[Edwood]

DAY 1:
Morning Edition PST:

Well, my Tinnitus is getting worse lately, so in an attempt to lesson or better yet virtually eliminate it, I have decided to stop ingesting copious amounts of caffience and nutrasweet (asparatame) which are known to aggravate Tinnitus.

So my usual routine of a hit of caffiene in the morning, lunch, and dinner will have to be eliminated. I tried this before, but the caffiene withdrawal symptoms (falling asleep, irritability, headaches, getting into minor fender benders) had me crawling back to the elixir.

So far so good. I got a solid 5 hours of sleep last night with a small deadline for a client this morning. Let's see if I can hold out during the day. I brought one of poisins of choice(Diet Dr. Pepper) as back up. You know, just in case.

Let's see how the morning turns out.

-Ed

 

[wallijonn]

I had to give up caffeine because it caused heart palipatations.

Going caffeine-free isn't too much a problem; you can still enjoy coffee. When it comes to Soda, very few are caffeine free.

And speaking of soda, supposedly corn sugars have been found to damage the liver (it creates bad DHL).

Chocolate has a lot of caffeine, so you'll want to cut back on sweets also.

And of course, give up MSG.

Sometimes you just have to wean yourself off the stuff and not go cold turkey.

 

[Audio Redneck]

Try not to think of it in terms of what you are giving up, but what you are replacing it with. When stomach problems made me have to give up "IT Mochachino's" (computer geek chocolate coffee concoction), I new I was going to be replacing it with something.

Something turned out to be: one bottle of orange or other fruit juice in the morning, herb tea in the afternoons, spring water in between and an occational Sonic slush. And plan ahead and have good drinks ready - you'll save money on impulse buys and be less tempted to "just this once".

You can get depressed if you tell yourself I can NEVER have the old favorites, but if you tell yourself "just not now" and also try different things until you find somethings you like.

Consume enough of the good stuff and it will help curb the cravings.

But then again, I've started drinking tons of Mt Dew to get my kid "Dew Points" (he wants Dew Gear)

Good luck!

 

[JeffL]

Yeah, while your at it, lay off the LIFE too...

LIFE has been known to cause more deaths than anything else. In fact, at 100% death rate, doctors are warning that LIFE can lead to a variety of fatal problems, including heart attack, cancer, tumors, and other significant disorders, not just phsyically, but mentally and emotionally as well.

LIFE is the leading cause of problems in our world today, and it affects everyone in all countries, all parts of the world, at nearly equal rates. Current LIFE expectancy for US citizens in 2002 was a measely 77.4 years.

Currently there is no known cure for LIFE, and no vaccines or research is underway to make LIFE more tolerable.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

If it's any help, I am down to having anything with caffiene about once or twice a week, quite a feat for a college student. Not really because I needed to cut it out of my diet, I just didn't feel like paying for soda or coffee where water would do

 

[wallijonn]

On caffeine withdrawal:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&i...mptoms&spell=1

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/...ooks/19/41.cfm says:

"The best remedy for the headaches and other withdrawal symptoms, says Dr. Ryall, is actually a moderate dose of caffeine--a pain reliever that contains caffeine (such as Excedrin Extra Strength) or a small cup of caffeinated tea, coffee or cola.

"Rely on the 25 percent solution. Women experts say that by gradually cutting back, you can avoid headaches and other withdrawal symptoms in the first place.

"'Each week, cut back on the amount of caffeine that you drink by 25 percent,' says Kathleen Zelman, R.D., a nutritionist in Atlanta and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. This method of gradually decreasing your caffeine intake will eventually allow you to eliminate it completely from your diet, while remaining withdrawal symptom-free."

After two days you should be feeling a lot better, and after 7 days you probably will not even notice it.

 

[mulveling]

I gave up aspartame 2 years ago, and swore off caffiene just two weeks ago. My withdrawal hasn't been bad at all; I guess I wasn't too badly hooked with my 3-4 soda a day habit. Head felt a little funny for a few days, but now I'm back to normal again. My reasons were not for tinnitus though, so I can't tell you whether it might help yours. I quit aspartame just *in case* it was increasing the floaters in my eyes and I quite caffiene *in case* it was aggravating the slight hypersensitivity in my right ear that flairs up a little every now and then.

If nothing else, quitting soda/caffiene will be great for overall health. Good luck with yours!

 

[aphex944]

It's really good to give up soft drinks. They can cause a lot of problems because of their acidity. I was kind of forced to give them up after being in the hospital for 2 weeks with a stomach condition. I swear I went through caffeine withdrawal for over a month after that. I couldn't drink any because of how sensitive my stomach was to acid(and still is). I used to always sleep around 2pm from the lack of caffeine, just couldn't help it. Believe it or not, soft drinks also give me acne for some weird reason.

But, I found a solution, tea!

Also, keep some Advil handy with you, caffeine withdrawal headaches are a bitch..

 

[Audio Redneck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aphex944 ..... Believe it or not, soft drinks also give me acne for some weird reason..

Me too and I'm 36. Its not as bad as when I was 20, but it definately factors in. Cola's seem to be the worst, but I can tell my recent Mt Dew intake is beginning to have an effect.

 

[Edwood]

Afternoon Edition PST:

Oh boy. No caffiene still. I went out to lunch with a couple co-workers. They all orders soft drinks and iced tea. Bastards.

I had water. With a lemon.

Well, I can already feel a food coma hitting me. I will try my best to stay awake.

I can already feel a headache coming on.

At least it's TGIF.

-Ed

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffL Yeah, while your at it, lay off the LIFE too... LIFE has been known to cause more deaths than anything else. In fact, at 100% death rate, doctors are warning that LIFE can lead to a variety of fatal problems, including heart attack, cancer, tumors, and other significant disorders, not just phsyically, but mentally and emotionally as well. LIFE is the leading cause of problems in our world today, and it affects everyone in all countries, all parts of the world, at nearly equal rates. Current LIFE expectancy for US citizens in 2002 was a measely 77.4 years. Currently there is no known cure for LIFE, and no vaccines or research is underway to make LIFE more tolerable.

I suppose if I kill myself, I won't have tinnitus anymore......

-Ed

 

[braillediver]

You mean caffeine free Mountain Dew right?

Since regular Mountain Dew has more caffeine than any other soda except for Jolt Cola.


Mitch

 

[Edwood]

Ugh. I'm nodding off already........

Must.....stay.....awake.........

No major outbreaks of Tinnitus, though.

-Ed

 

[gsferrari]

Time to get a new pair of "New Balance" running shoes and hit the tracks...

Seriously - no better cure for "coffee and cigarette withdrawal" than to leave the house and head outside. Go biking, running, walking, swimming or try to catch up with a game of tennis everyday.

I run 4 miles every evening and hit the gym for a 17 minute sprint (2 minutes walking and the 15 minues of gradual pace buildup to finally run at 8 miles per hour for one minute before the treadmill begins the cooldown routine).

Nice excuse to get a Koss Sportapro and some exercise.

You may live longer and healthier....coffee is up there among the "evils" like cigarettes, alcohol and drugs...

Tea is also not excused

 

[lan]

That's unfortunate that you are on some substance.

I don't really drink coffee. I don't need it.

I'm glad to see you are getting off it.