Addicted to energy drinks and I want to give up

MyLove_J

Over the years I came to rely a lot on energy drinks like red bull, lucozade, coke, etc. As years passed I found myself drinking one a day or sometimes even more. It's something that I very much enjoy. I'm not going into details of my work but sometimes there are long and hard days/weeks and many stresses and a cold drink especially the red bull was something I look forward to and it gives me a proper boost through out the day.

Anyways, I need to give up or I won't have teeth in my head any more.

I suspect a lot of tooth enamel has been lost. I don't have any pain or sensitivity but there's something at the back of my mind thinking this. I have a fear of the dentist and I don't want to go to the dentist. Maybe in time I might make an appointment but it might be September or October. I have a special toothpaste ordered from England and it looks to be very promising and I hopefully I will have my package by the end of the week. Until then, I'm using a sensodyne repair and protect toothpaste. Already, within a week of using it my teeth are much whiter and it's not even marketed as a whitening toothpaste.

Has anyone here experience of enamel loss? Loads of googling throws up so much. I'm just after started with taking Vitamin D in the hope of it making my teeth stronger.

So back to giving up the drinks. Today was my first day without a drink except for some ice cold water. The very cold water was nice but I felt like I needed something more. I had a glass of cold milk too and that was nice but I'm missing something. I'm missing the high or the sugar rush. I had a cup of coffee but I'm not a fan of coffee. I prefer caffeine from a cold can which I need to give up.

Is there any hope for me? Would there be anything I could add to water like an energy and vitamin sachet?

Lately I'm having terrible dreams or nightmares about my teeth.

Paleblood

A big slice of lemon and iced water is very refreshing. I had a huge problem with soft drinks and it was sliced lemon that got me off it.

The trick is to replace the energy drink with something else that you enjoy. Simply giving it up and not replacing it with anything will be very difficult.

You're not gonna fine something natural and healthy that will give you the same kick, so forget about that. Just concentrate on finding something that will work.

My girlfriend keeps a gravity dispenser in the fridge with sliced cucumber and mint leaves. That works for her. Find something that works for you.

Best of luck.

Pac1Man

Your teeth will be the least of your worries if you kept that up!

Good move giving them up.

With energy drinks, I understood it was the effects on the heart, rather than the teeth. It sounds a bit like the smoker saying they want to kick the habit solely because it makes their teeth yellow. It does...but that's a side effect surely and not the main problem...

riffmongous

Same boat OP, I'd second the lemon idea above, use some soda water if you still need that kick which I find normal water doesn't give.

I've also started drinking Ayran as a replacement, it's youghurt mixed with water and salt, much nicer than it might sound and great with meals

riffmongous

Is an energy drink any worse than coffee?

Samaris

Deleted User wrote: »

With energy drinks, I understood it was the effects on the heart, rather than the teeth. It sounds a bit like the smoker saying they want to kick the habit solely because it makes their teeth yellow. It does...but that's a side effect surely and not the main problem...

Doesn't matter entirely what the objectively worst part of it is. Different aspects affect people differently.

For me and the energy drinks, I was worried about my kidneys.

riffmongous wrote: »

Is an energy drink any worse than coffee?

Yes, think of the amount of sugar in an energy drink as well as the caffeine, and also the drink itself tends to be larger (perhaps not with Red Bull, but certainly for Monster or Relentless)

Jfrost

Dr. Peppers and Red Bull ex addict here.

What I did like you seem to have done is just stop.
I was drinking about 4 cans of RB a day and similar of DP with 6-8 bars of chocolate.
So I gave up the drinks and replaced with water, dialled the chocolate to just 1 bar,a day.
But I needed my buzz and got that from exercise classes and going for jogs.
In the classes I worked hard and often did a circuit training followed with a spinning class.

Lasted 2 years and 45 marathons but at the moment I'm injured and have for 5 months and bad habits are creeping in.

