Coffee Making Me Sick? A Bitter Reality

[scorpa]

I have never heard of this happening to anyone before but everytime i drink coffee lately i have been getting extremely sick. WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! I love coffee and now I can't drink it...evilness! :grumpy This is going to put me in a bad mood for awhile...good thing i like tea...so far I can still drink that.

 

[Cyrus]

Coffee is nasty. Soda is much tastier. Crush a mountian dew.

 

[radou]

I have never heard of this happening to anyone before but everytime i drink coffee lately i have been getting extremely sick. WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! I love coffee and now I can't drink it...evilness! :grumpy This is going to put me in a bad mood for awhile...good thing i like tea...so far I can still drink that.

Blah, you'll live. Simply switch to tea.

 

[Cyrus]

Now that's what's good. Chi.

 

[d_leet]

Coffee is nasty. Soda is much tastier. Crush a mountian dew.

I agree with that wholeheartedly, I can not stand coffee at all.

 

[radou]

Coffee is nasty. Soda is much tastier. Crush a mountian dew.

I agree with that wholeheartedly, I can not stand coffee at all.

I disagree with you both. Soda is for *******. :tongue:

 

[FredGarvin]

Do you make your own coffee? I notice that I do not feel well when ever I try decaffeinated. It makes me sick to my stomach. I'd say that the first thing to do would be to try a different brand of coffee or a different coffee house.

 

[TuviaDaCat]

black coffee for life,its my mojo.

 

[Kurdt]

Try a different blend. Some make me awfully ill even though i like them but others are fine. Failing that tea is just as good. Earl Grey anyone?

 

[turbo]

I have never heard of this happening to anyone before but everytime i drink coffee lately i have been getting extremely sick. WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS! I love coffee and now I can't drink it...evilness! :grumpy This is going to put me in a bad mood for awhile...good thing i like tea...so far I can still drink that.

What have you been drinking? Are you drinking brewed coffee or (Gah!) instant, decaffeinated or flavored stuff? Probably the plainer the coffee, the better.

I have a big mug of black unsweetened espresso every morning, made with standard grind Chock Full o' Nuts in my own little espresso maker. I would be lost without my morning coffee!

 

[light_bulb]

i used to drink earl grey now it's jasmine and celestial seasonings. arizona iced tea is great in the summertime.

you get the good jasmine tea from the chinese markets not the supermarket. another crisp drink is coconut juice (not goya) the thailand generic tallboys. as part of my diet plan i'll be downing enfamil :tongue2: can only get that kind of juice from one of two places

btw, drinking large amounts of coffee with give you acid reflux. those people who down massive amounts of coffee everyday with have buy nexuim when their esophagus starts burning!

 

[Moonbear]

Yes, I think the blends make a difference, but sometimes if you just overdo it, that will happen. Do you drink it with milk? You could try adding more milk (or conversely, try it without the milk to see if it's the coffee or the milk causing the problem). I couldn't live without coffee in the morning.

And, Cyrus, are you nuts?! Mountain Dew?! :yuck: Ugh, talk about stuff that will make you sick! :yuck: :tongue:

 

[usahockey]

Switch to tea...it's healthier, and tastier.

 

[scorpa]

First time it happened I thought it was a coincidence, that time I had brewed my own. Second time I went somewhere and got some, happened again. Third time I tried another place and it happened again! So it doesn't seem to be the brand. I never drink that nasty instant stuff, and I only ever put a little bit of milk and sugar in it, but if I drink it black it happens to. Guess I just have to switch to tea, which is fine I like tea...but I really liked coffee :( I won't switch to pop though, it's just to sweet for me, I don't really like it that much.

 

[turbo]

That's too bad! Life would look bleak without my morning espresso. I love black tea, but if I drink that on an empty stomach, it screws me up (may be the tannin), but I have my espresso black and unsweetened every morning before breakfast - no problem.

If you really don't want to give up coffee, you might want to try taking an antacid (Titralac, Tums, etc) before you drink coffee to see if it's the acid in the coffee that's bothering you. If you think that the caffeine might be bothering you, you might want to try taking one No-Doz pill. It will give you about a cup of coffee's worth of caffeine without anything else to contribute to the effect. Good luck.

 

[larkspur]

First time it happened I thought it was a coincidence, that time I had brewed my own. Second time I went somewhere and got some, happened again. Third time I tried another place and it happened again! So it doesn't seem to be the brand. I never drink that nasty instant stuff, and I only ever put a little bit of milk and sugar in it, but if I drink it black it happens to. Guess I just have to switch to tea, which is fine I like tea...but I really liked coffee :( I won't switch to soda though, it's just to sweet for me, I don't really like it that much.

Explain how you feel sick. Are you nauseated to the point of throwing up or does your stomach hurt/burn or are you light headed and heart racing...etc...?

