Soda being adictive = gobs of money for pepsi/Coca-Cola

Good morning my ATS brethren. This morning I am battling with a long term addiction to the bottle, the soda bottle to be precise. Up till this point I was addicted to soda. Working online at nights I was drinking on average 2 liters of Mountain Dew or Pepsi a night.
At 1.50 a bottle it comes out to about 10 dollars a week and 40 dollars a month.
Several times I had tried to quit in the past, and failed. If I were drinking beer I would be considered an alcoholic.

So two days ago I decided to change my lifestyle, here's how its been going down.
Once I stopped taking in the caffeine I began to feel very tired, very run down. At points in my day I could barely get off the couch. By the afternoon of the first day I had the worst headache in my life, Advil does nothing for a caffeine headache like this.

By evening I am puking like crazy due to the painful headache. Sleep is restless, I'm having night sweats and cravings like that of someone who is trying to stop smoking cold turkey.

By yesterday morning my bed was soaked with sweat, still having the same headache from before only a bit less severe. Mid morning I am craving my last 2 liter of Pepsi. I limit myself to a shot glass of Pepsi an hour to try and sooth my headache. Mid afternoon and I am shaking and having chills. I start drinking Gatorade to keep myself hydrated, I cant even eat I feel so sick.


When bedtime comes I have a very hard time falling asleep, my mouth is watering. A horrible night's sleep comes last night, A never ending headache, more sweating to the point of changing clothes several times over the night. This morning I went in to see my physician who was working the night shift and didn't mind giving me a checkup. No, I don't have diabetes, no I'm just a coke addict.

Finally at the time of writing this now I still have a dull headache, to keep things under control I am using vicodin, its the only thing that's working to keep my from gouging my eyes out.

I know that I am on the downhill side of my addiction but the fact that I was able to get addicted raises the question in my opinion. Why is an addictive substance like soda not treated the same as cigarettes or alcohol? You will not find a warning label, or drug fact sheet on pop bottles. Why? Is the FDA asleep or are they just letting the bottling companies get a free ride here wracking in the dough from an addicted public?

You have just answered the question as to why im suffering so much.

I gave up diet coke about 5 days ago and have been drained ever since including a day on the couch with a severe headache!
Guess i better run out and buy some
s&f

It'd sure be nice if this forum was free enough to talk about the benefits of cannabis...
"Denying ignorance" alright...


Soda seems about as disgusting as it is.
Alcohol is disgusting and horrible, everybody knows that...right?

Just sit in front of the tv for a few hundred more hours, You'll feel better...
*awaits post deletion*

Here's a tip, drink water not gatorade, gatorade and the like have just as much sugar as the other drinks you're trying to give up.

Also try fresh fruit as well, it should give you the energy boost you need.

A visit to the doctor could be advisable too, the big sugar withdrawals could be a sign of diabetes.



[edit on 25/6/09 by Chadwickus]

Originally posted by Chadwickus
Here's a tip, drink water not gatorade, gatorade and the like have just as much sugar as the other drinks you're trying to give up.

Also try fresh fruit as well, it should give you the energy boost you need.

A visit to the doctor could be advisable too, the big sugar withdrawals could be a sign of diabetes.

[edit on 25/6/09 by Chadwickus]

In my post I said I went to my local physician this morning. I think the withdrawls are from a lack of caffeine, not sugar. Also, roger that about drinking water and eating fruit. I have been binging on bananas this morning.

[edit on 25-6-2009 by Happyfeet]

caffeine withdrwls will have head aches,fatigue and sometimes feelings of deluisions in extreme cases..


I think Alieve has a small amount of caffeine in it to help with headaches..

reply to post by Happyfeet


Ahh cool, sorry I was distracted while reading so didn't digest all information.

All the best with it!

I get lethargic and headaches as well. My drug of choice is Coca Cola.

Lately I've been drinking orange juice mixed with club soda, half and half. It's not bad. I'm trying to wean myself off of Coke. It's definitely addictive.