We are creatures of habits and you need to replace that old habits....maybe not the way I did it, but I do recommend it, but with something that buzzes YOU

riffmongous

Samaris wrote: »

Yes, think of the amount of sugar in an energy drink as well as the caffeine, and also the drink itself tends to be larger (perhaps not with Red Bull, but certainly for Monster or Relentless)

What's the caffeine difference between a can of RB and a cup of coffee or an espresso? Also many people will add sugar to coffee (and tea), while you can also get sugar free energy drinks (Hofer (Aldi in Ireland) do a great one)

Edit: I checked and a RB has only the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, 1.5 times a cup of tea and twice a can of coke, not exceptional by any means imo, considering how much one would normally drink of the respective drinks

kippy

riffmongous wrote: »

What's the caffeine difference between a can of RB and a cup of coffee or an espresso? Also many people will add sugar to coffee (and tea), while you can also get sugar free energy drinks (Hofer (Aldi in Ireland) do a great one)

Edit: I checked and a RB has only the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, 1.5 times a cup of tea and twice a can of coke, not exceptional by any means imo, considering how much one would normally drink of the respective drinks

Its not all about the Caffeine. Energy drinks drank regularly are bad.
https://www.caffeineinformer.com/the-coffee-and-energy-drink-double-standard

riffmongous

kippy wrote: »

Its not all about the Caffeine. Energy drinks drank regularly are bad.
https://www.caffeineinformer.com/the-coffee-and-energy-drink-double-standard

Yes I read that, but it doesn't really say anything specific

Capt'n Midnight

I was addicted to brake fluid, convinced myself I could stop anytime.

milli milli

OP I started drinking Diet Coke & Pepsi Max a couple of years ago (min 1 a day, sometimes 2). I don't drink coffee so I finally understood what this caffeine buzz was all about! But I knew they were really bad for me so have given them up.

To get my caffeine fix (which I don't think is healthy by the way, but I need some kind of boost as my energy is quite low), I drink Berroca Boost. It's a multivitamin with guarana & caffeine. It feels like I'm drinking a soft drink as it has the fizzy taste but at least it's somewhat healthier than the soft drinks.

Ipso

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I was addicted to brake fluid, convinced myself I could stop anytime.

I hope you put the foot down.

Capt'n Midnight

Ipso wrote: »

I hope you put the foot down.

Yes, on the DOT.

humberklog

Jfrost wrote: »

Dr. Peppers and Red Bull ex addict here.

What I did like you seem to have done is just stop.
I was drinking about 4 cans of RB a day and similar of DP with 6-8 bars of chocolate.

I don't mean to pull thread OT but...Wha?

@Jfrost your post is brilliant. It's honest and informed but I can't even figure out how that diet would feel on the body?!

I went through a phase for about 5 years of starting the day with a bottle of Lucazade. That'd be it though for sugary stuff for the rest of the day. I gave it up and have had only 3 cans of soft drinks since xmas. And I'm 2 years off Lucasade.

Top-tip- buy a glass water jug and chop in 4 thin slices of cucumber. Fill with water.

ballsymchugh

MyLove_J wrote: »

Anyways, I need to give up or I won't have teeth in my head any more.

I suspect a lot of tooth enamel has been lost. I don't have any pain or sensitivity but there's something at the back of my mind thinking this. I have a fear of the dentist and I don't want to go to the dentist. Maybe in time I might make an appointment but it might be September or October. I have a special toothpaste ordered from England and it looks to be very promising and I hopefully I will have my package by the end of the week. Until then, I'm using a sensodyne repair and protect toothpaste. Already, within a week of using it my teeth are much whiter and it's not even marketed as a whitening toothpaste.

Has anyone here experience of enamel loss? Loads of googling throws up so much. I'm just after started with taking Vitamin D in the hope of it making my teeth stronger.
.

go see a dentist. stuff like this is more common than you think. vit D will make no difference to your teeth at this stage, it's all about fluoride. the cheapest toothpaste in tesco will have that, so don't waste your money getting anything delivered specially from england.
your teeth probably look whiter because you're paying attention to cleaning them now.
go to the dental issues forum if you need more advice, but you'll probably just be told to bite the bullet and go see a dentist.

humberklog

humberklog wrote: »

I don't mean to pull thread OT but...Wha?

@Jfrost your post is brilliant. It's honest and informed but I can't even figure out how that diet would feel on the body?!

I went through a phase for about 5 years of starting the day with a bottle of Lucazade. That'd be it though for sugary stuff for the rest of the day. I gave it up and have had only 3 cans of soft drinks since xmas. And I'm 2 years off Lucasade.

