How much caffeine is too much when TTC

[Sweet_Chilli10]

Good morning all,

I just wanted to ask what you all tend to do when it comes to caffeine. I don’t drink a lot of tea or coffee but I do enjoy my morning cuppa and the occasional coffee. Do people tend to avoid it all together when TTC or just limit intake?

When it comes to doing another IVF cycle, I think I’d definitely try to avoid it altogether and although the odds are against us conceiving naturally we still are ‘trying’ so I’m just wondering whether I should be giving it up completely. Any thoughts would be helpful.

xxx

[HelzBelzUK]

My clinic told me 200mg a day is fine which is usually one cup of coffee and one tea.

I don’t like tea so I tend to just have one coffee and then peppermint tea. Don’t forget other foods/drinks contain caffeine such as chocolate, green tea, some kombucha drinks and even decaf tea and coffee still contains caffeine! So it all adds up! I couldn’t survive without coffee in the morning haha Xx

[Hidden]

I gave it up completely while trying to conceive. I had one cup of peppermint a day, sometimes decaf coffee, and lots of decaf Yorkshire tea (the only decaf teabags I could find that didn’t taste watery and retained some tea flavour!) xx

[Hidden]

the recommendation is that you can take 200mg daily but I also fully gave up and switched to decaf but be careful choosing decafs you should only go for decafs that use water or carbon dioxide as a method of decaffeination as there are others that use chemicals in this process and are toxic for fertility.

I have decaf coffee in the morning and peppermint or decaf green tea for my tea in the evening.

[JA-fnuk Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Good idea to reduce caffeine intake so still have your daily coffee but use decaff instead of full strength coffee As post says no more than 200 mg daily Try some fruit teas [ but check labels as some may contain caffeine] or even lemon or lime in boiled water - very refreshing Remember caffeine is found in cans of cola and energy drinks

Take care

Janet-Partner

[Christianbaby]

I totally understand where you're coming from—caffeine can feel like such a comforting ritual, especially when you’re navigating the ups and downs of TTC. When I was in a similar boat, I decided to give it up completely. But I’ll be honest, there were definitely days when I felt like I needed that little moment of normalcy. On those days, I’d opt for decaf, and it really helped me still feel like I was treating myself without the worry.

Wishing you all the best on your journey. x

[HollyT7]

I’d give up completely. Last thing you want to do is give yourself any reasons to tell yourself it didn’t work if it didn’t work!

[Here4ivfinfo]

I drink decaffeinated coffee and tea x

[Vassi]

Were also trying naturally and I'm having decaf coffee and herbal tea but on days where I really need a boost I'll have a normal coffee. I was lucky enough to conceive naturally with my son and I was addicted to coffee back then, I'd have several a day. When I found out I was pregnant I cut back to one a day as I was told that was fine. It's hard not to over think everything on this journey isn't it. Good luck x

[Sweet_Chilli10]

Thank you all for the replies. It is so hard not to overthink it all, and I have given up so many other things that I really did not want to give up the normality of a cup of coffee during IVF cycles. This is all great advice though, thank you 😊 xx

[OnRoundEleven]

Hello.

Firstly, best of luck.

In answer to your question, my clinic recommended giving up all caffeine 3 months before starting IVF, and generally eating really healthily in those 3 months before (i.e. loads of vegetables, salads, berries and apples, unsalted nuts, fish, healthy fats like avocado, wholegrains, eggs, and natural yoghurt) . They did say that this was a strict approach - and others places do allow decaf etc, but they suggested if you wanted the most optimal chance, then it could help.

To be honest, any very minor chance of improving success rates, I will latch onto.

I hope it works for you.