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“I only drink two cups of coffee a day, it can’t be causing my stomach issues,” I said protesting to my doctor who just suggested I give up caffeine in an effort to help normalize my digestion.
Since the age of 9, I have suffered with a nervous stomach. I’ve been labeled with a spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and most recently, diverticulitis. Over the years I have really changed my diet to limit dairy and red meat because my system just can’t digest it. I’ve increased fiber and know that fruits that begin with the letter “p” are to be consumed daily: peaches, pears, prunes, and plums. I’ve also had to cut way back on foods with seeds, popcorn, and anything other small items that can get caught in the intestine. To alleviate the heartburn I cut out red wine, bananas, tomato-based soups, tomato juice, (I will eat tomato sauce sometimes), and all things very spicy. These are my triggers. If I consume them, I know I’ll be hunting for my Rolaids, Tums, Nexium, or Pepcid AC depending on what I have in the house.
I even took up yoga four years ago to learn how to deal with stress and better manage my digestion through exercise. I have to say, I am very impressed with how yoga has helped build my body from the inside out.
I love coffee. The morning cup and the occasional coffee after a nice dinner, is something I really enjoy. Sure, I know how stubborn teeth stains from coffee can be, but I never associated that it could be wrecking havoc on my digestive system. I suppose the acid in the coffee could be a problem if somebody drank it throughout the day, but I only drink two cups a day. Just to convince my doctor and myself that my two-cup-a-day habit wasn’t problematic, I promised myself to give it up for two weeks. And, if I felt decidedly better after the experiment, then maybe I would give it up forever.
The next morning I got up, let the dog out, and went straight to the coffee machine. Umprhh, I stopped in my tracks… today was my first day to give up caffeine. I didn’t even have decaffeinated coffee in the house. The caffeine wasn’t going to be the hard part, I thought, it would be the ritual of waking up in the morning without the lovely coffee taste with one Splenda and the non-dairy creamer.
I reached for the iced tea in the refrigerator instead. As I poured my tall ice-filled glass, with one Splenda, I realized that the iced tea I drink was caffeinated. I guess I’ll have some water with lemon. This wasn’t very satisfying. I made a mental note to pick up some decaf coffee and caffeine-free tea bags next time I’m at the grocery store.
Mid-morning rolled around and I felt a headache coming on. I ignored the dull pounding since I couldn’t be slowed down by the annoyance. By mid-afternoon, my thumping head required some extra-strength Tylenol. I prefer Excedrin for headache relief, but Excedrin has caffeine in it. After lunch I thought about going to Starbucks to get a grande latte with soy milk as a quick pick-me-up. Maybe I did drink more than two cups of coffee in a day.
By 3.30 that afternoon I am dragging and have to surrender to the headache pain. This very unpleasant headache has me make excuses at work and I leave to go home. Once I’m home, the full extent of my headache knocks me down into bed. I drift off for an hour but wake up with the same throbbing headache. I haven’t lost my appetite in spite of the pain, however. It is a rare day if I lose my appetite over anything.
I have a salad for dinner and reach for a diet Coke. AAAAhhhhhh!!!! This too has caffeine. I drink water the rest of the night hoping to flush out this headache. It takes me awhile to get to sleep that night because my head is pounding. My head is screaming at this point, give me caffeine!
The next morning I realize that I didn’t make it to the store for decaffeinated coffee or tea. The headache is still with me. I take some more Tylenol; this time three pills instead of two since I can’t be incapacitated by another day of a headache. I do a conscious body scan and realize that although my head hurts, my stomach is not its normal sour self. The feeling of my stomach is so subtle that had I not consciously checked, I’m not sure I would have recognized that it was feeling slightly better. I decide I’m going to need to up my water consumption and do more yoga this week to get through what appears to be classic symptoms of caffeine addiction.
This miserable caffeine headache stays with me for five long days. And, here I thought that I wasn’t addicted to caffeine. My body was definitely telling a very different story. The withdrawal symptoms of irritability and headache were definitely upon me. I admit it, I am a coffee junkie. I’m clearly addicted to caffeine and frankly, I’m shocked how much of it actually exists in my diet.
Some of my friends pointed out that drinking decaffeinated coffee was actually not in my best interest either. Apparently most of the caffeine-free coffees available at the grocery store are decaffeinated with chemicals. I’m really trying to be good to my body but I’m not finding it to be fun, tasty, inexpensive, easy or convenient. I’m also told that decaffeinated coffee actually does contain small amounts of caffeine, despite its name. Getting rid of caffeine in my diet has proven to be much more difficult than I thought it would be.
After two weeks I have really flushed my routine of caffeine. And, honestly, to my doctor’s credit, my digestion has improved.
To celebrate my success, I have dinner with a girlfriend and share my success of kicking the caffeine addiction. She, like me, was surprised to hear that I was even addicted to caffeine. We choose to share a decadent dark chocolate brownie dessert along with a cup of decaffeinated coffee. I went to bed that night and realized I was edgy and wired. Not just a little bit, I was totally strung out. I tossed and turned in bed all night. I woke up the next morning exhausted. Oh no, it occurs to me that the chocolate must contain caffeine. Not sure why I didn’t connect the caffeine and chocolate combination, but my body did! Giving up chocolate just doesn’t seem fair!
I know I have an addictive personality. I become very easily addicted to things without realizing it. I’m fortunate that I never had the opportunity to experiment with heavy drugs because frankly, kicking the caffeine habit has been much more difficult than I ever imagined. I can’t come close to even imagining what it must be like to give up an alcohol or drug addiction. The withdrawal symptoms must be excruciatingly difficult. Changing my diet to accommodate such a difficult stomach has been difficult enough!
I count my blessings and remember not to complain.
The commitment I made to choose healthier food alternatives and to take better care of my body is really becoming quite a journey. Doctors have pushed so many different muscle relaxers, antibiotics, and pain killers on me to suppress the pain of my gut. But, these just temporarily mask the underlying problem that requires me to do the work. It’s not the doctor’s job to do this for me. The pills were never meant to be long-term solutions, but I had always hoped the heartburn, sour stomach, and sluggish digestion would just go away. It doesn’t. And, the cost of paying for all those pills can really be expensive over long periods of time.
I haven’t entirely figured this out yet, because giving up chocolate forever is still really a tough proposition. Needless to say, eating for a difficult stomach is also not necessarily inexpensive when you consider the cost of health food. But, there is something to be said for not having the constant doctor visits to factor into your budget! There must be a balance of moderation in all of this. I do think that the digestion problems are more under control but it’s not an easy fix. I will drink decaffeinated coffee from time to time so I need to find a healthier alternative to this. My ice tea is now made from an herbal naturally decaffeinated tea. I was drinking soy milk instead of dairy, and I’ve now gone to rice milk which has had more positive digestive affects. My doctor pointed out that soy is bean product which can be problematic. Although it might be better than dairy, it still isn’t ideal for my stomach issues.
Eating healthier is the best way to solve many health problems, but getting educated on the topic can be difficult to do. One thing I know for sure, letting go of caffeine in all forms makes my gut feel so much better. I haven’t reached for any medication in a couple months since starting this change in my diet which I feel is sustainable.
I’ll wait to get really comfortable with this lifestyle change before taking on my next challenge.
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