Hi everyone, I'm having the sleeve surgery on Feb 23rd. I'm real excited about the new phase of my life and the weight loss journey. One thing that has me concerned is the NO CAFFIENE for 6 months. I don't drink coffee, but normally have a cup of tea and 1 diet soda in the morning, occasionally I'll have one in the afternoon. I've been slowly reducing the amount of caffeine so I don't go into withdrawals, although I've stopped drinking it before without problems. What are people doing without caffeine? Maybe after losing enough weight we will all have enough energy that caffeine won't be needed, but in the meantime, any suggestions? I do take tyrosine sometimes and it does help with energy, but not like a diet soda or a cuppa!

On 2/20/2022 at 5:28 PM, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

SUMMARY:
1. Follow the science
2. Don't snort caffeine

Sound thinking...especially the snorting part. ?

My surgeon recommended waiting 30 days for the stomach to heal before drinking coffee which, according to surgeon, could be an irritant.

I waited 30 days and I have been drinking normal amounts of coffee since. There have been no issues.

5 hours ago, Splenda said:

The explanation I was given for why no caffeine was that post-surgery, it irritates your stomach at a time when the stomach needs to be handled as gently as possible. Once my stomach was healed, I was given the go to resume caffeine consumption. I can see where hot coffee, which is usually highly acidic, would irritate your stomach post-surgery.

That actually makes perfect sense. I hope I can resume coffee maybe a month or so after surgery. I could live with that.

I haven’t gone back to energy drinks (carbonation) but I drink a bottle of water with caffeinated Mio in it most work days, I started about two months after my surgery and haven’t had any problems because of it however some of the flavors are pretty tart and that could cause issues for people with acid reflux so proceed at your own risk

My surgeon didn’t care much one way or the other about coffee. I had a tall nonfat latte on Friday after a Tuesday surgery. It took me hours to finish but it was literally the first thing I was able to drink without struggle after surgery.

I drink multiple cups of coffee every day, and I’ve been maintaining at 175+ lbs lost/at goal weight for a while now. If you add sweetener or tons of full fat cream to coffee I can picture it being a problem, but outside of that I’ve never seen any compelling science behind the rule.

If the bariatric police want to come find me then please note the fact that I added back in the occasional glass of wine or beer before I hit my goal weight. I’m a wild and crazy rebel over here.

3 hours ago, blackcatsandbaddecisions said:

I’m a wild and crazy rebel over here

?

22 hours ago, DaisyAndSunshine said:

I think initially post-Op, when patients have hard time keeping up with the fluids goal, it can be challenging to have coffee and not have that contribute to your fluids goal. Of course once you start meeting your fluids goal, coffee is doable. Usually a month or two after works.

Absolutely; it's just a different issue. I had no trouble meeting my fluids goal (MGB for the win!) so that wasn't a concern. Maybe the right way of thinking about this is "if you can meet your fluids goal, caffeine isn't a problem".

17 hours ago, AnotherGuy said:

Sound thinking...especially the snorting part. ?

My surgeon recommended waiting 30 days for the stomach to heal before drinking coffee which, according to surgeon, could be an irritant.

I waited 30 days and I have been drinking normal amounts of coffee since. There have been no issues.

Makes sense, but again - it would be just as much of an irritant if you had decaf. So it's not really a caffeine issue, but a coffee issue (if that happens to you). The reason I'm so adamant about this is caffeine withdrawals really aren't all that fun, and there's no good reason to make any of this harder than it already is.

I just returned from a long trip to the US, and I'm once again floored by the prevalence of obesity, even on the coasts. It's just not right that so many people suffer from what truly is a complex, debilitating, chronic disease when we have such efficient, safe, and cost-effective treatments out there.

Bariatric surgery shouldn't be something the few qualify for, and we should be the last people on Earth to put up extra barriers to success. If a cup of coffee gets you through the day, have that coffee, is all I'm saying.

11 hours ago, blackcatsandbaddecisions said:

My surgeon didn’t care much one way or the other about coffee. I had a tall nonfat latte on Friday after a Tuesday surgery. It took me hours to finish but it was literally the first thing I was able to drink without struggle after surgery.

I drink multiple cups of coffee every day, and I’ve been maintaining at 175+ lbs lost/at goal weight for a while now. If you add sweetener or tons of full fat cream to coffee I can picture it being a problem, but outside of that I’ve never seen any compelling science behind the rule.

If the bariatric police want to come find me then please note the fact that I added back in the occasional glass of wine or beer before I hit my goal weight. I’m a wild and crazy rebel over here.

I've just been having wine 7 days out of 11 on vacation, and I came home weighing the exact same, down to the last 0.1 lb. Because I make reasonable choices. Want room for a glass of wine? Be great about getting that protein in during the day, and maybe save the 400 cals for it. I did some kind of exercise daily.

Or whatever works. Again, flexible control is a winner's strategy. I'll re-evaluate if this stops working for me, it's all about finding your path.

Sleever here - My surgeon stressed getting fluids in - If I was good with protein and fluids (Gatorade Zero, Water, Crystal Light, etc), then he had no issue with caffeine as soon as I was in the pureed phase. Today I drink at least 4-6 cups a day (in addition to other fluids) and have never had an issue with dehyrdration.

I will occasionally have a diet soda, but usually just a few sips because it seems to hit very heavy in my stomach.

3 minutes ago, MandoGetsSleeved said:

Today I drink at least 4-6 cups a day (in addition to other fluids) and have never had an issue with dehyrdration

You won't do. Coffee doesn't dehydrate you and you're getting an extra (?) 4 to 6 cups of water.

1 minute ago, Pollito said:

You won't do. coffee doesn't dehydrate you and you're getting an extra (?) 4 to 6 cups of Water.

Not sure I understand what you're saying? I guess my point was that I drink quite a bit of caffeine daily and it's had no negative effect on me.

Just now, Pollito said:

You won't do. coffee doesn't dehydrate you and you're getting an extra (?) 4 to 6 cups of Water.

But ... but ...

... what if we don't get to tell the fat people all the crazy hoops they have to jump through?

1 minute ago, MandoGetsSleeved said:

Not sure I understand what you're saying? I guess my point was that I drink quite a bit of caffeine daily and it's had no negative effect on me.

You're on the same page

16 minutes ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

But ... but ...

... what if we don't get to tell the fat people all the crazy hoops they have to jump through?

Don't worry. I've totally quit all the diet coke and now it's just crystal light, sugar free jello and tar heroin.