Need to kick the Diet Coke habit
#83771 - 06/27/04 03:04 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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I know my tummy problems are worse--maybe even caused by-- the Diet Cokes I drink all day, but I can't go a day without them. Several years ago, I got into the habit of having a cold Diet Coke every morning to get me going. At the time, I was taking some medication that made me drowsy and without my Diet Coke, I couldn't get awake. Now I wake up craving one and usually have my first after I have breakfast (never on an empty stomach.)
HELP!!!!!!!! ANY advice for getting off them? Does anyone else have this problem? I can't live without my Diet Coke with Lime.
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I used to have to have a diet coke every day for lunch. I started getting migraines and switched to regular coke. Then my stomach really started to hurt, burn, etc. and I made myself give them up. It wasn't easy at first but I felt so bad after drinking a coke that every time I wanted one I would think of how bad I felt and I wouldn't have it. Eventually I didn't want it anymore. You have to make a choice if you want to feel better. It's terrible for your stomach.
Good luck!
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Janey
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Well...
#83780 - 06/27/04 03:33 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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I gave up coffee and tea, but my sodas... ugh, I hung onto those desperately, refusing to believe it was causing me a problem. My personal addiction was regular Coke - I drank it morning till night. I finally just had to wean myself off it gradually. I seriously cut out one a day at a time, every few days, and then when I was down to a couple a day, I quit cold turkey. And it still sucked, excuse the language, but it wasn't nearly as difficult as quitting cold turkey right from the start.
If a hardcore junkie like me can do it, you can too! 
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PS
#83792 - 06/27/04 03:54 PM
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atomic rose
Reged: 06/01/04
Posts: 7013
Loc: Maine (IBS-A stable since July '05!)
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It's been over a month since I gave up soda - not even that long, really - and I honestly don't miss it, not even first thing in the morning. It takes a little bit to get all that caffeine out of your system, but drink lots of water and you won't even believe how good you feel once your body adjusts. 
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You Can Do This!
#83794 - 06/27/04 03:55 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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You said you couldn't LIVE without your Diet Coke with lime? Wrong. Yes you can.
Girlfriend, I had a 42 year addiction to coffee. FORTY-TWO BIG ONES! That's a helluva long time! If I can give up my beloved cuppa after that strong of an addiction, you can toss those diet cokes.
I do know what you're going through, though. When we were first married, my brother brought his fiance by to meet us, and she brought with her a carton of Coke -- a CARTON! I guess she knew I wouldn't have enough for her (well, she was right!). She drank that entire carton in one weekend. She SOOOOO had a monkey on her back!
She gave it up. Yep. Surprised us all. But she had a secret method (see below). However, I swear by the cold turkey method, which is how I gave up coffee. Isn't that how you gave up cigarettes? That's how I did it in 1968. Cold turkey.
Sounds cruel and extremely harsh, but it WORKS. Just think of how much better you're gonna feel without that stuff.
Now, having said all that, if you don't wanna do it cold turkey, I'll share with you my SIL's secret.
Have you ever tried iced tea? Wait! Before you pooh-pooh it, hear me out. My SIL kicked that monkey by switching to iced tea -- but not ANY iced tea, only ONE KIND: Nestea Iced Tea Mix with sugar and lemon. I love this stuff. It's fabulous! Don't buy any other kind, because the other stuff is HORRIBLE. My SIL was right about one thing only, and it's this. It's absolutely delicious and totally satisfying. Warning: it contains as much caffeine as a can of soda. A can of soda contains 20-50mg.; Nestea contains 20-30mg. It's not artificially sweetened, and all the ingredients are IBS-safe (except, of course, for the caffeine). However, it might be a good way for you to ease off the Coke, as my SIL did. You could fix yourself a glass whenever you crave the Coke, then each day a little less often, until finally maybe just one glass a day. Also, and here's a really good way, you can use a little less of the powder in the water each day, such that you barely notice it, thus decreasing your caffeine usage gradually.
It comes in a little plastic jar with a bright orange screw-top lid, and you buy it at Safeway with the teas and coffee.
