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Coffee w/o Explosive Pooing
harry.timbershaft
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Good morning!
Rewind twelve years ago. I was in New Orleans at a conference and ordered up a big cup of coffee from a restaurant in the hotel. Being a heavy coffee drinker, this wasn't unusual. What was unusual is what happened after I consumed my morning stimulant. I literally had to run back to my hotel room where I spent the next 48 hours releasing fecal fury on the poor toilet that had the misfortune of being installed in my room. At the time, I attributed this to bad food the night before, or at least a dramatic shift in my diet after arriving at the conference. Upon returning home, and having a cup of coffee at the office (as usual), I was greeted once again by the explosive poo monster in a manner which I had never experienced previously. Food aversion ingrained. No more coffee.
Present day. Last weekend I decided I wasn't going another winter without coffee. I love the taste of it. I love the smell of it. I love the warmth it provides on a cold winter morning or a crisp fall afternoon after a good long hike. I was going to drink coffee, damnit. So, on Saturday, I did. It seemed to settle well. No rumbling or pooing. Yes! I can drink coffee again! On Sunday morning I had another cup of warm liquid heaven. After this cup, I am greeted with significant cramping, and a large normal bowel movement. This, I think, is coffee doing what it is supposed to do. Until later that evening. My poo turned to water and I was relegated to the bathroom to rid myself of the contaminant. Luckily it passed quickly and everything had cleared by the time I went to bed.
So, shit. Has anyone experienced this when drinking coffee? Has anyone successfully resolved this problem?
Pertinent facts:
1. I can consume (extremely) large quantities of caffeine from other products without any problems
2. I can consume hot liquids like tea without any of the problems I experience when I drink coffee
3. I had my gallbladder removed several years before the first incident occurred
4. I am otherwise a healthy and normal person and don't take any medications besides a multivitamin
Thanks for your H/A, H/A!
Rewind twelve years ago. I was in New Orleans at a conference and ordered up a big cup of coffee from a restaurant in the hotel. Being a heavy coffee drinker, this wasn't unusual. What was unusual is what happened after I consumed my morning stimulant. I literally had to run back to my hotel room where I spent the next 48 hours releasing fecal fury on the poor toilet that had the misfortune of being installed in my room. At the time, I attributed this to bad food the night before, or at least a dramatic shift in my diet after arriving at the conference. Upon returning home, and having a cup of coffee at the office (as usual), I was greeted once again by the explosive poo monster in a manner which I had never experienced previously. Food aversion ingrained. No more coffee.
Present day. Last weekend I decided I wasn't going another winter without coffee. I love the taste of it. I love the smell of it. I love the warmth it provides on a cold winter morning or a crisp fall afternoon after a good long hike. I was going to drink coffee, damnit. So, on Saturday, I did. It seemed to settle well. No rumbling or pooing. Yes! I can drink coffee again! On Sunday morning I had another cup of warm liquid heaven. After this cup, I am greeted with significant cramping, and a large normal bowel movement. This, I think, is coffee doing what it is supposed to do. Until later that evening. My poo turned to water and I was relegated to the bathroom to rid myself of the contaminant. Luckily it passed quickly and everything had cleared by the time I went to bed.
So, shit. Has anyone experienced this when drinking coffee? Has anyone successfully resolved this problem?
Pertinent facts:
1. I can consume (extremely) large quantities of caffeine from other products without any problems
2. I can consume hot liquids like tea without any of the problems I experience when I drink coffee
3. I had my gallbladder removed several years before the first incident occurred
4. I am otherwise a healthy and normal person and don't take any medications besides a multivitamin
Thanks for your H/A, H/A!
harry.timbershaft on
+1
This discussion has been closed.
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Best thing? Just don't drink coffee. There's not really anything else you can do.
Try drinking your coffee slower, drink smaller amounts in one sitting (particularly in the morning), and overall just drink less than you would or would like to.
