Marlene Buckler, MD, FACEP

                      COFFEE GONE

    I stopped drinking coffee about three weeks ago.  I just decided it probably wasn't doing me any good, so why drink it?  I feel better, more energetic.

    I have enjoyed coffee for many years, as is typical of so many people, especially those working in hospitals.  Hardly a day went by that I did not drink several cups of the java brew.  I never really thought it was doing me any harm.  I drank it black, hard core ER doctor, you know. 

    Caffeine can be addictive and some people suffer from headaches and other withdrawal symptoms if they quit it cold turkey.  Fortunately I suffered no such ill effects even though I just stopped, no weaning period for me.  Perhaps it is the new vitamin supplements I started taking a few days before discontinuing the coffee that helped me through.  I used to drink a lot of Diet coke too (more caffeine) and was able to stop that a few months ago.  Now I drink water, sometimes Perrier, and the occasional cup of tea.

    Perhaps drinking soda and coffee was more of a habit for me rather than a caffeine addiction and that is why I was able to stop each favorite drink suddenly with no adverse consequences.

    But caffeine is a problem for many people.  As a physician I am ashamed to say that I have never really bothered to ask most patients if they consumed caffeine and how much.  That will change.  Actually such questions are not only appropriate for physicians to ask but probably very important, depending on the problem with which the patient has presented to the ER or office.  So many doctors drink coffee and sodas that maybe that's why we don't ask.  Not only the coffee ingestion but also the high sugar content of sodas, coupled with its caffeine, should be a major health concern to any doctor, both in regards to themselves and their patients.

    Caffeine probably contributes more to anxiety, insomnia, depression, osteoporosis, headaches, muscle pains, stress, fatigue and angry outbursts than most of us doctors and others want to admit or even think about.  If caffeine really is an important contributor to such maladies, is it not insane to take pills to relieve symptoms and then continue to drink coffee and sodas?

    Since giving up the morning (and sometimes all day long) coffee drinking I have not missed it at all.  Oh, yes, I still love the aroma of freshly ground coffee brewing, but to be honest, I never found that coffee tasted any where near as good as it smells.  So now I just enjoy the aroma and skip the drinking part of the experience.

   I still like to have something to drink, especially something hot in the mornings.  Habit.  So now I have a cup of green tea.  Yes, there is a little caffeine in green tea but the amount is much less than in coffee and I find that one cup is more than enough.

   If you were to decide to stop drinking coffee you would find that your general health would probably improve, you'd save money (lots of it if you routinely go to a coffee shop for your cup or cups in the mornings) and you just might discover other, healthier beverages to drink instead.

    Why not give it a try?

Marlene Buckler, MD, FACEP     www.StayOutOfMyER.com