I commend you for wanting to lose the Coke. Good idea! And we're all here to help you through this. I gave up coffee, you can give up Coke. Okay, Girlfriend?
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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But Bev....
#83835 - 06/27/04 05:58 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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Isn't tea something you drink when you have D? I've read that the tannins in tea cause you to "bind." I'm C, so I'm afraid to drink tea for fear of making my C worse.
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Eh?
#83836 - 06/27/04 06:05 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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"Tannins in tea cause you to 'bind.'" ?! I've never heard that. This is something new to me! Hopefully someone else on the Boards here can answer you, because I'm a D. For me, at least, it certainly hasn't done any binding!
Sometimes I wish it had......
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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I just wanted to send you a quick note and tell you that you can do it! I used to be the same way, except my addiction was regular Pepsi (like Shelby). I swore that I'd never be able to live without my Pepsi. It wasn't even the caffeine, but the taste. I loved the stuff. But...when I was trying to desperately lose weight for my wedding, I tried slowing down and eventually stopped drinking it cold turkey, realizing how much better I started to feel when I cut back. And now, just the thought of having a Pepsi makes me ill and I've cut caffeinated beverages completely out of my diet. It's not easy (I know), but you can do it!!! You'll be SO happy you did.
Good luck!!!
Kristine
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Re: Eh?
#83850 - 06/27/04 07:57 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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I know I've read that before. Tea is on the list of things you should have when you have diarrhea, along with bananas, rice, potatoes, applesauce. I will look for it online.
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I have read before that tea is gentle on your stomach but I never read about it binding.
I am also a hard core diet pepsi freak. I drink it all day right up until bed. My sister and my co-workers have challenged me to give it up for five days - starting Monday morning. I have to measure my waist in the morning, not drink carbonated beverages all week and then measure my waist on Friday night. They all swear that most if not all of my boating will be gone as well as the severe gas and pain. The sad thing is  I know they are right but I am fighting this big time. I love my diet pepsi. I was supposed to do it last week but "forgot"
I am brewing big pots of tea to ice down right now as we speak.
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Peace,
Tammy
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Once a day, every day for the longest time ever. But it made my stomach feel abslutely AWFUL and although it can be so good in the moment, the taste is just not worth all that discomfort.
I'm happy to say I've been carbonated-beverage free for almost 6 months!  I can't believe it. I know my tummy's a lot better for it! Seriously though after a few weeks the cravings WILL go!
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ugh.. just reading these posts make me crave SODA! I too am a COKE JUNKIE.. i've tried to cut down a million times.. apparently not seriously enough though. I'm willing to bet I'd loose a few pounds if I gave it up too.. I just can't find the motivation..
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Kicking the Diet Coke habit is gonna be harder than I thought. I had one can in the fridge this morning, and it was calling my name. I couldn't resist! I feel so guilty after telling you guys I was gonna try to kick the habit. I took the can in the other room (away from the computer)---like you guys were going see my drinking it through the computer monitor or something. I felt like a preteen sneaking an alchohol drink behind my parents' back. At least I felt guilty about it---that's a start!
Gosh, I feel like an addict. I admit it---Diet Coke is a BIG weakness for me! Oh well, I guess there's always tomorrow. I already messed up today.
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I was the biggest diet coke addict too! I would ALWAYS have diet coke on me at all times. I would go in a panic if I had run out of it.
But, even before I started the IBS diet, I connected my D with it. SO, I gave it up. It's been about 5- 6 months now. I never EVER thought I'd say this, but I don't eve nmiss it! Now if someone offers it to me I turn up my nose and ask for a glass of water.
You'll be able to do it, too! it will be tought at first, but you will come to realize that it really drags you down.
First order of business, is to get it out of your fridge and your house!
When you snuck away from your computer to drink it, you wouldn't have if you had to get in the car and go to the store!
Distancing yourself from temptation is the best way to kick a habit in the beginning. (When I quit smoking a little over a year ago, I avoided the smoking section at restaurants and even people that were smokers at first)
I now also detest the smell of cigarettes, even though I actually used to love it! 
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-Sheri
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Personally drinking soda in general gives me really bad stomach pain...so when I sporadically crave the taste of a pepsi I try to remember the pain it will cause and I usually lose the craving. I dont know if the same happens to you, but I hope this can help.
