Monday, August 25, 2008

"Caffeine Intoxication"

Now I've heard everything. But sadly, it might make sense.




A few days/weeks ago I blogged about my Sleepless Nights. And my supposed "hot flashes" at the ripe old age of 41. And I began to wonder if there wasn't something else going on. I've had a few twinges here and there, my female parts aren't acting properly. So I wondered.




I took a long on-line poll of my health "issues." And the on-line diagnosis? "Caffeine Intoxication." It's a case of "DUH it's been staring you right in the face!!" Yes, I wake up at 5 or 6 am and go straight to the fridge for a diet coke. I don't drink coffee.


By the time I'm walking out the door an hour or so later, I'm on #2.

Hit the office and I'm at the machine for #3. It's about 830 a.m.....

Lunch is #4 (or #5..depends...)

2pm is #5.

4pm is #6. Usually I stop there. But sometimes, lately, I've been working until 10 or 11 pm and I'm on number 7 or 8 by 9pm.


But even when I quit at #6 or around 3pm, I still have all these "symptoms."


Well DUH again.


So I am trying to wean myself and hoping that the "hot flashes" and some of the other "stuff" will go away in a couple weeks.


I still wake up to a diet coke. But I drive to work with water. I have water for a midmorning snack. Diet coke with lunch and try to quit there.

Oh except for today when I drove to the kids' school THREE TIMES (30 minutes each way) for PSAT prep classes, soccer practice and cross country practice, then to the Dr for Son's physical, then to Subway for dinner, then to Office Depot for school supplies. 12 hours later I am home. I drank a lot of diet coke on the road today....


On the bright side, I haven't gotten hooked on THIS STUFF!!



Have you heard the story about Red Bull giving college kids the risk of blood clots and heart disease? Crazy. Click on the link for the story. Suffice it to say, I won't be drinking any Red Bull. Ever.


Now if I could just dump the Diet Coke habit, all might be well....





4 comments:

Amy said...

I'm a diet coke girl too but I don't think I've ever had any of these symptoms - and I probably don't drink as much as you either :-)

And I won't touch Red Bull either because of the stuff I've heard about it!

Carol P. said...

Go TGND! I cut back from 3 to 2 or 1 most days. One with breakfast to wake up after my treadmill time and the 16oz of water I drink. Then often one in the afternoon either with lunch or shortly after. That one is often replaced by water.

Sometimes I go for 3 though. Like today, one with breakfast -- coffee's for grownups and I'm not yet admittin' I'm a grownup! -- one down at the State Fair with lunch, and one on the way home so I didn't fall asleep. Or when I'm really on a roll cutting code or working a design or something and don't notice that I already had one open. Couldn't let it go to waste, could I?

But I often joke to S that come the Apocalypse, I'm bringin' the Diet Coke. When it goes on sale, I stock up and the floor of our pantry gets filled with cases. Takes several months to go through it, and then it's on sale again.

Persnickety Ticker said...

My mom drinks DC like it's water. She had alot of medical problems and figured out some were caused be the soda. So she cut back, but didn't quit it altogether.

Interesting trivia fact, they use soda (Coke, Pepsi) to help remove bloodstains from crime scenes. The acid in the drinks actually eats away at the biologicals and helps to remove them from most surfaces.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the link on the Red Bull. I had been drinking 2 a day of the small cans and just went through the stress test routine due to an "incident" that resulted in "You are fine, nothing to worry about." I had been drinking 3 coffees a day, but have to admit they were 24 ounces each...THAT wasn't too healthy either. I guess I'll just stick with water from now on, and maybe a small chocolate bar every now and then to ween me off the caffiene I crave.