Coffee.. I need help :(

[leighindmv 3]

I recently had surgery almost 4 weeks ago, im doing fine and recovery has been going well, except for one major issue. coffee.... so I knew this would be the hardest change for me to make because pre-op I would rely on coffee 2-3 cups a day. Well having no coffee is getting me in trouble.. let me explain.

I live in Washington DC and have a high-profile government job, my co-workers and the people I work with have gotten used to me running around the office with a smile on my face and a peppy attitude. Now this was extremely easy to do with my caffine on hand, but now that I cant have coffee I feel like im living in some haze with very little energy. My productivity and attitude have changed at work and I miss coffee and think about coffee everyday. Last week my boss asked if everything was ok and noted the energy shift - now my boss is the only one who knows about the surgery in my office because we often attend business luncheons and meetings and I knew I would need him to cover for me during some of these ,and he is totally cool with the fact that I had surgery. Anyway, the fact that I cant have coffee or caffine is drastically effecting my life right now and I need help or support or something because its not going well.

P.s. my doctor asked me to wait till july before I drink coffee. but yallll I don't know if im gonna make it and still have a job......

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

So many things are mental, like head hunger. Could be that you have just changed a routine... A lot of trade-offs here, what we can have and can't have Leigh, and we can be fat or thin. You may not have your energy level up yet, at 4 weeks. Are you taking B-12 shots and good Vitamins? Try to rest during the day before revving up again. Best of luck! Linda

[HealthyNewMe 1,935]

I know every doctor has his /her own protocol about what we WLS patients can/cannot have, but I have never seen/read/heard that coffee is on the "forbidden" list. Very interesting..... I have no words of wisdom or advice, bc I would be like you.... In a haze. I was in a haze and had headaches when I first gave up sugar and flour. Thank God that only lasted for two weeks. Maybe with time things will get better..... I sure hope so!

[MestizaBander 43]

Every doctor is different. With that said I was not told to stop drinking coffee and it's on my list of clear drinks I can have the 1st week post op. I can have it the 2nd week with Creamer. They only said no to carbonated drinks which I do not drink anyways.

[SillyAuntDi 1,610]

I feel your pain. My doc's plan had me give up coffee/caffeine for the first 4 months after surgery. I'm not a big drinker, and I was already down to no more than 2 cups per day. My surgery was in September. In November, I begged him to let me start my coffee again. I almost cried when explaining to him that the busiest time of my job was coming upon me in December and I needed it to focus. He smiled and said yes, but no more than one cup per day. I don't always drink that one cup per day, and I'm OK. But, the mental part of knowing I can if I want has made a big difference. So, yes for me it's purely mental, but I'm a headcase for many other reasons too! LOL

So, my advice is this: Talk to your doctor. Explain your situation. You may think you need the coffee, but it could be, as someone else mentioned, that you need to tweek your Vitamins. Good luck!

[kimk1999 450]

First off you should follow your doctors orders. I like the suggestions of Vitamins and B-12.

With that being said... My doctor does not have coffee/caffeine on my prohibited list. I've been allowed it before and after surgery. She does prefer that we limit it but if I remember correctly that's more due to that caffeine or something in coffee triggers hunger of something like that. I'm not giving you allowance just stating what my surgeon allows. I only take a travel mug with me to work and rarely finish it. Sometimes I'll get another cup in the afternoon.

Hope you get through this soon. I'm addicted to coffee and would have severe Migraines if I stopped. Oh I also drink it black so there's essentially zero / very few calories. Do you load yours up with tons of sugar/milk? That might be another reason why your doc wants you to wait to maximize weight loss??

[Debbie3sons 1,936]

I a not able to drink coffee at all I drank it when I was a teen and found out that it affects e in not a good way , now before being banded I was a big soda drinker and it always had caffine in it just before being banded Sept. 2012 in july of 2012 I had to quit , it was the hardest for me , now I will drink decafinated tea no sugar in it , so you can ask your doc if you can have tea or decaffeinated coffee and hope it works out , I did get some Multivitamin and noticed that I had ore energy when I started taking those and you can try the vitiain B 12 or ask your pcp about it , and I have thyroid issues so the things I did , did help me , you just have to find what may work for you, good luck .

