[Alyj89]

Hello all. I "officially" started my new eating habits 2 days ago. I'm not on a diet, I'm just counting calories and trying to permeantly change my eating habits. It's been pretty easy, but... I have had a constant dull headache since I started. Right behind my eyes. I've been trying Aliece and b-12, but the pain is barey dulled. i honestly have no idea how many calories I was eating before. But I have been under 1,300 each day and over 1,200. So I'm not on a crash diet.. Im a little hungry but it's nothing I can't deal with.

I've also upped my water intake a lot. I think what it might be us caffeine. I basically lived on sweet tea & diet coke before -practically 1/2 gallon of tea a day and 4-5 diet dr peppers. lots of caffeine drone those 2 things. I haven't drank tea since I started, drinking water instead. and I've only had 3 diet dr peppers. So is there anything I can do for a caffeine widthdrawl headache? how long will it last?

[Demosthenes]

When I give up caffeine it usually takes a few weeks for the headaches to totally go away. The first few days are the worst. Maybe you should slow down a little bit. 1300-1500 calories seems pretty low for your weight. Maybe you should make it easy for yourself. It's better to do that and stick to it than try to go to quickly and burn out.

[Alyj89]

I don't feel like I need more though. If I do, I eat a little more - I'm not severely restricting myself. but I'm eating so often that I don't have any real hunger. (every 2-3 hours). I think it's just cutting out the tea. I don't really have a desire to cut caffeine out... I just dont want to waste my calories on tea, when I added it up I realised how much it was taking up. Maybe I'll drink some more diet sodas and see if it helps the pain a little.

[Elladorine]

Originally Posted by Alyj89

I've only had 3 diet dr peppers. So is there anything I can do for a caffeine widthdrawl headache? how long will it last?

Originally Posted by Alyj89

Maybe I'll drink some more diet sodas and see if it helps the pain a little.

While it may be a caffeine withdrawal issue, from my personal experience it actually might be the diet sodas. Everyone's different but aspartame (the artificial sweetener used in most diet sodas) unknowingly gave me a constant, foggy headache for months on end even when I'd only have one diet soda a day, although it took several months of drinking it regularly before the headaches started appearing. And it was right behind my eyes. The more I drank over time, the worse my headaches got. I actually reached the point of spending a week in bed over severe migraines . . . couldn't watch TV, couldn't listen to music, couldn't read, couldn't do anything but hold a pillow over my face and pray that my head wouldn't explode.

One day I was feeling surprisingly normal and was sitting up at the computer for the first time in weeks. When my husband came home, he handed me a bottle of diet Arizona tea he'd picked up as a treat. Halfway through the bottle, I was doubled-over from the sudden pain that returned behind my eyes. I looked at the ingredients and finally realized it had to be the aspartame. I hadn't had any diet drinks in several days so it made sense. I cut them out completely and the severe migraines never came back. I think it had actually built up in my system though as it took several weeks for the headaches and fogginess to disappear entirely.

To this day if I accidentally eat/drink aspartame my head starts to feel fuzzy and achy, so I'm pretty careful about checking labels. I do still very occasionally have diet soda, but I make sure it's sweetened with either stevia or sucralose, neither of which seem to give me any issue.

Not saying you're having the same issue of course; I also suffered from caffeine withdrawal several years back after I decided to quit Mountain Dew cold turkey and remember the headaches it gave me. But I thought I'd throw my experience with aspartame out there in case that's actually the cause. Or maybe it's a combination of things? I'd try detoxing with just plain water for a couple of weeks while waiting out the potential caffeine withdrawal symptoms, then gradually reintroduce drinks you'd like to allow yourself again to see how your body reacts.

[Alyj89]

I've been wearily of Aspertame for a while now, I've had diabetes since I was about 8 (type 1), so I started drinking diet soda from an early age. this past year I've realized even if it's diet I was consuming way too many - sometimes 8 on a day (split about 30 /70 with fiancé), I had bad breathe and acne and fatigue. I replaced most of that with sweet tea, limiting the soda to 1 can or less a day. my skin cleared up a bit and my breath and I felt more energetic. I never got headaches though, I rarely ever get them unless it's going to rain... but I've had this one for 3 days now.

I'm thinking it was a bad time to try caffeine widthdrawl - there is a TON of pollen around and I could have developed an allergy and I've been going outside for hours each day, also there are storm systems close by, on top of cutting out sweet tea which was probably my only big source of refined sugar besides a handful of gummy bears. I don't have a gigantic sweet tooth thankfully besides some odd period times. I did drink 1/2 a diet dr pepper earlier and my headache has definatly dulled more than pain killers did. still there, though. I guess it's just a combination of the above and hopefully it won't last much longer.

[Lori Bell]

try unsweetened tea...or tea with a little stevia, (natural non-caloric sweetener...like Truvia) Caffeine withdrawal could be the culprit, but SUGAR withdrawal makes my head ache for several days.

[LeilaJey]

Hmm.. not sure. I get headaches when I don't eat for a while/eat enough so it could be your blood sugar. Maybe it's a bit of a shock to your system.

[Vex]

Definitely sounds like it could be caffeine withdrawal to me. When I gave up diet soda, I'd just pop 2 advil and push through it. If that's what it is, it shouldn't last for more than a few days.

If your headaches are lasting longer than a week I'd probably get checked out and make sure nothing else is wrong.

[Alyj89]

I've actually developed a low fever (101.4), cough and my headache is still there - in a matter of hours. looks like something else is going on and I got sick somehow. I rested a few hours and am now making myself eat soup & sandwhich. No nauesea so far which is good. There is still a chance if allergies but I probably got a virus.

thank you for all the ideas / support, looks like I know what's wrong now.