It got really bad after I graduated from law school in 2003. I went to work for a firm that keeps the fridge stocked with all varieties of caffeinated soda. I found myself drinking 8-10 Diet Cokes every day while sitting at my desk.

It got to where I would drink caffeinated pop the very first thing after getting up each morning. If I didn't have caffeine in my system by 11:00 a.m., I would get a faint headache that would build up slowly over the day until it was too painful to function by the evening.

So around 2010, I realized that on days when I couldn't be near a fridge or store (like when I was camping or hunting or going to church) I could carry Excedrin and take it prophylactically in the mornings to keep a headache from beginning. It slowly got worse and worse until December 2014 when I found myself taking several Excedrin every day in addition to sipping on soda almost every waking hour, and yet I still had a constant low-level headache most of the time.

So I made a New Year's resolution to quit using caffeine and I stopped cold turkey on January 4, 2015. I had 72 hours of absolutely brutal withdrawal headache, then it started to ease off, and eventually the headache disappeared entirely after 6-7 days. I haven't used caffeine since, and I rarely ever get headaches anymore.

My life is way better without it. I don't get cravings for it. My wife drinks it in front of me all the time and it doesn't bother me. I feel better and I sleep better and wake up better.

I don't believe caffeine is against church teachings or the Word of Wisdom, and I never have. Some people (like my wife) handle it just fine and don't get addicted. But my system didn't do well with caffeine --maybe I am just really sensitive to it. Whatever the reason, for me personally, drinking caffeinated beverages is VERY unhealthy.