Comments on: Decaffeinated

By: susan

susan — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:39:46 +0000

I drink one cup of coffee a day, but I gave up diet soda last October. My headaches went away completely except for the 3-day migraine I have once a month (if ya know what I mean). However, I also gave up almost all artificial sweetener at the same time, so I’m not sure which helped.

I don’t miss the soda very often, but I think if I gave up my one cup of coffee, I’d be a crazy person.

By: Kendra

Kendra — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:46:28 +0000

How about comments about naps? I really wish I could have a nap in the afternoons. Or on some afternoons a two hour nap.

I work in an environment with free soda and lots of free fancy coffee drinks and I’m pretty much over it. I guess it’s like working in an ice cream shop, eventually it doesn’t look good anymore.

By: Anonymous Boxer

Anonymous Boxer — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:28:45 +0000

I “detoxed” in January and quit coffee and diet soda. I went back to coffee, but have not had any “Devil Sweat” in over 7 months.

I still miss it.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:09:14 +0000

Yeah, well I say good for you!

I don’t drink caffeine– well, except maybe once in a blue moon at a party or something. I don’t drink soda often, and when I do it tends to be caffeine free…. I’m a water drinker!

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:45:49 +0000

Giving up my beloved Dr. Pepper is one of the hardest things. It just tastes so darn good. However, if I drink too much it or too often, it gives me a stomach ache and a headache. Also, stopping caffeine cold turkey gives me a 2-3 week headache but it eventually goes away and I can get through a day without napping…yawn.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:43:25 +0000

Ah, gotcha. That makes sense.

By: kate

kate — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:29:50 +0000

I’m just curious what made you associate caffeine with your headaches. Caffeine is generally considered a headache treatment (it’s in most headache remedies), and caffeine withdrawal is a notorious cause of headache. I remember hearing about one study that suggested that caffeine be added to IV’s of post-op patients on the grounds that caffeine withdrawal was responsible for so many post-surgery headaches.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:24:34 +0000

Oops, I didn’t read the last paragraph of your post. I wondered why people were talking at length about coffee. I was like, the girl has a headache and you’re talking about coffee? Now I understand. My favorite is decaf espresso dumped in a big cup of ice (still hot so the ice waters it down just a tad, like an Americano). Homer Simpson inspired drooling…

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:12:26 +0000

I too know the frustration of having great diet & exercise and feeling like crap, and being surrounded by people who treat their bodies like crap and feel great.

Yes, the advice can get really irritating. My illness ended up being one “real” doctors don’t believe in yet. I ended up finding help from a naturopath. So the most hilarious advice is the one that involves switching to a different kind of alternative medicine, usually one that is more expensive and less scientific. Ahh, good times.

Your good diet/exercise habits ARE helping you. DON’T give them up. I strongly believe that good habits, though they may not prevent illness altogether, have the power to shorten an illness, make it less severe, and give you the inner strength to deal with it.

By: victoria

victoria — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:47:07 +0000

It’s so funny how people kept posting advice about how to cure your headache — even though you clearly stated you wanted no advice. I think people just can’t resist the urge to help, especially when they discovered some magical solution that “saved” them and left them wishing urgently that they’d discovered it sooner. This urge to “share my secret magical solution” is so powerful, so universal, it overrides social cues (like your statement, “no advice, please”).