My (formerly) beloved cuppa.

[puncturedbicycle]

Another blog about coffee and T4 inspired me to ask: have you suddenly just stopped loving a favourite food or drink?

A quick google indicates that this can happen with hypoT and I was wondering if anyone else here had experienced it.

I used to drink a LOT of tea (have been drinking it since childhood) and loved nothing more than three strong cups (milk, one small sugar) every morning. A few years ago I stopped taking sugar, which was fine, though tea was never again quite as compelling as it used to be. I started to suffer from the caffeine, so I added some decaf tea which tasted kind of bitter, so I had to make it weaker than I was used to. Eventually I found I could tolerate just a weak tea so I gave up using the decaf (which never tasted right anyway). The problem is that it it still didn't taste good whether I made it weak or strong or however I made it and eventually I switched, for the first time in my life, to daily morning coffee.

This sounds like the world's most boring story! But my point is, drinking tea was part of my identity. Sometimes a good cup of tea would feel like a soothing balm on my soul! I used to bring it with me when I was going to visit my in-laws, who are 'non-tea' people and their tea is always old and stale. I had a particular way of making it, was very fussy about it, rarely ordered it out as it's hard to get a good cup of tea out, etc. Then over a short period of time I have just stopped liking it at all.

Is this just a normal thing that happens sometimes? I expected to enjoy tea until the end of my days!

I don't know if it's relevant or not but I was diagnosed hypo a few years ago and am still struggling to feel well on T4.

[babycatcher7572]

Hiya

I have also been a huge tea drinker....and still am! I too used to love it very sugary but now take none but i am happy with this. We have had a very stressful 10 years and i 'believe' this stress is what may have caused my adrenal exhaustion and consequential thyroid disease. To help me cope, i drank 10-12 mugs a day and tea became an emotional crutch.....and it still is. I have now swapped to Tetley decaf (other brands are available!). They must have changed the formula because whereas i too used to notice a big difference in taste, i now cannot tell.

Dr P is now suggesting i do a diet allergy/intolerance exercise....by dropping one of the 6 main foods and drinks each week. One of these will be tea...but i donnot know how i will cope without that first mug of tea etc. I still feel and am undermedicated and feeling the pinch from this...tea makes me feel emotionally better. I worry about the tannin affecting absorption of supplements etc but i am not ready to give this up...i honestly donnot think i could (tried low tannin tea....eeeuurrgghh). And herbal/fruit tea makes me feel nauseous!

The only thing i cannot tolerate since being hypoT is the all important fruit...and i think thats down to my tired body craving sugar and carbs

K x x

[puncturedbicycle in reply to babycatcher7572]

babycatcher7572, I really feel for you. I've done an elimination diet and not having tea was the one thing I feared most. As you say, it is emotionally so meaningful. I've had relationships which never provided me with as much emotional gratification as tea, lol.

I found hot water really helpful. I know that sounds odd but the heat alone must be responsible for a good deal of that lovely feeling. I use not quite half boiling to a little more than half room temp water. It needs to be just about scalding but 'gulpable' for me - I don't want to be so hot that I have to sip it, I want it to be just hot enough so it feels nice and hot going down.

I don't like fruit teas either, but can you tolerate rooibos tea, or natural herbals like fresh mint or cardamom, or there is a tea made from cocoa nibs - ? They won't be anything like what you're used to but they will be hot and aromatic and it might be enough to get you through it. Another thing I keep hearing about is turmeric tea which you can have with or without milk. I don't know if you'll be giving up dairy too. During my elimination diet I also drank a roasted barley powder drink from the health food shop. It tasted a little like cheap instant coffee, but it was close enough to something familiar to give me some comfort.

