I am addicted to diet coke, like 6-8 cans a day, but I’m pretty sure I use it to self medicate. I have raynaud’s phenomenon, and I often get dizzy or nauseous when I stand up. In general, my blood doesn’t get to where its trying to go fast enough. There are a couple things that help this drinking water to increase blood volume, having caffeine to restrict blood vessels, and increasing sodium intake to increase blood pressure. Water + caffeine + salt = diet coke. Also, I have ADHD, so caffeine can help balance me out. Also, after I eat food I get a horrible stomach ache if I don’t have a diet coke with it; as if I can’t digest the food on my own.

So I’ve researched the health effects of diet coke a lot and I’m not that impressed. Please don’t warn me about aspartame or how I will become obese or get osteoporosis. My calcium intake is through the roof, and my weight has been stable for years. But I do want to kick the coke habit. Why? It costs approximately a bajillion dollars a month. More importantly, coca-cola is an incredibly evil corporation with more money than any government who might try to stop them, and who is destroying lives in the countries where they bottle coke. My love of diet coke is not worth someone’s life. Further, now that walmart is selling 24 packs at a pop, thats where my family can afford to get them, and the only thing worse then giving coke thousands of my own dollars is giving coke and walmart thousands of dollars.

Has anyone else experienced these benefits from diet coke but kicked the habit anyway? What alternatives to dc did you use? Any ideas what I could do to stop handing coke my money but not feel dizzy, nauseous, mentally slow, and unable to digest food?