Help!! I cant give up Coffee!!

[Jessica623]

Hi all,
I love coffee and I drink it all day long is that bad while on treatment? what can happen if I don't stop drinking it.

Geno 2b
Tx for 24 wks
Week 1 now
21 yrs

[Jessica623]

Can coffee really lower your chances of liver diease? or liver cancer?

[mremeet]

If you stop drinking it, you might get tired. That's "what can happen." I LOVE coffee and drink it all time (although I didn't want it during my treatment). It's also been found to be good for your liver, so drink up (within reason of course) and find something else to worry about.

[PSP-n-Me]

I have low BP and my Doc recommends I drink coffee - not by the potfuls but a couple cups a day

Drinking coffee all day long while on Ribavirin may make it hard to sleep at night...But surely a few cups a day won't hurt you - But you should ask your Doctor about it - Beth

[jmjm530]

I had to stop drinking coffee on treatment, not because it's "bad" but because it irritated my GERD (reflux).

Now that I'm off treatment, I have a few cups daily. Not only isn't coffee bad for your liver, but a couple of recent studies suggest it's good for the liver and perhaps even may cut the risk of liver cancer.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19052817/    

That said, coffee plus riba could get you a bit 'wired' but you can play that by ear.

-- Jim

[nygirl7]

I love coffee and drank it all through treatment.  Some mornings it hurt my stomach though and gave me heart burn and that is kind of hard because we can't take antacids...but I couldn't ever give itup.  No way.

As lethargic as we get on treatment - we NEED that jolt to get going and be able to make it in to work! :))  Go for it!

[PSP-n-Me]

I didn't know we weren't supposed to take antacids while on tx????  I take tums daily YIKES!!!!!

[Susie2007]

I don't know who told you we can't take antacids. Can you show us something written about that? In all my years of attending conferences and seminars that has never once been mentioned.

[GrandmaA]

Dr. Zhang said one cup of coffee in the morning would not hurt your liver. But not to drink more than that.

I had no trouble giving up coffee because it played havoc with my bowels. I switched to those very small cans of Pepsi and now I have osteoporosis of the right side of neck.

Now I'm off all caffine.

[marsfreek]

coffee is the food of the gods and stopping would be a sacrelidge of the highest order. I shiver to think what the possoble results would be.

[jmjm530]

Antacids can affect the absorption of many drugs, including ribavirin. I was told not to take them within 2-3 hours of the riba. This would not be the case with PPI's like Nexium or H-2 inhibitors like Pepsid AC, although Pepsid Complete contains both a PPI and an antacid.

Here are a couple of blurbs although they usually do say somewhere that the clinical significance is unknown. That means it probably hasn't been specifically studied. In any event, most GI's prefer either PPI's or H-2 pumps for chronic use although I'm sure there are exceptions. Botttom line is I wouldn't worry much looking back but something for folks to consider moving forward, especially if not getting the response they are looking for.

"If you are taking ribavirin capsules, tell your doctor if you are taking antacids. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects."
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a605018.html

"Both area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) and Cmax increased by 70% when ribavirin capsules were administered with a high-fat meal in a single-dose pharmacokinetic study. There are insufficient data to address the clinical relevance of these results. Ribavirin capsules taken with an antacid containing magnesium, aluminum, and simethicone resulted in a 14% decrease in mean ribavirin AUC.[52][53]"
http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/DrugsNew/DrugDetailT.aspx?int_id=28

[jmjm530]

Here's some general advice (non-riba specific) from a Gastro at Mayo. I think he says it well:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antacids/AN01373

All said, I think it important to run by our liver doctors all OTC drugs/suplements we put in our mouth, especially when treating.
-----------------------------------------------

Antacids: A cause of drug interactions?

Antacids can interact with many medications. A drug interaction occurs when one drug interferes with another drug. This can alter the way one or both drugs work or cause unexpected side effects.

Medications known to interact with antacids include:

    * Antibiotics, such as tetracyclines or quinolones (Levaquin, Cipro)
    * Antifungals, such as itraconazole (Sporanox)
    * Digoxin (Lanoxin), a medication used to treat congestive heart failure
    * Iron supplements

To reduce or prevent drug interactions with antacids, it is generally recommended that you take antacids at least one hour before or two hours after other medications. Tell your doctor if you take antacids on a regular basis, since they may interact with other medications you are taking.

[Jessica623]

Well now i can tell my B/F to stop bugging me about drinking coffee. Thanks all this was helpful!

[PSP-n-Me]

just don't drink alcohol :)

[susan400]

Susie,  I'd heard the thing about antacids before, too, but I don't remember who had origianally told me it.

I couldn't handle drinking coffee on any of my treatments because it made me too nauseated.  Off of treatment, I drink it though.  But, usually no more than 2 cups in the morning, because if I drink it later than that, I can't sleep a wink at night.

Susan

[Susie2007]

Thanks for the info. It does make sense. I wonder why I haven't heard any of the docs talk about this.

[R Glass]

Ditto on the info. This is the first that I have heard about Ant-Acids and Tx.  I go through Rolaids like candy.

[jmjm530]

Surprised your doc hasn't prescribed a PPI like Nexium or an H-2 pump like Pepsid Complete. Less antacid 'rebound' etc, not to mention they work better.

You might want to check this out or google GERD (chronic heartburn) and see what is recommended. In most cases, the recommendation is for the stronger and more protective drugs mentioned above. I'm not talking about occasional antacid use but your statement about going through them like "Candy". Of course, if it's just on treatment when this is happening, then hopefully your hearburn will resolve on it's own after treatment.

http://tinyurl.com/23mh5w

FWIW, I had really bad heartburn (GERD) on tx, was scoped, and it turned out I had a mild form of Barrett's which is a pre-cancerous condition.

[jmjm530]

Meant to say "Pepcid AC" not "Pepsid Complete". Pepsid Complete contains an antacid, Pepcid AC does not -- just H-2 pump.

[R Glass]

  It's my fault because I have never thought to discuss my heartburn with him. On the other hand, he never asked and that is what he is paid to do.
Thanks again for the information. I have found that if you sift through enough rocks occasionally you find a nugget.

[jmjm530]

I wouldn't sweat it too much because if you got a good viral response, then I assume enough riba got through, and again we're only talking a relatively small per cent with an unknown clinical significance. But moving forward, do bring up your hearburn issue and maybe your doc will think PPI's like Nexium or H-2 Pumps like Pepcid AC are indicated. In fact, sometimes they are taken in conjunction with antacids. I know I did some antacids on tx but always spaced away from my riba. But then again I was pretty neurotic with the riba while treating.

-- Jim

[R Glass]

Actually this is perfect Timing. I start Tx Nov. 9th

[jmjm530]

OK. Then def try and get the hearburn under control prior to treating as treatment can make it worse. I started with minor hearburn prior to treatment (pre-tx stress probably) and it turned into something terrible during treatment. Ask doc about PPI's and/or H-2 Pumps. Sometimes they're even taken in tandem -- PPI in the morning. H-2 pump at night.

-- Jim

[l-horn]

If you can't stop clearly you can handle it. It won't hurt you on tx. There is no reason to stop, barring the sx issues caffiene can cause. I stopped drinking coffee on tx because of taste but I drank plenty of soft drinks with caffeine. When you can't stand coffee any more, then I suspect you'll stop drinking it.

[ladybug52]

Good luck with the tx and continuing coffee. I was unable to drink it on tx, but the riba jolted my system and gave me the hot sweaty feeling I get from the hot drink + caffeine.
It irritated my stomach too much. Jim and I are a little older than you so our stomachs are not quite as strong!
Bug