Good luck! When I did it it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and it is always interesting to give up something for a while to see how life is without it. xx

[babycatcher7572 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Thank you for your suggestions...yes i tried Rooibos...quite pricey and horrid too! I thought it had an aroma of 'ashtray' yak! I think half the problem is that i dont want to give it up....i dont do anything else....drink, smoke etc. A tricky time ahead! lol

[puncturedbicycle in reply to babycatcher7572]

Oh dear, yes, I know what you mean. I thought it tasted like smoked mackerel tea! I'll never forget staying at a friend's house and we drank a bit too much and then next morning all he had was rooibos and I was desperately in need of that first cup of hangover tea, ugh. It must be over 15 years ago when that happened and I still remember the horror!

Having said that, my husband had norovirus last month and he drank loads of rooibos, so it really suits some people.

Don't worry, you'll find a way to do it, and it feels good just doing something nurturing and caring for yourself, which is why you're trying that diet.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to babycatcher7572]

Hi again. Can you please check your messages when you have a mo? I PMd you. x

[paul211]

hi im paul been hypo 2 years now on 200 mg levo per day i two was tea drinker all my life sudenly 12 months ago went to dentist for check up .then took a dislike to tea never drank it again .lol

[puncturedbicycle in reply to paul211]

How strange! Is that because they told you off for the staining it causes? Lol.

[paul211 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

i guess u may be right tea dose stain .on coffee now . no stains so far gave up smoking aswell about a week ago . so fingers crossed for me lol. only downside is coffee more exspensive than tea lol

[puncturedbicycle in reply to paul211]

Wow, congrats on giving up smoking! I feel like it's the best thing I ever did for myself. I used to use up a lot of energy feeling bad about it. I hope it changes your life for the better. I remember after giving up I seemed suddenly to have loads of change everywhere because I was no longer feeding it into machines.

[mg51]

Hi - this made me laugh, I had never put this down to the fact I was hypo just that I had gone off milk in Tea....now I take it very weak and black.....I wonder if it is connected in some way, especially as some of us have gone off it......let me know if you do find out.....

[puncturedbicycle in reply to mg51]

I can't remember what the google search was, but I entered something about changing tastes and hypoT and there were lots of people who went through this. I feel like my taste is a bit blunted too. And I used to have a sweet tooth but not really any more, though that could be after cutting back on sugar for the last four years or so.

[Stourie in reply to puncturedbicycle]

I wish I could get rid of my sweet tooth. Its virtually impossible and I always give in to the craving.

Jo xx

[TraceyLE]

Sorry to be different, but I used to be a massive tea and coffee drinker. Since being diagnosed I can't bear coffee any more, unless its a milky latte when I am out. Still drinking my pint mug of tea about 10 times a day and will never give it up :o)

[nightingale-56]

The only time I go off tea is when I am ill and I did when I was expecting my daughter. Thought I'd never like it again, but as soon as she was born it was the first thing I asked for and relished. While this was happening I drunk hot lemon barley water as I'm not one for cold drinks. Coffee is the first thing I go off though if I am ill.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to nightingale-56]

I can understand going off coffee but not tea somehow. Like you I like hot drinks and I have lots of hot water throughout the day to stop me having too much caffeine.

[Starfish123]

Hi,

I was a tea drinker to start with, then coffee, then tea while pregnant. Back to coffee for years and years till last pregnancy when only tea would do and 9 years on its still tea.

For whatever reason I did not like my favourite drink and changed but I don't think I'll change again as I can't tolerate coffee anymore, headaches and don't feel in control.

Interesting though.

[judburke]

I stopped drinking Coca cola for Lent nearly 4 weeks ago and its the best thing I have done! I have had underactive Thyroid for 14 years and have not felt great for a few years. Stopping drinking Cola hasn't cured everything but I am now getting a great nights sleep and am getting out of bed much easier in the morning which feels wonderful Am never drinking it again

[puncturedbicycle in reply to judburke]

It can be a shock when you realise how much caffeine you're consuming. I accidentally decaffed myself once (I bought decaf tea by mistake and drank it for two days before I realised). I had a vice-like headache which would not respond to painkillers, and ended up having a four-hour nap in the afternoon because I literally could not stay vertical. It was quite an eye-opener.

