How I got off Mt. Dew and Survived the Caffeine Withdrawal

Mt. Dew! How I love you... You just make everything better. Work becomes tolerable, people become endurable. Then I try to leave you! You are like the girlfriend on the day after... a massive headache.

Honestly though, after realizing that I was drinking 4-6 Mt. Dew's a day I decided I was time to drop this annoying caffeine addiction. Now, 4-6 Mt. Dews a day may not be much but some people's standards, but it was enough to give me major headaches if I skipped a day.

So I took the cheaters way out. I waited until I got sick.

I figured that way; I already had major headaches and already felt like crap. So I stopped drinking Mt. Dew cold-turkey. It just made it easier. All I had to do was double up on the Tylenol. While this helped me get over the initial caffeine withdrawal, I still had some lingering side effects in the following days.

Side Effects I Hit

To be honest, I had caffeine headaches off and on for about 2 weeks after stopping the caffeine intake. Some days would be fine, and the next I would have a huge headache. Sometimes I would just ignore it, other times I would pop an aspirin, depending on how bad it was. None of the secondary headaches were as bad as the initial withdrawal. So if you can get over the first couple days, things get much easier.

As another weird side-effect, I got rather grumpy. And wanted to kill anyone else I saw drinking a Mt. Dew. For me it was basically, getting over the cravings (hrmm... Mt. Dew) and getting myself out of the habit of drinking soda on a daily basis.

When I was getting past the initial caffeine withdrawal, I felt like I was dragging. When you become dependent on the caffeine, you have to have it to focus. So getting off it leaves you feeling... weird. It was hard for me to focus and concentrate on things. And I felt agitated.

Recovery

After about two weeks, I noticed something. I had more energy! I could also focus again and the agitation subsided. I just felt better! It feels great!

2 Months Later

Now it has been two months.

I haven't had any caffeine, and I generally avoid sodas entirely. I'm sleeping great and I feel wonderful! I don't have the soda cravings any more, and feel much more healthy. So, despite the annoyance of the withdrawal, it is defiantly much better to be off the stuff. To any other soda junkies out there: if you want to quit, do it. It's worth it.

As a side note: while you are trying to drop the caffeine habit, drink juices. It helps with the cravings. I rather like orange juice. The citrus helped me stem the Mt. Dew cravings since Mt. Dew is also citrus based.