Xref: utzoo sci.med:15095 sci.bio:2731
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!dsl.pitt.edu!dsl.pitt.edu!geb
From: geb@dsl.pitt.edu (Gordon E. Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.bio
Subject: Re: Caffeine questions...
Message-ID: <1990Feb20.133403.3286@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu>
Date: 20 Feb 90 13:34:03 GMT
References: <2569@leah.Albany.Edu>
Sender: news@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu (Usenet News System)
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.
Lines: 21

In article <2569@leah.Albany.Edu> ss6349@leah.albany.edu (Steven H. Schimmrich) writes:
>
>   Forgive me if this has been covered before but I'm not a regular reader of
>this group.
>   I have some questions about caffeine.  I've been a heavy consumer of coffee
>and Pepsi, Coke, etc. which all contain caffeine.  This past weekend, because
>of erratic sleeping habits, I decided to try eliminating caffeine from my
>diet.  I've been irritable, very sleepy (much more so than normal), have been
>suffering from headaches, and have had actual cravings for coffee.  Is this
>normal? Is caffeine addictive in any way? Is it all psychosomatic? Can anyone
>give me any references as to the effects of caffeine?  How much caffeine is
>there in a mug of brewed coffee, instant coffee, a can of Pepsi, Coke, etc.?

Caffeine is addictive and what you are experiencing is normal withdrawal
symptoms.  You can find the information on caffeine content in any medical
library (ask the librarian for the reference).  You should not go cold 
turkey, but rather cut back slowly, say 10% every two days until you are
on sanka and caffeine free coke.  They say Mountain Dew has the most
caffeine of any pop.  I do know a few mountain dew addicts, so it may
have been a smart move on the part of the company (the stuff sure doesn't
taste that good!).