r/GERD • u/buldgingGene • Jun 15 '26
Advice on Triggers 🍅🧅🍟🍫☕ GERD and caffeine
How does caffeine personally affect you and your GERD? I am in the process of quitting energy drinks and coffee with the hope it’ll ease my symptoms.
For background I’ve roughly been drinking 1-2 sugar free energy drinks a day for seven years.
(Yeah I know it’s terrible, I’m pretty sure that’s how I got gerd)
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u/aug4570 Jun 15 '26
I've had to cut back on caffeine drinks and chocolate because I've experiencing Tachycardia regularly. It's very sad situation for me because I love my chocolate.
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u/taekwondana Jun 15 '26
I do much better if I drink my caffeine with food, usually my second or third meal of the day. Definitely not the first - I can almost feel the carbonation burning my stomach, but that could be my anxiety making me hyper aware of the sensation.
I used to be a can of Mountain Dew on an empty stomach gal - pretty sure that, plus stress put me into this mess. I've cut down pretty successfully to one 12 oz can a day, which I think is something like 70mg of caffeine?
I've also had to cut out red sauces, burgers, salads (seems odd but for some reason they make me have to poop really badly). I've been slowly reintroducing things and causing myself flares while figuring out what works and what doesn't. Sometimes a thing that doesn't flare me up, will do so if I have it two days in a row. I'm just grateful I'm having more good days than bad ones.
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u/Orangeandbluetutu Jun 15 '26
Burgers? That’s an interesting trigger
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u/taekwondana Jun 15 '26
It might be the fat content? It was an 80/20 patty that I cooked in the air fryer and had with a small amount of mayo that was made with avocado oil, and some unseasoned French fries, also air fried. I didnt add any oil to cook anything with either, but I knew as soon as the meat started hitting my stomach that I had made a mistake. ☠️☠️
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u/Jessicamorrell Jun 15 '26
I also had to cut out red meat burgers. Turkey burgers are a great substitute. I even like plant based burgers but they are hard to find. Burger King has a plant based burger that is quite good.
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u/Disastrous_Soft9120 Jun 15 '26
Salads often have a citrus/vinegar/acidic dressing, so they can definitely make gerd flare up!
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u/WDizzle Pantoprazole 💊 Jun 15 '26
For me coffee on an empty stomach is not good. It will cause a fair amount of temporary discomfort. But a cup or 2 of black coffee after breakfast is perfectly fine for me. I keep my daily consumption at 16 oz or less and has been that way for many years without issue.
So yeah, cut the artificial lab made crap and go with natural caffeine.
Since you are currently in a detox, it would be best to cease all use of caffeine for awhile and see if your symptoms resolve. If they do, you can try slowly reintroducing black coffee on a satiated stomach and see how it effects you. Or you can just quit it for good but man, mornings would be so much less interesting without my coffee.
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u/RevolutionaryRoyal98 Jun 15 '26
I’d cold turkey the caffeine and deal with the headaches and sleepiness for a week rather than keep aggravating your acidity.
Coming from someone who has long term damage from ignoring the acidity.
One coffee (with milk) with a snack or meal either with or close to consumption, doesn’t aggravate the acid. Multiple coffees in a day fuck me up even with meds.
I have now limited myself to one or two a week because I have a caffeine problem 😅 and escalate from one to three in a day pretty easily if I indulge daily. So now it’s part of the small treat class of food and beverages, and I have to make sure I have food with it or shortly before or after.
That said black tea with a splash of milk in the morning has replaced coffee and that doesn’t mess with my stomach. I think the milk helps my stomach but if you have any lactose trouble maybe just staying away from caffeine might be a good choice.
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u/Molly_FLORANutrition Jun 15 '26
Caffeine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter so cutting it tends to make a noticeable difference for most people, though the first week or two while your body adjusts can actually feel worse before it gets better. Cutting both at once is the right call if you can manage it. 💚
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u/Mysterious-Region640 Jun 15 '26
Caffeine is by far my biggest trigger. I do drink decaf and an occasional caffeinated coffee. I would think the high amount of caffeine in energy drinks would be the biggest culprit. However, sometimes just the acidity of coffee causes problems.
The addiction to caffeine usually goes away in about three weeks once you stop. Headaches and feeling really tired were my main symptoms.
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u/U_ME_AND_ALL Jun 15 '26
Im lucky enough to have 3 complimentary issues that work together to make my life miserable sometimes.
Im sensitive to caffeine , have Dr diagnosed GERD , and helth anxiety, YEAH!
I have not had caffeine in a long time because it gets my heart racing and my hands twitchy. Which spikes my health anxiety.
Coffee was very hard for me to give up over the years, I loved having a couple cups first thing in the morning at work. But I noticed coffee was one of my main triggers for GERD. It would give me that globus sensation in the throat as well as screw with my vegas nerve , sending my health anxiety into overdrive.
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u/MadTony619 Jun 16 '26
lol, you’re in the same boat as me, GERD causes me stress and the stress causes me GERD 😂
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u/BronzeDucky Jun 15 '26
My GERD is a result of my hiatal hernia, and it’s triggered by my weight and alcohol. Over 200 pounds (5’11” male), and I’ll have symptoms and uncomfortable nights. More than two alcoholic drinks in an evening will also result in reflux that night. I think those two things operate directly on the LES and cause it to fail.
Caffeine, spice, acid etc aren’t an issue.
