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I Am A 44 Year Old Male. I Have Been
Question: i am a 44 year old male.
i have been drinking 2 coffees and maybe an energy dring for several months.
about 2 weeks ago i drank 2 coffees and a large redbull all before 11;00am.
immediately after the energy drink I had a bunch of pressure and had to go to the bathroom where I had diarrhea.
I had loose stool for a few hours but it resolved.
every since then my bowels seem irritated.
I have no more loose stool but my large intestine feels like its a bit more active, crampy, etc...
I've continued to drink coffee through this but I have cut back to one cup in the AM.
My past history is that i've gotten gastritis flare ups during times of emotional stress off and on for many years.
i've had several endoscopies/ colonoscopies over the last 10 years.
my last scope was about 4 years ago.
the results of the endoscopies have always been usually normal with some occasional mild gastritis on a few of the many.
The gastritis would always resolve with a better diet.
my colonoscopies have always been normal.
Can caffeine do this to your bowels? or better question is "does excessive caffeine often do this"
Do i need to totally quit coffee and if so, for how long?
my symptoms arent very bad and my stool is normal, just some occasional cramping which does feel like its slowly getting better even though i still consuming a coffee in the morning.
ive seen a gastro so many times with no notable findings, it gets expensive.
whats best to get this to resolve.
i have been drinking 2 coffees and maybe an energy dring for several months.
about 2 weeks ago i drank 2 coffees and a large redbull all before 11;00am.
immediately after the energy drink I had a bunch of pressure and had to go to the bathroom where I had diarrhea.
I had loose stool for a few hours but it resolved.
every since then my bowels seem irritated.
I have no more loose stool but my large intestine feels like its a bit more active, crampy, etc...
I've continued to drink coffee through this but I have cut back to one cup in the AM.
My past history is that i've gotten gastritis flare ups during times of emotional stress off and on for many years.
i've had several endoscopies/ colonoscopies over the last 10 years.
my last scope was about 4 years ago.
the results of the endoscopies have always been usually normal with some occasional mild gastritis on a few of the many.
The gastritis would always resolve with a better diet.
my colonoscopies have always been normal.
Can caffeine do this to your bowels? or better question is "does excessive caffeine often do this"
Do i need to totally quit coffee and if so, for how long?
my symptoms arent very bad and my stool is normal, just some occasional cramping which does feel like its slowly getting better even though i still consuming a coffee in the morning.
ive seen a gastro so many times with no notable findings, it gets expensive.
whats best to get this to resolve.
Brief Answer:
Please see detalied answer
Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome to "Ask A Doctor" service.
I have read your question and here is my advice.
Yes ,caffiene is a stimulant and it can cause irritation of the bowel and has also quite a role in gastritis .However it easy to say then do , to quit it for ever .The answer would be to make sure we dont take too much coffee.And this depends for a person , I think a cup of coffee would be enough for a person who has history of gastritis .So i would say you should avoid taking too much .
Its good that you are coming back , and I understand coffee plus the energy drink had caused you gastritis , and that's going to resolve as you are reducing the intake of the culprit .
The great thing is that all your endoscopies are normal , So that we know we are not dealing with anything serious but some gastritis .
So in such patient diet modifications is important to avoid gastritis.
These include reducing drugs ( pain killer like ibuprofen, steroids , ) , reducing food with high acid like citrus fpods, spicy foods , alcohal , and coffee ..
There is also quite a role for stress as stress can cause acid release and cramping in gut , so make sure you keep your mind relax .
For the time being you may use some over the counter anta-acids like gaviscon for few days and acid supression drugs like omeprazole once a day for about two weeks.I hope it would be fine .Make sure you take more fluids.
So the bottom line is that no doubt there is a role of caffee in gastritis, but we just make sure to reuce it to a safe level ( where you feel good ) rather then advising to quit it for ever as that's not an easy thing .And also we need to focus on other foods that may cause gastritis.
Best luck .
Please feel free if you have any thing to ask.I would be glad to answer your questions.
Please see detalied answer
Detailed Answer:
Hello and Welcome to "Ask A Doctor" service.
I have read your question and here is my advice.
Yes ,caffiene is a stimulant and it can cause irritation of the bowel and has also quite a role in gastritis .However it easy to say then do , to quit it for ever .The answer would be to make sure we dont take too much coffee.And this depends for a person , I think a cup of coffee would be enough for a person who has history of gastritis .So i would say you should avoid taking too much .
Its good that you are coming back , and I understand coffee plus the energy drink had caused you gastritis , and that's going to resolve as you are reducing the intake of the culprit .
The great thing is that all your endoscopies are normal , So that we know we are not dealing with anything serious but some gastritis .
So in such patient diet modifications is important to avoid gastritis.
These include reducing drugs ( pain killer like ibuprofen, steroids , ) , reducing food with high acid like citrus fpods, spicy foods , alcohal , and coffee ..
There is also quite a role for stress as stress can cause acid release and cramping in gut , so make sure you keep your mind relax .
For the time being you may use some over the counter anta-acids like gaviscon for few days and acid supression drugs like omeprazole once a day for about two weeks.I hope it would be fine .Make sure you take more fluids.
So the bottom line is that no doubt there is a role of caffee in gastritis, but we just make sure to reuce it to a safe level ( where you feel good ) rather then advising to quit it for ever as that's not an easy thing .And also we need to focus on other foods that may cause gastritis.
Best luck .
Please feel free if you have any thing to ask.I would be glad to answer your questions.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Answered by
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