Please tell me coffee is okay to drink!

[IrishGirl]

On all the forums I hear about the exhaustion, tiredness and overwhelming fatigue due to anemia, diet, fluid shifts, etc.  I am still in the testing stages but I have to say I have that already if I dont counter it with coffee. Keep in mind I get up daily at 5:00 a.m. and get home at 4 and work full time. But if I find I have the disease that the rest of the family has, and I need to eventually do dialysis and modify my diet, lifestyle, etc...can I still drink coffee? It sounds silly but I have a cup when I get up, another on the way to work, 2 cups when I get home and we sometimes drink it up until bedtime. I would have no energy without it, period. Do I have to give up my coffee as well if I am on dialysis?
And, can the hemo people have it at all to help counter their fatigue? I know it constricts the blood vessels in some areas of the body and dilates in others, and it acts at first as a diuretic and then later it does dry out the kidney in the center. But I would think a cup of coffee might go a long ways? Its probably a stupid question but I know so little about renal disease and the lifestyle at this point. 

[KT0930]

I would not drink it in the quantities you seem to, only because if you get to the point of dialysis, you will be put on a fluid restriction. I did PD, so my fluid and diet were not quite as restricted, but I drank between 8 and 24 oz a day with no apparent problems.

As far as helping with the fatigue, though, I'm not sure how much it'll help. The fatigue in ESRD is due to way more than simply not enough sleep, and I don't think coffee helps with the electrolyte imbalances, anemia, and build-up of fluid that seem to be the main culprits.

[thegrammalady]

i have never been told i can't have coffee, and i do drink it occasionally. However you must include it in your fluid intake and with the amount you're drinking now you wouldn't be able to drink anything else. people who have a large fluid retention between dialysis treatments  have a hard time during dialysis. all that caffeine isn't really good for anyone.

[stauffenberg]

Coffee is not permitted for hemodialysis patients because of the toxins in the extract from coffee beans.  It also acidifies the body, which is exactly what is not wanted in cases of renal failure. Tea is allowed, however, and does have some caffeine, though less per gram than coffee.  Also those soft drinks which do not contain phosphorus (which usually corresponds to those drinks which are not dark, though always check the label for the exact ingredients), are allowed up to the limit of the fluid intake restrictions, and most of these contain caffeine, with some even having more caffeine per gram than coffee.  If all else fails, you can also buy tablets which contain pure caffeine, though these are less enjoyable to swallow than coffee, tea, or some soft drink.

The ultimate problem is, however, that given the severely anemic state in which dialysis patients are required to live because of the inability of EPO safely to raise hemoglobin levels to normal, exhaustion is unavoidable, even if you take caffeine. 

[twirl]

I never drink coffee but the staff hands out coffee to our patients, ice, coffee, or ice water. They have tea but will not fix it.
In Durgano, Colorado they hand out coffee and different kinds of fruit juice. I have never been told not to drink coffee.
coke is a different story

[rose1999]

In my Dad's unit (UK) coffee is a definite no - for the reasons Stauffenberg has outlined.

[MiSSis]

I'm a PD patient and I asked my dietitian specifically about coffee.  I do drink decaffeinated by choice but she said there's no problem for me and coffee.  I'm also fortunate enough to be able to drink diet Pepsi and not have problems with phosphorus (we can't figure out why this is but I'm not complaining!).  I don't have a fluid restriction per se but try to keep my fluids in the 40 oz. range on the advice of my neph.  Luckily I still pee a little so maybe that helps me have a little higher fluid range to work with.

Like others have mentioned, you'd probably have to cut back on the amount of coffee you drink and it sounds like the type of dialysis you choose may also have an impact on whether or not you can have it at all.

[Chris]

While I was on dialysis, I could drink regular coffee with non dairy creamer. They would give me either a 4 oz or an 8 oz cup during dialysis, which they figured into taking off. After having a transplant though, I was told I can only drink decaf products due to causing high blood pressure and putting extra work on the kidney. If I drank a caffienated drink, I would have to double up the amount of a decaf drink or water.
So don't worry about not having coffee, just the amount you can have when it comes time for dialysis. Which was hard at first for me because I am a big coffee drinker over anything else.

