Open main menu ☰
HealingWell
Search Close Search
Health Conditions
Allergies Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety & Panic Disorders Arthritis Breast Cancer Chronic Illness Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes
Fibromyalgia GERD & Acid Reflux Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lupus Lyme Disease Migraine Headache Multiple Sclerosis Prostate Cancer Ulcerative Colitis

View Conditions A to Z »
Support Forums
Anxiety & Panic Disorders Bipolar Disorder Breast Cancer Chronic Pain Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Fibromyalgia GERD & Acid Reflux
Hepatitis Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lupus Lyme Disease Multiple Sclerosis Ostomies Prostate Cancer Rheumatoid Arthritis Ulcerative Colitis

View Forums A to Z »
Log In
Join Us
Close main menu ×
  • Home
  • Health Conditions
    • All Conditions
    • Allergies
    • Alzheimer's Disease
    • Anxiety & Panic Disorders
    • Arthritis
    • Breast Cancer
    • Chronic Illness
    • Crohn's Disease
    • Depression
    • Diabetes
    • Fibromyalgia
    • GERD & Acid Reflux
    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    • Lupus
    • Lyme Disease
    • Migraine Headache
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Prostate Cancer
    • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Support Forums
    • All Forums
    • Anxiety & Panic Disorders
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Breast Cancer
    • Chronic Pain
    • Crohn's Disease
    • Depression
    • Diabetes
    • Fibromyalgia
    • GERD & Acid Reflux
    • Hepatitis
    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    • Lupus
    • Lyme Disease
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Ostomies
    • Prostate Cancer
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Log In
  • Join Us
Join Us
☰
Forum Home| Forum Rules| Moderators| Active Topics| Help| Log In

Hot drinks/coffee

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
profile picture
Lynn4221
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2010
Posts : 195
Posted 2/3/2010 5:56 AM (GMT -7)
Do people find that coffee makes everything a lot worse?

I have found that the only hot drink that really works okay for me is green tea.

I love the taste of coffee and really miss it, but it seems that when I drink it, all of my symptoms get worse.  I have heard that coffee is quite hard on the whole GI tract.

Does anyone know of a reasonable coffee substitute? 

What hot drinks do people drink in place of coffee?

Thanks,

L

profile picture
Christine1946
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2008
Posts : 5987
Posted 2/3/2010 6:16 AM (GMT -7)
     I found that coffee with caffeine irritates me and I love it too.  However, I can drink decaffeinated coffee, but I only drink one cup in the morning.  I can tolerate tea with caffeine though....hmmm.  Another thing that irritates me is the flavored creamer I put in the coffee.  Don't know why that is.
profile picture
Red_34
Forum Moderator
Joined : Apr 2004
Posts : 23581
Posted 2/3/2010 6:33 AM (GMT -7)
Caffeine is a stimulant which is why many people with gut issues have problems with it. I love my coffee and that is the one thing I refuse to give up. I have already stopped eating and drinking many things I love but this is one sacrafice I refuse to stop! :) There is a coffee on the market, I forgot who makes it (Folgers I think) but it is low on acid and caffeine and it causes less intestinal upset. I've tried it but I don't really care for Folgers. But when I did drink it I did notice less of a problem then drinking regular coffee. I too drink decaf coffee when I am flaring and it doesn't seem to be a problem.
profile picture
Ugh Just Ugh
Veteran Member
Joined : Jan 2010
Posts : 1004
Posted 2/3/2010 7:02 AM (GMT -7)
I can't drink drip coffee (regular brewed coffee) at all. Have you tried espresso drinks? I can drink a latte when I'm not flaring if I'm careful about the number of espresso shots they put in. Also if I get a medium and they are putting 2 shots I ask for 1/2 caff. You could even order a medium with just one shot. I think it being mixed with milk is a good buffer. You could also try a hot cocoa if you can do chocolate. Mostly I drink herbal tea too.
profile picture
mom2threehasU/C
Regular Member
Joined : Nov 2009
Posts : 199
Posted 2/3/2010 7:25 AM (GMT -7)
Christine, I bet the carrageegnan in the creamer is the reason you can't tolerate them. I eliminated using them all together & have found
that coffee was not my problem...it was the creamer I was using! Funny though how I can tolerate caffinated coffee's, tea's etc...everybody's
different!