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But lots of other things can bother me in the morning that, for whatever reason, won't bother me the rest of the day. Like the bulk of my digestive tract hasn't woken up yet and has left my colon in charge of the decision making process. Then my colon just does what it knows and gets rid of it, because it isn't prepared for all that responsibility.
What happens when you drink it in the evening or after lunch?
Good call!
If you're putting milk or cream in your coffee, it could be that you've developed lactose intolerance. Very common for that to pop up out of nowhere.
Nothing - I like my coffee black.
While that certainly has worked for the past twelve or so years, I'm hoping there's an alternative.
Interesting. I hadn't thought about when I drink the coffee as having an appreciable impact on the outcome. On Saturday, come to think of it (and edited appropriately in the OP), I drank the coffee shortly after lunch. That's when I didn't have any issues. On Sunday, I had coffee first thing in the morning and it ended up causing problems (the immediate cramping and poops later in the day). While I don't want to test things at the office, for obvious reasons, I will try drinking a cup of coffee after lunch later in the week when I am working from home. I have a bottle of pepto on-hand, so I'm ready for the fallout if things go awry.
If the problem is the coffee creating too acidic of an environment in my gut (due to stomach acid/bile production), I wonder if taking a PPI would help? I found some info on the Internet relating loose poops and coffee drinking with an over-production of bile. Certain PPIs have been shown to decrease bile production, which could be way out of whack in my body as a result of having my gallbladder removed. As an experiment, maybe I'll try taking something like Prevacid and giving it another go. Yes, I really am willing to take a pill every once in a while if it means I get to enjoy a cup of coffee. I like it that much, and my brief reintroduction has been glorious. It's like I've lost a good friend for all these years, only to find him and reconnect, and then find out that he has this shitty girlfriend that never lets him socialize.
...or maybe it's Lupus?
I haven't tried drinking decaf. One of the reasons I like drinking coffee is for the caffeine, and I don't have problems with other beverages containing large amounts of caffeine (such as the huge Red Bull I drank this morning), but you bring up another scenario to test. I will also try drinking decaf and see if it causes the same problems. Maybe my body is able to absorb and process the caffeine better from coffee for some reason? Just a thought - I ain't no doctor or nothin'.
You may just not be able to drink it. You could try experimenting with different brands and methods and see what happens. Try instant, for example, although I've been told that could be much, much worse.
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Try the decaf? It might not work, I'd bet on it not working. But it is worth a try, even if just to confirm. So sorry! Switch to tea.
48 hours of horror sounds significantly worse than I'm used to. Usually it's not a big deal when I have a large or two during the day. Sometimes I have a medium and 20 minutes later I'm on the can.
Edit: I find tea gives me my morning fix with minimal (but not negligable) chance of the same effect, which is a nice compromise. Worth noting, I have my tea with milk and cream with coffee, so I'm not ruling out a measure of lactose intolerance developing for me either.
And sometimes I'll find that diet pop will have the same effect as well, lending some possible ties to the caffeine content, I suppose, but at the same time that's usually tied to when I'm having pop and fatty food like pizza, so it could be coincidental.
It's not abnormal in the sense that there's something horribly wrong with you; you just got dealt a bad hand when it comes to your body's tolerance of the enzymes or oils (or whatever) that's in coffee.
This sounds counterintuitive, but if your intestines are in working order, the water will not make your diarrhea more watery, and my hypothesis is that it will reduce the osmotic potential or the drug concentration where it matters in the intestine. Insoluble fiber can also work as a reservoir for watery stool as well as stool that is too dry; it's kind of like a buffer. There are foods and drugs that inhibit the activity of the small intestine smooth muscle, but I wouldn't go for any of those. You might also want to eat something like a croissant or whatever along with your coffee to dilute it and to counter its acidity.
