I am a caffeinated fiend. I inhale Rockstar and Diet Dr. Pepper like air. It wasn't always like this, but it got worse during spring term of last year when I had three evening classes and not very much energy. The caffeine made it difficult to sleep, which made me tired, which made me drink more caffeine, which made it difficult to sleep, etc. During the past few months I've been drinking at least one Rockstar a day and at most four, which has made me a little nutty. I have stayed up at least one night a week this entire term! I also strongly suspect that all of this soda and energy drink. . . drinking. . . has contributed to my significant weight gain over the past year.
So I have resolved that I will cut out the caffeine from my life and I drank my last Rockstar today. I've been trying to lessen my caffeine intake over the past week, and the results have been splitting headaches and ridiculously increased fatigue. I have diagnosed myself with 292.9 Caffeine-Related Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (DSM IV-TR) and I am working to overcome my shortcomings.
Here's to making life changes!
Blog Epilogue:
Josh wants me to mention that it will be easy for me to not drink Rockstar because he's the one that does all of the grocery shopping. It's true. When I do the grocery shopping I come back with ice cream and turkey bologna, so we decided that he was the better person for the job because he buys things like vegetables and milk (you know, things that contribute to survival). He was getting a real kick out of buying those huge palettes of Rockstar from Costco, though, because he would tell me each time about how, when he paid for the Rockstar, he would get to explain to the cashier that his wife is in graduate school. I think he's proud of me!
(NOTE: I am proud of her! I love that my wife will one day be "Dr. Alder" and I brag about her all the time. She's the coolest gal I know and I'm a lucky man to be married to her... even if it means I have to make sure we also eat from the *actual* food groups, and not just from the Emily Alder food groups, namely turkey bologna, energy drinks, ice cream, licorice and Taco Bell burritos. -- Josh)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
As Emily's husband, I will do all I can to support her in this (and by "all I can do," I mean I won't buy any more Rockstar for her!).
As for giving up Diet Dr. Pepper... umm... I will do all I can to make sure that Emily does not see me drinking them! :)
Oh man, all I can say is good luck. I myself has started drinking a lot more caffeine (you know ever since I had a baby and I have to run on little to no sleep most days) and now I'm totally hooked. Although I am hooked more on the flavor of Dr. Pepper more than the caffeine. I am obsessed with it. I need to cut back because I'm not even drinking diet....I'm drinking straight sugar! It's so good!
I hope the headaches stop soon, and that you can start getting more sleep to avoid the fatigue.
You're lucky to have such a great husband to help you along the way by not buying your Rockstar and by drinking all the Diet Dr. Pepper before you can get your hands on it.
Uhhh... I tried that once (to kick the caffeine) and succeeded... for one year. It was my new years resolution of 2007. Not one drop from Jan 1 to Jan 1. I have to say that it was the single most difficult thing I have ever done, ever! Did I mention ever? So, good luck with that.
Way to go! You're doing better than I am on that front, that's for sure...
Strangely enough I diagnosed one of my clients with that disorder recently.
As a recovering caffeine fiend myself I sympathize with what you are going through (I purposefully didn't use the word empathize because I don't know how well empathy could be communicated via a blog comment.) I myself used to drink about 9 Dr. Peppers daily and was able to quit cold turkey about 4 years ago. I experienced many of the same withdrawal sx you are experiencing. Every now and then I'm triggered (tempted) by a new Dr. Pepper flavor or even the sight of the sweet "Nectar of the Gods" in the grocery store. But my network of supporting loved ones (i.e. Heather, Erin, Travis, Marty) have helped me abstain. "It works, if you work it, cause you're worth it" -AA
Post a Comment