Lynn- Folger's makes a "half caff." drip. Maybe you could try it?? Just out of curiosity, what do you put in it? As I mentioned above, for me
it was not the coffee but it was what I was putting into it! Now I only use very little whole milk & half teaspoon of cane sugar b/c arti-sweetners
bother me. Good luck...gotta have your coffee :o)
profile picture
songlady
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2009
Posts : 3824
Posted 2/3/2010 7:53 AM (GMT -7)
I remember being told to give up coffee when I was first diagnosed - but I flatly refused to. When I'm flaring I have only one small cup in the mornings; when my gut is calm I'll have 2 - 2 1/2. I take it with whole milk.

As far as hot drinks in general, my first GI used to tell me that his grandmother recommended a mug of hot water to stimulate a bowel movement. I guess hot drinks have that effect on anyone, not just UCers.

Sometimes I have used that info to my advantage, having a hot drink before bedtime so that I'll empty out and feel more comfortable in doing the enema du jour.....
profile picture
fruitgirl
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2009
Posts : 7150
Posted 2/3/2010 9:17 AM (GMT -7)
I didn't drink coffee when I was flaring (I'd given it up during pregnancy and breastfeeding), but when I got out of my flare, I started drinking it again and do fine with it.
profile picture
Malkavian
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2009
Posts : 1439
Posted 2/3/2010 11:22 AM (GMT -7)
It's the caffeine. Have you tried decaff?
profile picture
pb4
Elite Member
Joined : Feb 2004
Posts : 20577
Posted 2/3/2010 12:29 PM (GMT -7)
Coffee is a natural bowel stimulant (so are tomatoes)...even decaff has some caffeine in it so if you drink decaff you still have to limit your daily amount (or avoid it all together if you happen to be very sensitive to it) some people can tolerate it better than others but should still tread on the cautious side with coffee.

:)
profile picture
quincy
Elite Member
Joined : May 2003
Posts : 33330
Posted 2/3/2010 12:47 PM (GMT -7)
If one has stool in the lower colon and drinks coffee, it will stimulate a movement....just as will eating or being excited or drinking water, etc. Mornings are my time of having a bm, and I would eat/drink to stimulate it.

If I'm going out for breakfast, I drink a few cups of white tea to stimulate or 2 large glasses of water (but I tend to get cold when I do that).

I drink coffee with no problems, but if I were flaring, I'd possibly limit the amount I drink since it definitely stimulates whatever is "in" the lower colon, although it's good to get it all over with before I have to go out.

Not all coffee is equal to me....the thought of Starbucks coffee would stimulate a bm all on its own...lol...kidding, but it's nauseating to me.

I have about 3 cups in the morning and if I'm out for supper I'll have 3 more. If I'm home and saved some coffee from the morning, I'll have only one cup after supper.

I never use milk substitutes.

