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I just turned 20 years old and have been enjoying coffee since I was 16. I was in love with it. Everything about it is amazing. I looked foward to it every day. No matter how bad of a day I was having coffee made me happy.

The first 7 or 8 months that I had uc, it was basically like I didnt have a disease. I had no pain, regular bms - the only symptom was blood in the stool. I was taking asacol and eveything was fine. I was eating all the foods that a regular person is able to eat. Around last Thanksgiving, I realized what the big deal was about uc. It started hurting after eating meals, and the stools became watery. I began worrying about where bathrooms were located and what would happen at work when I needed to go. I took that first period of diagnosis so much for granted.

I realized that caffeine was a huge trigger or having to go the bathroom. I switched to decaf and it became a little better, but it still caused me to have to go, just not as soon. I fought with my mom about giving up the coffee. What will I have to look foward to in my day? Since about 3 months ago I have had to give it up completely. Many other foods cause bad side effects too, and now coffee seems like a small price to pay. I just wish I could eat all the old foods, nevermind coffee. Has anyone else had to give up coffee and do you miss it a LOT!? I hope and pray that one day it will go into remission and I will be able to reunite with my old friend once again. I tried switching to chamomille tea, which helped with the convulsions of pain at first but the effects of it have lessened over time. Its so hard walking through the school campus and smelling the alluring smell of sweet coffee drinks. Unfortunately, they contain about the 3 worst things for IBD sufferers: caffeine, dairy, and sugar! I would like to hear how other people have dealt with giving up the bean as well, for support : /

 Reply posted for ritap.

I've been an occasional coffee drinker since I was six...I know.  I started young.  I've switched to the Folger's brand for sensitive stomachs, and it's great.  I can't remember the exact name right now , but it's green on the front, so it's kind of hard to miss.  It might be called Gentle Stomach.  I hope it works for you!

 Reply posted for roneth1974.

I never thought of it as a gift, but when you really think about it, how much have you learned about crohns and ulcerative colitis...I don't know about you, but i have learned sooo much...Before I got it, I didn't even know what it was or anything...Now I feel that I can help people to get to know what it is and some of my dealings with it and how I handle it and maybe it would help someone else...Or maybe someone elses ideas or the way they handle it could help me...That's why I get on this website...It has tremendously helped me...And I hope that I have helped other people as well...I hope this helped you...I am praying for each and everyone of you out there that have either one of these diseases...jdpinkmom

 Reply posted for ritap.

I have had a love affair with coffee since I was 20 years old  and I'm now 34 years old.  I couldn't even think of opening a second eye before I had my three cups of black coffee in the morning.  If I didn't have my three cups, I would get a terrible headache, feel groggy, miserable.

I have always struggled with my weight, so I gave up lots of my favourite foods to try and control my weight and I always said I would never give up my lover aka coffee because that was my last enjoyment.....then, the UC hit on January 14th.  I have not had a drop since then.  At first the thought of coffee disgusted me when I got sick, but over the past two weeks the old cravings have started to come back now that I'm feeling better.  Now that I have kicked the habit, I won't go back to drinking coffee.  Surprisingly, I didn't get all the side effects I used to get when I skipped my morning coffee.  I just keep reminding myself how much gut-rott I got from drinking coffee.

I haven't tried it, but some of my friends swear by "chickory" coffee.  It's not real coffee, but takes like it supposedly.  I drink peppermint tea instead of chamomile because it gives me the added benefit of settling my stomach.

 Reply posted for ritap.

I love coffee too BUT it does trigger my UC which means I will spend more time in the bathroom.  For me a great drink is pots of hot organic green tea with breakfast, around 3:00pm and sometimes early evening.  Ten Ren makes some wonderful whole leaf teas which are a treat for me and my tummy.  I feel that it helps flush or circulate the (8) pills of asacol and other meds that I take during the day. 

Try some Probiotics.  I take (Culturelle) with Lactobacillus GG.  It has been a life safer for me along with the enema's and asacol.  Walmart sells it for around 14.95 that seems to be the best pricing that I have found. 

Take care and make the change to green tea and probiotics.

 Reply posted for ritap.