[Bandista 7,466]

Can you have tea? There is a beautiful world of tea out there. I try to stick with Kukicha -- it's a Japanese tea and readily available through a brand called Eden (or others -- I can get it Eden the regular grocery store here in NH). It gives me a buzz but is grounding at the same time. coffee, or too much black tea for that matter, puts me at another key -- too high and not really in a place where I'm listening to my body.

Im not sure how to say this, but what's up with your boss wanting you to be "on" in a certain way? Just be sure that's who you really are and who you want to be -- authentic and powerful, grounded and happy. I bring this up because I think we get pegged in our roles sometimes. You may have been in the role of overweight but perky worker-bee side-kick when a year from now your new starring role may be the job your boss' boss has now. Get healthy and climb that ladder, knowing there will be saboteurs along the way who don't even know they are doing it. In DC, it's like it's in the Water or something. Your decision to choose yourself and your health is going to be a little intimidating for some. Wait until they see you in the power suits you will be wearing not long from now.

Don't start in on anything that's going to slow you down or stop you from being successful. If that's coffee, fine. Your adrenals will thank you later.

[mrsto 2,925]

Leigh - I feel ya! My doctor's instructions were no coffee........ever. I was only having one cup a day, and that's been scaled down to ½ caf ½ Decaf. I stayed off of it for about 4 weeks post-op, but I was totally off kilter. Tea just didn't provide what I needed (my doctors thing about coffee isn't the caffeine.....it's the acid). I had a conversation with one of the support people in my doctor's office (lap band patient), who told me that the coffee rule is the one most people break. She said that she drinks it, and so does most everyone else. She wasn't advising me, but just sharing the reality of it. When I read over and over on this site, that most doctors do not have an issue with it, I decided for myself, that this was one rule I could not abide by. So.....I have my morning cup, and that's that.

Now, ALL that being said, you need to follow your doctor's protocol. They're all so different in their instructions, but they all have their reasons.

Good luck!

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

coffee. My husband is having his coffee but he doesn't know it is 1/2 Decaf.< /p>

Dr. Callery

Bariatric Surgeon

Administrators

Posted 13 October 2012 - 02:12 PM

You’ve asked a great question. What is the effect of caffeine on sleeve gastrectomy?

To answer your question, I did a search of the medical literature on PubMed, the index for the National Medical Library. I couldn’t find any articles that address your question directly. Incidentally, there were no articles that addressed the effect of caffeine on gastric bypass either. Next I searched for both sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass and coffee. Again the medical library search engine did not return any articles. Thus, so far there have been no studies performed on sleeve gastrectomy patients or gastric bypass patients that would permit or discourage caffeine or coffee use.

Most surgeons recommend that gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy patients avoid caffeine or coffee. These recommendations stem from research work that has been done on non-weight loss surgery patients. Before looking into this further let’s distinguish between caffeine and coffee. Caffeine is an alkaloid chemical that has stimulant effects on the central nervous system as well as other parts of the body. Caffeine is a moderate stimulant of gastric acid production. In some studies it has been shown to decrease lower esophageal sphincter pressure and thus potentially promote reflux. In other studies, the effect on sphincter pressure is not so clear.

Coffee is brewed from the coffea plant. Coffee contains numerous biologically active chemicals including caffeine. The degree to which these compounds are present in a given cup of coffee depends on the specific species of coffee plant as well as the roasting and processing methods used to bring the coffee to market (see article by Van Deventer below). Even the type of filter used in a coffee maker will change the types of plant oils that remain in the brew.

Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD or GORD) is reflux of stomach juices into the esophagus. GERD can cause heartburn.

There are several full medical articles attached at the bottom of this reply. Please download these for further information.

