I'm addicted to coffee, please help?

There is hope. Why not try something radical like going without coffee for 3 days while switching to green tea? Green tea will supply the caffein so you likely won’t suffer from headaches. Then after 3 days, go another 3 days. Once you’ve made it through one week of no coffee, you’ll likely start feeling great relief like the monkey is finally off your back. You won’t have to plan your day around coffee anyone. One less thing to do and worry about in your life.

I use to be a lot like you. If I was left alone with a pot of coffee, then I’d drink the whole thing and make another pot. I was like that for over 30 years and then I developed heart arrhythmias (palpitations, atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation). A cardiologist told me to limit my coffee intake to 1 small cup a day. But that is like telling an alcoholic to only have one small beer a day. So I quit drinking coffee all together. I went cold turkey. It wasn’t too bad because I realized that I had no choice. That was over 15 years ago.

I drink green tea in the mornings now. It doesn’t have the addictive hold on me that coffee did. I don’t crave green tea like I did coffee most likely because green tea done’t have much of a flavor. Green tea wakes me up and doesn’t give me the jitters or mess with my heart like coffee did.

Good luck and good health to you.

I agree with Gondwanalon, it is possible to kick that habit. At one point, in the mid-90s, i was drinking fix or six large mugs a day. I forced myself to cut back, and it took a long time, but i prevailed. One way is to mix defac and regular coffee when you make it at home—which means forsaking the coffee shops, at least at first. Substitution is another way to tackle it, with, for example tea, as,mentioned above. That’s not how i did, it though. Drink from smaller cups, don’t drink from a mug. Wait as long as you can each morning before having a coffee. Set a daily limit and stick to it until you’re comfortable. Then cut down the limit again. I succeeded to the point that i’ve never been a slave to coffee again. I drink a tall cup, no more, at one time, and i have two cups a day at most, and often not that much. I had a couple of cups a few days ago, after three days with no coffee. Once again, I’ve gone three days with no coffee, because it has been so hot that I’ve not wanted to heat the kettle.

You can do it, and good luck to you.

I was never addicted to coffee but many years ago I realised I was drinking too much coffee as I couldn’t get to sleep at nights, which was unlike me. I started off each day with a cup of strong coffee and throughout the day I drank more which was supplied free at my work.

I just stopped dead and switched to tea which I have drunk ever since. Like @gondwanalon I drink green tea, without sugar or milk and which I much prefer. I no longer have any trouble getting to sleep.

I’d start by mixing your regular coffee with some decaf when you brew. Gradually increase the percent of decaf.
If you can find Postum, I always found it an acceptable substitute. Not for your coffee, but as a steaming cup of strong tasting substitute, maybe later in the day.
The best tasting Decaf I ever found was by Gevalia, the (formerly) mail-order coffee subscription company.

Switch to tea.

Is there some reason you want to stop drinking coffee? (asks the person who has a French Press on her head and two mugs of coffee in her avatar photo)

I used to be. Acid stomach and all. Made me ill and I drank it anyway.

My solution: Stop drinking it – cold turkey. Just stop. It will be unpleasant for 4–5 days; you will crave it. But mind over matter. Tell yourself it is for the best.

Then do not drink it for 6 months. Self control.

Then, allow yourself one per day. And control it. Savor every sip.

Coffee is like sex. Too much of it and it isn’t special any more.

I use to drink up to 32 (8 ounce) cups a day.
Yup, a pot in the morning before leaving for work make a second pot to put in thermos. Stop at cafeteria for cup and take thermos up stairs to work. Couple of cups at lunch, at home for dinner another pot. Some nights I would have a cup just before going to sleep. Now I only drink three or four cups. I increased my water drinking and now drink fancy whole bean coffee I grind at home

Are you drinking coffee all day long? Is that why it is interfering with your sleep?
I’m a coffee-a-holic too, but only in the mornings. I drink 4–5 cups between about 7 and 9 a.m. but them I am done for the day. I cannot have coffee later in the day or it will ruin my sleep as well. Maybe just limit yourself to mornings and make your cut off like 10.am. Baby steps.

I would go with @ibstubro – gradually transition from regular to decaf. My wife did it before getting pregnant. The transition to 50% decaf was easy. 50% to 25% was harder. 25% to 0% was even harder. You might want to have a step in between, like 10%.

Well, I don’t know if this helps, but I get my first cup of coffee and after it’s half gone I fill it back up with water and nuke it for a minute. I’ll do that a couple of times and in the end it’ll be like drinking slightly flavored water.
Maybe some of it is the hand-to-mouth gratification thing?

Keep in mind that @Dutchess_III keeps her hair shirt well conditioned! ~ ~

I don’t like coffee!! I like other things, though.

It was advised in the past to never drink coffee after 7pm in order to sleep well.
Also cut the intake to not more than six cups per day.
Sometimes its the sugar that is the culprit that one is addicted too.
If it is the sugar then only have one teaspoon per day.
I have only one teaspoon of sugar in the morning coffeee and none for the rest of the day ( only six cups and notheing after 7pm)
Result ..I lost weight and have slept well and saved money on purchasing too much coffee per week.
I now buy one 930 g container of coffee for the whole month,($24.00 vs $40 -$50 before).
First sign that yur body is adapting too this change are headaches for about two weeks until your body is regulated to the new regime.

Down here in the Deep South we are faithful Community Coffee (dark roast) fans. It’s a locally owned company. As I got into my 40’s (I am now 55) I noticed I was having a lot of heart burn after drinking coffee but never found an alternative brand that I liked so I just tolerated it because I too am a coffee addict. In the last year my husband bought me a Keurig coffee pot and told me about the coffee they make on his job called Donut Shop. I was skeptical but pleasantly surprised. No heartburn and it’s really good as well as a medium roast! Now to your answer,lol: I bought the Donut Shop Decaf for my mom and she loved it. I now continue to drink coffee all day long but my evening cup is the decaf. Can’t tell the difference at all (unlike other decafs) and honestly after 55 years I’ve learned that coffee starts as an energy boost addiction and with time becomes a taste addiction because you become immune to the caffeine boost. I.e., A habit. Hope this helps!