf in the diet?

Hi I still have decaff tea and coffee - up to 3 per day , I’m on the diet & 50mg of nori x

Hi
I gave up coffee/caffeine for about 3 months and didn’t notice a change, so I went back to it. I often wonder if I should go back off, but I’m managed quite well with current regimine.
Kelley

thanks - Anna, how are you getting on ( I ask, as you are also on diet and nort)?

I haven’t been able to figure out too many triggers… I just try to avoid, without going overboard, things that are blatant no-no’s for migraineurs. That said, I’ve been avoiding decaf. Until recently (says the woman with the cuppa decaf in her hand :wink:

Decaf is fine isnt? Why wouldn’t you be able to have decaf?

Technically decaf coffee isn’t 100% caffeine free. It’s only 97% caffeine free. So, if caffeine is a trigger for you, even decaf can do it, unfortunately.

how about decaf tea?

I can’t remember what the percentage is for decaf black tea, but I believe it’s actually got more caffeine in it than decaf coffee. Argh!!! (I’ve been drinking herbal, since it’s caffeine free, but, yuck. There’s really nothing like the real thing!)

i checked :smiley:

most decaf tea is labelled as caffeine (0.2%)

Here’s a link that lists specifics (not percentages, but mgs) for tea: mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211
and for coffee: mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/AN01211

Sorry I’m not here to really answer your question but to ask a related question. I’m a 24/7 dizzy person. So when ya’ll (yes, I’m from the south) are talking about triggers, specifically caffeine, is this something that induces vertigo (for those that get the spins), or increases dizziness (in a 24/7 person)? I haven’t come across anything I can pinpoint that makes me feel worse (except for issues with medications). I’ve been decaffeinated for years except for an occasional cup of decaf and it doesn’t make me feel any different…that was kinda an answer :wink:

I guess I really don’t understand triggers especially as it relates to a 24/7 dizzy person…should I be asking this in another thread?

Thanks,
Judy

I’ll try to answer for ya… :wink: triggers can just make things worse (a dizzier day, a harder time thinking, a headache whereas you don’t usually get headaches, that kind of thing). Of course, beyond the basic food triggers (caffeine, red wine, aged cheeses, msg, etc.) there’s also a whole host of other triggers like weather, lighting, hormonal fluctuations, etc.

Some folks have an easier time pinpointing their triggers than others. I, personally, have only noticed a few times when I had a food that made my dizzies worse. Sometimes it’s suggested that migraineurs keep a diary of foods (or other things that are potential triggers) so they can see what, if anything makes their issues worse. (For example, I might always feel worse after eating a bowl of raisin bran. Could be raisins or bran doing me in. Or, I could feel worse 2 days after eating spaghetti, every time I eat it. Could be the sauce…

So, basically, that’s why the Buccholz book and some neurologists, etc. recommend cutting out all food triggers for a couple months (to get the stuff out of your system) and then try slowly adding them back in one at a time to see if there’s any noticeable difference…

Does that help? :slight_smile:

What about chocolate I love it I havent had it for three days and its depressing Ive lost so much weight and the stupid diet does not help :?

Hi all, Brian ,
I’m doing better thanks been on nori and diet for 12 weeks now. When I say better , I mean better than I was 12 weeks ago but by no means cured. I’m probably at about 75% , I have identified my main trigger which is lighting, very hard to avoid :frowning: my Dr wants to keep the nori at 50mg for now. Think I’m doing some VRT next…,

Blondie , my dr said no choc :frowning: its so bloody hard , I had the smallest lick of my daughters choco mousse today that’s as ‘wild’ as it gets…

— Begin quote from “erika”

I’ll try to answer for ya… :wink: triggers can just make things worse (a dizzier day, a harder time thinking, a headache whereas you don’t usually get headaches, that kind of thing). Of course, beyond the basic food triggers (caffeine, red wine, aged cheeses, msg, etc.) there’s also a whole host of other triggers like weather, lighting, hormonal fluctuations, etc.

Some folks have an easier time pinpointing their triggers than others. I, personally, have only noticed a few times when I had a food that made my dizzies worse. Sometimes it’s suggested that migraineurs keep a diary of foods (or other things that are potential triggers) so they can see what, if anything makes their issues worse. (For example, I might always feel worse after eating a bowl of raisin bran. Could be raisins or bran doing me in. Or, I could feel worse 2 days after eating spaghetti, every time I eat it. Could be the sauce…

So, basically, that’s why the Buccholz book and some neurologists, etc. recommend cutting out all food triggers for a couple months (to get the stuff out of your system) and then try slowly adding them back in one at a time to see if there’s any noticeable difference…

Does that help? :slight_smile:

— End quote

Helps a lot…thank you. I can say, for sure, that lighting is a trigger for me, and I’ve had very memorable moments when certain lighting exacerbated my symptoms. Florescent lighting always presents a challenge, but that’s now expected and it seems when I expected it I can handle it somewhat better.

I’m not sure if this is going to make much sense, but being in a rather acute stage right now (had a slight window of about 5 weeks over the summer where I thought I was getting better) leaves me without much energy to do all the right things…like read the book, keep a diary, cut out everything. I know if I get a respite again I’ll take better advantage of it.

Thanks again,
Judy

Oh wow there’s a lot of caffeine in some of those drinks!

I didn’t know how much was in decaf tea I drink it every day now. At least 2 cups. Headpalm!!! :shock:

May as well just have a cup of decaf coffee! Better start limiting myself to 1 cup of decaf tea, or find an herbal I like in the am…

I’ve drunk decaff coffee, but I found information that decaf contans coffeine too. So now I don’t know what to drink!

Hi droider. I think it depends where you are. I believe decaf has to be at least 99% caffeine free in the UK. I get this stuff called barley coffee which is as good a substitute as I can find that’s caffeine free. It’s coffee ish! Redbush tea is quite similar to normal tea.