After a pretty bad season last year, Washington Wizards' Caron Butler took some drastic measures during the off-season to prepare for the 2009–2010 NBA season. In his new blog on NBA.com, Butler admitted that he was addicted to Mountain Dew. How bad was his addiction?

It was so bad, at one point, that I had to have a cold one right there at the nightstand before I went to bed. I had to get the coasters and let it drip a lil' bit and just have it waiting on me. Come 2 a.m.., I'd wake up out of my sleep, I'd pop one open and hear the fizz sound...and just down it! Then I always had to have another one in the morning when I woke up. Before practice I had one, too, and before games I would knock back two.

Seeing that it was affecting him healthwise, he kicked the habit over the summer. As a result, he lost 11 pounds and is now ready for the long, arduous NBA season, but it wasn't easy.

"To try and give this up was CRAZY for me! I was going through withdrawals," Butler said. "I was in the bed sweating. My wife would turn over in the bed and ask, 'Are you Okay?' Honestly, those first two weeks without the Dew was the roughest two weeks of my life. I'm talking headaches, sweats and everything. Before that, I drank at least six 12-ounce Mountain Dews a day."

For now, he'll be chewing straws instead.