Hmm, today I think I'll talk about my history in caffieneland. It all started when I was a kid. I could down a 2 liter of Coke or Dr.Pepper in a couple of hours. Back then Coke and Dr.Pepper was considered a normal part of growing up. Apparently drinking those in excess is bad too. I didn't realize it then, but I was conditioning my body to be used to caffeine. By college I was still "on" it and my nerves started getting to me, or so I thought. There is a double bladed sword with those drinks. It is not always the caffeine that gets you, it is the acid as well. For about 10 years now I have barely touched anything caffeine related(except for chocolate). I thought that the reason why I had so called "panic attacks" was because I had too much caffeine so I cut all of it out. However I still had them from time to time and to top it off I was tired all of the time. I would tell the doc it felt like I was choking and I would hyperventilate and get sick. The first time I went to the ER was way back in college and that was when they said it was panic attacks. So I bought some Sprite and bid adieu to my caffeine days. Then around 2000 I had a big one in a mall and it felt like I was having a heart attack. I laid down on a bench waiting to die and my friends called an ambulance causing a big scene. That was when they said I had a hiatal hernia and GERD. So then I got on Nexium and all those antacids. It did work, but I had forgotten about the caffeine that I had quit taking. It was never unknown anxiety. There was anxiety, but it was from the heartburn. I still experienced bad heartburn even on those drugs so I went for that endoscopy early this year. I'm paying close to $7,000 just to be told I'm fat and I had a little inflammation in my esophagus. There was acid in those drinks and all along I thought it was the caffeine. Fast forward to these past couple of weeks. I get soo tired in the afternoons that I decided to try something new, Red Bull. And I started drinking diet coke for lunch. I am no longer tired in the afternoons and can get some more work done. Caffeine does have an effect. Exercise though has made the biggest difference. I shouldn't have been diagnosed with PA or GERD, I should have been diagnosed as being fat and lazy.

Thought of the Day
RECORDS NURSE : Are you all right, Doctor?
FLETCH: Where am I?
RECORDS NURSE: You're in the Records Room.
FLETCH: I'm fine.
RECORDS NURSE: Can I get you something?
FLETCH: Have you got a make-shift plywood pillory? Heh Heh, just kidding.
-- The Script of Fletch. If memory serves me correct he changed the joke to "The Beatles White Album"