# Caffeine sucks...



## 16412 (Jul 4, 2005)

Sorry to word it that way but caffeine is what screws me up every time and I never learn from it. If I just took my Buspar and Donnatal I am fine really pretty much IBS free... But noooooo I am so addicted to tea and pepsi and get my D back ... Anxiety disorder and caffeine don't mix and I am friggin addicted to the caffeine god help me...


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## 14780 (Jul 19, 2005)

I'm feeling you IBS_Queen! I miss my caffeine soooo much. I have really crazy heart palpitations and IBS-D, so caffeine didn't mix well. I would have two cups of tea and about three cans of Dr. Pepper before noon every day at work. During a full day of classes, I could probably go through a six pack of Surge. I couldn't just stop. The tea was an easy fix, I took the loose grounds and mixed it half and half for a few weeks. I did the same with the soda. That way it wasn't a complete shock to my system -- Caffeine withdrawl usually results in headaches. After a while I realized I really didn't need it and I felt GOOD without it. I haven't had a can of pop, tea, or coffee in about nine months. Weigh the benefits, drop the caffeine, and stay determined! Luck!-- Dee


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## 16412 (Jul 4, 2005)

Thanks Dee for your reply. You give me hope to get off of the caffeine.I am going to ween down and I will let you guys know how I am doing. Wish me luck. I am proud of you for being caffeine free for 9 months! Keep up the good work. Weighing the benefits is hwat I will keep telling myself!Thanks! Take Care ~ Robin


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## kitkat17 Lady of the Loo (Jul 21, 2005)

I have mitro valve prolaspe and had to give up caffiene. I drink tea 24-7. So I swithed to decaf and drink decaf Dr Pepper about once a week. There isn't any taste difference. Yes you will get headaches for awhile. Good luck


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## 14988 (Aug 10, 2005)

Wow, blast from the past. I haven't gotten heart palpitations in a while now. I think they stopped when I stopped caffeine and started therapy. I used to get so worried. Good luck with the caffeine. I turned mostly to sugar. My friend used to feed Nutrasweet or Aspartame to mice for her job, and they would drop dead. So I'm a little scared of diet drinks. Good luck. There is some expensive water that is a few calories and just a tiny bit of sugar (for the money, I could probably make this drink myself). Also, I think it's Powerade that has a 20 calorie drink also with a little sugar. It's Lemon & tastes very good. How to wake up is the hard part, but on an average day when you aren't very tired, I've read that water will wake you up overall as much as a cup of coffee because you don't get the caffeine high but you never have the come-down period.


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## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

Hey, I know what you mean. II can give you some support though, for 2 years I didn't have any carbonated beverage/caffeine. It was because I was training for swimming, but I did it!I had a HORRIBLE experience with caffeine once. I was playing in an allnight church league softball tournament with a group of my friends...(games ran all night, sometimes you had to wait 3 hours before the next game) so I decided to drink a lot of caffeine. I had 3 mountain dew amps, those energy drinks.. then 4 regular mountain dews, all within an hour.. I was sooooo jittery and wired, I was freakin out!! I ended up having to go home I felt so horrible, so it backfired! That was an extremeRight now, I just can't get over Mountain Dew... man its sooooo GOOD


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## 22923 (Aug 8, 2005)

I switched to decaf tea. THere are some really good ones out there. The white teas are usually decaf and there are some really good fruit teas that are decaf. They are really good. It was so hard for me to quite drinking iced tea, it's summer in New Orleans, an iced tea tastes so good on a hot summer day. So the decaf teas taste just as good and are just as refreshing.


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## CynthiaG (Sep 17, 2005)

I don't know how you do it. I know I'd be so much better if I could cut it out all together but I just can't give up my Diet Coke. I've been drinking it since I was a kid (I'm 33 now). I've cut down and added decaf herbal tea. Very tasty! Wish me luck and lets keep each other posted. Take care and have a great day, Cynthia


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## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

I've recently discovered my local Gloria Jeans coffee place and am totally addicted to their cuppacino's (sp?). I really should order the decaf version but it's just not the same so I've also been overdosing on caffiene the last few days. Belly is NOT happy with me today







You totally have my sympathies!


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## 23677 (Apr 29, 2005)

If you can get used to the taste of green tea you are on a winner because it is a good antioxidant & doesnt have much caffeine. Well worth the try. There is another tea which is becoming very popular here called CHAI. Spiced with ginger, nutmeg, licorice, cardamon, & cinamon it is 97% caffeine free & very calming for the body.Unfortunately those of you who are drinking colas , Dr pepper etc, are at most risk with your health because of the sugar content, additives, flavorings etc, particularly diet drinks. Aspartame, inspite of being accepted by the FDA is a an exceedingly dangerous sweetener. Its one of those nasties that is so unnatural the body doesnt know what to do with it so stores it until it manifests usually as something sinister. There are many libel cases pending in the near future which can produce evidence regarding brain tumors to take Coke to the wall. Please find an alternative.


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## 14100 (May 1, 2005)

I'm a college student so I need caffeine, I've tried quitting many times but as soon as midterms or finals come around I'm back at my old habits. However, I now have a few new tricks up my sleeve. First, is Jolt Gum (http://www.joltgum.com/info_gum.html). By chewing a piece of gum you get the equivalent of half a cup of coffee. The neat thing about this is that the caffeine is absorbed directly into the blood stream through the bottom of the tongue. This means it only takes about 5 minutes for the caffeine to kick in and it doesn't reek havoc on your digestive system. Unfortunately for us IBSers chewing gum can stimulate the digestive system and introduce air into your system causing gas. So I recommend only chewing for about 30 minutes or so then spitting it out.Next, I have recently fallen in love with Fuze green tea (http://www.fuzebev.com/tea.asp). It has very little caffeine but enough, doesn't have high fructose corn syrup or any other additives which can cause problems with IBSers. It is also loaded with a host of b-vitmans and other neat stuff as well.As for dealing with a caffeine withdrawal headache, try chrysanthemum tea. Its a relaxing tea which helps get rid of headaches, sinus pressure, cools down the body, is great at night and helps get you to sleep. It doesn't have to be drunken at night but thats what I prefer, helps calm down my IBS as well. In my experience it helps balance out caffeine use so you don't get IBS attacks.--Trent L.


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## 18989 (Jan 10, 2006)

Hi IBS_Queen,I was drinking 2-3 2 litters of Mt.dew a day, that was the only thing I was drinking.I read somewhere that caffeine makes IBS worse, so I made up my mind, and stoped drinking it but every once in awhile I will have some.It's not I NEED IT anymore. The only bad thing is, now I want candy, icecream ex. before I didn't realy care for it. Not drinking mt.dew has helped alittle with the IBS symptoms.good luck!


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