PITTSBURGH -- Do you have to have your cup of coffee in the morning? What about two…or three?

Medical experts believe you suffer from caffeine addiction, and based on new research, they believe it’s a real medical diagnosis.

80-90 percent of adults in North America drink coffee every day. The average intake is one to two mugs of coffee, or about 3-5 soft drinks a day. And this is enough to produce withdrawal symptoms if one cuts back.

According to a Johns Hopkins study that reviewed over 170 years of caffeine withdrawal research, it was found that the more caffeine consumed, the more severe withdrawal symptoms are likely to be, but as little as one cup of coffee a day can produce caffeine addiction.

Dr. Marc Galanter, the Director of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse at NYU Medical Center, says, “It has the qualities of a drug that can produce addiction in that it changes your mood and it can produce mild withdrawal, so you could say that complies with a formal definition of addiction.” In fact, the Hopkins researchers say caffeine withdrawal should become an official diagnosis.

“They use it for waking up in the morning sometimes or to stay awake late,” says Dr. Galanter.

The problem is, until now, there was no scientifically based framework for diagnosing the problem. This is why the researchers set out to determine what exactly were the signs and symptoms based on all the previous medical literature on caffeine withdrawal.

Hopkins researchers identified there are five common withdrawal symptoms: headache, fatigue, or drowsiness, depression and irritability, difficulty concentrating and flu like symptoms such as nausea, muscle pain and stiffness.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system. It works on the brain by increasing attention and alertness. Once it enters the bloodstream through the stomach and small intestine, caffeine can have its effects as soon as 15 minutes after it’s consumed. Once in the body, caffeine will stay around for hours.

“I think most people if they want to, can stop drinking coffee. “If it bothers them they can do it slowly,” says Dr. Galanter.

In studies, the symptoms of completely withdrawing off caffeine can be dramatic. Half of all people going through withdrawal will suffer headache. As many as 13 percent of individuals are so impaired by the headache or other symptoms they cannot go to work. The symptoms can last between two to even nine days long, but it usually peaks early on.

A simple stepwise approach can often eliminate the need for a “fix” without suffering the most severe withdrawal symptoms. In other words, cut back a little each week, perhaps by a half cup a week.

The experts advise to gradually reduce caffeine consumption over time by substituting decaffeinated or non-caffeinated products. In other words, mix in some decaf into the caffeinated coffee.

In this way, you can reduce or eliminate withdrawal symptoms.