I like really strong coffee. Years before my problems with pancreatitis surfaced, I had run into problems that can occur from drinking too much coffee. Now, I try (sometimes more diligently than others) to refrain from going overboard with my caffeine intake. About a week ago, I bought some expresso. Man do I ever lovely finely ground, thick, rich coffee.
It caused problems for my pancreas. My back became sore. It was no good. I immediately remembered what a NY doctor said to me recently while we were traveling from the airport to the city. He said that people don't drink enough water and so their systems become toxic (paraphrasing). He's thoughts on water intake made me think that perhaps my system would
appreciate it if I cleansed it with a little water.
Knowing that my pancreas was inflamed, I also got some ginger out of the refrigerator and downed several pieces. Then, I made my favorite tea, Chrissy's Tea, which always helps as an anti-inflammatory.
Since then, it's possible that... perhaps, I'm being a little better about not drinking coffee quite so think or quite as much of it. I still need to go to the store and buy some regular coffee to mix with my extra fabulous expresso paste. I will. Humph!
While it is good to know what can help stave off a pancreatic flare-up and to have those things in the house at all time, and to take them immediately, it is better to avoid those things that can cause a pancreatic attack in the first place.
Do you think your experience with strong coffee is more related to the caffeine or some other characteristic of drinking coffee (e.g., it increases acidity in the stomach tricking the pancreas into thinking it needs to release more enzymes)? Does decaf do the same thing to you?
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