I start every day with a cup of coffee. If I don’t, life gets a whole lot harder.
It starts with fatigue and then drowsiness sets in, then it becomes difficult to focus.
And then comes the headache, sharp across my brow, accentuated by a dull throb in the back of my head.
I am dependent on caffeine and have been for a long time. Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, energy drinks and some sodas, among other things.
According to Healthline, caffeine affects the central nervous system, granting a feeling of alertness and a lessening of fatigue. The substance also increases blood pressure in the circulatory system.
Like any drug, taking in a regular amount of it can prompt a higher tolerance to its effects, which leads to withdrawals if you quit.
The effects vary, but in general, some symptoms of caffeine withdrawal are headache, fatigue, changes in mood, difficulty concentrating and constipation, according to Medical News Today.
Overindulgence, too, has its costs.
Going to school and working at the same time takes its toll pretty quickly.
After getting caught falling asleep at the counter a few times too many, I needed a way to stay awake on shift.
I had previously avoided energy drinks because of the negative side effects I heard about, but I was getting desperate so I bought my first-ever can of Rockstar Lemonade.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a 12-ounce can of soda contains 35 milligrams of caffeine while a cup of coffee typically contains 100 milligrams.
An energy drink can have up to 240 milligrams of caffeine, more than double the amount in a single cup of coffee. On top of that, energy drinks may contain a whopping 62 grams of sugar, six times the amount in one Krispy Kreme donut.
The effects hit immediately.
I had more pep in my step, was more attentive and generally more productive in the workplace. I started drinking energy drinks outside of work, too.
After a year, I had built up a tolerance.
Having one can a shift wasn’t cutting it anymore.Pretty soon, there were days where I downed two in an 8-hour period.
At one particularly low point during a nightmare shift, I consumed three in one day.
Sure, most of the symptoms are mild – headaches, frequent urination, digestive issues, anxiety, muscle aches, insomnia. These are symptoms that students are likely familiar with, especially right before midterms and finals.
But there are also dangerous and sometimes even fatal side effects to a caffeine overdose.
One of the deadly side effects is rhabdomyolysis, manifesting in damaged muscle fibers ending up in the bloodstream, which leads to kidney damage and other complications, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Caffeine also increases heart rate and too much of it can disrupt the heart’s rhythm altogether, which, in turn, can lead to death.
I didn’t know any of this when my love affair with caffeine started.
One day, I noticed that I was developing a twitch in my eye. Soon after, I got spasms in my arm and a slight tremor in my hands.
On some days, my chest hurt. At that point, I knew I had to stop or I’d end up in the hospital, but quitting was a nightmare.
Health wasn’t the only cost I was incurring.
At $2.50 a pop, energy drinks weren’t a cheap habit and I started noticing that it was cutting into my minimum-wage paycheck.
Suddenly, I was faced with all the negative aspects of caffeine addiction without any of the benefits. I was constantly exhausted, in pain or both. I slept all the time and was moody when awake.
But, one day I realized that it had been a whole year since I had an energy drink – I had finally kicked the habit.
It’s been five years and I still haven’t had an energy drink.
These days, I limit myself to a cup of coffee a day. Most days, it’s enough to get me to function normally.
