I Am really stressing out about the whole coffee thing during my preop diet. I have to be up at 3am to be at work at 5 am i have had a coffee everyday for who knows how long and i just cant imagine giving it up like that. I understand after surgery i wont be able to have it until 3 months. But i was wondering if i would be ok to have a sugarfree vanilla iced coffee only 90 calories with 9g of carbs, during my pre op diet!? Please has someone else felt this way......

I've worked nights for years now and get migraines without daily coffee. I like the taste, and I need it, unfortunately. However, I have "quit" more than once. My advice would be to start tapering down now. Assuming you brew at home, get some decaf (get the good stuff) - a week with 75% regular, 25% decaf, then another week 50/50, then 25/75, then all decaf. Have done that before and had no problems with headaches or drowsiness.

Coffee can also be hard on the stomach, so you might want to try switching to iced tea after surgery. still has caffiene, still tasty, and less harsh on the stomach (at least from my experience). Haven't tried mixing iced tea with Protein powder, but it's on my to-do list.

My doctor and nutritionist told me I could have one 12 oz of coffee a day. No sugar but a little cream before taste

I decaffeinated myself before surgery. I did a gradual taper like efierke suggested. I didn't want to be going through caffeine withdrawal while recovering from surgery. I stuck with decaf herbal tea for two months postop. Sleepytime tea at bedtime has become a new habit. When I first tried coffee, it was too irritating to my stomach. Even decaf is very acidic. I was finally able to drink it again around 4 months out. Now I have a big travel mug of decaf coffee everyday. I even use Premier protein vanilla or chocolate for creamer. Never bothered to switch back to caffeine, although I'll have regular if that's the only decent kind available when I'm on the road.

Well, I think that if you want to vary from your prescribed pre-op diet, you need to get permission from your surgeon's team, not from random strangers on the internet. Explain your situation, and maybe they can help you come up with alternatives. For example, you can make your own vanilla iced coffee at home for about 15 calories and 1 carb. Or if they really won't budge, perhaps they can do a better job of explaining to you why it's important to avoid coffee/caffeine pre-op so that you will be more motivated to follow their rules.

Speaking of which, and I mean this in a good, friendly, loving way - time to get over the "I can't, I won't, I don't want to" stumbling block that is running in your head regarding food. Yes you can do it, and you need to get in a space where you are committed to following your surgeon's plan, not just the parts of it you like and find convenient. Picking and choosing what we want to do with respect to our diet is what led us all to need weight loss surgery. Plus, your surgeon and his or her team are the experts and understand what their patients need - not you, and again, not random internet strangers.

Good luck!

my dietician told me I could add a coffee shot to my vanilla opitfast shake I haven't done it yet

I was told to stop drinking pop and coffee prior to surgery. I couldn't imagine not having my morning coffee. I started with smaller amounts of coffee. I haven't had a cup of coffee since the end of June . You can do it!!

I switched to decaf quite some time before the pre-op diet, but my nutritionist and surgeon weren't overly-concerned about caffeine pre-op. They were more concerned about fat and sugar.

As other of said, try tapering off to like half-caf and then 1/4-caf.

My nutritionist had no issues with caffeine intake pre-op or post-op.

I'm a rare bird though in that caffeine has no effect on me at all. I can literally quit anytime with no withdrawal symptoms. Drinking it does not give me the clarity or stimulating boost most people get. I can literally drink it before bed and fall asleep just fine. I drink it because I enjoy the ritual of it more than anything. I make an iced coffee at home with sugar free vanilla syrup, and a dash of half and half, which is only 40 calories. I also put a scoop of unflavored Protein in it to get in some extra protein in.

My nutritionist had no issues with caffeine intake pre-op or post-op.

I'm a rare bird though in that caffeine has no effect on me at all. I can literally quit anytime with no withdrawal symptoms. Drinking it does not give me the clarity or stimulating boost most people get. I can literally drink it before bed and fall asleep just fine. I drink it because I enjoy the ritual of it more than anything. I make an iced coffee at home with sugar free vanilla syrup, and a dash of half and half, which is only 40 calories. I also put a scoop of unflavored Protein in it to get in some extra protein in.

My surgeon & dietician preach No caffeine. And it stinks. I love iced tea. I am 18 days pre-op. I don't know how long after surgery that I will be able to have it. BAAAAH!

My surgeon's assistant was telling me yesterday that there's a coffee flavored Protein powder and she said it tastes really, really good. The brand is Isofusion. I know it's not coffee but it might help to get the flavor of it while drinking a Protein shake.

I miss coffee with caffeine terribly & decaf tastes "weird". What's working for me is iced decaf coffee a bit on the sweet side. PS-I used to drink my coffee dark no sugar!