Question:
To any of the postops out there that drink coffee, decaf or otherwise....

Do you find that coffee, whether its decaf or regular, tends to have somewhat of a laxative effect on you? I dont drink a whole lot of it, but when I do this has a tendency to happen. I dont add anything to my coffee except Splenda, and I use Splenda with other things so Im pretty sure it isnt that.    — Kris T. (posted on April 30, 2004)

April 29, 2004
Kris, I've heard this about coffee before (and specifically coffee, not just caffeinated drinks). I don't drink coffee now due to my highly acidic stomach, but I've read of others that deliberately drink coffee to help them out in that area. Splenda for me would have me in the bathroom much faster than coffee. I have only had one nibble of a cookie made with Splenda - YIKES!!! Never again. Every one is different, I guess, but don't be surprised if the Splenda isn't adding something to your 'fun', as well as the coffee. Maybe you had the sweetened coffee on an empty stomach? Perhaps if it wasn't too long after you ate, and you had a cup of coffee, it wouldn't effect you as harshly as on a completely empty stomach? I don't know, just a thought. It certainly is interesting how things effect us now. Enjoy your journey. Jodie 336/182.5/??
   — Jodie P.

April 29, 2004
Hi Kris, Decaf with Splenda is what I usually drink and it doesn't effect me, but a few weeks ago I was out, so I drank about a 1/2cup of regular and wow! It worked like my super dieter's tea....only faster. I've been drinking a mix of 1/2 regular and 1/2 decaf a few days a week for regularity. I think it's great.
   — Deborah G.

April 29, 2004
It could just be that it is a hot drink. When I worked with cardiac surgery patients, constipation used to be a big problem. One thing we usually had people do first was eat breakfast, drink 4 oz of prune juice, have a cup of decaf coffee or tea and take a walk in the hallway. Most times, people were hustling to get back to the bathroom! I drink coffee everyday and it doensn't have that effect on me, but my DH, who also had WLS, has never been a coffee drinker. He purposely had a little bit of coffee the day after surgery to get things moving, and it did work - and I mean it really worked!
   — koogy

April 30, 2004
Wish it worked for me! I drink both regular and decaf and neither have that effect.
   — scbabe

April 30, 2004
Yep, it's a laxative for me! I know that if I ever get "backed up", all I need is a cuppa joe to get things moving! :-)
   — Angie M.

April 30, 2004
Yep. It's an effect that some people experience. I do for sure. It helps keep me regular! For some reason, it doesn't matter if it's decaf or regular.
   — LMCLILLY