Why Caffeine?

So in beginning to think about pregnancy, I have been thinking about all the eating/drinking things I need to change. The biggie for me is caffeine... (and sushi)... but mostly caffeine.

I have been going back and forth over whether or not to completely cut it out, and if I do should I start now? I really don't drink THAT much... it is mostly just Dr. Pepper. I LOVE Dr. Pepper, and unlike coffee, I cannot just switch to decaf.

I actually found out a few months ago that caffeine-free Dr. Pepper does exist.. and I got super excited... until I realized that the closest store that sold them was in a different state.

Which begs the question of why? Why is there caffeine in soda?

I love my Dr. Pepper (DP from now on), but I don't want to HAVE to have it everyday. It is not good for my health, it is not good for my teeth, and it is not cheap like water or sweet tea (my second favorite drink). But because I drink it as frequently as I do, if I don't have a DP by 11am, I have a migraine.


When did it become ok to add addicting drugs with full on withdrawal symptoms to our beverages? I have quit caffeine 2-3 times over the past 10 years, and it usually lasts about 2-3 weeks (well a month if you consider the week of miserable migraines while I quit) until I want a soda, usually a DP, and as soon as I have one, I have to go through the whole withdrawal process all over again.It is frustrating.

Is it too much to ask to have soda without extra drugs readily available?

At a restaurant the only caffeine-free soda ever available is Sprite.. which really isn't soda. You can get diet everywhere, but not decaf.

In the stores, you can usually find regular coke in decaf, but anything else you find in decaf is also diet, and I HATE diet.

This caffeine addiction is soo epidemic that "The Headache Medicine"- Excederine, has caffeine in it. (There are many days when I am out of DP when I will just pop an Excederine to get rid of the headache). It is frustrating.

I am not saying we should ban the use of caffeine or anything like that, but I think it is a little shady of the soda companies to put a flavorless, unneeded addictive substance in their drinks and not give you a choice.

So my plan is to start special ordering Caff free DP, and stocking up on it... and then try quitting once again. Maybe once I start special ordering it, it will be more readily available in my grocery store and I can stick to my quitting.

We will see...