Reacting To Caffeine

[JillianLindsay]

Good morning everyone,

I've been gluten-free for 6 weeks now! *bows* and sadly, sitting here without a cup of coffee

Ever since going gluten-free I have begun to react to coffee. I had a lactose intolerance test done and it was negative, so it's not the milk. Sugar/sweetener doesn't bother me when sprinkled on my hot breakfast cereal or in decaf coffee.

I don't get a "glutened" feeling from it, just terrible fatigue (like the caffeine crash, but greatly exaggerated). Could it just be that my system is now absorbing the caffeine more and so I'm getting more into my system than I was previously used to?

I've stayed away from it for two weeks and am wondering how long I should wait to do another test run and see if it causes the fatigue again? I know a caffeine addiction isn't terribly healthy, but I don't smoke and I'm an athlete, so I'm otherwise very healthy... and I need my fix! I'm going back to school full time in the fall and don't want to study without my coffee! I'm emtionally and psychologically addicted lol

Did anyone else have a similar experience? Tea (that has 1/3 the caffeine of coffee) doesn't seem to bother me.... is there something that is only in caffeinated coffee (aside from the caffeine) that I could be reacting to?

Please help! I miss my morning cup of Joe!

Thanks

Jillian

[Gfresh404]

Did anyone else have a similar experience? Tea (that has 1/3 the caffeine of coffee) doesn't seem to bother me.... is there something that is only in caffeinated coffee (aside from the caffeine) that I could be reacting to?

To answer your question, no, I do not think so. Caffeine is a drug and is a known irritant to the gut lining. I would wait at least 6 months before trying it again, sorry.

That does explain why Tea does not bother you.

The ultimate test would be to drink decaffeinated coffee and see if you have any issues.

[JillianLindsay]

Yes, I have been drinking decaf with no problems. *sigh* I was hoping for a different answer lol but I figured I'd have to give up my morning coffee for a little longer. Ah well, fruit and water in the AM is much healthier anyway

To answer your question, no, I do not think so. Caffeine is a drug and is a known irritant to the gut lining. I would wait at least 6 months before trying it again, sorry.

That does explain why Tea does not bother you.

The ultimate test would be to drink decaffeinated coffee and see if you have any issues.

[linuxprincess]

This sounds crazy, but try switching brands.

I have an issue reacting to certain brands of coffee. They might use straw bags (made from wheat shafts) to store and dry the beans in or they might be grown near wheat.

Some Celiac's have a reaction to wine because the cask it was stored in had it's lid glued back on with traditional wheat glue, thus contaminating the wine. So a similar situation may be going on with your morning java.

Also, do you react to cheese and milk at any other times? A lactose intolerant test will come up negative to someone who is reacting to Casein, a molecule in milk that looks strikingly similar in structure to that of the gluten molecule. Many people are so reactive to gluten, that their body will attack the Casein just the same, even though its something totally different. Of course, if you have no other problems with milk or cheese, then I would not worry about it, but it is something to think about.

Hope you get to drink your morning coffee again soon!

Keep us posted!

[SteubensMom]

JillianLindsay,

I went through what you are describing with coffee. I was a two cup a morning girl until I became pregnant with our first child. I was told I could have one cup in the morning and he would not be affected by it. I, however, was! I switched to black tea during my pregnancy and decaf once I was nursing him because caffeine would give him horrible gas and screaming fits. I kept up that pattern through my next three pregnancies. After weaning our fourth and last child from nursing I went back to my beloved coffee. Not a good plan! I was sick as a dog GI-wise and I was so hyped up I felt like "Monster Mommy."

Being a Starbucks lover, I switched to Chai lattes with extra pumps of chai for my fix. At home in the morning I alternate between 2-3 tea bags of black tea with TJs FF vanilla creamer or 2 bags of green tea with a lovely lavender syrup.

Once in a while I can handle coffee but only if it is organic coffee. Organic coffee does not give me GI problems, but other coffees do.

Hope this helps!

[Darn210]

Just a suggestion for something to try . . . my friend always buys her favorite coffee in both decaf and full? caf versions. Then she mixes the two at home so that her coffee has half the caffeine.

[JillianLindsay]

Thanks so much everyone for your suggestions -- much appreciated!

Princess -- No, I do not react to cheese or milk or any dairy (at least I've got that going for me!)

S's Mom -- I just figured out that Starbucks has a lot of celiac-friendly beverages, so I will venture out and try some new teas on for size

Janet -- I was doing that before when I was trying to cut down on caffeine, so maybe I can start doing that again. Thanks for the reminder!

