Soda cutback, It's killing me!!?

Question

I am addicted to soda. I'm taking a major cutback, but the headaches are killing me! Will they ever go away? How can I cope with the pain?

Answer 1

Cold turkey may not be the best Idea… try cutting down and not cutting off. I understand where you care coming from I was having the same problem and then I found out a plan that worked for me. Grant it I lost the battle a month ago (depressed and didn’t give a damn) so I am starting over…

I cut back on my intake… instead of having five a day; I cut it back to two a day and drank lots of water. Then after a week of two a day I did one a day. (Again, I tried to intake as much water as I could. I had water bottles all around the house and filled them up repeatedly and put them in the refrigerator. If I ever saw a water bottle on the counter that was not empty I felt it was my job to empty it)

After cutting down, I started to notice that I craved it less and less and lost a lot of weight. SO I then switch to diet, if I ever had the soda cravings again I would allow my self one little cup of diet soda like once a week... but you have to becaful because if you give in, you might be back to day one.

The pains and headaches will go away it just takes time. But quitting cold turkey also makes them more persistent… so try, like I said, cutting back then cutting off as a posed to just cutting off. You just gotta hang in there.

I wish you the best of luck, I know its hard… but the pains will go away and in the end you’ll be happier and healthier with whiter teeth.

Answer 2

The only way to cope is by going cold turkey unfortunately. The headaches are a killer but don't take any pain meds, just rest and try and sleep it off - it's just your body detoxing from the harmful effects of the soda.

You can help yourself by drinking plenty of water and doing a detox, eat plenty of good food, fresh fruit and vegetables and ride out the storm. It should only take a few days before the headaches start to disappear but it's not easy!

Stay away from stimulants too - caffeine & sugar will just prolong the agony!

I find that a lie down with a cold flannel with a few drops (only one or two though!) of lavender essential oil help relieve the pain.

Keep going though - don't give up or you'll be back to square one having to do it all over again at a later date!

Good luck! xx

Answer 3

Eventually they will go away. It sucks, doesn't it? If I miss having a soda early in the day, I get headaches too. Try weaning yourself off slowly, cutting back a little each day. Everyone else seems to have given you good advice about drinking water. Try getting rid of caffeine all together instead of swiching to something else with caffeine in it. You'll probably feel a lot better! Another good reason to cut down is that some sodas leech calcium from your bones, so you'll have stronger bones once you quit. Good luck...you're stronger than me for trying!

Answer 4

As mentioned, the headaches are caused by caffeine withdrawl.
If you can help it, you shouldn't go off something like that all together. You need to slowly take yourself off, so that your system can gradually get used to not having that much in it. But if you already stopped completely, then Yes, the headaches will go away, but give it at least 7-10 days.
I've noticed cravings for water & fruit juices, since becoming more active (trying to exercise more), so maybe give that a try.
Drink plenty of water no matter what.

Answer 5

WOW! This shows how much caffeine is really IN soda (I knew this but many of my kid's friends drink stuff like Coke and Vault...and wonder why they're so hyper!).

I never had this prob. w/soda, but with coffee. I tried going "Cold turkey"...quitting suddenly, but it was too painful. I began substituting decaf, using more and more, until that's all I drank! Aspirin helped quite a bit, too. So...I'd quit the caffeinated soda gradually, unless you're quite tough.

A recent study showed even decaf coffee to have enough caffeine to get you "wired", but it found that decaf SODA has almost no caffeine. So, you could still have soda w/o the caffeine, but the sugar or aspartame can still do damage.

Try seltzer water w/fruit juice. It's very thirst-quenching!

Answer 6

I went through a time when I was addicted to caffeine myself. I had horrible headaches during that time. The only thing that I found to help was Excedrine Migraine. It is a combination of Tylenol, Aspirin, and caffeine so it really worked but still allowed me to break the habit of actually drinking that much caffeine in one day. I would take two a day in the afternoon and it would work for the rest of the day. Just don't do this for longer that a week to ten days. Good luck!!

Answer 7

I just quit drinking Diet Coke because of the Aspartame in it. Just went to get a mammogram because I had lumps in my breasts and tenderness/soreness. I was told to cut back on my caffeine, chocolate, cokes, coffee, etc...So I did! I know it's good for my health and I think the fact that I had something else wrong with me due to caffeine, I had to stop and was fortunate enough not to get "those headaches." They will go away though, just try not to think about NOT having caffeinated beverages...try to think yourself well. Take Advil or Ibuprofin to lessen the pain and you'll be on the road to being a recovering caffeine-aholic! lol I feel so much better now that I don't have to "depend" on caffeine to keep me going throughout the day. I have a lot more Natural energy, and don't feel dragged down (drug down?) half way throught the work day anymore. Good luck! You're on your way to better health!

Answer 8

Soda contains a lot of sugar and in many cases caffiene. You're having withdrawal symptoms. Drink lots of water instead. The headaches will go away after a few days to a week.

Answer 9

If you're getting headaches from stopping soda, it's from the lack of caffiene. I hear it can be unbearable. Try having a few squares of a hershey bar or something to get a little caffiene flowing through you to satisfy your addiction.

You will need to have a bit of caffiene (not thru soda) and then wean yourself off of that source too. But cold turkey like that is why you are getting headaches.

I'm proud of you. I'm trying to cut back on soda too!!!
It's so hard.

Answer 10

Switch to coffee, or take excedrin. Excedrin's main ingredient is caffeine because caffeine makes headaches go away. I quit drinking soda all together and lost 15 lbs in less than a month, and I started drinking alot of water and 2 cups of coffee and I feel fine. Good luck to you. Your on the right path.