Saying “Goodbye”—Again—to Coffee

I will admit that I’m probably a bit of a hypochondriac. I’ve even made that statement to my doctor when I go through a long list of all my symptoms that I keep track of between appointments; however, she just smiles and tells me I’m not—probably her kind way of being professional, but I do wonder if I’m part of the after-hours chuckles when the office closes.

I presented her with a new list at my recent “Welcome to Medicare” exam, which included some different office tests—some that seemed to validate some of my symptoms and some that assuaged some of my concerns. Overall, everything checked out well, with only one slight out-of-range area regarding my bad cholesterol so the doctor suggested I watch the cholesterol in my diet and exercise. Even my thyroid scores were in range—a test that I have every six months because I have no thyroid and am dependent upon the one medication I’m prescribed. The only big concern was my office EKG, which, as the doctor explained, suggested some irregular blood flow in my past. Immediately, I tried to connect the EKG results to one of my listed symptoms, but the doctor stated there was no connection. Still, she continued, we’d better play it safe and schedule a Calcium Score Scan on my heart.

As a result, I spent a large part of my afternoon Googling the details of the scan, which led me to an explanation of the scoring, which led me to coronary heart disease, which led me to symptoms, which explained many of my listed symptoms, and which convinced me that my days were numbered. After all, my father died of arteriosclerosis so maybe I inherited it. No longer was I accepting that I was still experiencing hot flashes and everything else that goes with them!

Because I knew the long Labor Day Weekend would slow down the process of setting up the scan, I did what I could to be proactive and immediately made changes in my diet to lower my cholesterol. Yet, in Googling everything about cholesterol, I concluded that my diet is already low in that area; still, from now on, I’m eating only egg whites, less cheese and ice cream, and more onions and garlic—and a daily glass of red wine. Yea! As to exercise, I already spend almost two hours, five days a week at the gym, plus walk my dogs daily.

When the med center finally called, I was able to set up the scan the same week at 1:40 p.m. The kicker was that for 24 hours previous to the test, I could have NO caffeine. That, of course, meant that I could not have my usual pot—yes POT—of coffee that morning. I knew what was coming but could only hope that the daily Aleve I take for my arthritis would lessen the inevitable headache. No such luck! By the time noon rolled around, my head was throbbing; plus, I couldn’t sit still or concentrate on anything, not to mention—as I’m sure my husband would mention—I was cranky, along with being anxious about the test results. I just knew that the results of the scan would require I be rushed to the hospital.

Instead, the scan was no big deal—much quicker and easier than what was described on the Internet. I even got to keep all my clothes on! Plus, when the technician told me my score was zero, meaning that I had absolutely no calcium built up at all, I had to restrain myself from tackling her with a hug. I was so relieved and took time to count my blessings.

Still, I had to contend with my wicked headache, so the first thing I did when I arrived home was make a big pot of coffee, but, by that time, I couldn’t even look at it because nausea set in. As a result, I spent the next couple hours alternating from sitting to lying down to walking around the house to trying to be sick until I finally crashed on the bed with my loyal dogs guarding me and probably wondering, What in the hell is wrong with you?

After I rested for awhile, what registered most with me was the obvious dependency—okay, addiction—I have with coffee, and I didn’t like that! In all areas of my life, I like to be in control; instead, coffee was controlling me. So, when I could read again, I picked up my iPad and Googled the pros and cons of caffeine/coffee as well as the pros and cons of drinking coffee vs. tea. Granted, there is a mixture of research and opinions on the subject as there are, indeed, pros and cons of both beverages. Still, making several connections between my daily intake of coffee—not only the caffeine but also other chemicals within it—and my listed symptoms plus my new knowledge that coffee interferes with the effectiveness of my thyroid medication, I’ve decided to say “goodbye” to my coffee, again. Besides, several years ago when I was diagnosed with GERD, I went an entire year with almost no caffeine at all. No coffee, no tea (except for decaf), no chocolate! When a doctor tells me to do something, I follow directions—with one exception being going through another colonoscopy, but that’s a different story for another time.

Another good part of the day was I lost a pound—no doubt because I had no coffee for over 24 hours. All right, probably because the withdrawal came with a lack of appetite. Anyway, as many of us know, seeing even one fewer pound register on the scale increases that needed motivation for me to eat smart and switch to drinking tea again. As a result, today I’ve added a variety of teas to my pantry and cleaned up and put away the coffee maker.

Will eliminating coffee altogether make a big difference in my health, however? Will my symptoms list grow shorter? Will I finally take off a few more pounds and lose my belly fat? We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.

Oh, and as to my greatly used Starbucks Gold Card…there’s no need for concern. As long as Starbucks still has chai lattes, I’ll continue to utilize the drive-through.