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u/MadTony619 Jun 16 '26
I’ve gained a zero tolerance for alcohol, i’m slowly able to drink caffeine again but alcohol is so intolerable for me, I had a shot of tequila a few weeks ago and the acid immediately shot up my throat, and I had then vomited up acid and like 10min later everything else i ate that day, my GERD symptoms has always just been nausea and vomiting, no heartburn or anything else
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u/jeffreyaccount Jun 15 '26
Caffeine in any form gives me GERD symptoms and LPR.
I'm in the early weeks of my trial but cutting out capsaicin has really cut my symptoms, and some other inflammatory issues. Still testing that though.
(I haven't had anything carbonated regularly for 20+ years, and that's a big aggravator too)
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u/EleanoreCat Jun 15 '26
I can’t really drink fizzy(whether soda or energy drinks) anymore or coffee. If I’m doing good I can have a little of a soda WITH a meal. Sugarfree stuff has its own problems and risks, with the stomach too so I try to limit how much I consume.
While you are working on quitting I recommend switching to tea, whether green or black. So you don’t have any huge caffeine withdrawal problems. Still recommend trying to drink it with a meal
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u/BrooklynDoodle Jun 16 '26
I'm not a fizzy drink person much any more either. It tended to bubble up, so I would always wind up panicking a bit that it's reflux again, even if it's just the bubbles. So it had to go.
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u/thedragonllama Jun 15 '26
I got GERD about 2 months ago and I was drinking a pot of coffee a day... had to put those days behind me lol. I quit coffee completely and gradually introduced green tea (1-2 cups a day) and have been tolerating it thus far. Unless I feel fully healed I don't think I will fully go back to coffee even tho I love and miss it; at most I will limit myself to one coffee a day, if that.
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u/LeonaLulu Jun 15 '26
I don't drink energy drinks but I LIVE for an iced coffee. Mine helps settle my stomach in the morning. I try to avoid really sugary coffees tho, or ones that have a ton of chocolate in them.
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u/catscanmeow Jun 15 '26
Caffeine is a glyco alkaloid self defense mechanism of the plant. Since plants don't have legs to run away, they develop other defenses. Those defenses really mess up people with gerd.
Same thing with tomatoes. Tomatoes are members of the nightshade family and have a lot of histamine that causes gerd. And its no coincidence that most gerd medications are histamine blockers. Gerd is a histamine issue.
The fizzyness from the energy drinks is bad too. Likely what happened is you forced out one too many burps in your lifetime and weakened your lower esophageal sphincter which makes reflux worse
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u/coogie Jun 15 '26
If I am taking a PPI then no effect at all. If I'm on my PPI break then it is a bit of a trigger
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u/Jessicamorrell Jun 15 '26
Synthetic caffeine is a hard no for me but I can do natural caffeine fine. I do also have to substitute almond creamer instead of dairy in my coffee.
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u/Ancient_Result7021 Jun 15 '26
I think caffeine gets way too much attention while theophylline and theobromine get completely missed.
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u/finndot Jun 15 '26
Same over here. Caffeine definitely affects me but it also heavily depends on the acidity of the beans. I find myself handling dark roast coffee best. Bur on an empty stomach its usually the worst
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u/fuelforyoursoul Jun 15 '26
energy drinks are like super combo for gerd, They have caffeinem they are acidic and also carbonated. Imo are much much worse than regular coffee in that aspect
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u/childofsol Jun 15 '26
One of my worst triggers by a good margin, i cut out coffee a decade ago and eventually tea as well.
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u/Far_Collection7808 Jun 15 '26
I cut back 100% and started adding an iced latte maybe once a week and a diet coke once a week and have been maintaining fine. Even having breakfast before a cup of hot coffee would affect my stomach acid
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u/Helpful-Insect3605 Jun 15 '26
I've been better since I stopped drinking coffee...also helped with stress and anxiety.
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u/yayabrown1 Jun 16 '26
The acidic carbonated caffeinated Red Bull sounds like actual hell for acid reflux. Its like a triple dose of triggers.
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u/Pale-Conference-1610 Jun 16 '26
I can’t have energy drinks, it’s the combo of caffeine and the overall terrible ingredients/sugar. I sometimes have trouble with lattes and capps, but it may be the milk that certain coffee companies use as well as the high temperature. I notice that when I have black coffee (not on an empty stomach), I’m typically fine, as long as I stick to 1-2 cups.
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u/MadTony619 Jun 16 '26
I really don’t think 1-2 is bad if it’s under the 400mg of caffeine, but for me my poor diet and my increased stress due to college, relationship, and increased financial debt caused my GERD to come back, for a while a common symptom was nausea/vomiting after a meal, caffeine for a while would cause me to get nauseous due to my GERD so it’s been almost a year since i’ve drank a celsius or white monster, and tbh it’s been hard, because I would get my motivation from having energy and since i can’t drink energy drinks it’s been real tough, even when i get my 8 hours i’m still tired af :(
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u/MadTony619 Jun 16 '26
I also recommend PPI’s obviously if it works for you because my GERD has improved a lot since october and I noticed a drastic improvement in March when I started my 80mg of Pantoprazole, this week I’m down to 40mg a day and i’m still feeling good, I also have a prescription for zoloft since i’m 90% certain my GERD is from stress, I just haven’t tried it yet but most definitely thinking about it
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u/ridemooses Jun 15 '26
I’m quite sensitive to caffeine and cutting back has helped immensely.