I used to drink up to 4 16oz cups of coffee a day... I believe my last anxiety attack was due to an overdose of caffeine. I have cut down alot, but still love the taste of coffee in the morning. I have switched over to decaf and was wondering if that is ok? Is Decaf coffee totally without caffeine? Any input on this would help alot!! Thanks!!

Hi Laura,

When I realized I was having anxiety I cut out caffiene all together, because I didn't want to introduce anything into my system that would trigger a panic attack. I went for 3 years without drinking ANY coffee, and I used to spend $100/month at Starbucks! It was hard, but necessary.

The answer to your question is yes, decaf coffee has caffiene. A cup of regular coffee has anywhere from 60-120mg of caffiene, where decaf coffee has only 1-5mg per cup. Recently I began to drink decaf coffee again and it doesn't seem to have bothered me. If you want to cut out caffiene totally, you can buy "substitute coffees" that contain no caffiene. They're actually pretty good. I found mine at a local health food store. It's called Perro.

Also be aware that chocolate contains caffiene too... 1oz of regular chocolate has 6mg of caffiene and 1oz of dark chocolate has 20mg!

Thank you.. that was great help and useful information!!!

I HAVE HEARD THAT COFFEE ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU ANYWAY. HEALTHWISE. I DON'T DRINK IT ANYMORE FOR OTHER REASONS. TRY A SUBSTITUTE.

Yes, decaf has caffeine. I gave up coffee 2/14/09 and am doing well. However, I had such a craving just for the taste of coffee, I bought a decaf. BAD IDEA. Got a buzz, my mania and anxiety levels were up. Someone suggested the caffeine free coffee Piro) which I will try. I Have been amazed at how wired I still am without the coffee....I am glad I am off it. Good luck to you all.

Decaf still does have a trace amount of caffeine, plus the acid and other chemicals in coffee depletes important B vitamins. Some people think "well, I'll just supplement with some B" but the best thing to do is get off the stuff cold turnip. You'll likely get a headache for the first couple of days but it's so worth it!

Not only that but there is a very harmful chemical process to decaffination.

I'm not a coffee addict, I'm a chocolate addict, and after 3 days (right now) off the stuff, I'm not craving it anymore! Before that I had to eat chocolate throughout the day, or at least 2 times a day. I know chocolate was a big challenge and addiction for me.

Our bodies are so amazing in that they detox fairly quickly. You can stop eating a harmful substance and usually in only a few days the majority of it will leave your system.