Cheers,

Jillian

[serebus]

I have been going through a similar experience. Diagnosed about 3 months ago and have been going on and off with coffee and tea since then. I love my morning coffee but it was just too hard on the gut. I would get a painful gut, belching and strong fatigue - yawning, etc. So eventually, I have just had to sadly cut it out. I start each morning with water/lemon/stevia. I had to give up for awhile. Hoping that maybe after six months/year I'll be able to have it again. Honestly, it's probably better for the system anyway. After years of dealing with undiagnosed celiac, I've been told that there is great potential for damage to the adrenal system, so in this healing period, cutting out caffeine is probably a smart thing in the long run as our bodies heal.

Thanks for the posting!

[JillianLindsay]

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad I'm not the only one -- misery loves company

I've been doing decaf these days and am probably going to try half-caf next week when I'm back to school *fingers crossed* -- I need caffeine for my 8am classes!

Good luck to all us coffee lovers

Jillian

I have been going through a similar experience. Diagnosed about 3 months ago and have been going on and off with coffee and tea since then. I love my morning coffee but it was just too hard on the gut. I would get a painful gut, belching and strong fatigue - yawning, etc. So eventually, I have just had to sadly cut it out. I start each morning with water/lemon/stevia. I had to give up for awhile. Hoping that maybe after six months/year I'll be able to have it again. Honestly, it's probably better for the system anyway. After years of dealing with undiagnosed celiac, I've been told that there is great potential for damage to the adrenal system, so in this healing period, cutting out caffeine is probably a smart thing in the long run as our bodies heal.

Thanks for the posting!

[JillianLindsay]

I have a confession to make... over the long weekend (Labour Day) I went to the cottage with my in-laws. They are HUGE coffee lovers! It was sort of a resort cottage place with a restaurant. At breakfast the waiter just brought us a huge carafe of coffee instead of repeatedly coming over to refill our mugs! So, of course, I indulged and had a couple of cups each day at breakfast. The first day was fine, I only had half a cup with no problem... the second day I had a full cup (and a bit) and the fatigue was astounding I spent the rest of the day in bed reading and was too tired to do anything at all. I don't think I got glutened because I had no other symptoms (no GI problems or stomach pain, no brain fog, nothing but fatigue) and the head chef there came to speak to me personally before every meal He was so nice & very knowledgeable! Ok and also cute. My hubby teased me about all the attention I was getting (hehe). But I digress...

I am back at school and have remained coffee free all week, but with great bitterness All of my friends are drinking delicious coffee while I sip water (albeit more healthy, sadly tap is water neither caffeinated nor coffee-flavoured).

Does anyone know of actual gluten-free coffees available in Canada? I know coffee beans are naturally gluten-free, but apparently some people react to some brands... what brands do people use that they don't react to? Perhaps I can try it half-caf and see how that goes.

And yes, coffee really is this important to me! lol

Thanks for your help

Jillian

This sounds crazy, but try switching brands.

I have an issue reacting to certain brands of coffee. They might use straw bags (made from wheat shafts) to store and dry the beans in or they might be grown near wheat.

Some Celiac's have a reaction to wine because the cask it was stored in had it's lid glued back on with traditional wheat glue, thus contaminating the wine. So a similar situation may be going on with your morning java.

Also, do you react to cheese and milk at any other times? A lactose intolerant test will come up negative to someone who is reacting to Casein, a molecule in milk that looks strikingly similar in structure to that of the gluten molecule. Many people are so reactive to gluten, that their body will attack the Casein just the same, even though its something totally different. Of course, if you have no other problems with milk or cheese, then I would not worry about it, but it is something to think about.

Hope you get to drink your morning coffee again soon!

Keep us posted!

[jitters]

I have a confession to make... over the long weekend (Labour Day) I went to the cottage with my in-laws. They are HUGE coffee lovers! It was sort of a resort cottage place with a restaurant. At breakfast the waiter just brought us a huge carafe of coffee instead of repeatedly coming over to refill our mugs! So, of course, I indulged and had a couple of cups each day at breakfast. The first day was fine, I only had half a cup with no problem... the second day I had a full cup (and a bit) and the fatigue was astounding I spent the rest of the day in bed reading and was too tired to do anything at all. I don't think I got glutened because I had no other symptoms (no GI problems or stomach pain, no brain fog, nothing but fatigue) and the head chef there came to speak to me personally before every meal He was so nice & very knowledgeable! Ok and also cute. My hubby teased me about all the attention I was getting (hehe). But I digress...

I am back at school and have remained coffee free all week, but with great bitterness All of my friends are drinking delicious coffee while I sip water (albeit more healthy, sadly tap is water neither caffeinated nor coffee-flavoured).

