Wow - one day no drinking and I get headaches and its hard to sleep

[Taverner]

I need to break up my drinking more often

See, I like beer.

No, I LOVE beer. However, lately, I just haven't been enjoying it like I used to. Even great Flemish Sours and Uberhopped Imperial IPA's weren't tasting like they used to. I was getting sick after 2 beers - so I thought time for a hiatus.

10 days no beer (or alcohol for that matter.) Always good to clear the mind and body.

Besides, I'm getting a gut.

Anyway, yesterday was my first day and despite compulsively drinking Diet Sprite and Diet Squirt, I was OK. Well, except for two things: Headaches, and insomnia.

Is this usual?

I am guessing 48 hours is all it should last, right?

[helderheid]

1. Get rid of the diet pop - it's horrible for you! Try seltzer water sweetened with stevia instead -

you can get flavored stevia at whole foods. It's expensive but a little goes a long way AND it's good for you. :)

[Taverner]

4. I can't stand stevia

Tastes horrible to me and straight water doesn't cut it

I need something with bite - whether that's coffee, coca tea or diet soda - they all work for me

And yes, I go through a case (12) every 3 days as it is.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

15. Unsweetened iced tea

It's got more flavor than water; it actually quenches your thirst (unlike any beverage all loaded up with sugar or faux sugar); it's hydrating and actually good for you (all of the anti-oxidants); and it has caffeine!

I'm not sure exactly how much I drink (a gallon every couple of days?), but it works for me. Coffee upsets my stomach, and I like pure water, but, more often, I like something with some flavor in it. (And, if I get tired of the tea flavor, I can always change to any one of about 200 different blends and flavors! I've got a pitcher of iced pomegranate green tea waiting at home for me today.)

[Rambis]

2. Diet pop is useless

It dehydrates you and believe it or not is it an appetite stimulator- give it up- Guinness 125 calories a pint- Need I say more?
Cheers!

[Taverner]

6. 9 more days and I'll take you up on it

Right now I want to fall in love with beer all over again

[flvegan]

3. Possible your body is used to the "downer" part of alcohol.

Hence the insomnia.

I notice it's a bit tougher to get to sleep if I didn't have a drink earlier in the evening.

[Taverner]

8. I think thats it

Shouldn't take more than 48 hours for my body to adjust

My mom was a serious drinker, drank every day from when she was 21 to when she was 60-something. Even despite the DT's, all withdrawal symptoms were gone in 48 hours.

[Westegg]

9. Takes 90 days to be free of alcohol...

...and up to that point it can still be affecting you physically and mentally. I'm not talking about potential long-term damage to the body (liver, brain, etc.)-- just about the immediate negative symptoms you might experience in mind and body because of not having alcohol in your system, if your system is used to it.

[Taverner]

11. I thought all alcohol leaves your system in 48 hours?

[Westegg]

13. Yes it does. Blood-level-wise...

...but I'm not talking about what would show up on a Breathalyzer. What I mean is, if you are a serious regular drinker-- which I would define as someone who has trouble making it through a day without a drink-- then your body and your brain are so used to alcohol that they have changed, chemically, because of that regular intake. So if you stop drinking, there will be a period of adjustment until your body and brain get back to pre-drinking normality. This has been shown scientifically to be about three months.

[siligut]

5. Hopefully even less time, drink water to help flush you system.

If they are sweetened with aspartame, that crap can cause headaches and insomnia. If you went ten days with no drinking, and last night was the first time you indulged in diet drinks, I am pretty sure this is associated with the diet drinks and not alcohol withdrawal. It is a good idea to give your liver a break, plus, you are right, beer is the biggest culprit when it comes to belly fat.

Aspartame is a modified Phenylalanine and is closely related to and is the precursor to adrenalin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine

[Taverner]

7. Oh no I already drink a ton of Aspartame Sweetened Drinks

It's tossup: Aspartame with its brain chemicals, Splenda with its fart-inducing components or HFCS.

[amitten]

12. Just drink the sugar stuff, for God's sake. n/t

[Taverner]

14. I don't like regular cola though

Too sweet - I like the diet citrusey drinks specifically because they are "drier"

[lost-in-nj]

10. Could be the sweetener in the soda

giving you headaches

is there caffeine in the soda also???

good luck

lost