When Cutting Back Backfires

Sometimes the “healthy choice” doesn’t feel healthy at all—at least not on Day One.

You know this moment: you try to do the right thing, you change one variable, and your body answers back like you pulled the wrong wire.

Hello, my friends on Standing on the Ledge. Welcome back. How are you today? How is your journey going? Are you finding what you need here?

Yesterday, I tried something that I thought would be a clean win: I cut back on caffeine. I drink an awful lot of coffee, and I figured replacing coffee with water was the obvious “healthier” move.

Then my blood pressure spiked—high enough that I was staring at the numbers thinking, “Do I need emergency help right now?” I didn’t ignore it. I stayed put, monitored it for the next hour or two, and it eventually came down.

This morning: same story. I woke up, took my meds, checked my blood pressure… and wham. Back up into that high range again. This time it came with a headache and tinnitus.

So I ran a test—because at this point, I needed data more than fear.

I put on a pot of coffee after that first high reading. I took a second set of readings after the first cup. My blood pressure came down. I had a second cup, checked again, and it came down further.

I’m going to message my doctor on Monday and walk through this with them. Because I’m not interested in guessing with a heart that already has a file folder.

Reader’s Moment

If you’re reading this and you’ve ever had your body throw a warning light the second you tried to “get healthier,” you’re not crazy.

You’re watching a system fight to keep its balance—sometimes in ways that make no intuitive sense. And the more frightened you get, the more your nervous system joins the conversation.

The socio-psych lens (why this gets weird fast)

1) Homeostasis has a personality. When you run on caffeine daily, it becomes part of your baseline—your chemistry, your routines, your sleep, your stress management. Pull it away abruptly and your body may react like you changed the climate, not the beverage.

2) The “panic loop” is real. A high reading triggers alarm. Alarm triggers adrenaline. Adrenaline can push blood pressure higher. Then the next reading feels like confirmation, and the loop tightens.

3) Coffee can be both tool and trap. Caffeine can help some headaches (it’s even used as an ingredient to enhance pain relief in some migraine and headache treatments), but regular reliance can also contribute to rebound/medication-overuse patterns in some people. That’s why this needs a clinician’s eyes on it, not just a gut feeling.¹

What I’m doing (the practical triage)

I’m treating this like Phase 2: stop the bleed, stabilize, reduce risk, and collect clean information.

• I’m logging readings instead of chasing them. Proper seated technique matters: rest 5 minutes, arm supported at heart level, no talking, and don’t build a story off a single number. Hypertension Canada even recommends discarding the first reading and averaging the next two at home.²
• I’m not self-adjusting meds. I’m not doubling doses. I’m not playing pharmacist. This goes to the doctor.
• I’m watching for “don’t wait” signs. If your BP is around 180/120 with symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness/numbness, trouble speaking, or vision changes—call emergency services. Don’t negotiate with that.³

The migraine thread (and the Verapamil memory)

This also pulled an older thread loose: migraines. Years ago, I was prescribed Verapamil. It helped—after a couple of weeks, the daily migraines eased down to something more like weekly for a stretch.

But the evidence on verapamil for migraine prevention is mixed, and it’s generally treated as a second-line option now—again, more reason to discuss patterns and options with a clinician instead of trying to “DIY” a nervous system.⁴

We’re also coming into spring, and historically my migraines have clustered in spring and fall. Some years they vanished entirely, which makes it harder to pin down and easier to dismiss—until your body reminds you it keeps receipts.

And yes… life keeps happening

Weather-wise, we got hit with about 6–7 inches of snow yesterday. Driving in was fun. Driving home was fun. Thank God for all-wheel drive—and I’m really hoping I can afford to keep this car.

Money is tight. I’m triaging money, trying to stop the bleed, stop paying for things I don’t need, and get others on board to lower bills. Because the same rule applies everywhere:

Stability isn’t one big decision. It’s a hundred small ones that stop the leak.

That’s it for today. Godspeed.

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1. Caffeine can enhance acute headache/migraine treatment in some contexts, but regular use can also contribute to rebound/medication-overuse headaches in some people. See: Lipton RB et al. “Caffeine in the management of patients with headache” (2017). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5655397/ and Nowaczewska M et al. “The Ambiguous Role of Caffeine in Migraine Headache” (2020). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7468766/ ↩
2. Hypertension Canada: recommended home BP technique (rest 5 minutes, seated, arm supported at heart level; discard first reading and average the latter two). https://hypertension.ca/guidelines/supplementary-tables/ ↩
3. American Heart Association: hypertensive emergency guidance (≥180/120 with symptoms—call emergency services). https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings/when-to-call-911-for-high-blood-pressure ↩
4. Migraine prophylaxis evidence summaries note calcium channel blockers (including verapamil) have weak/mixed evidence and are generally second-line. See: StatPearls “Migraine Prophylaxis” (NCBI Bookshelf). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507873/ and AAFP “Migraine Headache Prophylaxis” (2019). https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2019/0101/p17.html ↩