Tag: caffeine

When I woke up this past Saturday morning, I had been caffeine-free for 236 days and by about 2 pm or so I had pretty much decided that I was going to need caffeine to make it through the rest of the day. It started with a bad night’s sleep. I mean really bad, as it not more than 2 hours. I woke up feeling sluggish and tired. Saturday was a busy day. We had friends in town, and Kelly’s brother visited for a few hours. Grace had gymnastics practice in the afternoon. And in the evening, we had a get-together with friends before the holidays. Indeed, this was the last weekend before we head on our holiday vacation and there was a lot to do.

Normally, I get in a nap each day or I get a little grouchy. But on Saturday, there was no time for a nap. I tried napping while waiting in the car during Grace’s gymnastics practice, but without much luck. With all of this going on, Kelly kept checking to see if I was okay because she knew I hadn’t slept well, knew that I got grouchy when I didn’t nap, and knew that we had this party to go to in the evening. It was then that the idea of breaking my caffeine streak became something more than just a fleeting idea. I knew that if I had some caffeine, I’d be alert for the party. At the same time, as someone addicted to caffeine, I also knew that I couldn’t possibly have just one caffeinated drink and that by committing to having caffeine, I was breaking my streak and opening myself up to reverting back to my excessive caffeine-drinking ways.

I told myself that I’d get some caffeine while Grace was at gymnastics. Instead, I tried to distract myself for 2-1/2 hours. I watched an episode of The Expanse. I listened to some of All Systems Red. I turned on one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums and listened to Meddle in its entirety. That got me through the until gymnastics practice was over.

When we got home, it was 4:30pm and the party was at 5:45pm. I took a hot shower, listening to music to try to keep myself awake. It was unusually mild out, and after the shower, I went out onto the deck with a beer, and listened to the theme from Rocky, “Gonna Fly Now,” on repeat at full volume until I’d finished the beer. When that was done, I definitely felt like my energy level had come up a bit.

We got to the party at 6 pm and got home around 10:30pm. I then stayed up talking with our visitors for another two hours. Now normally on a Saturday night, I’d be in bed by 9 o’clock. I can’t remember the last time I went to bed after midnight on purpose. But I did on Saturday. I slept better than I had Friday night.

I woke up on Sunday and the caffeine crisis had been averted. I’d made it through a day that I was certain I was going to cave and managed to get through the day without any caffeine, extended my streak to 237 days caffeine-free. It was not easy. It’s funny how little I cared about caffeine once I got through the hard part of giving it up. I had no craving for it for months, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, I nearly went back to it. As I write this, I feel pretty good that I managed to stave off the urge to cave to caffeine. But it is always a challenge when that urge for caffeine arises, and I know that the next time, I may not be so lucky. I think that’s why they say: one day at a time.

Root beer is the best of all the soft drink. I am re-learning that now. On Sunday, April 18, 2021, I gave up caffeine cold-turkey. This was not the first time I’ve done this. I did it for a 7-year stretch from 2003 – 2010. And if you search the blog you’ll find other attempts. I love my Cherry Coke Zeros (and just plain Coke even more), but I was finding it difficult to sleep. This was the reason I gave up caffeine for 7 years and so, my desire to sleep won out over my addiction to caffeine. And it is an addiction. I can’t have just one Coke. I need to have them all.

The withdrawal period was tough, but I’d been through it before and after two weeks, I no longer felt the headaches, or shoulder or neck aches, and the moodiness lifted. My morning Cokes were replaced with orange juice, but I needed something during the day. Of course, in the past when I gave up caffeine, I’d just turn to caffeine-free Coke. But I don’t want those calories. That was what was great about Cherry Coke Zero. I liked it, but didn’t have to worry about calories.

A&W Root Beer is caffeine free, and so I’d pick one up occasionally on an afternoon walk. Root beer is like a dessert to me. I love it, especially when it is ice cold. I think of it as a summer drink. There is a passage fairly early in Stephen King’s 11/22/63 where the main character drinks a root beer, and his description captures my feelings every time I have one. Which is why I say that root beer is the best of all soft drinks.

But root beer is heavier in calories than even Coke. I’d seen diet root beers, but shunned them because it seemed to me that the fullness of a root beer would be lost in a diet version. Once again, desperation kicked in. I don’t have many vices. I’ve never smoked (never even tried). I don’t drink much alcohol. My vice is my soft drinks, and I enjoy them, chemicals be damned. I found over the last few weeks that water wasn’t cutting it. Juice and milk, both of which I enjoy, have too many calories to make them a useful substitute. So one day, on a walk, a picked up a bottle of A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer and girded myself for disappointment.

Instead of disappointment, however, I tasted surprise. Indeed, I was very much surprised. I could not tell the difference between a regular root beer and the zero sugar version. This was a godsend. A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer would be my new soft drink. Indeed, if I’d known how good it tasted, I might never have gotten into Coke Zero in the first place. As it turned out, the local Safeway had a sale–buy 2, get 2 free on 12-packs of soft drinks, including A&W Zero Sugar, so I picked up 48 cans of the stuff, which should get me through a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, I’m feeling pretty good about having given up caffeine. I always wonder if it will stick, and I know if it doesn’t, I’ll be right back up there maxing out on caffeine every day. But I slept well last night, and that helps. To be honest, however, I’m not sure what helps more, the sleep, or knowing that I can still enjoy root beer without the caffeine, or the calories.