Giving up caffeine for my IBS-D has made management harder.

[Briggsy0304]

So, while I was working I would drink coffee, as one of my worst symptoms was chronic fatigue & I just couldn't stay awake. Of course I'm aware that caffeine can be disruptive to say the least for the digestive system.

Anyway, I've been off work for a number of months now in order to really focus on managing my IBS.

I haven't had any caffeine for 3 months, however I'm finding management of my diarrhoea so much harder now.

When I was working, I'd get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee and "empty" my bowels, with a stool that sometimes would last an hour & giving me a period of 3-4 hours where I would feel as If I didn't need to have a bowel movement.

Since I've given up caffeine, I'm now in this weird constipated with diarrhoea state, where I badly need a bowel movement but not much happens, or I'll have a bowel movement that lasts 10 minutes & I'll still have heck of a lot more to come, but it just... doesn't & I pretty much have to wait around. Now I'm taking 5-6 bowel movements over a 3-4 hour period to get that feeling of emptiness.

Does anyone else experience this and what do people with IBS-D do around caffeine? I have no idea if I'm better off drinking it or not. For management of my IBS-D it's beneficial in the short term, but I'm not sure if it's doing more long term damage.

[Maureen1958]

Hi Briggsy, I would say go back to drinking your coffee, but you could drink decaf instead if you prefer. I have always drank coffee (or tea) in order to go to the toilet, even before I had IBS. In fact I have to have two mugs of a hot drink before I go now otherwise like you say, I start to go and then stop. I don't think its the caffeine but the fact that it's hot, and perhaps the coffee itself might have something to do with it too, but I find no difference between decaf coffee or ordinary coffee. Also I have to have it the correct temperature, if it's not hot enough it won't work properly either. I find coffee works better than tea even though the tea I drink has caffeine in it. In fact, I think I read once that there is more caffeine in tea than there is in coffee. I have tried caffeine free tea but it made no difference.

[Stuart24 in reply to Maureen1958]

Hi Maureen, only if the coffee is very weak. Typically, coffee is about 120 mg and tea is about 50 mg caffeine per mug. Decaf tea is good.

[Briggsy0304 in reply to Maureen1958]

Thanks Maureen. I think I'll stick to avoiding it for now in the hope that my gut calms down, but once I'm back at work I'll just go back on it. I need coffee as it gives me that energy boost. I do agree with Stuart, coffee generally has more caffeine then tea.

[Stuart24]

Hi Briggsy, have you tried Bimuno? It is £10 per box, but it is worth a try. It helps to stabilize colon behaviour by feeding good bacteria. I find it really good. Cheers, Stuart

[Briggsy0304 in reply to Stuart24]

I'm currently trying different probiotics for a similar result, but I'll certainly add this to the "to try" list.

[Iesgobdafydd]

I had IBS that was caused not by stress but by TMJ. I've been working on the TMJ for over a year now and the IBS symptoms cleared up months ago apart from occasional brief pains. The chronic fatigue is very much still with me, and I drink a lot of green tea (with caffeine in) to help me cope with it, though thankfully I am no longer getting ill every time a virus comes within arm's length of anyone in the family. I'm wondering whether you think your IBS is caused by stress or food intolerances, or if it could like mine be caused by TMJ. It's always hard to sense exactly what's going on inside the body but I think from what I've experienced that maybe overtightened connective tissue can cause constrictions in the gut and/or bowel that reduce motility. If you're having trouble passing even loose stools, it sounds like there must be something stopping them coming out. However something else I've become aware of during this process is that tight connective tissue in my bowel area when it presses in particular ways causes sensations like needing to pass a stool, even when there's nothing there to pass. Working on loosening the connective tissue in the area can suddenly make the sensations disappear completely. Regarding caffeine, my view (based on my experience rather than reading the science) is that using caffeine gives a burst of energy but it works by drawing on the body's reserves. There are times when I am ill, usually with a virus, when I stop craving caffeine even if I've been in the habit of drinking quite a lot of tea. My system knows it needs to rest and doesn't want to be prodded into action. I take this as an indication that it's ok to drink it when I do feel like I want it. However I'm very open to other views and evidence on the subject.

[Briggsy0304 in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

Thanks for the reply.

I've been sick for many many years & I don't think my IBS is caused my stress of diet, they do affect it but are not the root cause.

Sorry, what do you mean by TMJ, is that the condition to do with jaw pain / discomfort?

[Iesgobdafydd in reply to Briggsy0304]

Yes it's a condition that typically causes jaw pain but in my case it didn't and rather slowly built up worse and worse over the years till it was causing fatigue, IBS, and back pain if I stood without moving much for any length of time. I did get early warning signs years ago in the form of occasional aching above a tooth that had had dental surgery, which I thought wasn't worth bothering a doctor about, and pain & numbness on one side of one big toe near the corner of the nail, which I thought was an ingrown toenail but again didn't bother getting checked out, also recurring sore throats early in the day which didn't last or develop into colds. The connective tissue all round my body seems to have gotten involved, although the source of the problem is near the tooth that had the surgery.

[Briggsy0304 in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

I'm glad you found the root cause of your problem. I'm certainly going to look more into TMJ. The last few years I've been grinding my teeth in my sleep & my dentist gets me to wear a gumshield.

I always look at it as a symptom of my gut health, but not the other way round.

[Maureen1958]

I, like you, feel my IBS is the cause of the pains I get in my mouth. I clench my teeth when I am in pain with the IBS (which I am a lot) and it seems to be having an effect by way of pains in my teeth and gums now. I was thinking I should talk to my dentist about it next time to go.

[Briggsy0304 in reply to Maureen1958]

Definitely speak to your dentist. My dentist told me I'm grinding my teeth in my sleep & has given me a gumshield which has saved my teeth. It's treating a symptom rather then the root cause, but I'm happy to wear the gumshield for the time being! I wear it every night I sleep now.

[Maureen1958 in reply to Briggsy0304]

Yes, I will mention it. You get so many different things which you think are related to the IBS and then when you mention it to people they just look at you like your mad!

[Briggsy0304 in reply to Maureen1958]

Yeah, dentist and doctors focus on individual symptoms. When you suffer from gas, pain, bloating, nausea, changes in stool, back paim, fatigue, skin issies, teeth grinding & god knows what else then you need to look at the bigger picture!

[Maureen1958 in reply to Briggsy0304]

So true. I have been having a strange feeling in my ear of late. I'm sure that is also related to the IBS via the mouth problem but when I mentioned it to my doctor she just looked at me like she does. She did look in the ear though and said everything was okay, so I guess that put my mind at rest that it was just the IBS!