Caitlin
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my advice:
in one week you will be past the worst of the withdrawls, in two your tastebuds will forget their love of Diet Coke (i swear! i stopped them 8 or 9 months ago and switched to Coke -uck!- and i can't stand the taste of D.C. now. i was TOTALLY ADDICTED, like you!)
get it out of sight. in fact, get rid of it. make a ceremony of pouring it out if you have to, then get it the h*ll away from you! if it's nearby, you will creep back up on it and "sneak" some.
if you must must must stock something "for emergencies" then stock generic regular soda (not diet) or Pepsi. that way when you reach for something you'll hate the taste of it
if you slip up and have one, then start quitting again immediately. if you tell yourself you'll start again tomorrow then you're essentially giving yourself permission to cheat for the rest of the day! you're better off saying "oops" and then trying not to have any for the rest of the day.
try taking a walk or something first thing in the morning and then if you can when you crave them later in the day. i swear (and i am a horrible exercise LOATHER) that it will give you a nice boost of energy. REALLY!
try a little journal while you're going through withdrawls--- really, it can help. i'm not a journaler at all, but if you're really suffering from a headache or whatever and feeling sorry for yourself, writing down WHY you're quitting can reaffirm your resolve (and kill time while you work through it). the key is to write until you're out of words (or time) and make things as positive as you can ("i'm not going to have this soda because it helps my stomach- the cafienne, the aspartame -yikes! really bad stuff!- and the carbonation was making me sick but i'm getting better every minute. i know my energy will be better when i quit anyway, so that's a perk. it will be nice not to be 'beholden' to my soda, too. etc...) you're you don't have to do it in an actual journal- just on a piece of scrap paper is fine, and you can throw it away when you're done, though i tend to hold onto stuff like that for a little while to flip through for bonus-resolve when i need it!
good luck! (if it is at all enouraging, these techniques above are how i quit smoking and how i got strict with the IBS and how i stopped my coffee habit -sob!- and how i'm trying to kick Coke -the drink not the drug- right now because i'm having an issue!  )
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Sheri01
#84158 - 06/28/04 04:27 PM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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It's not just if they are in front of my face! I've driven to the grocery store---or to the nearest McDonald's---in the morning if I didn't have a Diet Cokes at home. This is how bad I am about them. I've gotta stop this.
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I'm trying....I'm trying....I'm just craving a cold one right now. I think I'll start a book to take my mind off of it. I went to Goodwill today and bought lots of paperbacks.
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I'm also a total Diet Coke addict. Is caffeine free a better option, or is the carbonation the problem-causer?
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The caffeine, the carbonation, and the artificial sweeteners... they all can cause problems.
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Thanks Casey - guess it was just wishful thinking that cutting out the caffeine would do the trick!
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I used to drink cokes and coffee all of the time. I gave up coke for a "lent like" reason which wasn't too bad. Giving up coffee was much worse. Anyway, I have had one coke three days in a row and I tell you I am through. I am bloated and gassy and miserable. I used to drink coke all of the time and never really noticed that that was the cause of my puffiness. Now that I know? NO MORE SODA's!
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Hey everybody! I was queen of caff.free Pepsi and caff. free Mt Dew. I love my sodas. I've been drinking water and peppermint tea for about a month now. I do feel extemely better. Have a pepsi or a soda once in a blue moon. Don't completely kill yourself over it. My worst vice are Salem cigs. I know I will eventually quit , I've quit cold turkey when I had my children, now they are grown and I started again. Here's the real kicker my dad has lung cancer. I go to all his appt. with him. He quit 20 yrs ago. My Mother died from emphzema 7 yrs ago. All my friends and family say it is ok to drink alcohol but just don't smoke. So I can be an alcoholic but just don't smoke cigs. So quiting all of our bad habits can't be all that hard. We all make our own choices, crazy as they may be. But alcohol gives me IBS-d and food and cigs do ,too. Heather's advice on the souble fiber vs insouble fiber works better then any advice I've recieved. ( sorry I rambled so... )
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-----Marilyn-----
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