So I have not had problems with coffee at all. I drink coffee religiously in the am only and I only have probelms at night. I don't think it affects me. I was diagnosed in January of this year and I was in a terrible flare, 4 asacol 3 times a day, steroid enema at night, canasa in the am and prednisone starting at 40mg day, I am on my last week of steroids now and getting a lot better but at no point have I thought that the coffee affected me. As far as the cream, the coffeemate creamers are non-dairy which may help and I use Splenda instead of real sugar. I would be so sad to give up coffee but if I really thought it would help I would. I have yet to find anything that makes me have a worse day...I think it is all random. I am hoping to be in that "remission" that people talk about (what is it by the way) sometime soon. Anyway, just wanted to share my experience. I am 28 yo and have been drinking coffee for about 10 years.

 Reply posted for ritap.

I have a very similar story. I have enjoyed drinking coffee all my life.   I celebrated when they opened a Starbucks near my house. I was diagnosed with UC 5 years ago, had blood in my stool but life was managable(9 asacol/day).  Then after a 2 year remission I experienced my first SEVERE flare.  I lost 40 lbs in 30 days, 15 bloody BM/day with fever,chills,abdominal pain etc...  I had to be hositalized for a week with IV Pred, flagyl, cipro.  The UC had spread up and across to my ascending colon.The high dose of pred brought my flare under control, now I am on 4 lialda/day.  While I was sick I couldn't even think of drinking coffee.  After my UC was in remission I was able to slowly reintroduce coffee.  I am now a Decaf (the pred was causing my hands to shake) drinker. I drink a lot of green tea in addition to decaf coffee(no sugar). I think moderation is a good way to live your life.  Enjoy what makes you happy, life is too short to miss out on the good stuff.

 Reply posted for krissy.

That's exciting to hear that your symptoms are improving and that you, like the other replies, say they can tolerate it little by little! That is so ironic about your kitchen - I know, I bought these coffee themed little decorative wall plates that are in my room and they mock me.

 Reply posted for ErinD.

thanks for the reply - just hearing that your uc is in remission is really very inspiring, because I feel like mine will never go away, but hearing that it does happen with other people gives me hope.

 Reply posted for ritap.

Coffee and caffeine are definitely not good for U.C. Caffeine can increase diarrhea. I gave up coffee (which I love - I have a coffee-themed kitchen!) completely for about 3 months after I realized it made me worse and gave me what I call "gut rot" - just a yucky feeling right after I drank it. However my symptoms are now improving and as they do I find I can tolerate about a cup in the mornings. Yay! I'm not pushing it beyond that to test myself. I want to wait until all my symptoms are gone.

As your symptoms improve (get on a lot of fish oil and probiotics!) you will again be able to tolerate it as well. Best to stay away from it completely while you have a flare, though. Not worth it and it could actually lengthen the time it takes for your flare to heal.

 Reply posted for ritap.

I like you have loved coffee since i was 16 (i'm now 37), drank it all day long.  When i was diagnosed with UC i stopped drinking it altogether as it was making me so sick i just couldn't bear it.  I have found that now that they have my UC into remission i am able to SLOWLY introduce coffee back into my diet!  I started with just a couple of sips of my husbands coffe, then 1/4 cup and now i can drink 1 cup in the morning and still be ok.  One thing you can look into is Folgers carries a brand called 'Simply Smooth' which is supposed to be gentler on your stomach.  They have it in decaf and regular.  It doesnt taste too bad and will help your craving but it may be worth a try.  Don't despair, you may be able to drink it again some day soon. 

 Reply posted for ritap.

Great post! It was very heartfelt.

Yes, I too miss coffee! I use to drink it black and very strong. There was just something about it that I really enjoyed. Additionally, I morn the loss of not only some of my favorite foods such as pastas, fruits, vegatables, pizza, beer, etc. I also morn the losss of my health on a daily basis. A close friend of mine says getting UC/Crohn's is a gift. Sure I've learned alot in the past 14 years but I just don't see how it's a gift. I think something positive happening to you like finding a $100 bill blowing around in the parking lot or maybe the doctor telling you you have an unusally healthy body.....that's a gift!