I’m on day three of giving up Diet Coke, again. I’ve given up Diet Coke at least 4 times for longer than a month and each time I go back to it. Giving up smoking was easier than kicking the Diet Coke addiction.

After three days without Diet Crack I am pretty sure I am dying.

I have joint pain, my eyes feel like they are fuzzy, I’m cold, have no appetite (that’s a good symptom of Diet Coke withdrawal), and I have such a massive headache I considered for a moment that maybe I was having an aneurysm.

Prior to giving up Diet Coke I was experiencing joint pain, cravings for sweets all the time, no energy, muscle weakness and weight gain which I attributed to giving up smoking, perimenopause, and just feeling much older that I am.

I know Diet Coke is bad for me but I go back to each time, and when I do I always marvel at how bad it tastes and yet my body wants it.

Three days off and I want to crawl under a rock or smack someone for breathing too loud. I work at home so don’t have exposure to people unless I venture out and thankfully I don’t have to do that right now because I’m pretty sure I’d do something stupid.

There was the famous Twinkie defense of 1979 used at the trial of Dan White who assassinated Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Mascone. White’s attorneys argued that he suffered diminished capacity due to depression from switching from a poor diet of sugary sweet foods including Twinkies to a more healthy diet. White was convicted of manslaughter.

That famous trial took place in 1979, three years before Diet Coke hit the market. Coincidence? I think not.

Yeah, that jump to conclusion makes no sense because I can’t think straight through the steady drumbeat of my brain begging me for Diet Coke.

I started drinking diet pop in the mid 70s. I had my first Tab when my brother and I went to my grandparents house during spring break. I was a bit “chunky” as my brother liked to remind me. My grandmother gave my brother Cokes while she gave me Tab. I was hooked then.

I knew the saccharin in Tab was bad for me but didn’t care. I was only able to kick Tab by replacing it with Diet Coke in 1982. I’ve been drinking it ever since.

Diet Coke is poison. I joke calling it Diet Crack, but it really is that addictive. Ok, I don’t know that because I’ve never done crack and don’t know what it’s like to be addicted to it. I haven’t even seen Breaking Bad, but I know people who do these highly addictive drugs have a hard time kicking the habit.

Symptoms of Diet Coke Withdrawal include:

  • Headache
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Mood Swings
  • Lack of Concentration
  • Insomnia
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Heart Palpitations
  • Panic Attacks
  • Food Cravings
  • Aches and Pains
  • Lightheadedness
  • Short Tempered
  • Basically Feeling Like Shit