Kmartin6168 8 Posted December 21, 2018 I’m working on stopping my ridiculous 6-7 a day diet soda addiction to prepare for surgery in a month and I’m looking to see if any one had any tips or suggestions on weening yourself off to avoid experiencing the terrible withdrawal symptoms that I know are going to come. I know it’s not going to be completely avoidable, but maybe there’s a way where it won’t be so bad? Any tips or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. For some reason this is giving me lots of anxiety! I already quit smoking (going on 3 months!!!) so if I can do that I know can do this but I’m not looking forward to the headaches. Thanks in advance! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johnsons13 359 Posted December 21, 2018 With caffeine, I quit cold turkey. The only withdrawels I had was crankiness and major headaches which I have Migraines anyway. But after a few days I felt better with more energy than when drinking caffeine. I now only have caffeine with my coffee which I drink about a pot a day, but I try to stay away from diet cokes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HunterJsMom 41 Posted December 21, 2018 I was drinking only diet cokes- 5-6 a day or more. I cut back to 2 8 oz a day. Then down to 1 as a treat for myself. Now I am on Water only. I’m always thirsty. I thought it would be the opposite lol. But I don’t miss the soda. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ummyasmin 1,603 Posted December 21, 2018 Caffeine withdrawal is real but its only a couple of days. Maybe make some posh caffeine free flat drinks whenever you want one instead, like some flavoured Water with ice and a slice of lemon. Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed_NW 684 Posted December 21, 2018 I used sparkling Water when I weened off the Diet Cokes. After a few weeks of smart water sparkling I no longer liked Diet Coke. Then after the surgery, no carbonated beverages. Use Excedrin before surgery if you want a slow taper from caffeine but stop those before surgery too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kmartin6168 8 Posted December 21, 2018 Thank you for all of your responses! I truly appreciate it!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mhy12784 423 Posted December 22, 2018 (edited) Your best bet is figure out how much caffeine you're consuming daily and just taper off. If you're having 500mg a day maybe go down 100mg every 2 to 3 days or something to minimize side effects. Caffeine withdrawal isn't the worst and is fairly quick, but it is unpleasantness (and you don't need to drink soda to get your caffeine. coffee, pills, pre-workout supplements are all better sources of caffeine than soda) Edited December 22, 2018 by Mhy12784 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pinksparkle1965 37 Posted December 23, 2018 6 days post OP no coffee it's hardSent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AngieBear 2,524 Posted December 24, 2018 Giving up coffee was one of the first behavioral changes I made, because I thought it would be the toughest long term. I just weaned it down. I went from 2 cups of very strong sweet coffee a day to 1 and then herbal tea for a few days, then I went to just tea after that. I didn’t have any real side effects other than a headache and exhaustion on the first day. For you it may look different, as your ingestion is higher. But the principle is the same. Just cut it further every couple of days. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrs_brontosaurus 12 Posted December 26, 2018 I’m doing this now! I was drinking 5-6 diet cokes per day and knew I needed to stop. I stopped buying Diet Coke altogether because if it’s in the house I will drink it. I found crystal light with caffeine and started with 3 of those at “normal strength” then started adding more Water per packet and now I get the equivalent of one Diet Coke per day spread out over 64 oz of water. The flavor is very light and the caffeine content is nominal enough that I think that once I’m out of crystal light I won’t buy any more and just stick with water. It only took me a week to dial it back and I haven’t had any headaches! 1 Frustr8 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kmartin6168 8 Posted December 26, 2018 On 12/26/2018 at 17:21, mrs_brontosaurus said: I’m doing this now! I was drinking 5-6 diet cokes per day and knew I needed to stop. I stopped buying Diet Coke altogether because if it’s in the house I will drink it. I found crystal light with caffeine and started with 3 of those at “normal strength” then started adding more Water per packet and now I get the equivalent of one Diet Coke per day spread out over 64 oz of Water. The flavor is very light and the caffeine content is nominal enough that I think that once I’m out of crystal light I won’t buy any more and just stick with water. It only took me a week to dial it back and I haven’t had any headaches! What a great idea! I’m going to give this a try! Thank you so much! 1 mrs_brontosaurus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tina#loserinCO 0 Posted December 27, 2018 I was told NO caffeine after surgery ever again. Dehydrates you and I a little concerned that getting enough Water in daily will be a challenge for me. Sent from my moto e5 supra using BariatricPal mobile app Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frustr8 7,886 Posted December 27, 2018 And they are right, not worth it at all! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mhy12784 423 Posted December 28, 2018 20 hours ago, Tina#loserinCO said: I was told NO caffeine after surgery ever again. Dehydrates you and I a little concerned that getting enough Water in daily will be a challenge for me. Sent from my moto e5 supra using BariatricPal mobile app As far as im aware, this is not a thing... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oct517 527 Posted December 28, 2018 As far as im aware, this is not a thing...Caffeine is a diuretic so it can dehydrate you if you're not drinking enough Water. But yeah, I haven't heard any docs say no coffee at all post op. My NUT said that drinking coffee will not deter weight loss in anyway but that I should be having an additional 16 oz of water for every cup of coffee I drink. This is in addition to the 64 oz I am supposed to be drinking without coffee. Lots of water. Sent from my SM-G960U using BariatricPal mobile app Share this post Link to post Share on other sites