[rookiegirl]

I'm on PD and has not been told I can't drink coffee.  I drink Starbucks coffee.  One cup in the morning.  Sometimes 1 in the morning and occasionally 1 at night after dinner.

[flip]

It can be a natural diuretic which isn't so bad. I think it's the caffeine rather than the coffee.

[silverhead]

Before we started NxStage dialysis at home and Sharon was in center 3 days a week, she quite often would get a really strong headache about 30 minutes before the end of her 4 hours, she mentioned one time that she would get the strong urge for a cup of coffee, they did not have it there, so I would heat some in the micro and drive out to get her and give her the coffee,  the relief was almost within minutes for her, I still make her a cup when she finishes at home, but the headache (if she gets one) is much less severe, and she rarely drinks more than half a cup any more. We both have one cup in the morning and that it it for both of us.....
Tom

[Zach]

Coffee is not permitted for hemodialysis patients because of the toxins in the extract from coffee beans.

Never heard that one.
I drink about 12 oz. of coffee per day.

When I drink tea, my serum calcium rises.  Seems the tannic acid in the tea increases the absorption of the calcium from my phoslo (Calcium Acetate) tablets.
 

[zepher08]

Coffee has 10 times the amount of tanic acid that tea does according to Dr. Williams.
The fatigue dialysis patients experience is due to anemia and loss of homeostasis.
The dialysis nurse and dietician don't dicuss  this with patients, so all of you patients should
study on your own. If you go to www.pubmed.com and type in search bar kidney dialysis,
you will find many articles on dialysis nutrition   

[flip]

I still drink coffee with no ill effects. I think all dialysis patients are different and what may be bad for some is perfectly okay for others. It all depends on one's particular situation and the amount of residual kidney function.

[angellady07]

Since starting dialysis the thought of coffee turns my stomach.

[bolta72]

I agree with Flip, everyone is different. I have my 2 cups a day in the morning and one in the afternoon.

[annabanana]

They told my husband to only drink 8 oz. of coffee per day because of high potassium levels.

[Rerun]

I doubt it is the potassium.  It is more likely the fluid they are worried about.  Every meal plan I see for kidney patients starts with a half cup of coffee.

By reading the other posts it looks like it is allowed in the United States but not the UK.  Hmmmm

So if you live in the U.S. you are fine.

[kitkatz]

That is only because as a nation the US is a bunch of coffee drinkers.  Personally I burp coffee for hours after I drink it.  Not the most pleasant tasting stuff after a few hours. 

[RichardMEL]

Head dialysis nurse mentioned to me the other day that coffee is high potassium so they don't recommend large amounts.. but given the fluid restrictions you're supposed to be on I think the amount of fluid is more the concern... but if you overload on fluid and that fluid is coffee then your potassium could go higher also. Having said that they're always happy to do a "coffee run" to the coffee shop to get a latte lol. Specially during the first hour of dialysis because the potassium will be removed by the dialysis process....

I've not been told I can't have coffee. Every so often I will have a mocha or iced coffee though i prefer tea as it happens.

Though sometimes I dream about a massive iced coffee heaped with ice cream and whipped cream....... ohman!



And don't get me started on IRISH coffee .... mmm baileys....

[annabanana]

I read that decaffeinated coffee is higher in potassium than regular...because they use stronger coffee beans when they're going to take caffeine out so the taste will be decent.

[MiSSis]

I was curious so I checked nutritiondata.com for potassium levels in coffee:

Coffee (8 oz. serving) , brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water - 116 mg.

Coffee (8 oz. serving), brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water, decaffeinated - 128 mg.

[annabanana]

Yikes! I just asked my husband how many cups of coffee he drank in the morning and he said SIX. I have tried so hard to get him to only drink one. No wonder he's having problems with potassium. He's been ok with everything else. 

[Meinuk]

Hate to tell you, caffeine has shown to exacerbate hypertension http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11684564 and can also effect cyst growth in PKD  I limit myself to (and highly enjoy) my morning cup.

[flip]

6 cups of coffee is about 700 mg. potassium. He still has 1300 mg. to spend elsewhere.