# Intolerant to tea?



## Tallgirl

I had a york food test done about 10 yrs ago which showed I was mildly intolerant to tea. I found the paperwork etc for it the other day and it said I should 'rotate' tea and only have it once every 4 days at the most.It is one thing that I have never tried to cut out of my diet (although I have tried eliminating lots of other things), as it just seemed unlikely to be causing problems.I normally drink 5 mugs a day and because my symptoms were not present all the time, I just dismissed the idea that it could be tea.Anyway - I stopped drinking tea on Monday morning (it's now Thursday evening) and have felt awful ever since - headache, nausea, lethargy and strange upper abdominal discomfort/pains. Is this all due to caffeine withdrawal? If I continue how long will it be before I know if I am intolerant to tea? Also, if I am intolerant to tea would I be able to drink de-caffeinated tea?Thanks.


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## Kathleen M.

I'm not sure what part of the tea is used for that intolerance test but it probably isn't just the caffeine part, so I wouldn't think decaf would solve the issue.Looking around it seems the usual peak of the caffeine withdrawal is around the 48 hour mark and it usually lasts about a week.Headache is a really common symptom of withdrawal from caffeine and I know there are quite a few others and it can make some people really miserable.


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## Tallgirl

Thanks Kathleen.I didn't think I would be able to drink de-caff - it was just wishful thinking







Do you think I need to give it a couple of weeks then to see if eliminating tea does ease my symptoms? That way the withdrawal symptoms from the caffeine should have gone completely?


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## Kathleen M.

I'd probably do a 2 week trial run. Let the caffeine withdrawl get out of your system and then have a week at least to see if the no tea is better than the with tea.I don't know which kind of symptoms a tea intolerance on that test would show up as (skin issues can happen with foods, not just gut issues).


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## flower44

I don't know whether this is helpful but...I am intolerant to caffeine and I can't drink de-caf because it still has some caffeine in it


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## daffodil

you could try rooibos (redbush) teathat is a completely different plant and has no caffeineit is all i have drunk for last - erm - 12 years - mostly with milk, but now, black with/without honey - it is a very mild flavourand now 'real' tea tastes horrid - it takes a while to get used to new tastes tho, hope the withdrawal is going ok x


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## em_t

Your symptoms sound like caffeine withdrawal - during my early 20s I could easily drink 8 cups of coffee / tea / coke a day. In fact it didn't occur to me that having the urge to drink diet coke at 9 in the morning was weird. But I decided to go off it coming up to my exams in university as I know caffeine can make you jittery and more stressed - needless to say I felt like I was dying for the first 3-4 days of going cold turkey. Although I did notice being able to think much clearer afterwards, which I suppose is a good thing! Now I limit myself to one coke or one coffee a day and don't miss it.Anyway back to your original question - I saw a dietician under the NHS and she said to avoid tea as the tannins in it can bung you up a bit, I'm IBS C and going off tea does make a real difference for me. If its the tannins you are reacting too you may also have a problem with red wine. Have you ever noticed any problems with it?All the bestEm xx


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## Tallgirl

It's been two weeks today since i drank tea. The withdrawal symptoms lasted about a week but obviously were worse for the first few days.It's difficult to say if it is helping with my IBS symptoms, so I will carry on with it for a while longer.My stomach feels more settled, I haven't had so much pain and I feel less stressed. However, I am being careful with my diet and have also started seeing a hypnotherapist so this could be helping too.em_t - I don't really drink alcohol much anymore so I'm not sure if I would react to red wine. I have the odd glass now and again but haven't really noticed anything I don't think. What sort of symptoms do you get when you drink it?


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## em_t

Can't really answer that one cos I've pretty much given up on drinking with IBS and if I do I stick to vodka or white wine. If you did have symptoms with it you'd probably have a bit of diarrhoea, rumbly tummy and gas. Or it could just be that its just tea you're intolerant to.


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## GUTted

Coffee is worse for me than tea but I'd definitely say tea has a negative effect on my symptoms. I have urgency symptoms and caffeine makes it worse, hot drinks in general can start me off though. Caffeine seems to increase the amount I pass somehow too, which I find a bit weird. I can understand it making me need to go to the loo there and then, but I don't get the increased amount?!


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## Tallgirl

Just an update - I have now been off tea for about three and a half weeks. For the last two weeks, I have had NO ABDOMINAL PAIN WHASTSOEVER!!!!! I can't quite believe it really, but I haven't done anything different apart from give up tea, so it must be due to that.I'm not saying that I've been miraculously cured or anything, but my symptoms have definitely improved.I have even eaten things in the last few days that would have given me pain before (chips, cake, garlic bread, pizza, chocolate, chinese!!) It was my sons birthday, so I thought I would treat myself







It's almost as though the tea was causing me to have intolerances.Let's hope the hypnotherapy sorts out my agoraphobia and anxiety and then maybe I can start getting my life back again


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## em_t

That's amazing!A friend of mine told me the exact thing about a relative of hers. His trigger was tea, took him years to find out it was that that was causing his symptoms. If you're really missing tea a really good alternative is rooibos (red bush) tea - it sorta has that tea taste and look to it but its caffeine free and really nice. And unlike herbal teas you can add milk and sugar to it, like regular tea. Going off tea has helped me somewhat. Apparently the tannins in it can contribute to C so now when I want my caffeine fix I have flat lemonade or coke instead! I used to be addicted to tea - literally 6-8 cups of the stuff everyday, and it was proper builders' tea I was drinking - very strong! Should have known I was drinking too much when I would need one to help me sleep at night!So glad you were able to treat yourself to some nice foods with no adverse effects! Best of luck with the hypnotherapy!


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## Tallgirl

Thanks em_t - yes, I still can't quite believe it really - every evening after eating, I'm just waiting for the pain to kick in as normal but it just doesn't happen!I really missed tea for the first couple of weeks but now it doesn't bother me so much. I've been mainly drinking peppermint tea and sometimes fennel - I might give the redbush tea a try though.


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## laofeng

I don't know whether this is helpful to you but it really useful for me: fennel tea! I already keep to drink it for 2 years and it let me blood sugar down. Though people is different from others but I strong suggest you to try it.


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