green tea

[Winner76]

Hi guys,

Does anyone drink green tea. I have colitis and it’s suppose to be good for that but not advised for kidney patients . My gut gives me more problems than my kidney does. I’m 4 years post transplant and have stable blood pressure.

[Bassetmommer]

Can't answer that because we do not know your medical history. Caffeinated green tea has less then black teas, but can still cause issues. It can mess with blood thinners also. So just check. The pluses for green tea are really great.

[StillKickingIt]

I recently read an article on this site that indicated green tea has an interaction with tacrolimus (Prograf). It was a link but you can do a search on this site. Other foods like ginger and turmeric were also listed.

[TeacherMommy in reply to StillKickingIt]

I recently read that about ginger and turmeric, but haven’t done more research on these. Anyone been told to avoid ginger and/or turmeric or have a good source of info to pass along? Thanks!

[LisaSnow]

I would ask your transplant center dietitian if the medications you are taking may adversely interact with active compounds in green tea. In general, black tea and coffee are safe but green tea can cause certain medications to be metabolized differently if you drink a large amount.

[StillKickingIt]

Found the link_controversial interactions of tacrolimus ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Winner76 in reply to StillKickingIt]

Thank you

[LavenderRabbit]

Wow, no one told me about any problems with green tea. I drink a lot of it. Then I don’t take Tacrolimus.

All they told me was don’t eat or drink pomegranate or grapefruit. Also, don’t eat anything raw. Who knew?

[BlurpleIsBest]

Just a comment to say I'm really sorry about your colitis. I've been there and it's challenging to deal with. Mine was caused by Myfortic but the effects still linger occasionally even years after stopping it. I'd been on Myfortic for decades (well, first Cellcept for about 6-7 years then Myfortic for another 15) until it started causing me problems (Myfortic-induced colitis is a thing). So I'm curious, do you take Myfortic by any chance? Or is your colitis a separate thing from anything related to your kidney transplant?

[Winner76 in reply to BlurpleIsBest]

Hi,

I stopped myfortic 3 months after transplant because of the BK virus and never went back on it. I was diagnosed with colitis around 2 years after transplant, I don’t really know what caused it I also have steroid induced diabetes. The colitis is dreadful .

[BlurpleIsBest in reply to Winner76]

Dreadful is the right word. I've had immunosuppressant-related IBS for many years but colitis is a new level of awful. At this point any little bit of stress causes a flare-up. It's amazing how quickly my GI system reacts. I feel like I'm always trying different ways to keep things calm and then stop flare-ups when they happen.

I also had prednisone-induced diabetes post-transplant but it resolved.

I'll be crossing my fingers these two issues resolve for you over time. Take care.

[Winner76 in reply to BlurpleIsBest]

I hear you! I get quite anxious so I seem to get a flare up everytime there’s an occasion coming up or a holiday . And all these things that are suooose to be great for our gut we’re not allowed to have. It’s so frustrating. Anyway we keep on going 😅

Thank you and I wish you well

[TeacherMommy in reply to Winner76]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope all settles down for both of you!

Interesting to hear you say that stress sets things off for you. I was very stressed by some big storms we had recently, very hot weather, etc. The next few days I had either a stomach bug (vomiting and diarrhea) or something else causing the stomach issues. My husband wondered if it was related to feeling anxious, but I just assumed I had picked up something.

I often wonder when I don’t feel well if it is a cold/flu, caused by medication, or some other transplant-related thing. I guess it is another level of uncertainty that transplant patients just have to accept.

Be well everyone!

[littlelinda50]

I drink green tea a lot and I don't have any problems. I am post op 5 years. I was never told no green tea. I love tea!