 

[scorpa]

It made me really nauseated, almost like I had the flu or something. Getting through the rest of the day was hell. My stomach didn't hurt or burn or anything like that.

 

[larkspur]

Did you drink just one cup or several? Does decaffeinated do the same thing?

 

[G01]

This coffee sick thing happened to me too, but I think it has to do with the coffee maker we were using. Two weeks ago I went out and got coffee somewhere else. I was fine. But I still can't drink coffee out of that machine without getting sick for some reason, even after I cleaned it. I don't know what could be wrong with it.

 

[scorpa]

Did you drink just one cup or several? Does decaffeinated do the same thing?

I only ever drink one cup at a time. I've never tried decaffeinated coffee so I have no idea whether it does the same thing or not.

 

[larkspur]

I only ever drink one cup at a time. I've never tried decaffeinated coffee so I have no idea whether it does the same thing or not.

You might try having a cup of half caf and see if you get the same symptoms. I can't drink fully caffeinated coffee without stomach problems unless I take an acid reducer(pepcid is my preferred choice). Half caf and decaf don't bother me.

 

[Evo]

I have fairly severe problems with my esophagus, but it causes pain, not nausea. When it flares up, the food I swallow causes quite a bit of pain and coughing. Prevacid stopped the GERD I suffered from for years, (I no longer wake up during the night choking on my own vomit). I was recently placed back on Prevacid for the chest pains, but I've run out and haven't had a chance to get it refilled, but the pain is going to get me to the pharmacy pretty soon.

Scorpa, I wonder if you have developed an allergy to something in the coffee. I recently developed a rare allergy to bananas. I love bananas, but one day I ate one and was doubled over in pain. It wasn't after several of these incidents that I realized something was wrong. I can no longer eat bananas.

 

[scorpa]

I'm wondering the same thing Evo, it just seems so weird that it just suddenly happened now. I have been drinking coffee for years and had never had a problem before, but these past few months I haven't been able to touch the stuff.

 

[Evo]

I'm wondering the same thing Evo, it just seems so weird that it just suddenly happened now. I have been drinking coffee for years and had never had a problem before, but these past few months I haven't been able to touch the stuff.

Not drinking coffee is SO SAD! It's worse than not eating bananas.

There is something called Postum which is chicory and you could pretend is coffee.

If I could help you, I would.

 

[Dr Transport]

Try getting a water filter and making your pot with that, I can taste the difference in our morning pot since we started. I also noticed that I drink far less coffee if I make a pot of Starbucks or another higher quality blend. We drink a discount blend at work and find myself drining 5-6 cups, whereas if I drink a high quality coffee, I drink no more than two and that has reduced my stomache discomfort.

 

[Moonbear]

I'm wondering the same thing Evo, it just seems so weird that it just suddenly happened now. I have been drinking coffee for years and had never had a problem before, but these past few months I haven't been able to touch the stuff.

Months? Ugh! You poor thing!

Every once in a while, I will hit a spell where my stomach says it just won't take any more coffee, but that's usually after I've been doing something that has me drinking way more than usual. At most, I'll go about 2 weeks where I have to cut it out entirely (and switch to tea), but after giving my stomach a rest, it is okay again. Some of that also has to do with the quality of coffee. Some blends are smoother than others. If I'm drinking a lot of cheap coffee (like the stuff you get at the gas station), or really strong, burnt tasting stuff (like Starbucks regular coffee...or a few other "gourmet" blends that aren't made right), that'll usually do it.

When/if I have kids, I'm telling them to never start drinking coffee. It's a horrible addiction when you sit here saying, "Yep, it makes my stomach really sick, but I still want more!"

 

[Kurdt]

Is there any other sort of underlying anxiety or something like that? Any stress that's you've been feeling recently? Anxiety often affects the digestive system and something like coffee can tip it further.

 

[Astronuc]

I have fairly severe problems with my esophagus, but it causes pain, not nausea. When it flares up, the food I swallow causes quite a bit of pain and coughing. Prevacid stopped the GERD I suffered from for years, (I no longer wake up during the night choking on my own vomit). I was recently placed back on Prevacid for the chest pains, but I've run out and haven't had a chance to get it refilled, but the pain is going to get me to the pharmacy pretty soon.

Scorpa, I wonder if you have developed an allergy to something in the coffee. I recently developed a rare allergy to bananas. I love bananas, but one day I ate one and was doubled over in pain. It wasn't after several of these incidents that I realized something was wrong. I can no longer eat bananas.

Ouch - that's very unpleasant. Sorry to hear that Evo. My brother had something similar. It seems stress exacerbates the condition.

