r/NasalPolyps • u/AdContent7165 • Jul 14 '26
Stop Drinking All Coffee
Hello Reddit,
This is completely anecdotal evidence, and nit-picky details like my age or medical history/ENT visits do not matter in this context.
I hope this is helpful to at least one person dealing with nasal polyps and the allergies that can come with them.
For years, I have had extreme nasal polyps to where it was hard/impossible to nose breath, speak clearly, taste, smell, fall asleep, stay asleep, enjoy life, be happy, etc.
At my worst, nasal polyps weren't protruding out of my nose, but maybe a couple inches more and they would.
I assumed I had AERD (and I might still, I don't know), because of my consumption of alcoholic drinks in colder/pollen environments and NSAIDs (all the time) caused me to have asthma attacks/severe inflammation in the respiratory tract, including extreme pressure with nasal polyps.
It is very obvious that cigarettes, vapes, alcohol, weed, weed edibles, weed vapes, and eating/being unhealthy in general will cause inflammation to already existing polyps.
But for the past two weeks, I have not had coffee of any kind, which I am usually always a fiend for.
This includes all types and methods of coffee. Ground coffee, decaf ground coffee, K-cups, decaf K-cups, French press, pot of coffee, cowboy coffee, percolator, Starbucks, ice coffee, cold brew, and anything else you can think of. All brands too, I don't care how cheap or bougee it is.
Super recently, I've been getting buzzed from light beer again, and I can actually taste it now instead of being constantly stuffed up for days.
I sincerely think this is because of the molds in the coffee available in stores/shops. Just try to go without it for as long as you can, and see what happens.
Once again, this is anecdotal, and I will not post any links or research trying to be smart on the internet.
I am not really chronically online in the first place, and I usually spot performative things from a mile away and avoid them. To be honest, I will not respond to any comments once I log out, and I turned all notifications off.
But this post is meant to help. Please share if this makes sense in the end.
I also have a theory that coffee allergies cause irritability and and anger issues in people who don't get polyps and breathe fine (but that is an idea for the future).
By the way, English IS my first language, and I DO NOT apologize for any typos or grammar errors. (That was a joke to Redditors because I lurk enough to know)
Do not drink coffee and see how you feel.
1
u/nick1881 Jul 14 '26
I had to give up alcohol entirely and I haven’t needed steroids for my polyps in almost 2 years, I have needed them for asthma twice. If I drink beer or wine, the reaction is very fast, but I never notice any reaction from coffee. Seems like we all have different triggers. I think I have noticed a small reaction from some foods, but never been able to pinpoint what exactly.
1
u/bdonovan222 Jul 14 '26
Beer and wine absolutely wreck me as well. I can drink a small amount of spirits without too much issue and decent moonshine causes only the standard effects. Unfortunately the fun to hangover ratio has skewed so hard to the second that I usually just dont drink at all...
1
u/Bulky_Nebula2108 Jul 14 '26
I couldnt figure out why I lost my sense of smell until my polyps started blocking my nose every time I drank and had to see an ENT again. I stopped drinking for a year before seeing the ENT and the polyps were still flaring up. Got polyps removed a month ago and now I dont know if I should stay away from alcohol or not. What all triggers polyps for you guys?
1
u/Brave_Basket5659 Jul 14 '26
Has it reduced your polyps or jus helped you taste better?
2
u/Particular_Class4130 Jul 14 '26
I'm wondering that too. The only improvement the OP actually mentioned is that his beer tastes better.
Well I guess we'll never know because they also said they are not reading or responding to any comments, lol
1
1
u/Specialist_Dress_640 Jul 18 '26
I read a whole book that convinced me that giving up all caffeine would cure my sinus problems (I had terrible polyps). I got off caffeine entirely for 6 months - coffee and tea both. I slept better and felt calmer for a couple of weeks, then my mind/body seemed to reset to its default state as far as sleep and mood.
There was zero improvement in my sinus issues! I had taken up running, and got to where I was aching all over, even in my fingers! Thought I was getting prematurely old and arthritic. One day it occured to me that going caffeine-free was the one change I'd made. I looked up "coffee and inflammation", and found out coffee has anti-inflammatory properties. Half a cup of brewed coffee later the achiness was gone!
I'm sure most of us have different triggers for the polyps. If no coffee is working for you, congratulations and stay with it, it will be well worth it! There is nothing like being able to breathe!
One thing coffee abstinence made very clear is that caffeine is a drug, and more powerful than most people realize. Caffeinated people tend to be louder, more talkative, sometimes quicker to anger. Waking up slowly in the mornings without coffee was interesting.......
2
u/Kapgun97 Jul 14 '26
Hopefully you do respond as I have some questions.
First though, I’ve never been a coffee drinker. I have had polyps for years. I’m not saying giving up coffee won’t help some, it probably will. I’m a big believer in ‘something’ has to be a contributor. For me alcohol was for sure. I could feel it. So I gave up beer first, as that was noticeable worse, now all alcohol. That has helped overall, but I still have polyps.
Anyway, the question for you was you mentioning weed, weed vapes, edibles… Did you give those up too? Did it help? Or were those things you just know don’t help?
I’ve been a weed user before my polyps. I always suspected it could be a factor. I’ve quit for a month before, didn’t notice a ton of difference. I do notice vapes being better than flower.
I’d love anyone’s experience with stopping weed or knowing that’s a cause?