Coffee as a Prescriptoin


ctr2961
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Short version - my doctor has keeping me on strong meds for over a year and he is concern that meds are talking too long for my body to flush them out.  Since my meds has too many side effects, he does not want to stress my body any more. So he is recommending straight black coffee(8 oz) 3 days a week for who knows how long. 

I hate the stuff, but the doctor says I can drink the coffee or deal with side effect of additional strong meds which may keep me from working and functional.

I haven't been to church for a while due to this, so I haven't been able to get a hold of the Bishop.

What's your opinion.

Edited by ctr2961
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BTW, I agree with @Jane_Doe that "coffee or drugs, nothing else" sounds suspicious. If it's the caffeine load you need, there are plenty of ways to get that without drinking coffee. I'm skeptical. But again, talk to your bishop.

Edited by Vort
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So, after my heart attack, this happened:

Doctor: "These new meds might make you a little light-headed and short of breath.  If that happens, just have a cup of coffee and you'll be good to drive."

Me: "I'm mormon - we don't drink coffee."

Doctor: "Oh.  Soda?"

Me: "Sure!"

Doctor: "Ok, a Coke or something then.  It's the caffeine."

 

Have you mentioned to your doctor that you don't drink coffee, and asked him for another suggestion?

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I've seen such prescriptions before and there really are cases where it's a choice between prescription medicines and coffee.  Normally the prescription medicines are stronger, but coffee is a weaker way to deal with certain items.

I'm not your Bishop, but a Bishop that is willing to condemn someone for taking medicine is not really doing what they should.  As I am not your Bishop, none of my advice could replace what he will tell you on this and you may have one that would condemn people for going to the hospital, being treated for illnesses or ailments, for following a doctor's treatment plan, or taking medicine.  In such a case I would probably ignore the Bishop so flagrantly willing to hurt or injure someone (though I'd probably appeal to a higher authority than him in such an instance) and listen to the Doctor who is treating my condition.  However, nothing said here can replace whatever your Bishop will think or act.  I am not your Bishop or leadership.

That said...

If you end up using the doctor, you should treat drinking coffee like any other prescription.  Drink it as the medicine it is intended to be and you should be fine.  Take it recreationally and that's a different proposition.  Drink it as a prescription and I see no problem with it.

There are many drugs today that if people take recreationally we would frown upon it in the church.  However, many of these drugs are also given out as prescriptions.  As they are medicine to help treat people, Bishops are not to condemn them for taking them.  There are anti-depressants, uppers and downers, painkillers, and many others which some people abuse (and we frown upon such abuse), but when utilized correctly in a prescription are completely within the limits of the Word of Wisdom. 

Abuse on the otherhand is another matter. 

The same would apply to coffee as other addictive substances that the Doctor may prescribe as medicine or treatment.  If you need treatments, I would probably adhere to the doctor's advice and treatment plan rather than ignore it.

Edited by JohnsonJones
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The word of wisdom was given as a guide to taking care of our bodies and thus taking care of our mind and soul as well.

Coffee is in there as it isn't good for most people.  It isn't something that should be consumed by the regular Joe.  

But guess what.  Your meds aren't good for the regular Joe as well.  

The word of wisdom does not spell out every bad substance that we shouldn't take.  However, sometimes bad substances are what we need to heel.

I am not saying to start drinking coffee, but talk it over with your doctor and see if there are other alternatives.  Obtain inspiration from on high and follow it.

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Have not read all of thread...long day in hospital w sick relative. I had this issue and there was a list of reasons why only coffee would do. I got my doctor to write me a short note that I took to my bishop. Problem solved. No questions asked.

My doctor, a Muslim, was most entertained but managed to keep a straight face. My meds come w a long list of side effects. Coffee is the least of my worries.

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  • 2 months later...
On ‎2‎/‎5‎/‎2020 at 9:01 AM, Lost Boy said:

The word of wisdom was given as a guide to taking care of our bodies and thus taking care of our mind and soul as well.

Coffee is in there as it isn't good for most people.  It isn't something that should be consumed by the regular Joe.  

I'm not one to criticize an LDS interpretation of an LDS holiness standard. So, I simply ask the question: Is the WoW really about taking care of the body and mind (i.e. physical and mental health)? If so, during the pancreatic cancer scare of the 1970s the WoW would have been a common sense boon that most non-LDS Christian might have done well to pick up on. Alas, the 1990s came along and coffee was/is considered healthy for most. It's natural, often organic, and has lots of antioxidants. Also, 2 grams of fiber per cup.

Might there be more to the WoW? I recall an orthodox rabbi (Daniel Lapin, Mercer Island, WA) being asked why Jews don't eat shrimp. Was it for health reasons, the questioner asked. No. Not for that. Well, what then? The rabbi's answer is classic:  BECAUSE GOD SAID NO.

It may yet turn out that coffee is more bad than good. To my knowledge, the medical field has not reached that conclusion. Likewise with alcohol--especially wine. Nevertheless, I don't drink wine and you don't drink coffee. Why? We believe that God said no...whether through prophetic admonition, scriptural injunction, or a combination of biblical counsel and social understanding.

BTW, I agree with most that it is unlikely that coffee is the only solution. Even if the answer is warm caffeinated liquid, if I were a member I'd rather nuke a cup of Coke than violate a basic holiness code of my church.

Edited by prisonchaplain
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I don't see the standard of "no coffee" changing in my lifetime, or probably thereafter. But it's worth mentioning that even within my lifetime, coffee drinking has not always been a violation of temple recommend standards. My maternal grandparents drank coffee until their dying days, and they were temple workers. They claimed a "medicinal need" for coffee, probably developed when my grandfather worked as a Hanford reactor operator during WWII. I doubt that would fly today, but at the time their bishops and stake presidents approved it.

I remember reading a letter from the First Presidency (under Joseph Fielding Smith) that explicitly said that drinking decaf coffee (specifically Sanka) was allowed for temple recommend purposes:

In reference to the Church's attitude regarding Sanka coffee.
The use of a beverage from which the deleterious ingredients have been removed would not be considered as breaking the Word of Wisdom. However, in all cases it is well to avoid the appearance of evil by refraining from the use of drinks which have the appearance, the smell, and the taste of that which we have been counseled not to use. However, temple recommends should not be denied to those drinking Sanka or the cola drinks.

(First Presidency, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, N. Eldon Tanner, Dec. 3, 1971)

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I understand that caffeine can be applied by a medical expert for some ailments or conditions.  But to consider that coffee (and no other substitute) can "flush" the body of medication residue makes no sense.

I get the impression that this is more about something else.  (I honestly hope I'm not violating a forum rule for posting the link).

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