I was doing everything right, but......

...caffeine withdrawal is a b*tch.

I stopped drinking soda back in Nov'14.  I had my last coffee on Dec 31'14 (because I can only drink coffee with cream & sugar). 

Since then, I've drank tea with milk & sugar, then dropped the milk, then dropped the sugar.

My surgery is on the 21st. I started Optifast on Wednesday and went to decaf tea or herbal tea.

I am having no issues at all with Optifast. I figure I have a couple more days before the cravings leave and my brain settles and stops messing with me.

This caffeine withdrawal though is almost unbearable.  I looked online for some remedies and have so far taken Extra Strength Tylenol, drank peppermint tea, and have slept as much as possible.  I'm hoping that the worst of it has passed but....wow.

Do any of you have any other remedies you can suggest? I would be most appreciative

drink decaf coffee, it will help you get through it, find one that you like.  Also, if you are allowed plain cocoa powder I found that helpful added to the shakes. 

Do you have a headache?   I started my opti Wednesday and I haven't conquered that yet!  Hoping it goes away soon! You will make it through it soon though I'm sure! 

I've seen many people report terrible headaches during the first few days of Optifast, likely due to hunger, carb withdrawal, etc. I'm thinking it's that and not caffeine since you stopped caffeinated pop and coffee back in December.

Thank you all for you replies. I woke up again this morning with a slight headache - right behind my eyes, but it is not half as bad as the last few days. Not bad enough to stop me from taking a walk as the sky is blue!

I will definitely try cocoa powder in my shakes :)

I never considered that it could be the Opti causing the headaches but Karen, after your reply, I Googled carb withdrawal and sugar withdrawal and I did learn quite a bit.

Here's a link if anyone is interested;

http://www.livestrong.com/article/489862-carbohydrate-withdrawal-headaches/

Thanks again - have a great Saturday everyone

Take a second to also look up "Atkins flu". Atkins was one of the more popular and first low carb diets and there's a lot of documentation on it. I've done low carb off and on for quite a while now and I know how brutal it can be. Stay hydrated, and try some salty broth if your plan allows it - it helped me in the past. Be well.

Thanks Seyenna, I'll look up Atkins flu and I stopped off at the Butcher & bought some broth :)