Top-tip- buy a glass water jug and chop in 4 thin slices of cucumber. Fill with water.

I wasn't thrilled about the amount of Lucozade I was drinking and had long been thinking "I must knock that on the head". A bottle a day like yourself, the odd time two.

I quit drinking it, but not by my own will power - Lucozade changed their recipe recently to suit new regulations. It tastes like a different drink to me now, one I don't like at all. Haven't had one in about five weeks now and I haven't had any withdrawl symptoms.

Sure I knew it was awful stuff to be putting into my body, but it was oh so refreshing and mighty stuff.

More like Lucocaine.

the_syco

MyLove_J wrote: »

I suspect a lot of tooth enamel has been lost. I don't have any pain or sensitivity but there's something at the back of my mind thinking this. I have a fear of the dentist and I don't want to go to the dentist. Maybe in time I might make an appointment but it might be September or October. I have a special toothpaste ordered from England and it looks to be very promising and I hopefully I will have my package by the end of the week. Until then, I'm using a sensodyne repair and protect toothpaste. Already, within a week of using it my teeth are much whiter and it's not even marketed as a whitening toothpaste.

Once your teeth are gone, they're gone, and no special toothpaste will help them.

Goto a dentist that is recommended by friends or family, and have your teeth looked at. The other ingredients, and high sugar content of energy drinks can have a bad effect on your teeth. When you feel pain, it'll probably be too late, and you may be talking several hundred per tooth, if not more!

the_syco

Also, smoothies can be great for sugar rushes

Used to love Club Orange. It was ridiculously sweet. Could easily drink 5 or 6 cans watching tv.

Wasn't that concerned about the health benefits, and certainly not my teeth. I brush them morning or night, that's fine. I just didn't like being addicted to a kids drink, so just stopped buying it really. Not a huge fan of those drinks with slices of lemon or mint floating around. Just took up sparkling water, the stuff you get for about 50 cents a litre in Aldi or Lidl.

Samaris

riffmongous wrote: »

What's the caffeine difference between a can of RB and a cup of coffee or an espresso? Also many people will add sugar to coffee (and tea), while you can also get sugar free energy drinks (Hofer (Aldi in Ireland) do a great one)

Edit: I checked and a RB has only the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, 1.5 times a cup of tea and twice a can of coke, not exceptional by any means imo, considering how much one would normally drink of the respective drinks

Not just the caffeine, but the sugar as well, both will give a rush.


1 coffee = 80mg caffeine
1 spoon sugar = 4g

Rockstar (blue) - equivalent to drinking two 80mg americanos with 17 spoons of sugar!
Mountain Dew (nuclear yellow) - drinking 1 mug of coffee with 17 spoons of sugar (holy haddock how could you swallow that?)
Monster (green) - 2 americanos with 14 spoons of sugar
Relentless Origin (brown) - 2 americanos with 14 spoons of sugar (oh.)
Energise Edge - 2 mugs, 14 spoons sugar
Red Bull - 1 mug coffee with 7.5 spoons of sugar

So Red Bull isn't the worst of them on those counts, although then factoring in all the other crap in there, it really can't be good for you. Also, they absolutely will turn your urine strange colours and can cause kidney pain which I suspect is one's kidneys swearing at another dose of the stuff!

I'm fairly against them now, after having gone through a period where I could drink two a day to stay awake (became immune to the caffeine buzz. I could finish one before bed during studying and sleep fine. (I suspect that was a warning sign too!)

infographic from http://www.safefood.eu/Healthy-Eating/Food,-Diet-and-Health/Eating-In/Drinks/Facts-about-energy-drinks.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAjwj6PKBRCAy9-07PeTtGgSJAC1P9xGZ_Yn_CtE59rRqu-80QWCh137wU1fnESjLYZTI9LtXhoCXqLw_wcB

Jfrost

humberklog wrote: »

I don't mean to pull thread OT but...Wha?

@Jfrost your post is brilliant. It's honest and informed but I can't even figure out how that diet would feel on the body?!

Well if I continue to be honest.
I work in construction, so my diet usually goes.
Boiled egg and brown bread for Breakfast, with yogurt and water. Make up lunch of two sandwiches, one for 10 other for 1 with a banana at each break, and yogurts.
Return home and have dinner.
Busy at work so I'm burning calories.

