Coffee Pains

For most of my life I've preferred tea over coffee, except in the morning. During my military service I got into the habit of drinking strong coffee in the AM for the caffeine jolt, and in my twenties worked up to drinking a full pot every day. It made me a little jittery, but with raging insomnia sometimes the only way I was able to keep from dozing off at work was constantly drinking coffee.

I developed stomach ulcers in my thirties, and horrible heartburn on top of them, at which point I had to drastically scale back my coffee intake. Oh, the headaches that resulted -- caffeine withdrawl is terrible -- but eventually I got down to four cups in the morning, and then three, and finally two, which I made from instant coffee. For the rest of the day I'd drink herbal or decaf hot tea.

About six months ago I bought a little coffee maker so I could go back to drinking regular ground coffee in the morning, as instant has gotten too expensive. Because the coffee maker only brews five cups it was perfect for me. I liked it so much I started brewing a second little pot of decaf in the afternoon. That wouldn't hurt, I thought, and it would help me stop feeling drowsy after lunch. It's been twenty years since my ulcers acted up, so I figured they were healed.

Well, mysteriously at first, I started having regular episodes of heartburn again. It wasn't until last week that I noticed my TUMs bottle was half-empty, and I thought back. I'd been taking antacids two and sometimes three times in the afternoon and evening for heartburn. The only thing that changed in my diet was that extra pot of coffee. Even if it was decaf, it was the cause -- because when I cut my intake to just two cups of regular coffee in the morning, the heartburn went away.

I'll still have some decaf now and then, but not daily. The last thing I want is to wake up my stomach ulcers.