am I right in understanding that in its continuing campaign to remove every source of pleasure from my life I should stop caffeine now that I have started methodrexate?
My registrar hasn't said anything about it but I seem to get the impression from what I have read on line that it can interfere with the efficacy?
I would appreciate your insights.
All the best
Bon
I still take tea and the odd coffee.xxxx
My son has panic attacks due to caffeine the get the caffeine free coffee beans and caffeine free tea the change in him is wonderful attacks gone in just six weeks think I will have a go at the tea I drink far too much
Sorry but i was told this as well and my consultant said if i was a high user MUST cut down as a normal user less is best. I did what he asked and cut from 4 or 5 coffees a day to 1 or 2 . Unfortunately my days with MTX ended soon after due to reactions so i cant comment on it working, sorry. I know exactly what you mean though how much can they take from you?.
Scholarly articles seem to say they have concluded that dietary caffeine intake has no effect on the effectiveness of methotrexate. I wouldn't worry. I drink 2 or 3 mugs of strong black brewed coffee a day!
The research I've read seems to show that "normal" caffeine intake is fine. Normal is a pretty vague term, but I've taken it to mean 3 cups a day..... I used to drink a lot more, and I have to say I feel better for cutting down.
I've never been told this. I've cut down on caffeine because I have rosacea that flares when I have too much caffeine, but I was on methotrexate for years before that and no one ever said caffeine was a problem. Get your pleasures where you can! 
If we believed everything written by experts we'd never get out of bed. So my view is that if coffee makes you happy drink it, perhaps go for caffeine free but really unless your drinking gallons of the stuff its hard to see how it can affect medications other than perhaps blood pressure types.
There's a molecule in your body called adenosine, which plays a part in several bio chemical processes eg sleep. Caffeine can block the way your body takes up this molecule - part of the reason for the stimulating effect of caffeine. No one is quite sure how methotrexate works but it does seem to have a link to adenosine. So the theory is that if caffeine is blocking the take-up of adenosine then it could also block methotrexate from working the way you want it to, ie reducing inflammation.
The practical studies on this are a bit inconclusive, so I guess it depends on how far you are prepared to go to help methotrexate work for you. Personally my RA was so awful that changing lifestyle to help the drugs along was a no-brainer for me as I was desperate for the drugs to work. But we each have to make our own choices according to our own priorities.
I drink a 'flat white' when out and coffee at home but sometimes have decaf as caffeine I have always been a bit sensitive to caffeine- makes me over active and grumpy. I take my med MTX with plenty of water and not a coffee.
I also enjoy ice cream on hot sunny days 😎
All the best
Ali
I'm on 17.5mg MTX & used to drink quite a lot of 'proper' coffee throughout the day, by that I mean grinding beans & making coffee under pressure with the Gaggia. Nowadays I limit myself to a mug with breakfast (half skimmed milk/half espresso) & one at around 11.30am. After lunch & dinner & whenever I want a hot drink I have mint tea though i do have a cup of Yorkshire tea with a teeny drop of milk at 5.30pm. Moderation is the key I think as far as caffeine & MTX is concerned & my Rheumy is ok with my daily intake. I do drink a lot of water throughout the day & I never drink caffeine-free soft drinks but I drink so little it would not make any difference to my daily amount.
I've never been told to limit my coffee intake. I drink about 3 mugs of coffee a day, fairly strong ones. Methotrexate was the first drug I took and it helped considerably ..... not quite enough but then there are doubts about how far the traditional DMARDs help PsA.
I think lifestyle changes are important, but they have to be sustainable, we have to make them willingly and with conviction. I don't tick all possible boxes but I do exercise a lot, I eat a really nutritious diet and I don't drink alcohol to excess. If my rheumy suggested I drink less coffee then I'd give it a go, but I enjoy coffee too much to give it up completely.
You can change your diet etc etc and you still have pain .just eat healthily and everything in moderation
I stopped using caffeine when diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation two years ago. Had an ablation last year but continue to drink decaffinated tea and coffee. Have had RA over 40 years and been on methotrexate for over 30 years, but was unaware of the link with caffeine. Seems that I am doing the right thing for both my AF and RA!
I have got used to decaffinated tea and coffee and quite happy with them. The capsules you can buy for the Nespresso machine make wonderful coffee and decaffinated coffee is freely available. We are in Portugal at the moment and everywhere has the option. Decaffinated tea is less widely available abroad so I always take my own. No big deal to be caffeine free.
Theres some really good decaffeinated teas and coffees out there now so its not the issue it once was! Im finding trying dairy free a tad more challenging! M x
I tried first using almond milk, then coconut milk and they both tasted so gross (to me) that I went straight to black coffee and I love it. I went through a spurt of blendering 1 tbsp of coconut oil into my coffee and it tastes like a greasy latte. Nice for a treat though.
Hi- I drink decaff tea and coffee now-since being on mtx. At first I had an horrendous headache for a few days! But fine now🤓If I do have the odd caffinated drink, I don't bat an eyelid. I would recommend M&S decaff tea and cafe noir decaff coffee 😊Btw - recently saw a tv programme where they 'proved' that drinking 3-4 coffees a day 'helps reduce inflammation! ' It made no difference whether it was caffinated or decaff 😊Make of that what you will...
And here was me trying to quit the stuff. 😀
Actually I have read that decaff isn't much better due to the chemicals used in the process of removing the caffeine.
There are decaff coffees available that don't use chemicals though (nespresso for example) and taste like proper coffee, but they tend to cost 💵💴💶💷
Not sure about tea. Rooiboss is supposed to be ok.
I used to drink a litre of coffee a day. No more. My main drink is green tea, which has caffeine.
Perhaps it depends on the individual person and how they cope with the drug. I knew about the no alcohol (or if you must, one small glass a week -ha ha, is it worth it?), but if I had to give up tea that would really be the end of all things for me, especially as I like it builders style! If you do give up, there are some yummy de-caf ones around now though, and rooibos is also no caffeine- I can recommend Tetley Redbush vanilla. Can't comment on coffee as I don't drink that unless I want terrible palpitations.
Never bothered me. Alcohol is another matter though.
Well folks I don't drink coffee and methotrexate does nothing for me! Are you sure it said DONT drink coffee? I might start drinking it to see if it has reverse effect on me. I take everything l read and hear with a big pinch of salt (not too big tho). Today on the news they are saying alcohol is responsible for most cancer now! I drink rarely.. Just odd glass of wine when out to dinner...I got breast cancer! Just enjoy what you enjoy within moderation obviously. Its all pretty random in my opinion. I am vegetarian and hardly drink and don't smoke. I eat a mainly healthy diet. And I still hurt! 
Nobody told me to stop drinking coffee....
Coffee Time
CBD coffee
Getting a cup of coffee... 
Methotrexate and Tea
