addicted to my killer. so to speak

[jordangirl]

I only have one kidney, I lost it at 7month. The doctor prescribed my mom to much calcium when she was pregnant with me and it gave her kidney stones and pretty much killed my left kidney. Well I know your not suppose to have caffeine that it effects the one kidney I have. And I also found out recently I'm 7 weeks pregnant and doctor said I really need to watch my sugar and caffeine intake. But my problem is.. I'm addicted to caffeine. Its so hard for me to get away from it. I need help and I need ADVICE on how to stop.

I'm 20 btw. Please help

[hickey_103]

Hi..I'm in the same boat as u...had my right kidney removed when I was 3 months old..I just recently had a baby and I'm addicted to mt.dew..its hard but it is possible...I was hospitalized from a kidney infection around 17 weeks pregger...but I'm alive and still drinking the dew lol...but on a serious note..I got the hole speech too for as long as I can remember..no pop..no caffine ..but its the dark pop that will get ya...the darker the drink the more ur kidney has to work to clear it....so I drink the dew..but my mama let me drink 7up or sprite while growing up...I'm a happy 24 year old mama..alive and kickin...its ok...trust me.lol..b/c I truely understand where u are right now

[warney]

one kidney can easily do the work of two :) that is why it is fine for a live donor to dontate. However, more the pregnancy would benefit by reducing caffeine.  I would substitute every thrid then every second cup with decaf and gradually, over a period of two to three weeks eliminate the remainder. If you just stop you may end up with withdrawal symptoms which can be very unpleasant, especially headaches. If you stick to the same brand as the caffiene one you are using, and gradually replace them all with the decaf in that brand, you will hardly notice at all!  

[lindahand]

I agree with upnorth, wean yourself off of it. Drink a little less caffeine each day. Drink a coffee that is 1/4 decaf/3/4 regular. Next day little more decaf.

Just as an FYI decaf coffee still has caffeine in it so you can just switch one for the other. Some companies like Starbucks their decaf has quite a bit of caffeine in it. So eventually the goal should be no more than one cup of coffee a day or equivalent in decaf.

Just think about who you are doing this for.

[upnorthflowerlady]

Start slow. Go half caf. on your coffee. If you drink pop switch to de caf. (some root beers and clear pops).  Drink more water.  Lots of decaf teas too!!  You don't have to go cold turkey.  For motivation, thinking about pouring that caffenated beverage into a baby bottle and feeding right to your baby .  That will remind you why you are stopping.  You'll be ok. Just think I am drinjing better not perfect. It is ok to have one cafinated beverage per day.