Evo might be onto something with the food. Now looking at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease#Foods

Certain foods and lifestyle are considered to promote gastroesophageal reflux:

Coffee, alcohol, and excessive amounts of Vitamin C supplements are stimulants of gastric acid secretion. Taking these before bedtime especially can promote evening reflux.

May be the coffee (or other foods) is promoting an excess of gastric acid. Check the list of foods to see if others might contribute to too much gastric acid, which could be further exacerbated by coffee.

See also - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000265.htm

 

[Moonbear]

Speaking of foods...does it matter if you drink the coffee on an empty stomach or after a meal? When it starts to bug me the most, it's usually when I'm just having coffee on an empty stomach. If I eat something else first, I can get my caffeine in without much problems.

 

[Evo]

Ouch - that's very unpleant. Sorry to hear that Evo. My brother had something similar. It seems stress exacerbates the condition.

Yes, the main remedy cited for GERD is elevating the head during sleep. Well, I slept sitting up for years and I still woke up choking.

Funny all those years while seeing military doctors while my then husband was in Naval Intelligence and there was no treatment except to sleep sitting up and hopefully not die. Then I had a regular physician that diagnosed it and treated it and it was gone within a month. I could have died under military treatment.

 

[out of whack]

Funny all those years while seeing military doctors while my then husband was in Naval Intelligence and there was no treatment except to sleep sitting up and hopefully not die. Then I had a regular physician that diagnosed it and treated it and it was gone within a month. I could have died under military treatment.

It serves you right for picking the wrong medical condition. You should have been suffering from a gunshot wound instead.

PS: Glad you got it solved in the end.

 

[scorpa]

I only drink coffee during or after a meal, so having it on an empty stomach isn't the problem. I never buy crap coffee, usually Tim Hortons or Folgers I make myself. I really don't understand it, I tried searching on the internet to see if I could find out what the deal was out of curiosity but I couldn't find anything relevant.

As for the stress thing, I am one of those people who just seems to be eternally stressed out but I have actually been ok with that lately so I doubt that is it.

I guess it will remain a mystery. Good thing I am not a coffee addict or anything, I just happen to enjoy it :(

 

[Moonbear]

I only drink coffee during or after a meal, so having it on an empty stomach isn't the problem. I never buy crap coffee, usually Tim Hortons or Folgers I make myself.

:uhh: Both of those fall under my category of "crap" coffee. My parents like Folgers, so I had some of that in the house last time they visited. My co-workers like it too, so I brought it into my office, but last time I tried drinking it, despite being so weak, it really made my stomach do a tumble. Tim Hortons is tasty coffee, but that too is horrid on my stomach (the first time I had problems like yours, it was when I was living only a few blocks from a Tim Hortons, so was drinking mostly their coffee). I like Starbucks Italian Roast (dark, but smooth) but brewed at home, not by them (their coffee beans are good, I don't know what they do to them in their stores that makes it all taste so burnt when they brew it though).

I guess it will remain a mystery. Good thing I am not a coffee addict or anything, I just happen to enjoy it :(

Well, if that's the case, let your stomach guide you away from becoming a coffee addict.

 

[turbo]

There are times when coffee has given me problems, and even now a Dunkin' Donuts or Tim Horton's coffee could sour me. That's not the case with the espresso that I make at home, though. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because the hot water is forced through the grounds so quickly that there is little time for acids to leach into the brew. I use an inexpensive brand of coffee (Chock Full of Nuts) and my morning espresso is always tasty. I have had perked and dripped coffee at times that would make me stop at a half-cup, but I drink a BIG mug of fresh espresso every morning with no trouble. If you can find a friend-of-a-friend with an espresso maker, give it a go - preferably on a weekend when the weather is going to be crappy, so you won't be missing out on a nice day if you feel sick and you won't be dragging yourself through classes. I've got a little MaximExpres espresso maker that I took in return for cashing in some air miles, and it's a champ. Last summer some close friends from Pittsburgh stopped in for a visit and I offered them some coffee. They said they'd love some, so I made up a mug-full (my normal daily consumption) of espresso and split it into two cups. They looked a little doubtful about that "strong" coffee, but they both finished theirs and I made up another batch for Barb and myself (she wanted more) and wrote down the name of the machine and the coffee I used. This couple are world travelers and they import artifacts and custom jewelry and clothing made to their specs from all over, though south and southeast Asia are their hot spots, so for them to rave over some home-brewed espresso made from low-priced coffee was surprising. This is their web site. If you are big fan of silver and semi-precious stones, you should probably not click on the link in order to avoid sliding into debt!

http://www.blackstarjewelry.com/

 

[leright]

Coffee is nasty. Soda is much tastier. Crush a mountian dew.

you'll start drinking coffee sooner or later...all engineers do...

Eventually you won't be able to function without it.