For the last several months I have been having issues with my throat. I have needed to clear it too often. I have been coughing too much. I was thinking those symptoms resulted from my acid reflux problems. But last Saturday night I decided it was time to research my symptoms. I didn’t want to get something serious.
After a couple of hours, I was surprised to be convinced about the impact of too much caffeine on the throat and that caffeine’s impact on the throat is worse for people with a history of acid reflux. So, I woke up Sunday morning and decided to stop consuming caffeine. I didn’t have my traditional energy drink in the morning. I didn’t drink any Coke.
Sunday and Monday were not the easiest days as I was detoxing. Monday afternoon the combination of withdrawals and the workday gave me a bad headache. But I didn’t consume any caffeine until I had a Coke Friday afternoon.
All week my throat felt better than it has in months. I coughed quite a bit less. The need to clear my throat was much less pronounced. Actually, I am surprised by how much benefit I got so quickly.
The hardest part of this is drinking plain water all the time. It gets boring, and I get tired of the same taste all the time. I’m going to have to find some kind of flavored water that isn’t loaded with crap to have something besides plain water all the time.
The Coke I had yesterday didn’t cause me any issues. This morning, tired of water, I had an energy drink. I wanted to see if I could have caffeine in moderation without aggravating my throat. So far, the answer seems to be the energy drink is just too much for me. As I’m writing, my symptoms are worse than they have been since last Saturday, before I cut back.
Since Coke is really terrible for a person, I’m guessing I really need to quit caffeine entirely. I’m going to have to research other things I can drink this weekend.
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I’ve tried many times and failed. I do manage to keep to just one cup of caffeinated something a day–either coffee or tea. Without it, I have terrible headaches. The question what else to drink is a tough one. There are many herbal teas; I hate most of them. They’re watery and weak, or you have to let them steep 15 minutes, by which time I’m doing something else already. Carbonated drinks are not a good idea, though LaCroix seems fairly harmless. I’m OK with Pero or Caffree Roma now and then (with milk), but I’ll be interested to hear what you discover. My favorite special-occasion drink is Fentiman’s Gently Sparkling Elderflower.
Thank you for your comment. I found a couple things I am going to try. I will let you know how they work out.