Does anyone know of actual gluten-free coffees available in Canada? I know coffee beans are naturally gluten-free, but apparently some people react to some brands... what brands do people use that they don't react to? Perhaps I can try it half-caf and see how that goes.

And yes, coffee really is this important to me! lol

Thanks for your help

Jillian

You sound exactly like me! I am SO upset over my coffee making me sick. It's been this way for three years for me now... I'll stay away from it for awhile and then I'll give in and have it. The first couple of days are awesome, I'll feel wonderful and energetic. Then slowly it catches up to me. All over horrible body pain, fatigue, grumpiness, sick to my stomach, then extreme fatigue, brain fog, etc. I seem to be ok when I drink pop but I don't want pop. I WANT coffee.

I've tried all different brands, as well as decaf, changed the way I make it and what I added to it. Nothing worked. I'd always be ok for a few days then *bam* I'd be sick again.

Here are my theories:

A) I have leaky gut and the coffee beans are making it much worse.

The caffeinne is too much for me in coffee, which is why pop seems to be ok for me.

C) My adrenal glands are shot and coffee makes them worse.

D) All the above

I'm pretty sure it's theory D for me. Right now, I'm feeling like crap after having coffee for the last couple of weeks. I'm wondering how much of this I can take. Like I said, I have been dealing with this for THREE YEARS. I've gone to 13 different doctors and so far all my tests are normal. So, on the days I am strong I truly have to put it in perspective... is coffee worth it?? And the answer is no. Other days though I pout and think to myself that it's not fair. I've already given up gluten... why coffee too?

So for today I am going to be strong and tell myself my affair with coffee is once again over. Tomorrow morning I'll drink Stash brand Double Chai Spice Tea and while it's not the same, it's strong enough tea that it doesn't feel like I'm just drinking hot water. I try to always have a few bags in my purse so that when I'm out and about I can just order a cup of hot water for it. At first it was embarrassing to order but really, no one cares if that's all you order.

I'm thinking there should be a support group for people trying to give up coffee.

If you find something that works for you, let me know!

[JillianLindsay]

So good to know that I'm not alone -- thank you!

I broke down and had coffee again today. I had to be up at 6:30 all week (including today, a Sunday!) and bloody well deserved it lol. I felt a bit of fatigue and weakess, but the worst symptom this time was anxiety. Yikes, the anxiety!

I used to drink anywhere from 2 to 6 cups a day and not have a problem. Now I have one large coffee and am all jittery (I like the name by the way ).

Luckily I can have decaf, but with early class every day I want my caffeine! And I want it on COFFEE too, not pop or tea!

When I put it into perspective, yes it's not worth it and may be a bit silly to get so worked up over coffee, but it's my only vice and I've earned it so there

I like the idea of having a few tea bags in your purse, I could always get hot water on campus and fuel up when I need to.

Thanks for sharing/commiserating with me!

We'll start our own darn support group right here lol and if I find something that works I'll be sure to let you know!

Cheers,

Jillian

You sound exactly like me! I am SO upset over my coffee making me sick. It's been this way for three years for me now... I'll stay away from it for awhile and then I'll give in and have it. The first couple of days are awesome, I'll feel wonderful and energetic. Then slowly it catches up to me. All over horrible body pain, fatigue, grumpiness, sick to my stomach, then extreme fatigue, brain fog, etc. I seem to be ok when I drink pop but I don't want pop. I WANT coffee.

I've tried all different brands, as well as decaf, changed the way I make it and what I added to it. Nothing worked. I'd always be ok for a few days then *bam* I'd be sick again.

Here are my theories:

A) I have leaky gut and the coffee beans are making it much worse.

The caffeinne is too much for me in coffee, which is why pop seems to be ok for me.

C) My adrenal glands are shot and coffee makes them worse.

D) All the above

I'm pretty sure it's theory D for me. Right now, I'm feeling like crap after having coffee for the last couple of weeks. I'm wondering how much of this I can take. Like I said, I have been dealing with this for THREE YEARS. I've gone to 13 different doctors and so far all my tests are normal. So, on the days I am strong I truly have to put it in perspective... is coffee worth it?? And the answer is no. Other days though I pout and think to myself that it's not fair. I've already given up gluten... why coffee too?

So for today I am going to be strong and tell myself my affair with coffee is once again over. Tomorrow morning I'll drink Stash brand Double Chai Spice Tea and while it's not the same, it's strong enough tea that it doesn't feel like I'm just drinking hot water. I try to always have a few bags in my purse so that when I'm out and about I can just order a cup of hot water for it. At first it was embarrassing to order but really, no one cares if that's all you order.

I'm thinking there should be a support group for people trying to give up coffee.

If you find something that works for you, let me know!