I'm addicted... to Red Bull. (DAY 1)

Is a quart of Red Bull per day a lot?  

Wait. 

OK, yes. I s'pose so. At least that's what my friends have said when I told them I have a quart-a-day Red Bull habit. They also said: "OMG," and "I can't believe you're not dead."  But really it doesn't seem like that much when you're drinking it. I mean, two 160z cans. Or a 20oz and a 12oz. Or four 8oz cans. It sounds like so little. You can get nearly a quart of soda in a single-serving cup at nearly any fast food joint. So what's the big deal, right? 

Well it turns out that not only is Red Bull among the more expensive energy drinks out there, it has a bit of a nasty rep. Seems that huge amounts of the drink's touted chemical, taurine, can (at worst) mess with your heart rhythms, or (at best) cause your body to forget how to make taurine on its own. And there are other problems, like sugar crashes. The amount of Red Bull I was consuming daily is like draining half a small jug of maple syrup. That's in addition to thr maple syrup I eat at breakfast. 

I recently combined an empty stomach with a quart of Red Bull and followed that with a hot shower (which boosts blood pressure, increases circulation and gooses insulin levels). Result: the worst sugar crash I've had in sobriety. I actually had to take a knee and swill half a Coke to steady myself.

So, today I decided not to have any Red Bull at all. Zip. Zero. Cold fucking turkey. (Now, be aware, I am NOT quitting caffeine, JUST Red Bull. So I allowed myself an espresso frap from Big Daddy Starbucks this afternoon.) But the point is, I didn't have any Red Bull today. Having learned the value of "one day at a time" the hard way, I can say that even this small step is a victory.

So I invite you to come along on my Red Bull withdrawal journey as I trek thru what will surely be an extravaganza of jello-brained misadventures punctuated by attacks of narcolepsy.

Stay tuned, kids. 

Comments

[Jo-Ann]

Cheering you on and interested to see what happens. I have this personal rule after the 3rd can in 3 days I am off for 4. It keeps the kick kickin..and really I usually only drink it at work or when so sleep deprived I can't function. My normal is 2 cans a week of Monster....Good Luck

[Darcy]

I cannot read about Red Bull or really any energy drink without remembering the time that Andy and I were going to a dance thing and he said that he thought those drinks taste like ass, and there was a can of something in my car that was cherry flavored, and somehow the term "cherry ass blast" came into being, and I still laugh whenever I think of it. I am laughing right now as I type! Maybe thinking of Red Bull as cherry ass blast will help you with not wanting to drink it ;) (I know it doesn't really work that way, but...)

I will follow your withdrawal journey with interest. Good luck! (If that's not inappropriate to say.)

[trainwatcher]

I'll be following and cheering, too, one day at a time. Good luck!

Please send good thoughts back this way. Quit smoking 17 days ago -- along with nephew David AND my boss!

[Sparkly Jules]

I've never tried any of those energy drinks. As a diabetic, I steer away from sugar drinks. (I want my sugar in baked goods. nyah). As someone with ADD, caffeine doesn't do a darn thing for me. I frequently have coffee before bed.

Curse my name, I get it.

Hope it goes well for you. Do you drink coffee? *goodthoughts*

SJ

[Kaylee Payne]

Hah, Italy protesters rally against Berlusconi