[janiebell]

Ha! So weird to read this post this morning as this is exactly what has happened to me albeit for diff reasons. The idea of giving up my morning tea ritual - real leaves, warmed teapot and and china teacup, organic milk - was an anathema to me. Like you i took my own tea, teapot away with me and never bothered to order while i was out and about as i was so fussy. Recent stressful events made me really start thinking about my adrenals. I decided to cut down on caffeine but the idea of decaf tea, yuck! Then I read that you could decaf your own tea (only tastes good if you use loose tea leaves) by pouring a little boiling water onto the leaves, counting to 40 and then pouring away the water. Add more boiling water and you have at least 80 percent less caffeinated tea. It is obviously less strong but you still have decent tasting tea. Then, because I'm hashi I've been looking at what may be triggering my immune response so I've also given up gluten and dairy. Must say, I feel so much better for it. So now I have black, Darjeeling tea that I've decaffed myself. I would never have believed I could do it.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to janiebell]

That's so clever!

[vajra]

I found myself with my gut struggling more and more to tolerate tea or coffee over the years when I was seriously hypo - and despite being in fairly decent health now that has broadly continued.

I gave up milk and sugar years ago (two very dodgy foods in my book), and while it helped in a more general sense it didn't really resolve the toleration issue.

As in I can drink a cup of either now and then, but it doesn't taste like it used to - and it upsets my gut. (causes acidity) Sometimes it's nice...

Not sure what's happened on the taste. Maybe its changed, maybe the years of caution have convinced my subconscious that I don't like it, or maybe the stuff has changed.

[paul211]

good morning all i see we are all tea belly free lol

[moonlily]

Hi there I too went off tea and have tried lots of herbal teas and didn't like most of them, but the best one I drink is ginger tea, as it warms as it goes down and even better with a spoonful of honey instead of sugar. Also orange barley with warm water is quite nice if you like sweet things. Well done for giving up smoking give yourself a gold star.

[Clarebear]

I was a tea addict prior to my hypoT diagnosis. When I was first diagnose one of my worst symptoms was anxiety, so I decided to cut out caffeine and see if this made a difference. I don't think it did, but during the month that I was testing it, I started to drink peppermint tea instead. Now I only want to drink this and just don't fancy normal tea at all!! Not sure why this is xx

BTW I tried the same experiment with alcohol too, but sadly haven't gone off that at all

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Clarebear]

Yes, alcohol remains moreish for me too!

[Petronella]

I used to drink gallons of coffee in the morning, and of tea later in the day - both very weak, lots of milk. Then I went off coffee when I was first pregnant; it was a sort of diagnostic feature! I went back to drinking it after my son was born. After two or three miscarriages I happily had a second successful pregnancy, but never went back to liking coffee. I still drink lots of tea.... I don't think becoming hypo. has lessened my taste for it at all!

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Petronella]

That's funny! Pregnancy has all kinds of odd legacies. My sister's hair grew in wavy when it had been straight before.

For me, it was the oddest thing because I've always always had to have tea in the morning and suddenly tea tasted foul and I decided I'd have coffee and it was like I'd lost some defining feature of my identity, without being too melodramatic about it.

I do have to keep an eye on caffeine because even a little extra can make me a bit crazy. My morning coffee is 3/4 decaf and a scant 1/4 regular, but the decaf is so nice you can't tell the difference.

[Duchy82]

My worst times are when i go off food altogether, im hungry but dont fancy anything, the only thing i end up eating is junk which doesnt do the diet any good. I dont think i willbever go off tea but i have never liked coffee (i suspect ive been hypo since childhood though but not diagnosed until a few years ago

[puncturedbicycle in reply to Duchy82]

Yes, this happens to me too, though if I don't fancy anything I can often persuade myself to have an apple or something if it's just to quell the hunger. I could not have anticipated going off tea - I was practically weaned on it! It tastes more normal to me now but I have not started drinking it in the mornings again.