# Anyone Else Have Diarrhea After Drinking Tea?



## WonkyColon

If I have even a single glass of green or black tea, my colon freaks out and I have to go to the bathroom a few dozen times. I've got IBS-A. I'm usually on the C- end of that, but if I have even a little tea, I swing the other direction. Happen to anyone else?


----------



## Chadster1979

Hot or cold? Or does it matter?


----------



## petra

A few months ago I switched from coffee to decaff tea-I think it might have helped my IBS-d a bit. I would really miss my cuppa so I'm hoping I don't have to give up that too. Have you tried decaff?


----------



## Brianmay1975

It happens to me if I drink tea first thing in the morning, without eating. I usually have a cup of black tea with my breakfast and I'm always fine with it (I have IBS-A, but mostly on the D end of it), but a few years ago, when I had to study for my exams, I had to wake up at 5 am and I drank a few cups of black and herbal tea without eating anything and diarrhea unleashed very soon. At the time I thought it was the whole stress thing, but it turned out to be the tea... I don't understand why this happens, as a French doctor told me to drink black tea to help with bad D, when I had gastroenteritis while on a trip in France. She said that black tea is constipating. But it didn't help at all. In my country though, the doctors do not recommend black tea for D, instead they recommend peppermint or St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) tea against D...


----------



## Aussie Ann

I've noticed that my diarrhoea has been really bad for the past few months, and has coincided with my intake of tea going right up. I must admit that in the last couple of days I've wondered whether there might be a link and if I need to cut it out for a while to see. Unfortunately I love my tea and am not sure I could live without it!


----------



## BQ

Sometimes just the fact that you put anything (doesn't matter what) into your system will bring on colonic activity. Some people are more sensitive to hot beverages than others etc.... This is all very typical of IBS.


----------



## WonkyColon

It doesn't seem like hot or cold matters. I've heard that tea is supposed to be constipating because of the tannins, but it also has caffeine which is a bowel stimulant. It just seems to be really irritating to my colon for some reason. If I have a cup of coffee, I practically have to set up camp in the bathroom, LOL.


----------



## BQ

> It just seems to be really irritating to my colon for some reason.


Well I would avoid it then. Or you could try other teas.. other than green or black. I find I have to make mine really weak and skip any milk, cream or sugar in it.But still stands to reason... if it irritates.. avoid it.


----------



## itsmebaby

Caffeine, hot beverage, on an empty stomach... all of those things send me to the bathroom for an hour at least.Try warm peppermint tea, if it doesn't make your constipation worse. I really like the Celestial Seasonings one.


----------



## cecross

I stopped coffee, becasue although I love it, it doesn't love me...LOL I have kept up with my tea though. I do notice that my tummy makes more noises after I have my tea in the morning but otherwise thats all. And if I have any at night I drink de-caf. However when I have a cup on the weekend, it has no effect...go figure...


----------



## Esdaile

I am in the early stages of trying to nail my gastro problems which I have had for 20 years but which been worsening dramatically over the last couple of years. I have always had a suspicion that black tea is bad news for me, a suspicion however, which I have tried to supress because black tea is part of culture, my life my pleasure, you name it, a beverage more important for me than alcohol. Anyway, this Christmas and New Year were especially terrible-no surprises, since I ate and drank all kinds of wrong things and I know that alcohol is connected with D in my case. A few days of abstemiousness-herbal tea and spelt later things calmed down and yesterday I ate nothing except spelt crusts, and spelt noodles and drank herbal tea. Felt as right as rain in my stomach. This morning I had the spelt crusts but drank two cups of quite strong black tea (no sugar) more or less deliberately, wondering if anything would happen. Sure enough, two hours later I had to run to the toilet for the usual horror. This evening and tomorrow I shall have crusts and herbal tea and if there is then no D I'll have to face the fact that blak tea is almost certainly a culprit and a no-no for me, which will be very sad; all probably points to histamine incompatibility.


----------

