Ice tea ????
HAH!
Again I say HAH!!
I even had one of the nurses at my surgeons office tell me to go get a cup of coffee when I couldn't sit still waiting for my wife to get through her gastric bypass last January.
I drink probably 5-7 cups of coffee a day, and iced tea (home made, Red Rose preferably) or the sugar free Hawaiian Punch singles that you mix with bottled water.
Don't let it bug you - unless you have a specific problem with caffeine or something, it's all good. No sugar, no carbonation - that's what's important.
I'll post in another thread so I don't hijack this one, but suffice to say that I've just been busy, and a few months ago some stuff happened around here that surpassed my idiot threshold.
I'm still around - doing great, and can be reached anytime via private messages.
You look like youi're doing pretty damn well yourself!
Regardless of the effect caffeine may or may not have on dehydration, it appears to me that too much caffeine intake could possibly cause or contribute to some other problems for us, like reflux, ulcers and sleep disorders. Here's a portion of info on Wikipedia:
Overuse
In large amounts, and especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as caffeinism.[66][67] Caffeinism usually combines caffeine dependency with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching (hyperreflexia), insomnia, headaches, respiratory alkalosis, and heart palpitations.[68][69] Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to peptic ulcers, erosive esophagitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
caffeine-induced sleep disorder, and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).
Here's the link to the entire article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#Stereochemistry
Of course, I'm not a doctor or scientist. Like most of us here, I simply try to follow what my WL Surgeon and Nutritionist advise me to do.
I guess moderation in all things is the key. 
ROLL TIDE!!!
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