I guess all I can say is I'm addicted Addicted to lovin you
Oh, hi. You don't know Sisqo's song Addicted?
C'mon! It's SISQO - the talented man behind the Thong Song, the theme song of the summer of 1999!
Uh, anyway, I digress.
I think I've alluded before to my love of coffee, and caffeination in general. Well, my friends - this weekend was a rude awakening.
I think I've alluded before to my love of coffee, and caffeination in general. Well, my friends - this weekend was a rude awakening.
I brewed myself a travel mug full of coffee Friday before work, but only managed to drink about half of it before it grew cold and I stopped drinking it.
Around 2pm, a splitting headache began throbbing. Oh no, I thought, caffeine headache. THE WORST.
Around 5pm, I went home from work, headache still searingly painful. Maybe I'm just dehydrated, I hoped, as I settled in for a nap to escape the headache.
Around 7pm, after not being able to sleep, we went grocery shopping and I scoured Whole Foods for a natural way to relieve splitting headache. Argh, I thought, this sucks! Give me coffee samples from Trader Joe's!
Around 10pm, the headache had not gone, so I swallowed one Tylenol PM, [I can only use a half or one tablet - any more than that I'll feel like I've been hit by a truck. Which is quite an awful saying, now that I think of it.], and crawled into bed. My head felt awful, and I desperately hoped it was NOT the lack of caffeine - allergies or sinus pressure or something else that doesn't mean I'm physically dependent.
We babysat my cousins Saturday and spent the night in Brecksville - 30 minutes south of here - and Sunday morning we enjoyed waffles and half-caf coffee.
A small headache started during church, and I grabbed Mike's hand and hissed: "I'm addicted to coffee. I HAVE A HEADACHE because the coffee was half-decaf!"
A small headache started during church, and I grabbed Mike's hand and hissed: "I'm addicted to coffee. I HAVE A HEADACHE because the coffee was half-decaf!"
At lunch back at my aunt and uncle's house with other family, we were standing around talking and I mentioned casually my caffeine addiction (comparing it to their Diet Coke addiction. THEY BROUGHT THEIR OWN DIET COKE because they "weren't sure they're be any here.")
Apparently, it's NOT so normal to be almost 24-years-old and completely addicted to coffee.
Uh, oops.
My uncle is an anesthesiologist and told us about patients who can't eat for 12 hours before their operation. Some of them get such bad headaches from caffeine withdrawal that they have to hook them up to a caffeine IV.
The image of me having to walk around with a caffeine IV (along with reading Skinny B*tch and how it portrays caffeine as totally awful) really made me want to try and stop being addicted.
Let's just stop for a second to laugh at how seriously I'm taking myself.
Moving on.
[Wait, not yet: I feel like a freakin' alcoholic or something: "I just want to be able to enjoy a drink with my friends without being addicted! *sob*"]
Okay.
So, I've decided to slowly wean myself off the daily cup and settle for a once-in-a-while cup instead. (I'm NOT anti-caffeine, just anti-me-being-addicted.)
I'm writing about it to see if anyone else is suffering from addiction and so I'm accountable. (You know, like saying you're going running on Twitter so you actually do!)
Here's to chai tea, decaf coffee, black tea, hot chocolate and herbal tea. And an occasional cup o'fair trade coffee!
(Did I seriously just write 600 words about my poor little caffeine addiction? Ay. Blogging at its finest, ladies and gentlemen!)
i get wicked caffeine headaches too! it's so bad because i know what i'm putting into my body is no good... it's just not worth the consequences. good luck girl! (maybe i'll try it too?)xoxo
ReplyDeletei've never had the headaches, but i could not function last year without a cup of coffee to get me going in the morning. then i started passing out (a lot. randomly. it was bad) and my doctor cut a lot from my diet. including caffeine. the first week sucked. i was sooo tired, but after that, things were great and apples replaced my morning coffee. (that sounds like a quote from an infomercial).
ReplyDeleteanyhow, i'm back drinking coffee at work on some mornings, but can definitely live without it now!
and there are TONS of great teas out there you'll start to love!
I once suffered from "caffeine" headaches.......bad stuff! I let go of the daily trip to Starbucks a little bit at a time and I found it was more of a habit than an addiction and now I'm not spending $100 a month on coffee either.....Good Luck, you will be happy in the long run!
ReplyDeletePS: I grew up in Parma.
I'm addicted to caffeine too, especially coffee! I just love the way it tastes and I have no plans on giving it up=)
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way with my Diet Coke, Coke Zero or Chery Coke Zero. I have to have at least one can of (caffeinated) pop per day or I seriously get headaches. I try to stick to one a day, but when I go out to eat, I'm guilty of drinking a few glasses of Diet Coke.
ReplyDeleteOh, and not sure if you realize this, but Decaf coffee does have caffeine in it, so don't be fooled!
Ah but you'll feel so healthy if you do it! Replace it with water. You'll feel like superwoman :)
ReplyDeletethis was far too funny. Although, I do not take your addiction lightly! I can't seem to understand how one can be addicted to coffee?! I'm sure you'll feel tons better once you kick the bad habit! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteyou can do it you can do it put a little muscle to it!
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely not alone on the caffeine addiction. I have yet to blessed with that particular addiction, but my roommate started in high school. She was hospitalized 2 times during high school because of her love of coffee. It would make her anxious, her heart would beat out of control.
ReplyDeleteOh - and Skinny Bitch? I tried that lifestyle, but didn't get very far. I would love to know how you do it!