q
profile picture
sirenshooter
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2009
Posts : 2022
Posted 2/3/2010 9:24 PM (GMT -7)
Coffee only bugs me if I drink a lot every day (then again, I'm talking gas station 94 cents a cup coffee). And hot things bother me more. So maybe once in a while opt for a small iced coffee?
profile picture
jars05
Regular Member
Joined : May 2003
Posts : 297
Posted 2/3/2010 11:02 PM (GMT -7)
I'm one of the odd balls not effected by coffee. I've had a cup almost every day of my adult life. It does nothing to me, but make me stay up late if I drink it in the evening. I also drink tea like it's going out of style. I drink Rockstars and Coke too. I like my coffee black though. I bet if I used lots of creamer that would do me in.
profile picture
marty1976
Veteran Member
Joined : Nov 2005
Posts : 2045
Posted 2/3/2010 11:36 PM (GMT -7)
I couldn't do without coffee. It does increase urgency for most, but it doesn't cause me so many problems that i'd ever think about giving it up.I also like green tea, i only started drinking it a few weeks ago.. but i like it turn
profile picture
Lynn4221
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2010
Posts : 195
Posted 2/4/2010 7:44 AM (GMT -7)
Yes, I'll bet it is the caffeine. I use a nondairy, but nonflavored creamer - just the original powdered coffee mate because I don't do dairy. Maybe if it was just a splash of dairy in the coffee it wouldn't give me trouble.

Isn't it interesting how there are just some things that we refuse to give up. It is really a quality of life issue.
Thanks for all of your answers!
L
profile picture
UCinNC
Veteran Member
Joined : May 2007
Posts : 528
Posted 2/4/2010 6:32 PM (GMT -7)
Coffee is one of the only things I know I can't tolerate. I can basically handle everything else. seriously. so, I drink a black tea with milk. or sometimes hot chocolate, but not hot coco everyday since it is so sugary. a good mug of black tea in the morning, with milk and sugar if you want, isn't as good, but is still pretty good.
profile picture
Old Hat
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2007
Posts : 5747
Posted 2/4/2010 7:02 PM (GMT -7)
Decaf coffee is the only type I can tolerate; apart from the caffeine-as-stimulant issue hot foods/drinks bother my G/I tract in general. (So does anything icy cold!) I usually let anything heated majorly cool down to a warmish temperature before swallowing it. Warmed apple juice once revived me when I got debilitated during a severe flare. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
profile picture
Kasbah
Regular Member
Joined : Jan 2010
Posts : 24
Posted 2/4/2010 10:52 PM (GMT -7)
I can't tolerate coffee at all

I was 5 cups of short black espresso daily for 30 years

Came off Clod turkey

Didn't expect the withdrawal to be so bad

I was really crook for about 2 weeks

 

profile picture
Susiebuddy
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2005
Posts : 1387
Posted 2/4/2010 11:36 PM (GMT -7)
I gave up coffee just to know that I'm doing everything possible to get better... I do like green tea like you though.. I find it gives me just a little bit of a pick-me-up to make it through the day..
profile picture
pb4
Elite Member
Joined : Feb 2004
Posts : 20577
Posted 2/4/2010 11:42 PM (GMT -7)
I tried green tea, was so excited about it at the time too cuz I was having a bit of weight issue so was looking forward to it helping with that but it gave me such bad heartburn and I'm not prone to getting heartburn so I was stunned when I found green tea causing it for me...I just stick with chamomile, has no caffeine in it.

:)
profile picture
tazbum
Regular Member
Joined : Sep 2009
Posts : 102
Posted 2/5/2010 10:49 AM (GMT -7)
Im sitting here srinking a decaf coffee .... havent had one for months .... and im hoping tomorrow i wont have a bad tummy!!!!!
I know that hot chocolate and malted drinks give me severe cramps so maybe steer clear of them ......
try mint tea thats quite nice
profile picture
subdued
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2008
Posts : 3231
Posted 2/5/2010 9:35 PM (GMT -7)
I will drink decaf coffee from time to time. It's not good for me though. Ginger teas are great. I make my own Chai--without the tea--and put extra ginger in it.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply


More On Ulcerative Colitis

CBD And Pain Management: Is This Supplement Right For You?

CBD And Pain Management: Is This Supplement Right For You?

Traveling With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Traveling With Inflammatory Bowel Disease


HealingWell

About Us  |   Advertise  |   Subscribe  |   Privacy & Disclaimer
Connect With Us
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn
© 1997-2022 HealingWell.com LLC All Rights Reserved. Our website is for informational purposes only. HealingWell.com LLC does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.