I'm trying to live without my daily can of diet coke for lunch right now!

After one week I still got terrible headaches, sodas are pure poison!

Now I'm drinking a club soda with a twist of lemon instead for lunch! but will be switching to pure water in the future.

With others here reporting that soda is addictive, the question remains. Why is it not treated as a drug?

maybe try tea, it has the caffeine in it but none of the sugar and chemical stuff. just a thought, but then i'm a fan of caffeine.

If only I could find Mountain Dew where I live, I'd happily pay £20 a month to be able to have a nice glass of due whenever I wanted, last time I saw it it was in a vending machine at a theme park and I empted it, so nice

With others here reporting that soda is addictive, the question remains. Why is it not treated as a drug?

Well if it is a drug, maybe we shouldn't be talking about it on ATS, it's against the T&C

[edit on 25-6-2009 by Pockets]

I've never exerperienced anything like what some of you are saying
I've never been abig soda drinker, though. When I do have it, it's the off brand "diet caffeine free" stuff

Just on a side note, as a smoker, I can't imagine coca-cola being anything like what a hard addiction is like.

I hate cigarettes, yet I love to smoke them. Sounds weird, but it's like the hardest thing I've ever tried to give up, bar none. The urge to go have a cigarette and get that oral fix is just beyond explanation.

Originally posted by Kaytagg
as a smoker, I can't imagine coca-cola being anything like what a hard addiction is like.

tell that to a heroin addict or an alcoholic!!
your own pain is always the worst imaginable

Originally posted by Kaytagg
Just on a side note, as a smoker, I can't imagine coca-cola being anything like what a hard addiction is like.

Everyone is different. I found it much easier to quit cigarettes. I quit cold turkey with no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Whereas if I go a few days without Coke, I get a headache.

Originally posted by pieman

Originally posted by Kaytagg
as a smoker, I can't imagine coca-cola being anything like what a hard addiction is like.

tell that to a heroin addict or an alcoholic!!
your own pain is always the worst imaginable

Are you comparing coca-cola to heroin alcohol or cigarettes

I had no idea people could get addicted to a soda drink with a little caffeine in it. Is it the caffeine that does it? The carbonation? The syrup? Maybe they went back to their "old" recipe, if you know what I mean

reply to post by TheComte



Maybe researchers should look into this. I never would have thought coca-cola could be an addictive substance stronger than cigarettes.

List of most addictive drugs:
1. Nicotine
2. Heroin
3. Cocaine
4. Alcohol
5. Caffeine
6. Marijuana

source

[edit on 25-6-2009 by Kaytagg]

I used to drink way too much pop. So I decided to see how long I could go without drinking one. It has been around 7 years I think. I've been fine without it but once in a great while I'll crave it a bit. Even dreamed about it a couple of times. But I haven't given in to temptation.

I may drink some before I die and maybe not. I want to see how long I can keep going.

From my experience, the fast is the best and natural action to rid off such habits.
I was 5 days on water and my life had completely changed since then. After that I found Coke (as fatty food and too sweet one) disgusting.

Even 1 day without food is great and you'll feel increase of energy the next day

reply to post by Kaytagg


That list is obviously BS since number 6 is on there.

And like I said everyone is different.

Originally posted by TheComte
reply to post by Kaytagg

 

That list is obviously BS since number 6 is on there.

And like I said everyone is different.

That's a real statistic that's used by those people. I know what you're saying about nbr 6 but it's last because everyone knows the truth about it.

Either way, caffeine addictions are hard to break but it will do wonders for your body to switch from soda to water. I drink water alllll day now and I admit sometimes when I have a very bad headache I'll crack open a mountain dew and drink about half of it but other than that I'm a water fiend. Don't give up breaking the addiction, if you're experiencing headaches so bad that you're vomiting from it, I suggest you drink about half a soda with some OTC headache meds with caffeine in it. It's almost like a heroine addict, they can't just quit the habit or they have horrible "episodes" or whatever they call it, they have to mix treatment with weaning off the addiction with a substitute drug.