COFFEE eases tx sides? huh?

[catmagic0406]

Has anyone read this?  I read in a few places that ppl who drink a few cups of coffee a day do not experience such severe side effects.... AND that if they have been drinking it like forever that they don't seem to have as many "liver issues".  As to the latter - baloney - HepC is HepC - ain't no coffee gonna stop that in its tracks.  But during treatment?  I thought that we had to say away from caffeine - coffee and cola.  I actually read this in some medical websites, but it really doesn't seem.... right.  I will ask the doc, but...

Thoughts?  

[chuckles333]

Coffee is the miracle drug. But don't tell everyone. The price will go through the roof. It has also been proven to help prevent heart disease.

From USA today:

"The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, examines the relationship between coffee and mortality. It is based on the coffee drinking habits of 41,736 men and 86,216 women with no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. The men were followed for 18 years, the women for 24 years.

The results show that as coffee consumption increases, the overall risk of death decreases. The association is explained mostly by a decrease in CVD deaths, Lopez-Garcia says. Women who drank two to three cups of coffee a day, for instance, had a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease than non-drinkers."

[catmagic0406]

So since I don't know if I read that it helped with the sides, now I DO know that it helps with liver health.  Even with my liver in this condition it can't hurt to learn to drink the stuff.  My thing is sugar, as I've written here.  Coffee is bitter, acidic and nasty - to me.  But... I'm goin' for it.

[catmagic0406]

Oh, and folks, I am receiving VERY sporadic notices that I have responses, so I'm sorry I haven't been here.  I just got a notice this morning! that there were messages - 4 days after they were posted.

Reset something?

[catmagic0406]

Oh, sorry, I have no idea where I read that coffee eases side effects.  And maybe that's not exactly what it said.  But for sure it was about coffee's role in liver health and HepC.  Sorry I don't have it.  When I google I am a mad woman flying around the internet.

[catmagic0406]

And my, my - just read your whole post again.  I am the one who was all whacked out about steotosis a couple weeks ago.  And now I read THIS.  All this years, 40 years of this virus enjoying its ride inside my liver, and I hated coffee so didn't drink it.  Ah, well (shake head):

HIGH COFFEE INTAKE IS ASSOCIATED TO LOWER GRADE OF HEPATIC STEATOSIS. THE ROLE OF PERIPHERAL ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY

Okay, I am going to put ice cream in coffee and start drinking it.  (Haven't started tx yet - biopsy next week)

[catmagic0406]

Thanks for all the great answers.  Since I had read about its benefits to the liver in a couple of places, I thought I'd ask you guys about it.  I have never in my life drunk coffee.  I've tried it; I can't stand it.  If I loaded up enough sugar and milk and even cocoa (like they do in Europe) I can tolerate it, but it's the coffee itself that appears to be beneficial.  However, if it might help with the sides I am willing to choke it down.  Guess the half and half won't hurt me, and that would make it more palatable.  

Wish I had know this years ago - or at least since dx 10 years ago.  I am kinda sure my doc. isn't gonna be up on this.  Docs tend to not want us to google and scare ourselves - but we have to be proactive - it's OUR disease.  Of course, that said, there is a whole lot of misinformation out there.  And that is why anything I read I will bring to this forum.  

[BoceprevirGal]

I wish we only had to drink 2 cups of coffee, to see results, 3 cups is just too much for me, now that I'm older.
   I try to get the organic coffee by the way, and I use half and half, my bad habit, but it brings out the flavor for me, more then just whole milk. Never any sugar added though. This is how I was raised, and my mother has the same habit, and I associate it with her, and comfort, etc.
  On a side-note, I always suffered from terrible nausea (morning sickness) during the first trimester of my pregnancies, and my coffee habit (and hard-boiled eggs) always settled my stomach.
  So, my Gastro Doctor does agree it helps protect my liver, and my Treatment Doctor (Internal Medicine and Addiction Psychiatrist) isn't impressed.
  And like Karen above noted, each of us has different medical histories, and coffee does make for various problems, caffeine is a potent chemical

[crossroadsec]

I had nausea w/ coffee during tx. It's easy to want to prop yourself up physically with caffeine.
It's important for cirrhostics to keep blood pressure low AND avoid acidic stomach. Both of those contribute to varices and bleed outs. I wasn't aware of this n thought I'd pass on what I learned. Karen :)

[1swimmer]

I'm on wk. 6 o tx. Also starting 2nd week of Vic. So far, not too many problems with bad taste in my mouth. I drink a couple of huge mugs of very strong coffee every morning. Overall I feel pretty good. Love my coffee; it was the first thing I researched when I discovered I had hep C. Whew!!
C

[flcyclist]

Following are a few links to coffee reducing the side effects of tx.  The links are to the same French study done last year with HIV-HCV coinfected individuals.  

