Is addiction to diet-coke.. a thing?

Fran101

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#1
ok, I have epilepsy so I'm supposed to cut out all caffeine and general bad stuff.. including my usual diet-coke fix, which I did! for months.

Recently because of finals and coke products being available for free in the library, I have kind of gotten back on them but it's been over a week of trying to stop drinking them and it's..difficult!

I was never a soda drinker as a child-teen (we weren't allowed) this all started in college so WHAT GIVES?! I feel like it shouldn't be this hard to stop drinking them!
Especially when it comes to diet coke, more-so than the epilepsy, I know it's bad for me. I KNOW. And yet.. especially during study sessions (/times of stress) and late afternoon sleepies, I find myself just wanting one really really really bad.

Well this evening, I haven't had one in about 2 days..and all of a sudden I was like I NEED ONE, NOTHING ELSE WOULD SUFFICE! I actually put pants on and walked to CVS right now to go get one! INSANITY!

People keep telling me I need to treat it like an addiction lol but is that even possible? I mean.. it's not a drug!
and more-so..how do you think I should go about quitting long term?

Any healthy bubbly substitutes? I drink plenty of water, I eat pretty healthy (I juice veggies, avoid processed, lots of fruit, lean meat only, no dairy)
SO WHY WHY WHY IS THIS LAST STUPID THING SO HARD TO KICK?! ITS JUST BUBBLY SUGAR!!
 

Southpaw

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#4
Hahah well there is sugar addiction, which is actually very similar to cocaine or heroin addictions because it stimulates the same part of the brain :p

I have no help for you though because I have had a strong love for Dr. Pepper for the last 10 years or so. Nothing makes me more disappointed than wanting a DP, only to find out that we have none in the house. And yep, I have went and made special trips to buy some because I NEED IT NOW.

The difference is that I have no desire to break up with the Dr.
 

meepitsmeagan

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#5
Ugh. Pop addictions are the WORST. I'm struggling with this as well. College and living on my own did me in.

I've found that drinking bottled water helps a ton, and I didn't even like water to start with. I found that trying to quit cold turkey made it a lot worse. I would have bad cravings, bad headaches, and when I would go back to pop, I would binge bad. So, I make daily goals to not drink that day, and then treat myself the next with a can. I don't keep pop at the house, and I keep away from all of the fountain soda machines. I am now down to a pop every two days.

I haven't found anything that is a good substitute. I don't like flavored waters or carbonated waters, but if you do, the carbonated water may help...
 

crazedACD

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#6
I'm convinced it's an addiction. Not even kidding, if I haven't had one of the energy drinks I like in about 24 hours, the first sip is like...fireworks and happy/elated feelings. There's definitely a brain related thing that happens with it.

I wasn't allowed sodas much as a kid either, I wonder if it being a 'taboo' did it to me.

I finally found a flavored sparkling water I like, Sparkling Ice (sold at Walmart). I'm kind of amazed it tastes this good being zero calories. I'd like to just do mainly water but I will start with the sparkling waters.
 

skittledoo

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#7
I'm completely addicted to regular coke.... drink it EVERY day... sometimes a few of them every day. I quit for a couple months and then one day I got a fountain coke for Josh and decided to take one sip.... and then one more sip.... because coke.

Now I just can't seem to make myself stop again.
 

Xandra

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#8
It's got caffeine... I'm pretty sure you can be addicted.

I don't know if I'm addicted but I can't stay up late without it. I get the afternoon sleepies and I hold them off until evening and then I'm dead lol it's a bit pathetic. Thank god for Coke Zero otherwise I would probably weigh an extra 100 lbs or so lol.