My new job is located next door to an independent cafe and candy store. Um, this is bad... but I can't go a day without my (fair trade) latte and chocolate chip cookie. Once this gig is up, I'll do a caffeine detox, probably. Haha.
ReplyDeletethis very thing happened to me over the summer (i work at a home goods store that is about 12 steps from a starbucks) and i would daily enjoy some iced coffee.
ReplyDeleteso, one week i decided to cut back and i ended up with the most painful headache and felt incredibly lightheaded. this was while i was working, so my boss noticed that i was starting to lose some color in my face, so he told me to go into the breakroom and drink some orange juice.
he came in and explained to me that i was suffering from caffeine withdrawal (the same thing happened to him & a couple other employees). so now, i only have coffee once or twice a week.
oh goodness, sadly i can relate to this post more than i want to admit :) I started working in a coffee shop when i was 15 and the rest is history, and as SOON as i decided i wanted to be less addicted, along came my job at starbucks! caffeine headaches are KILLER!! can i just say how delish the cuppa joe looks in the pic on your blog?? mmmmm LOL!!
ReplyDeletei need to check out this Skinny Bitch book, apparently it's all the rage!!
I've been addicted to caffeine loads of times. One of the summers I was a counselor for PCL, I drank soda CONSTANTLY until I realized why I suffered from pounding headaches every night. It only takes me about a week of drinking water instead of caffeinated beverages to kick the habit. Occasionally I relapse, but it's easy for me to break the cycle, so I suppose I don't fret about it too much. =) Besides, you know I drink water like a fish anyway, so I think that helps a lot with this particular little quandary.
ReplyDeleteHee - if I can blog (way TOO often) about random dollar spot purchases, you, my dear, can blog about caffeine! :) Cute graphic for this post, btw! Oh man, I can totally relate to you ... I am soooo addicted to caffeine. It's BAD! I'm more of a Pepsi girl than coffee (although I'd also drink coffee if I had more $$ for the coffee shop or if work coffee didn't taste bunk) and if I don't have a soda at lunch, I always get a major bad headache during the day. I wish I wasn't addicted and I really need to cut down on soda cuz I know the calories/sugar aint good for me either. Maybe I should push through the caffeine headaches and keep trying to cut down on soda. Hmm -- maybe I'll start tomorrow ;)
ReplyDelete*shrug* All good things in moderation, but more power to ya.
ReplyDeleteThe Go Dairy-Free blog ripped Skinny Bitch a new one, but I take it you don't find it mean?
i too am a coffee lover.. i live for it in the AM
ReplyDeleteRachel- my thoughts exactly. Hence my endeavor!
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaker- Oh wow! Passing out? That's pretty darn awful. Skinny Bitch recommended apples in the morning, and I've been sticking with that. :)
Tracij- It's very much a habit for me as well. We'll see how it goes...PS: How crazy - Parma is super close!
Auburn Kat- I totally get that. :) Yum!!
Hazel- Oh yeah, I know. I have nothing against caffeine, just me being addicted.
LCT -I love it. That will be my inspiration. Superwoman. :)
Faith- I'm working on it - I HATE that I'm addicted to something, it makes me feel so weak. It's weird.
Alexa- Woohoo! Thanks for the encouragement!
Sarah- Oh my gosh! That's insane - I'm really glad I'm not THAT bad. Eek. (I'm already a vegetarian, so it's not a super big stretch for me...but we'll see)
Renee- Yay fair trade!! That made my morning to see that. :)
Shortchick- Seriously, are caffeine headaches NOT the worst feeling ever? Physical dependency SUCKS, dude!
jimaie- Haha. I'd love to work at Starbucks. It's a lifelong dream of mine. :) Check it out, but beware! It's mean and a little graphic...
Holly - You and your water! :)
Sarah - I love you and your posts! Eww for bunk tasting coffee. No good!
Kate P- Oh it was TOTALLY mean, and not the best book ever at all. But interesting and some good points, nonetheless!
Dana- Mmm, coffee!
Ashley, I'm SO glad your reaction to "Will you marry me" was just as classy as mine! Thanks for sharing that with me, I kinda needed it because I felt really bad that I told the poor kid to shut up!!!
ReplyDeleteThey have an actual IV for caffeine? Please, hook me up!
ReplyDeleteI decided to give up my morning coffees after I read Skinny Bitch. I didn't really get withdrawals, but it's been good. I haven't really noticed a big difference but I dont think I was too addicted. I will have a cup if I feel like it, but it is when I want one, not need one. Best of luck to you!
ReplyDeletea caffeine IV?!?!? what?!?!? That's insane. I'm not a huge caffeine consumer but I do have about half a cup in the mornings and I love chocolate. But after reading this, I'm maybe thinking about going back to green tea in the am ...although it has a bit of caffeine too ...
ReplyDeleteI just came across your blog, and 1) its adorable and I love all of your green living advice, and 2) I'm also a 23-year-old caffeine addict. Sundays are the worst for me, because I'm off my weekday schedule and I don't drink coffee the same time. So its nice to see through the comments that I'm not alone (none of my friends are as bad as me).
ReplyDeleteI used to have a cup of coffee a day, just in the morning, and I thought I'm fine, can totally live without it. And then I was on a trip for few days without access to coffee... I had such a headache and I felt miserable. So, when I got back, I started putting a little less coffee in a cup, and a little less, and then I just stopped drinking it. Now I just have herbal tea every day and some hot chocolate. Surprisingly, I don't even miss coffee... I think it was more of a comraderie of having a cup of coffee while chatting with my coworkers that really drew me to it. Now I have it very very rarely.
ReplyDelete