My love affair with caffeine started when I was a child. I can remember being allowed to drink Coke while watching “Little House on the Prairie”. No wonder I was such a bad sleeper!
As a teenager, I became seriously addicted to Dr. Pepper. It didn’t help that I worked in a restaurant that allowed us to have as many soft drinks as we wanted for free. The Dr. Pepper flowed freely and I was loving it.
In college, all that Dr. Pepper caught up with me, and I began to gain weight. Drinking diet drinks just didn’t seem worth it, but I gave it a try and quickly became addicted to Diet Pepsi — my drink of choice ever since.
I have never been a coffee drinker, so I always justified my Diet Pepsi in the morning as my “coffee”. If I didn’t have it as soon as I got up, the headache that would follow would impair me to the point of having to lie down. When I worked in my old corporate job, it was a well known fact on my floor that you didn’t dare enter my office until I had finished at least one large 20 oz. bottle of Diet Pepsi that I purchased every morning in the cafeteria. Yes, I had become a caffeine addict.
I managed to stop drinking caffeinated Diet Pepsis during both of my pregnancies, but that was no big accomplishment because I couldn’t keep anything down — not even water– and was hooked up to IVs most of the time.
Fast forward to August of this year. I decided it was time to break the cycle. I hated the way all the soft drinks made me feel, and I knew I wasn’t setting a healthy example for my kids. I had a really bad sore throat and was feeling bad already, so why try to choke down a Diet Pepsi? I drank water instead. Guess what? I didn’t feel any worse — the bad headache didn’t materialize. So the next day and the day after, I drank water and only water. I had times of desperate cravings and almost gave in many times, but I managed to make it all the way to November without a soft drink.
For the last three weeks, I have been suffering with migraines. They come at odd times and without any rhyme or reason. I’ve never had so many so close together in my life. Yesterday, I had to come home from work early due to another migraine. My husband (who happens to be a very good family practice doctor) told me that in addition to my medication, a little caffeine would probably be the best thing for my migraine. I reluctantly popped open the can. It did help my migraine and made me feel a bit better, but I realized that I didn’t miss the Diet Pepsi as much as I thought I would….but, my frustration continues today. These headaches and migraines are putting a damper on my post-caffeine life. I guess I thought I’d feel great and have all kinds of energy without the soft drinks and, at least for the last three weeks, the opposite has been true.
Anyone else have a similar experience with soft drinks? I’d love to hear from you.