Several performance benefits are attributed to caffeine including fatigue reduction and improvements in mental concentration and alertness which are often impaired in patients receiving HCV treatment. These results, obtained in an observational cohort in a population affected by a double viral infection clearly underline the multiple benefits which caffeine may have for HCV-infected receiving PEG-IFN + Ribavirine and suggest an easy and inexpensive approach for side-effects relief and potentially assure continuity of treatment.

http://www.aidsimpact.com/2011/Academics/Programme/abstract/?id=81

People drinking three or more cups of coffee a day were 81% less likely to report discomforting side-effects than people reporting none. The likelihood of reporting side-effects decreased by one-third (33%) between each category of coffee consumption (i.e. occasional drinkers had 33% fewer side-effects than non-drinkers, patients drinking one cup a day had 33% fewer than occasional drinkers, and so on).

http://mobile.aidsmap.com/Coffee-consumption-reduces-side-effects-in-people-on-hepatitis-C-treatment/page/2074096

[Bali05]

It helped me big time functioning during day after countless insomnia plagued nights.

[nygirl7]

I've never seen it said that it eases side effects, just that it's protective to our liver."

Ditto I have never heard about it easing sides either.

[orphanedhawk]

You're right, in all the many articles I've read supporting coffee's benefits, I've never seen it said that it eases side effects, just that it's protective to our liver.

As a side note, when at the hospital in Taiwan, speaking with liver doctors from Europe and Asia, the one thing they all agreed on was the benefits of drinking coffee.

[Idyllic]

I see in the articles where coffee supports liver function in cirrhosis as well as possibly attaining SVR whilst treating Hepatitis C but seemed to overlook the article where coffee eases the side effects (while treating the virus)

Do you happen to have the link for the article about how coffee eases the side effects  I'm just curious if it is coffee per se or perhaps other caffeinated beverages such as green tea (or whatever) would apply.  :)

[FaithforHealing]

I am in a trial at a big hospital that has been doing trials for years. They told me to keep drinking coffee as it is proven to support treatment.

[scherpie]

O, sorry, I am still suff from the 48 weeks cure. I have not 1a but 3a. And I dronk coffie during the whole treatment. I was to tyerd, lazy, to put milk of suger in coffie so I dronk ik black. Now I put milk in it. I got used to drink it without sugger.

[scherpie]

I love coffie and I drink it my whole life.Because I am always tyerd I drink whery much coffie in hope to get some energy. Maby 6-8 cups a day or more. I always felt guilty abouth it because I thought that is not realy good for my liver. So I am happy to read this....
I have hep.C 1a for 35 years and no fybrosis. I drink never alcohol.

[AKHepper]

My stomach did NOT appreciate coffee at all when I was on tx.

[MeWithC]

I actually get forced by my body to drink X-amount of water during the day, otherwise, I would be dying of thirst all night & up all night sipping water  so.....it forces me to do it for myself.
It's a good system....Mother Nature...

[shayne50]

woo hoo!!!!!! I love coffee

[BoceprevirGal]

I actually think both those links are about the same study, the HALT-C study, which used 885 people. For some reason, my Hep Doctor wasn't impressed with the study, but I still think the coffee does make me feel better

[BoceprevirGal]

Hmmm,  I'm getting ready to read those articles posted up there.
    My own personal experience has been this:  coffee tends to take away my nausea and other weird feelings, like fatigue/depression, so I have a cup in the mornng, and sometimes onein the afternoon.
  But I make sure I drink a full cup of water before the coffee consumption,  and thru-out the day, I sip water also.
   Another good thing about the coffee is, I can put cream in it, and there has been research that shows that Ribavirin is better absorbed with some fat grams, and we know Incivek needs fat, so I load up on the cream, which always prevents weight loss!
  

[ceanothus]

I wish I could drink coffee on tx! I drank it regularly before tx, but ever since I started I'venot only become overly sensitive to anything that is bitter, but I also get a terribly upset stomach whenever I try to drink some coffee anyway. It seems kind of pathetic.

[orphanedhawk]

Don't ever stop drinking water ! We need lots of it during tx.
I had some with me always, and learned all the public restrooms as well.

Like you, I prefer my coffee black and strong ;)