Caffiene??

Is it good or is it bad...  Is it ok to have coffee..  I went to a support group ran by the hospital last week and the dietician.. (I think we knew more than her) led us to believe we shouldn't ever have caffiene.  What is your take...  I drink coffee everyday and have for the last  6-7 monthes and am wondereing if that contributed to my regaining weight.   Are you drinking it? Help me out here... I wish I had never turned back to coffee....but I have it is a hard habbit to break.

I DRINK LOTS OF COFFEE. ABOUT 2 POTS A DAY. AND IT IS FULL OF CAFFIENE. THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT GETS ME GOING.........................I TOLD MY DOCTOR I DRINK LOTS OF COFFEE WITH THE HIGH CALORIE CREAMERS IN IT. HE SAID IT WAS OK. AND WHEN I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL 8 DAYS. THE DOCTOR MADE THE NURSES GO DOWN STAIRES AND GET ME THE COFFEE AND CREAMER THAT I LIKED. NEEDLESS TO SAY THE NURSES WASN'T THAT INPRESSED WITH ME. OH WELL.          LOVE MY COFFEE.................. AMY

Hey - I'm 5.5 years post op. I've counted  Latte's ( espresso coffee, sugar free flavor + 12 oz skim milk) for 4.5 years as a "protein". Sometimes I have 2 per day (equals 6 SHOTS of espresso). I'm healthy.  My blood work is still in the center of all ranges.  I've maintained GOAL within a 5lb spread for almost 3 years. Love my coffee:)  (and REWARD my WATER intake with coffee!  Still gotta do water!)   Judy

Great question and I"m curious about that too. I recently found the new Crystal Light Strawberry flavor that is enhanced with Vit B and caffeine. It said it has 60mg of caffeine per serving. I didn't know how that compared to say a regular pepsi so I went to their site and looked~16oz of pepsi has 50mg caffeine and 16oz of mt dew has 72mg so I guess its right up there with those products.  I really enjoy the taste of the strawberry so I figured I'd try it out for awhile and see what happens b/c I know they say for alot of people caffeine is an appetite stimulant. I guess if I notice an increase in appetite then I'll give it up, but until then I'm gonna enjoy it! ***I had to edit this b/c when I went back and reread the label it says 60mg per serving and the serving size is 1/2 a packet, LOL! No wonder I like it so much~120mg of caffeine at a time is ALOT!

Hey gang!! Okay - here's my take on the caffeine issue: You just try to take my caffeine away from me and I'm going to go postal on somebody!  With that said, here is what my surgeon has to say on the matter: Caffeine is a stimulant and as with other stimulants, it affects everyone differently.  For the most part, caffeine acts as a diuretic; therefore, he recommends that for every 8oz of caffeine you drink, you should double your water intake - 16oz.   As a stimulant, it can possibly trigger your appetite - especially if you add lots of sweet stuff to it, triggering your carb sensitivity.  If you have weight gain as a result of the sweet coffees, cut back gradually and try to shoot for black coffee, chasing it with the recommended amount of water.  The weight gain could either be caused by the extra calories in the sweetner or the stimulated appetite. No matter what, I believe that moderation is the key to everything, and for me, the same goes for coffee.  I am not excessive about it, but I am OBSESSIVE about the amount I allow myself to have each day! Now - pass me the coffee pot!!!! Hugs! Kristi

I drink 1 large coffee per day. I usually stop at Dunkin Donuts for coffee (unless I'm visiting Canada and then I head straight for Tim Hortons). I don't know if it contributed to regain with me. I think eating crappy carbohydrates contributed more. As long as you increase your water intake it should balance out the caffeine - for every 8 oz of caffeine, drink 16 oz of water on top of your daily water intake.

Haha on the Dunkin' and Tim Horton coffees .. that's what I also like.  I have two cups of decaf Dunkin' daily ... I buy the ground coffee and make it myself at home.  Plus I always bring back some decaf Tim Horton's -- just returned yesterday with three canisters from our trip up to Toronto! :-) -Carol

hi, Do I know you.... I go to dr kamelgard's support group.. do you ever go.... I am surprised to hear you have weight gain.. so many of his patients seem to be so successfull it oftem makes me think I should have used him for my surgeon.. I think that band he uses makes a difference... I wish I had that....  Glad to hear I am not alone in the DD daily connection.  Donna

I couldn't tolerate caffeine until about 2 years out.  Before that it caused me serious  'stomach'  problems - I was on 2 meds for a time and caffiene really messed with my blood sugar.  Not everyone is the same though.  I drink a diet pepsi occsionally now and a l/2 cup reg coffe each morning and seem to be doing okay.

Okay, let's face it -- caffiene is NOT good for us.  That's why they say don't take it.  Early out, it slows healing.  It's a dieuretic so we have to drink more water to compensate for it.  Top all of that off with the fact that it REALLY SUCKS to get off of it.   This is my vice, and darnit, I'm keeping it.  I don't drink, don't smoke, limit my sugar.  I'm not overdoing it, and it's all SF anyway.