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[dei]

They don't work for me. It's very odd. Every time I've had one, I've fallen asleep half an hour to an hour after drinking.

They don't work for me. It's very odd. Every time I've had one, I've fallen asleep half an hour to an hour after drinking.

This.  Caffeine really has no effect on me either though.

I just stick to diet soft drinks.  All of the soft drink flavor, none of the sugar!  And caffeine I guess... not that it does anything to me.

Eh, most of them taste like shit and I really don't see how people can become addicted to stuff like that. They don't have much of an effect on me anyway. Actually, things like energy drinks and coffees can make me even more relaxed.

Caffeine and stimulants in general tend to relax me and make me less inhibited. They also put me in a good mood and bring me down from panic attacks. That's why I drink something caffeinated every day - without it I'm a nervous wreck due to how stressful my living environment is.

However I think I've developed a dependency of sorts upon caffeine. Most I can go without caffeine is about a day, maybe two before I feel so tense and agitated that I can't stop getting upset and annoyed with the slightest thing. Stimulants are addictive due to the chemical reaction they provide in the brain. Anything that provides a positive chemical reaction is addictive, as the brain will get you to seek out that positive reaction more due to how good it feels to have said reaction. I don't know how to better explain it but it is similar to why people get addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, various drugs and sex.

It's really something terrible that our bodies do when you think about it, but what are you going to do?

[Telgin]

I just stick to diet soft drinks.  All of the soft drink flavor, none of the sugar!  And caffeine I guess... not that it does anything to me.

Diet soda's arguably worse for you than regular soft drinks, from what I understand I can't stand the taste of most artificial sweeteners (especially in drinks), though, so diet's mostly out for me.

There have been a few scares on it in the past (claims of brain tumors or something like that), but studies have found that there's no correlation between aspartame and health problems.  Other artificial sweeteners I'm not so sure about, but I'd expect similar results.

I will concede that regular drinks do taste better, but I find regular Mountain Dew to be almost overpoweringly sweet compared to its diet version for example.  Diet Mountain Dew used to taste pretty bad, but when they reformulated it like 7 years or so ago it actually tastes very good now I'd say.  Definitely different from the regular version, but good in its own way.

Colas I can't stand in any version so I can't speak for them.  I mostly stick to lemon-lime and other fruity drinks.

[Caz]

Yeah I know one of my friends who drinks an energy drink which happens to be 50% of your GDA sugar, several times a day. I wonder how he doesn't have diabetes yet.
In general, they taste of crap and don't really give energy. If you want energy eat a loaf of bread or something.

This. Unless you're trying to gain weight you really shouldn't be drinking your calories. I find it's good to compare a soda like a candy bar... you wouldn't eat 3-4 bars in addition to meals and snacks, 'cause it's just plain gluttony. But since soda is 'just a drink', we justify it easier. This goes for booze as well. (sadly)

I drink something caffeinated every day - without it I'm a nervous wreck due to how stressful my living environment is.

However I think I've developed a dependency of sorts upon caffeine. Most I can go without caffeine is about a day, maybe two before I feel so tense and agitated that I can't stop getting upset and annoyed with the slightest thing.

Sounds like caffeine withdrawal. If you are having such strong negative effects from it, why not try giving it up? Then you would avoid the ups and downs of not getting your fix and the body quickly gets used to being without it.

[Frumple]

This. Unless you're trying to gain weight you really shouldn't be drinking your calories. I find it's good to compare a soda like a candy bar... you wouldn't eat 3-4 bars in addition to meals and snacks, 'cause it's just plain gluttony. But since soda is 'just a drink', we justify it easier. This goes for booze as well. (sadly)

Relevant, heh.

And yeah, caffeine withdrawal isn't too bad after the first week or two, at least in my experience. I've gone through it a few times, actually. In dei's case, though, I think there's other circumstances involved that would make the additional stress of it ('cause it is somewhat unpleasant, if nothing compared to more heavily addictive stuff) rather untenable at the moment. Maybe once other things settle down, it'll become easier to deal with.

[penguinofhonor]

Huh, so would this soda tea be a good use of flat soda? Because I tend to have a ton of that laying around.

[Caz]

Relevant, heh.

Obligatory "there's an xkcd comic for every situation" remark.

And yeah, caffeine withdrawal isn't too bad after the first week or two, at least in my experience. I've gone through it a few times, actually. In dei's case, though, I think there's other circumstances involved that would make the additional stress of it ('cause it is somewhat unpleasant, if nothing compared to more heavily addictive stuff) rather untenable at the moment. Maybe once other things settle down, it'll become easier to deal with.

Well, I guess so. You improve your life one action at a time, and something as insignificant as laying off the caffeine can help, especially if it's causing such irritability/anxiety.

[Frumple]

Huh, so would this soda tea be a good use of flat soda? Because I tend to have a ton of that laying around.