Coffee/caffeine and gastric acid stimulation

There is general agreement that caffeine and coffee are two factors that stimulate stomach acid production.

According to Cohen and Booth (1975) “Decaffeinated coffee gave a maximal acid response of 16.5 per hour (mean)which was similar to that of regular coffee, 20.9 mEq per hour, both values being higher than that of caffeine, 8.4, on a cup-equivalent basis.” Thus there are chemicals in coffee aside from caffeine that have potent acid stimulatory effects. In this study, decaffeination did not reduce acid stimulation.

Further information about decaffeinated coffee was put forth by Feldmen et. Al (1981): “At equal concentrations, decaffeinated coffee was a more potent stimulant of acid secretion and of gastrin [an acid stimulating gut hormone] release than peptone [a Protein meal acid stimulus]. The ingredient(s) of decaffeinated coffee that accounts for its high potency in stimulating acid secretion and gastrin release has not been identified.”

Coffee, caffeine, and esophageal reflux

There is considerable controversy in the medical literature as to the effects of coffee and caffeine on esophageal reflux. Here are the conclusions to three articles on the subject. The full article summaries are added below.

Wendl (1994) writes, “Coffee, in contrast to tea, increases gastro-oesophageal reflux, an effect that is less pronounced after decaffeination. Caffeine does not seem to be responsible for gastro-oesophageal reflux which must be attributed to other components of coffee.”

Boekema (1999) and associates came to an opposite conclusion: “Coffee has no important effect on gastro-oesophageal acid reflux in GORD [GERD] patients, and no effect at all in healthy subjects.”

Zheng (2007) conludes, “In conclusion, this large monozygotic co-twin study provides evidence that BMI, tobacco smoking and physical activity at work facilitate the development of GER, while physical activity at leisure time appears to be a protective factor. The association between BMI and frequent GER symptoms among men may be attenuated by genetic factors. In addition, heavy coffee intake may be a protective factor of GER in men and lower education may be a potential risk factor in women.”

CONCLUSIONS

Caffeine, and more so, coffee and decaf coffee stimulate gastric acid production.

Caffeine and coffee may promote gastroesophageal reflux.

Caffeine and coffee are just two of many factors that promote gastric acid production and gastroesophageal reflux.

Clinical Implications:

For sleeve patients who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux, it is best to avoid caffeine and coffee. For sleeve patients who do not have reflux, I do not see any reason not to enjoy coffee or use caffeine products in moderation.

For gastric bypass patients, most surgeons recommend against caffeine and coffee because the acid stimulation that occurs may contribute to the development of anastomotic ulcers. Since there are many other factors involved in the development of these ulcers (alcohol, cigarette smoking and nicotine, and NSAID drugs), it is impossible to know how important the role of coffee and caffeine is. Most surgeons are thus saying avoid coffee and be “better safe than sorry.”

[B-52 7,113]

I cannot live without coffee...if it's good fresh coffee, such as starbucks...then BLACK...will take espresso when I can....I never experienced any complications...

I drink all hours of the day...even before bedtime...no problems for me...I'm a coffee fanatic...

I do not condone it....but I had coffee the evening I came home from surgery....told my Dr. a week later at my post-op appointment...he shook his head and laughed....

But like someone previously said, all Dr.'s have there own treatment plans...

But again, it is important you follow YOUR Dr.'s treatment plan....

Edited February 4, 2014 by B-52

[Lady VS 1,147]

Just curious as to why your doctor said you couldn't have it. I drank coffee everyday until my surgery. Later on after my surgery, and everyday ever since. I can't imagine not drinking it. It will not hurt your band. Just curious as to what your doctor said.

[mrsto 2,925]

My doctor said no coffee because the acid can cause ulcers.

[Lady VS 1,147]

Oh, ok. I wasn't aware of that. Thanks

[alicesandra 98]

My surgeon also pointed out the fact that coffee could possibly cause ulcers, but I could still drink it if I wanted to. I've since moved onto tea though, as a replacement for the coffee.