You should talk with your primary care physician if you have insurance because of that gallbladder thing to rule out an unhealthy colon, or complications like the IBS mentioned earlier. I guarantee you that they have a barrage of questions about your bowel movements that will probably serve you better in the long run. If you decide to do that, make a mental note of pain, frequency, consistency, color, smell, etc like that, and do experimentation with other foods and beverages and activities to see whether that changes anything.
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You should reduce the amount of coffe ( a glass is too much), but you don't necessary have to resign to coffee entirely. A cup mixed with low fat milk or slim milk can reduce the acidity, or if you prefer, you could add one or two teaspoons of Cremora.
You might also investigate cold brewed coffee, wherein coffee is steeped in iced or cool water for periods ranging from 6 to 24 hours. The net result is a strong coffee concentrate with much lower acidity than standard coffee. Mixing some of that with some hot water will also approximate a good cup of coffee, and the lower acid might help. The concentrate will keep in a fridge for around two weeks or so.
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This is what I've been doing for the past ten years or so... a good strong black (or green) tea. I usually buy the high-quality loose leaf stuff and brew my own. Luckily there's a Teavana pretty close to where I just moved which sells all sorts of awesome (caffeinated) teas. I've never had a problem with tea, regardless of its strength or caffeine content.
The good news is that I don't have IBS, as a couple of posters have mentioned. This is something I've been cognizant of because I read that it is common in people who have their gallbladder removed. I really have no other (regular) bowel trouble beyond the coffee thing. I can eat a steak and am fine. I can eat fried chicken and am fine. I can eat a steak on top of fried chicken wrapped in bacon washed down with a glass of whiskey and am fine. I've not found anything else, and I eat all kinds of crazy food (I'm kind of a foodie), that sets off an episode like coffee does.
Ok, so here's the plan for the next four days. I'm all stocked up on toilet paper, reading material, and am ready to rock.
1) Try drinking full-strength coffee after lunch while there is still food in my stomach
2) Try drinking decaf with my normal morning breakfast (usually a Clif Bar and a banana)
3) Try drinking an Americano with my normal morning breakfast
4) Trying drinking full-strength coffee mixed with something (in my case this will end up being a latte w/ soy milk)
As to brand - it's all going to be Starbucks. There are two of them right across the street (in opposite directions) from where I live. I know it's not the best coffee and probably not the easiest on the stomach, but I consider it the "standard 'mercian coffee" at this point.
Any other suggestions?
Hey thanks! I find maintaining a sense of humor about the shitty (pun intended) stuff in life is what keeps me sane. :-)
Allergic reactions and intolerances are worth it sometimes
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In fact, the last time I had coffee a disastrous eruption ensued soon after.
So, I don't drink coffee or, if I do, I don't drink very much of it.
I have no other aversions, so I think this is literally coffee having it's way with me.
PPIs have some unpleasant side effects, so I wouldn't recommend taking them just so you could drink caffeinated coffee. I can drink caffeinated coffee now, but only after I've eaten, and only if its milky, otherwise my stomach still hurts, so I tend to stick to decaf.
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Would you mind sharing how these affect you? Taking a PPI to assist in the consumption of coffee is something I am considering.
Try cutting your coffee back to later in the day. First try no coffee before lunch. Then try no coffee before 10am.
I find that if I have a cup of coffee with breakfast, I feel very very awful for most of the day. My wife is the same, but worse.
However, I can quite easily have a cup of coffee at 9:30am-10am (and frequently do) and enjoy it and even look forward to it.
I have no idea what the medical explanation for this is for.
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they can give you megaconstipation, bloating, back and joint pains and headaches. at least that is on the short list of symptoms i get from that class of meds
I've gotten headaches myself when I was on PPI for a brief period. Not worth it. At all. Also it could also cause the exact same symptoms the coffee gives you.
For paintings in progress, check out canvas and paints
"The power of the weirdness compels me."
Mods, this thread is ok to lock. I would hate for their to be more discussion surrounding my bowel movements than necessary.