Name changed because I'm ashamed of how bad my addiction is! Here's my story:
I am 38, I have ADHD (which sometimes I think makes me predisposed to crave stimulants like caffeine) and I’ve been addicted to Coke Zero/Pepsi Max for a long time. It started when I got my first job at 16 in a restaurant alongside full time school. I thought it was great as you were allowed to drink the pop on tap for free. I worked long shifts and would chug it throughout.
It started with regular Coca Cola and I became addicted quite quickly. In 2014, in an effort to lose weight, I switched to Pepsi Max or Coke Zero (whichever was on offer!) and have drank it daily since then. I lost a lot of weight, but never shook the addiction.
I’m ashamed to say that for the last two years I’ve probably drank on average 8-12 cans of Pepsi Max a day. I’ve made attempts at quitting many times before and they’ve never lasted because I’ve thought: “Oh, well one whilst I’m out having dinner won’t hurt!” and BOOM I’m buying crates of the stuff again. I won’t compare it to alcoholism because of course it’s different, but I think once I’m through this I can’t touch a drop of the stuff again.
It’s the first thing I do when I wake up - crack open a cold can. If I’m thirsty in the night, I crack open a can. I take cans of it out with me in my bag. I panic if there’s none in the house or it’s running low. If I can’t go out to get it, I’ll use Uber Eats to get some. It’s as if that first sip wakes up my brain, it spreads through me and brings me to life 😂.
Friends and my own children take the piss out of me for it, or sometimes lecture me and tell me to quit.
Well, I’m saving for a big holiday this year. I need to tighten the purse strings and get healthy and this stuff has to go.
I’m on day two of having only one can when I wake up. The headache is brutal but I’m making it through. I’m determined to break free of this addiction this time. I don’t know if it’s the sweetener, the caffeine, the fizz, or the combination, but I love this stuff too much and it has to go!
Is anyone else in the same boat? Maybe we can quit together?