But the habits that is creeping back and how it works.
In morning on the way to work I stop at garage and get 4 bars of chocolate, two are eat on the way to work and one for each break, then on way home another two are picked up.

Fizzy drinks used to match this, but I'm only taken one on the way home,usually Dr. Peppers but of unavailable then Red Bull.

When I gave up I joined a Parkrun and my first run was 28:30 mins for 5km.
Through commitment, I got that down to 20:30.

Started to up my distance and reached marathons.

Then Ultras....then work seemed to explode, hours got longer and training suffered.
I started using weekends as my only chance to exercise...by running a marathon.

In Feb I ran a 75 mile event....had a couple of injuries....while they stopped me from running didn't stop work.

In May I started to see a physio about my heel.
Yeah 4 months gap....

Anyways because of work I leave my Houston at 6:00 in morning and return around 7/8:00 in the evening.
I should have a word with the boss, problem is....I am the boss.

_Brian

MyLove_J wrote: »

Over the years I came to rely a lot on energy drinks like red bull, lucozade, coke, etc. As years passed I found myself drinking one a day or sometimes even more. It's something that I very much enjoy. I'm not going into details of my work but sometimes there are long and hard days/weeks and many stresses and a cold drink especially the red bull was something I look forward to and it gives me a proper boost through out the day.

Anyways, I need to give up or I won't have teeth in my head any more.

I suspect a lot of tooth enamel has been lost. I don't have any pain or sensitivity but there's something at the back of my mind thinking this. I have a fear of the dentist and I don't want to go to the dentist. Maybe in time I might make an appointment but it might be September or October. I have a special toothpaste ordered from England and it looks to be very promising and I hopefully I will have my package by the end of the week. Until then, I'm using a sensodyne repair and protect toothpaste. Already, within a week of using it my teeth are much whiter and it's not even marketed as a whitening toothpaste.

Has anyone here experience of enamel loss? Loads of googling throws up so much. I'm just after started with taking Vitamin D in the hope of it making my teeth stronger.

So back to giving up the drinks. Today was my first day without a drink except for some ice cold water. The very cold water was nice but I felt like I needed something more. I had a glass of cold milk too and that was nice but I'm missing something. I'm missing the high or the sugar rush. I had a cup of coffee but I'm not a fan of coffee. I prefer caffeine from a cold can which I need to give up.

Is there any hope for me? Would there be anything I could add to water like an energy and vitamin sachet?

Lately I'm having terrible dreams or nightmares about my teeth.

Dreams about your teeth are typical anxiety dreams, not usually about the teeth but something that's bothering you.

It's only natural your goingmto thinkntuenwater or milknis missing something, after all it's missing a shed load of sugar and caffeine compared to what your used to.

However your best stick it out, and I'd exoect the wothdrawl to get worse over the few days before it starts to get better. Headaches etc.

Years ago when I worked nights I slipped into a terrible caffeine dependence, 12-15 cups over a 24 hour period. I quit cold turkey and it was real hard for about two weeks before it felt better. But the effect on my blood pressure were great, I was nearly in stroke territory.

hairyslug

My wife got me into lemon tea when I had to urge to drink or eat something I was skeptical at the beginning but it really works.

LordSutch

MyLove_J wrote: »

Addicted to energy drinks and I want to give up.

Think teeth/ diabetes/ obesity & heart disease.

For the sake of your health, I suggest you ease off on the fizzy sugar drinks..

Like smoking, the best way to give up is to replace your bad habit with something else, (so that the void is filled)! Don't just give up your energy drinks 'cold turkey style' as that would almost be doomed to failure.

Get your 'buzz' some other way, rather than by sugar rush ....
Your teeth, heart & pancreas will thank you for it, long term.

gramar

Jfrost wrote: »

Dr. Peppers and Red Bull ex addict here.


Lasted 2 years and 45 marathons but at the moment I'm injured and have for 5 months and bad habits are creeping in.

45 marathon bars or 26.1 mile races?

EndaHonesty

milli milli wrote: »

I drink Berroca Boost. It's a multivitamin with guarana & caffeine. It feels like I'm drinking a soft drink as it has the fizzy taste but at least it's somewhat healthier than the soft drinks.

