Coffee/Tea Question

Judy L.
on 10/26/11 11:40 pm - Toronto, Canada
This may be a dumb question but here goes.

Is there a medical reason why we can't have caffeinated coffee or tea after surgery?

thanks
judy
mom4life
on 10/26/11 11:49 pm - Port Rowan, Canada
I know that one of the reasons, especially early out, is that it is very difficult to get in enough water, and of course with caffeine being a diuretic it depletes fluids in the body, so to get in enough, plus compensate for the caffeine is difficult.

Also caffeine is hard on the tummy.

Now with that being said, at my three month follow up, my dietitian told me I could have the fully leaded stuff again...in moderation.  She told me that one or two cups per day was fine.  I am sure that each center is different and that your clinic may not be okay with it.  Check with them.
   

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning,
  but anyone can start today and make a new ending.? ~Maria Robinson

  
HW:  292 lbs          SW:  226 lbs        Clinic's GW:  160 lbs          My GW: 145 lbs
    
Judy L.
on 10/26/11 11:55 pm - Toronto, Canada
Thanks, that makes perfect sense.  :-)

Karen W.
on 10/27/11 12:02 am - Canada
Caffeine increases the risk of ulcers, both in the pouch and in the "blind stomach".  If you get an ulcer in the blind stomach, it can only be treated surgically (not with meds).  The same rationale applies to the post-surgery lifetime ban on NSAIDs, which carry significant risk with respect to ulcers.

I tried to quit caffeine many, many times prior to surgery (as I had been on stomach meds for years).  I was finally successful, mostly due to being motivated to be as healthy as possible prior to WLS.  I'm 6+ months out and have yet to have a cup of caffeinated coffee, although I have had caffeinated tea a handful of times and have set a limit of one cup of caf tea per week.  I'm not very good at moderation.  With my previous attempts to quit, I always ended up back on it full force after trying to have one "now and then", so if I go beyond the limit I've set, I'll quit completely again. 
     
   RNY April 11, 2011       
           
happypants
on 10/27/11 12:48 am - Ottawa, Canada
Judy I had my surgery in Ottawa as well as Karen W. I agree that our center suggests decaff coffee and tea for life.

I asked the dietitian at my appointment last Friday about caffeine and she said that should one develop a ulcer it acts like sandpaper or an abrasive and causes the ulcer to worsen. Good enough explanation as far as I am concerned, I'll skip the caffeine lol. 

 

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

Surgery July 22, 2011  Starting weight 270  128 lbs lost  Today's weight 142 lbs                 Ann       

 
                                                   

  

Judy L.
on 10/27/11 12:56 am - Toronto, Canada
Thanks for the answers everyone.  I am not a huge coffee/tea drinker so will try to cut it out all together. 
PatXYZ
on 10/27/11 2:00 am
No. There is no medical reason to ban caffeine after surgery, and this is why not all of the centres ban it. Toronto Western does not restrict it during optifast or post-op. There is no evidence that coffee/tea causes ulcers, H. pylori causes ulcers. IF you already have an ulcer, then you are advised to avoid caffeine because it will irritate the ulcer, but if you do not have an ulcer, caffeine will not cause one. Unfortunately, this is another instance of poor advice being based on outdated health information.

Tea and coffee are only very mild diuretics. At Toronto Western people are told they can consume all the caffeinated drinks they want, but they must ALSO get the 2L of non-caffeinated liquids in addition to whatever coffee/tea they have.
happypants
on 10/27/11 3:29 am - Ottawa, Canada
Pat isn’t it like playing Russian roulette then? If some centres say yes and some say no are we not taking a 50\50 change rolling the dice here. I have the utmost respect for you and find you to be a smart articulate person but I have to say that I somewhat disagree with what you are saying. The centre here in Ottawa says NO caffeine because it acts (1) as an abrasive in our pouch (2) because it is a diuretic.  I personally feel that if there is a 50/50 chance, I would air on the side of caution rather than take the chance and find out the hard way that I was wrong.

 

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

Surgery July 22, 2011  Starting weight 270  128 lbs lost  Today's weight 142 lbs                 Ann       

 
                                                   

  

(deactivated member)
on 10/27/11 3:35 am - Bumfuknowhere, Canada
I recently read a study I believe that Mayo Clinic did that disproved the theory that coffee was a diuretic unless consumed in amounts like 5 to 7 cups per day.  My clinic allows full caf pre op and post op.  I don't have a pouch so no idea if caffeine could affect my stomach the same or not but I've had zero issues with coffee and ulcers.

I think people need to listen to their centre but also look into things for themselves and find a balance that works.  If drinking decaf doesn't bother people then all the power to them as the caffeine may trigger the jitters and such.  I enjoy my 3 cups every morning and don't plan on stopping that unless I have to like I did years ago for another totally non-related WLS health issue.
PatXYZ
on 10/27/11 4:50 am
Honestly, I don't think it is Russian Roulette at all. I think of it this way. Hospitals, and the government, are going to avoid any risk they can of being sued for malpractise or providing poor medical advice. I don't believe any hospital in Ontario is telling their patients to do something risky. I believe that TWH has critically looked at the studies and the scientific evidence and decided, there is no proof of a link, so it doesn't make sense to ban it. I have also looked at this evidence and totally agree. TWH was a great fit for me because they make pretty much all their recommendations based on the evidence from scientific studies.

Other hospitals may have looked at the same evidence or not, but they made a decision to ban caffeine for a reason other than what the scientific evidence says about the risk. Maybe they worry people will focus on drinking caffeinated beverages to the extent that they ignore their water needs, or maybe because they know the risk of marginal ulcers for RNY patients is high already, that they tell all patients to avoid it in order to spare those that will develop ulcers the pain and irritation. I don't know why they do it. This idea that it irritates the pouch is just plain silly (there is no basis for this, if it didn't irritate your old stomach there is nothing magical about the pouch that makes it different), and the idea that it will dehydrate you, even if you get 2L of non-caffeinated beverages is also just silly. There is no evidence for any of this.

For me, I would demand to see the evidence. I would ask "what is the basis for the caffeine restriction?". It's up to them to justify the restriction, given the absence of medical/scientific proof. I mean, a guy won the nobel prize a few years ago for proving that ulcers are caused by H. pylori and not stress, coffee, etc, yet many, many people still believe these myths. I would want to see studies, or else hear their non-scientific justifications and then make up my own mind. If they are upset at having to do that, that should tell you exactly how much evidence they have!
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