Caitríona Daly
5:06 AM · Nov 14, 2021 · 7 tweets · 2 min read

Happy #WorldDiabetesDay day. I’ve had type one Diabetes for 24 years and a Diet Coke addiction for 22 of them. I broke the habit this year and discovered it had been having a profound effect on my health. Here’s some crazy stuff that changed when I broke the habit (a thread):

I hate to start with this but it was pretty significant : I dropped a large amount of weight in a very short space of time. I’d been told that this could happen but I never really believed it. My sugar cravings are at an all time low and desire for snacking is pretty minimum

My inflammation levels are the lowest they’ve been in 5 years. I get my bloods checked every 2 months. I also have RA so inflammation is always a problem. I could never get my CRP to drop below 15 but since giving up Diet Coke it hasn’t gone above 10.

I’d begun to have some problems with my heart over the past two years, it had all been quite scary. A lot of palpitations and some slight irregularities. And yep, you guessed it, all gone since giving up Diet Coke.

Anxiety. Has all but disappeared, I get occasional pangs but a lot of the panic that had been plaguing me for years has all but disintegrated. If I’d known 3 cans of Diet Coke a day were having that much of an influence on my mental health I would’ve kicked it a lot sooner.

Blood sugar control. I’d struggled to get my overnight blood sugars under control for the past 15 years. The doctors didn’t know what it was but mostly passed it off as cortisol levels. I know I’m a broken record at this point but once again, miraculously cured since quitting DC.

If you’re thinking about quitting please do. It took me several attempts but I finally did it. I’m incredibly relieved I did and honestly worry what could’ve happened to my physical and mental health if I had kept it up any longer. threadreaderapp ...read more