Why do you think Berroca is healthier than a soft drink?

If you read the ingredients you'll find it contains many of the same ones as sugar free energy drinks.

It's basically a dehydrated energy drink...

Pac1Man

Good grief! People are actually comparing a Red Bull to a cup of coffee!?

Heard it all.

beans

Soft-drink non-drinker here.

This hot weather has had me dipping into the ice-cold cans of coke, and I've been feeling the sugar-crash in the aftermath. I can see how they set-up a cycle of boom and bust. Today I'll be trying to stick with coffee and water.

Fr_Dougal

You're having a crisis of confidence, OP. Redbull is for cool people. Stay cool, drink Redbull.

It's more than a refreshing drink, it's a lifestyle choice.

Capt'n Midnight

Aldi do six packs of fizzy water, if you want to wean down while going through the motions.

LadyMacBeth_

I'm addicted to diet coke, I go through about 1-2 litres a day, it used to be 3 litres so I am trying to cut down. Still so bad though. OP, have you tried squash? If you get one with very little sugar and add a small amount to water it can help if you don't like water. I don't like water so I add a small bit of squash to give it flavour, it's helped me to cut down on diet coke.

neonsofa

_Brian wrote: »

Dreams about your teeth are typical anxiety dreams, not usually about the teeth but something that's bothering you.

. .

People always say this to me but in my case it is absolutely about my teeth. People always say "it's money worries or stress, nothing to do with your teeth" but I'll regularly dream about my teeth falling out and the majority of the time it's after I've whitened them or gotten them polished at dentist or I'm due to make app at the dentist, like it's 100% tooth related. I'm a bit obsessive about my teeth though so maybe it's teeth related stress! But if op is stressing about his teeth anyway then it's not that unusual that he would be having nightmares about them and it actually being about his teeth and not a general anxiety dream.

MyLove_J

Thank you for all of the lovely replies. I have some very cold bottles of water on the go today. I have some chewing gum ordered. It's a sugar free chewing gum and made with a sugar substitute called xylitol. I read online that's supposed be good for teeth. It's kills the bacteria in the mouth or something like that. I'm hoping that will help me replacing the drinks.

I'm surprised to read of all the people who have a love for such drinks or the ex addicts of such drinks. How's everybody else's teeth holding up?

MyLove_J

ballsymchugh wrote: »

go see a dentist. stuff like this is more common than you think. vit D will make no difference to your teeth at this stage, it's all about fluoride. the cheapest toothpaste in tesco will have that, so don't waste your money getting anything delivered specially from england.
your teeth probably look whiter because you're paying attention to cleaning them now.
go to the dental issues forum if you need more advice, but you'll probably just be told to bite the bullet and go see a dentist.

The toothpaste I ordered reads like good stuff. It was developed in England at Queens university. It contains a bioglass material. Basically it works on the same principle as the sensodyne repair and protect. That's not what I ordered it for though. The active ingredients - the calcium, the fluoride are slow release. It binds to teeth and is released slowly over something like 8 to 10 or 12 hours. So basically, it continues to work overnight. It comes with instructions not to rinse the mouth after brushing but I've been doing that anyways with my regular toothpaste. It's called BioMinF if anyone is interested.

D3V!L

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

You're having a crisis of confidence, OP. Redbull is for cool people. Stay cool, drink Redbull.

It's more than a refreshing drink, it's a lifestyle choice.

And it also gives you wings

MyLove_J

Deleted User wrote: »

I wasn't thrilled about the amount of Lucozade I was drinking and had long been thinking "I must knock that on the head". A bottle a day like yourself, the odd time two.

I quit drinking it, but not by my own will power - Lucozade changed their recipe recently to suit new regulations. It tastes like a different drink to me now, one I don't like at all. Haven't had one in about five weeks now and I haven't had any withdrawl symptoms.

Sure I knew it was awful stuff to be putting into my body, but it was oh so refreshing and mighty stuff.

More like Lucocaine.

This is so funny because I gave up drinking lucozade too since they changed their recipe. I bought a bottle some weeks ago and I couldn't even finish it. It was rotten.

sbsquarepants

If you drank a can of beer every day, do you think you'd be an alcoholic?
I'm not really seeing the addiction here.

