I have a friend who has subtitled her blog is "Family is Funny".Maybe I should subtitle this blog "...because Pancreatitis is Funny".
I was thinking about coffee and how much I like coffee. How I would rather fight you for it than lose my coffee.
Of course, this is silly because coffee is bad for
those of us with pancreatitis so I should be wanting and willing to give it up. Instead I'm about as smart as this tattooed baby smoking in his little pool... and, luckily, about as happy, too!Noteworthy: I've read that coffee is not good for people with pancreatitis. Think of it like a "Just say no to coffee" campaign. Why? Not sure I know. I think it has to do with the high acid content...
Hmmm... if that is the case and if you live near a Trader Joe's (which I don't) you could simply by low-acid coffee grounds.
Of course, I'm not sure that's why coffee is bad for you if you have chronic pancreatitis
And... of course, I also just gave you a solution to continue drinking coffee.
Man. I'm not good at giving up my coffee.
Of course, I wasn't good at giving up my booze either and that's what got me in this mess in the first place.So, the question is do I, or will I, need to give up coffee to protect my health in relationship to my chronic pancreatitis? Answer: I don't know. If that time comes I will probably quit drinking coffee. In the meantime I try to moderate. Whatever that means... Actually, that means that I try not to drink so much that it hurts my pancreas.
You are probably citing the Harvard studies done in 1981 which was inaccurate. Since then much has been learned about the interaction between coffee and the pancreas.
ReplyDeleteCoffee drinking is actually associated with reduced incidence of pancreatitis. This has been well documented in the medical community for quite sometime.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15089909
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060320084648.htm
No, I'm not citing any study from as far back as 1981. In fact the two studies you refer to are also far too old for me to consider. Remember, between 2004 and now there is STILL no cure and doctors really don't know much about it.
ReplyDeleteFrom my person experience with coffee, I know that too much coffee makes my pancreas hurt and therefore I try to limit the strength of the coffee I drink (no Turkish coffee for me) as well as the quantity of coffee I drink.
Coffee is definitely not the friend of the pancreas. Any study that says different is simply wrong. I have pancreatitis. I know that coffee is not good for the pancreas.
Studies are often proven wrong. My guess is that you either wrote the paper or are associated with the website and just wanted to add links to boost the numbers. The problem with doing that is that real people with very serious problems with their pancreas need accurate facts. Be respectful. No what you are talking about and don't cite ancient out of date work. Anything older than the past couple years hasn't kept anyone alive.
Drinking coffee is bad for the pancreas. I do it, but I try to keep it in moderation, plus I don't lie to myself about it. I can feel when I've had too much coffee because my pancreas becomes inflamed. It's really that simple. Pay attention to your body. Eat realistically for a person with pancreatitis (Low-Fat, No-Fat, NO ALCOHOL, limited sugar, calories and overall limit the food intake). These things are necessary, not really optional. It's a hard road to tow, but chances are if you are anything like me, you worked hard to get yourself in this position in the first place so working hard to stay healthy now won't be any more difficult!
I can drink a trim latte without pain occuring but sometimes a cup of tea does, so I guess we are all different. Thanks for your blog it is very supportive. I am having a pancreatic stent put in next week which will stay in place for 6 weeks. Do you or anybody know anything about this. I have only read negative things and I am getting scared
ReplyDeleteHi there - Actually, I know nothing about it. Please do tell us how it went, why you chose to do it, has it helped, is it experimental. Anything you know about it, please share. Where did you have it done? Does the hospital special in pancreatic issues, etc.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're doing alright. I can only imagine how scary it must have been. I hope you had family with you or others to support you during this time.
All the best to you!
Email me at gtisch183@gmail.com if you'd like to discuss pancreatitis treatments.
DeleteI was told a looong time ago that it's the caffeine that causes flare-ups for us (I don't believe that though), a certain coffee has ALWAYS caused me pain and agony, sickness and flare-ups :( but I LOVE coffee, in any variety, flavour, establishment, especially in Paris in the subways, a nice strong and powerful shot of espresso mmmm, I digress..anyway, the only coffee I CAN'T tolerate is 'instant', certain brands of freeze-dried instant coffee granules, whether it's caffeine OR caffeine-free, so maybe it's an added chemical? Or the process? As I've always been able to drink ANY form of energy drink, many of which contain very high caffeine ratios, and I have been fine, the same goes for fizzy sodas, I can drink full sugar Pepsi until it comes out of my ears, but if I touch regular full-sugar Coca Cola I'm curled up on the bathroom floor. For myself and many, many others, one of the main problems with figuring out and determining whether or not an actual product, food, drink has caused pain or triggered an attack is that the pain can come on suddenly (in an instant), gradually, hours and hours later, or even the next day after eating said food/drink, so in reality it's VERY difficult to always pin-point a cause or trigger. What's even more of a challenge, annoyance, confusion for me is I no longer even have a pancreas to damage or irritate anymore, but I STILL get daily pain, sickness, flare-ups etc and ALL the associated problems and symptoms relating to (Hereditary) Chronic Pancreatitis, I fully understand and appreciate the 'memory pain', but what I can't grasp is the fact that my pain/attacks/sickness is STILL associated with food/drink!! As in I STILL can't drink certain instant coffee granules, nor regular Coca-Cola, nor a glass of neat full-fat milk etc, and certain foods STILL cause a flare-up! But HOW? I mean, I do NOT have a pancreas there anymore that will inflame because of certain foods/drinks....There are sooo many mysterys surrounding our wretched disease, it drives me crackers, it REALLY does, why couldn't I have ended up with an easy to understand disease?! 31yrs later and I'm still confused! :p
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!
I had my first attack with pancreatitis last week. May God have mercy on all of you with chronic problems! I have never been so sick ever!!! And so scared it may happen again. No one has the same diet... I am so confused!
DeleteCoffee is definitely terrible for those who experience pancreatitis. I myself am suffering form a flare up at this moment, omg it hurts. This has been happening to me since my gall bladder surgery when of the stones blocked my bile duct. I am in my early 20's, so drinking and coffee drinking are bad for me, but it's part of my social life. So, i alternate. One cup of not so strong coffee a day; but if I know I am going out no coffee nothing but water all day and I limit myself to very extremely light beer. Or drinks that are not very fizzy. That's what I did not do this time. I went out last night and had coffee this morning, oh how i regret it! :( Does anyone know of any remedies to help it improve faster?
ReplyDeleteThese foods are OK:
ReplyDeleteGinger (powder or fresh)
Plain white rice
Skinless, boneless chicken
Blueberries (fresh or frozen, never dried fruit)
Blackberries
Butter lettuce
Cooked carrots
Rice cereal sans milk
Cinnamon
And trying to quit smoking!!