It was VERY hard for me to give up coffee, but I did. I weaned myself off before my surgery and started drinking decaf. After I was able to comfortably get in all of my required fluids so that dehydration wasn't an issue I slowly introduced coffee back into my new sleeve. I had no problem with irritation, so I started drinking a cup a day in the morning. I'm 3 months out and I drink as much as I want now as long as I get in all my non-caffienated fluids. I will tell you this...I loved cream in my coffee and post-surgery I had a very hard time finding something low in carbs to add to my coffee because I try to stay under 30 carbs a day. After trying everything I could find...International Foods sugar free liquid coffee creamer came in at 1 carb per tablespoon. However...a tablespoon isn't nearly enough for me, so I was still getting 3 carbs per cup, and at 3 or 4 cups per day that was way too many calories and carbs. Sooo...I have learned to drink it black. Good luck. It probably won't be as hard as you think to give it up for a while.