But I will give you 2 nuggets of pure wisdom -

1 - You're better off not drinking it, than drinking it.
2 - Toothpaste is toothpaste.

Doctor Nick

I buy 24 bottles of Lucozade a week. Before I leave for work in the morning I have 2 nespresso and a cappuccino plus a bottle of Lucozade. Will then drink maybe 2 more Lucozade in the day and same with cappuccino. Used to be worse with the Lucozade, until recently I drank 5 or 6 bottles per day.

sbsquarepants

Doctor Nick wrote: »

I buy 24 bottles of Lucozade a week. .

That's almost 1.5kg of sugar:eek::eek:

That's a weeks worth of sugar every day - just from lucozade!

Doctor Nick

sbsquarepants wrote: »

That's almost 1.5kg of sugar:eek::eek:

That's a weeks worth of sugar every day - just from lucozade!

Hmm never thought of it like that. Don't use sugar in or on anything else though.

sbsquarepants

You'd probably be surprised - it's in everything. There's sugar in crisps ffs!

I've seen a couple of tv shows where people try to stick to the daily recommended amount of sugar (roughly an ounce) and it's basically next to impossible, even people who don't think they are taking in any at all!

DaeryssaOne

Doctor Nick wrote: »

I buy 24 bottles of Lucozade a week. Before I leave for work in the morning I have 2 nespresso and a cappuccino plus a bottle of Lucozade. Will then drink maybe 2 more Lucozade in the day and same with cappuccino. Used to be worse with the Lucozade, until recently I drank 5 or 6 bottles per day.

Holy Moly and you call yourself a doctor!

vandriver

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I was addicted to brake fluid, convinced myself I could stop anytime.

I'd give that habit the red light.

CPSW

All the best OP, hope all works out for you in kicking the habit.  One piece of advice is just to go and see a dentist.  I had a fear of them and didn't go for a good few years.  Was convinced I had gum disease and used Corsodyl toothpaste/mouth wash to try and combat it (thanks to their advertising).  Finally gave in and went.  

Turns out my fears were unfounded.  A couple of fillings and a good professional clean, followed by check ups and cleans every 6 months, my teeth were not that bad at all.  Dentist knew I was using Corsodyl more than I should have as it stained my teeth.  Normal toothpaste and mouthwash are just as good. 

So hopefully it won't be as bad as you think. All the best.

Wanderer2010

Ive been addicted to Lucozade the past 2 years, just as a habit id pop into the shop after work and buy a 6 pack of it, and I usually neck 2 bottles a day. My weight and my teeth have suffered but I'm really struggling to give it up, it gives me a buzz I have never experienced before. I do like Coke as well, maybe I should try that instead and gradually wean off it. I just lack motivation I suppose.

MyLove_J

I'm making do with cold bottles of water and cold pints of milk but I'm missing the cold caffeine can so so much. I'm finished work for the week and I would love a cold caffeine can. I had a cup of tea just there in the hope my craving would go away but it didn't. 😭

MyLove_J

CPSW wrote: »

All the best OP, hope all works out for you in kicking the habit.  One piece of advice is just to go and see a dentist.  I had a fear of them and didn't go for a good few years.  Was convinced I had gum disease and used Corsodyl toothpaste/mouth wash to try and combat it (thanks to their advertising).  Finally gave in and went.  

Turns out my fears were unfounded.  A couple of fillings and a good professional clean, followed by check ups and cleans every 6 months, my teeth were not that bad at all.  Dentist knew I was using Corsodyl more than I should have as it stained my teeth.  Normal toothpaste and mouthwash are just as good. 

So hopefully it won't be as bad as you think. All the best.

Thank you for your lovely message. I have a fear of the dentist and it's a very genuine fear. I needed some dental work as a child and I never liked the dentist and it stemmed from that.

I do have it in mind to go to the dentist. Along with my fear and I'm a procrastinator and I'm fairly skint so it would probably take me some months to organise an appointment. I'd be able to afford a check up but if I need any more work, I'd be fairly fecked. I doubt I would be as lucky as you too. My teeth are yellow but the tips of many are translucent so I suspect there a lot of enamel loss.