BTW I just looked it up and Coke Zero has 96 mg of caffeine while Diet Coke has 128 mg... maybe wean yourself off with Coke Zero? (I think it's better tasting anyways :D)
 

Brattina88

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#10
YES :eek: lol
I agree, I think it's the caffeine. The first three days are THE WORST... If you can push through the first three days it's all good after that, though "they" say it takes 2 weeks to go through complete caffeine withdrawal. I had a friend who suggested popping a hershey kiss when the urge hit bad to break the habit, but that didnt do much for me.... WATER WATER WATER and Tylenol and a suffering together buddy worked :eek:

Seriously, we can be your AA group (CA?) :rofl1: once you quit it completely you WILL feel better!!! :D I know I did. I "quit" pop and candy/sweets/junk and I feel better than I have in years. So I've "cheated" twice recently (chocolate brownies and chocolate sundae) and I swear I hate chocolate now. Sure it tastes good and is maybe 5 minutes of complete heavenly bliss (LOL) but the headache afterwards is sooo not worth it! And the digestive upset. Bleh
 

Saeleofu

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#12
Caffeine IS a drug, and yes, you can definitely get addicted! My mum was addicted to it for years. I've been briefly addicted (that insane dogsitting stint with a fridge FULL of diet coke...like, FULL. That was the only thing in there, and it was FULL). I actually used excedrin to get off of it. It has caffeine, and it battles the headaches that come with caffeine withdrawal. Then you just lower the dose slowly.

FWIW Coke does come in a caffeine-free version. I prefer caffeine-free diet if I'm going to drink soda.
 
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#13
Yep, I want through the same thing, now I only drink the caffeine free diet coke or Pepsi, and we picked up a soda stream machine this week and they have a caffeine free one as well, so now I drink that.
 

milos_mommy

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#17
Caffeine IS a drug, and it's one with typically much more serious physical withdrawal symptoms than plenty of illegal or Rx drugs, so it's not just possible, but very likely, to get addicted to it, both physically and mentally.

Aside from that, the sugar it's self in most soda is "addicting" in that it will cause you to crave sugar if you cut it out. I have no idea about diet sodas, but plenty of ingredients in them are (or used to be) banned in other countries, so it wouldn't surprise me.

I'd start by weaning yourself off the caffeine - even though soda doesn't have much, if you don't drink caffeine typically it will be enough to affect you. You can go cold turkey, but you'll have a headache and feel terrible for a day or three, like hungover even. I'd replace the sugar craving by eating a piece of fruit or something, or even a protein snack (some nuts, cheese, yogurt, turkey slices) when you get a craving for it.
 

Dizzy

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#18
Yes, yes, yes and YES!!!

Its chock full of horrid chemicals!!!! I go through phases of drinking it, its sooooo bad for you though!!

And yes its addictive, and yes it can cause nasty side effects. The aspartame is particularly bad and linked to all kinds of nasty stuff.

I still like a can though. Woe is me.
 

RD

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#19
Your body can grow to depend on caffeine, which is kind of irritating to kick. I'm in this boat right now. :( I kicked the soda, but I take caffeine pills and when I go off them for a day or two, I get nasty headaches and fatigue.

Other than the physical dependency with the caffeine, I think soda addiction is really just a mental thing. Like I'm addicted to chicken salad or almonds or something. It's one of those things that's hard to use self control with - I know if I get a 12 pack of diet soda it'll be gone within a few days, so I just stopped buying it.
 

BostonBanker

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#20
Other than the physical dependency with the caffeine, I think soda addiction is really just a mental thing. Like I'm addicted to chicken salad or almonds or something. It's one of those things that's hard to use self control with - I know if I get a 12 pack of diet soda it'll be gone within a few days, so I just stopped buying it.
This. Caffeine addiction is absolutely real. I used to always, always drink one Coke a day, and would wind up dealing with headaches all day if I didn't have at least some of one by 11 o'clock. I completely kicked caffeine (other than what is in some foods) for several months at one point. The first five days or so were miserable, but after that, my "cravings" for Coke were just like my cravings for ice cream or popcorn or anything else. Incredible cravings, but not "addiction".

I finally, at the age of 33, have turned to coffee instead of soda, thanks to my boss keeping the fridge at work stocked with a big thing of iced coffee. Zero headaches or soda cravings, because I'm still getting the caffeine. In fact, I had a soda yesterday just because I don't have coffee at home, and it gave me a terrible upset stomach.
 

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