It'd definitely be usable. Flat soda seems to taste a bit better when it's boiled into that state instead of reaching that way normally. Blazes if I know why. But the tea does add something extra that improves it over just being flat.

Give it a shot, I'd say. Experimentation is fun, so long as you don't manage to find something that turns toxic. And I haven't yet!

[dei]

This. Unless you're trying to gain weight you really shouldn't be drinking your calories. I find it's good to compare a soda like a candy bar... you wouldn't eat 3-4 bars in addition to meals and snacks, 'cause it's just plain gluttony. But since soda is 'just a drink', we justify it easier. This goes for booze as well. (sadly)

Relevant, heh.

And yeah, caffeine withdrawal isn't too bad after the first week or two, at least in my experience. I've gone through it a few times, actually. In dei's case, though, I think there's other circumstances involved that would make the additional stress of it ('cause it is somewhat unpleasant, if nothing compared to more heavily addictive stuff) rather untenable at the moment. Maybe once other things settle down, it'll become easier to deal with.

This. Give it about one to six months and I might be able to start considering moving out of this place which causes me to become more stressed and paranoid each and every day. Then maybe I can deal with this caffeine addiction.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also try living with a schizophrenic that claims to be a born-again Christian while having the tendency to hit on you, beat off with the door open while calling your name, and call you Honey while sniffing your farts. It's a Hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies.

[Strife26]

I live and die by my energy drinks, generally. Generally, I'll use coffee or tea in preference, but for those situations where sleep's getting skipped, there's no replacement for Red Bull (or her handy deployment cousins Rippit and Standing Rock). Of course, I probably don't average more than one a day, but that goes between three drinks one day, and no drinks the other two.



And no, I don't see anything especially harmful with either the calories, sugar, or the utterly borked up sleep schedule that I assume.

[Caz]

I live and die by my energy drinks, generally. Generally, I'll use coffee or tea in preference, but for those situations where sleep's getting skipped, there's no replacement for Red Bull (or her handy deployment cousins Rippit and Standing Rock). Of course, I probably don't average more than one a day, but that goes between three drinks one day, and no drinks the other two.



And no, I don't see anything especially harmful with either the calories, sugar, or the utterly borked up sleep schedule that I assume.

All our poisons are great in moderation. I think the "energy drinks r bad" posts are geared more towards the folks that either drink gallons of the stuff per day or are real sensitive to caffeine.

[dei]

I live and die by my energy drinks, generally. Generally, I'll use coffee or tea in preference, but for those situations where sleep's getting skipped, there's no replacement for Red Bull (or her handy deployment cousins Rippit and Standing Rock). Of course, I probably don't average more than one a day, but that goes between three drinks one day, and no drinks the other two.



And no, I don't see anything especially harmful with either the calories, sugar, or the utterly borked up sleep schedule that I assume.

I'm only sharing this because I am a font of useful and useless information, but certain stimulants, like caffeine, are actually good for the brain in small quantities - about a cup or two of coffee a day is as much as can be good for you. However, a lack of sleep can be the cause of heart problems and Alzheimer's. As long as you're getting at least six to eight hours a night though you should be fine.

[Morrigi]

It's impossible for me to drink them as fast as I do other drinks, the taste and effect of it are too concentrated. I've had the same one sitting in front of me since before I started the thread, and it's not empty yet.

[Dorten]

I'm a caffeine junky, actually. And as they have less impact on my stomach than coffee, I drink them often. The effect varies from time to time, from "omigodsomuchtodosomuchtosee" to "meh..." to "yaaawn..."

[SalmonGod]

There's a couple energy drinks that don't taste horrible, but I still take forever to drink them.  I use energy drinks on occasion when I'm really sleep deprived and absolutely must power my way through something.  The thing is... I don't think the 'energiness' of the drink actually does anything for me.  I think it's just the battery acid taste that perks me.  I sip very lightly on it every couple minutes and the taste wakes me up.

I've been drinking coffee for about 7 years, and am quite dependent on it now.  I don't get caffeine headaches or irritable or anything.  I just get mildly unmotivated and sluggish.  I've been thinking for 2-3 years now that it would be nice to break my dependency on the stuff.  I don't get any benefit from it.  In fact, I can't remember the last time I actually felt a perk from drinking anything with caffeine or other energy substances in it.  I actually had more energy and better handled sleep deprivation before ever drinking it.  I just haven't had a good week or two in years where there wasn't something going on that required me to stay sharp.  I haven't had a real vacation in like 6 years.  And the more I've thought about looking for that opportunity, the more I've realized that I've really grown to love my coffee.  My throat tends to be painfully dry when I wake up and it's the most soothing thing.  Plus, I've read the stuff about how a cup or two a day is actually good for you.  So the only reason to quit is to maybe have the kind of energy I used to, save some money, and because I absolutely hate the restraints of physical dependency. 

[lordcooper]

The do nothing to me and taste of yuck.