This is the second part of a story explaining why I quit drinking coffee. In part one, I shared that while I am not against coffee completely, I recently had become addicted, not willing to give it up despite some health issues that I was struggling with, namely a staff infection in my finger. Read Why I Had to Quit Drinking Coffee: Part One.
So, the staff infection was not enough to get me to break my caffeine habit — even though I knew that lowering my acid load would help my body fight the infection. I was suffering from a case of caffeine addiction.
The Stuff of Nightmares.
Then something I never expected happened, something that nightmares are made of. I woke up in the middle of the night and was startled when, as my arm lay across my chest, I felt something hard in my breast: a lump.
I had a hard time going back to sleep as I pondered all the possibilities.
- Was it just a cyst?
- Could it be cancerous?
- Was I going to die?
Since breast cancer (or any kind of cancer) does not run in the family, I did not focus too long on that option. But I was still concerned. In the morning I got up and went directly to the Internet to discover what all the possibilities the lump could be.
My symptoms did not fit perfectly into any one category — but most websites confirmed my suspicion that it was likely not cancerous.
A fibroadenomas cyst caused by a hormonal imbalance seemed to be the most likely cause of the lump. I drew this conclusion based on my reading and the shape and movability of the mass in my breast.
Coffee and Hormones.
I recently wrote an article that mentioned that coffee has caused a hormonal imbalance in my body in the past. The very thing that I was not willing to give up to heal my infection could be the very thing that caused a lump in my breast. I was convicted hard of my unwillingness to give up coffee.
The Lord reminded me of how inconsistent I was as a person and as a leader in the biblical wellness arena. Had I not just recently wrote these very words [1]:
But supplementation should never be an excuse to continue making poor health choices. If you take supplements (or medication) because you refuse to eat a healthy diet, refuse to exercise, and desire to harm your body with destructive life-style choices — this is similar to witchcraft. It is a manipulation of God’s design by taking a magic potion, a magic bullet so you don’t have to suffer the consequences of your poor choices.
Yet I was guilty of this very thing. I was taking an herbal hormone supplement to support me during menopause, knowing full well that my increased intake of coffee was working against my hormonal well being. And I was unwilling to cut down or even quit the coffee to help.
Exacerbated by Caffeine.
And now I have developed a lump in my breast that could be caused or exacerbated by the caffeine to which I was heartily addicted. I confessed my sin and began immediately reducing my caffeine intake. I bought some organic herbal coffee called teeccino (tee-chee-no) to help wean me off gradually.
Teeccino is non acidic and contains no caffeine — and only has benefits to the body, not negatives. The first day I used the teeccino, I reduced my coffee down to 1/4 the amount I had been drinking.
DTs or Mystery Illness?
The next day I became violently ill — like someone coming off of drugs. I had experienced a caffeine withdrawal headache in the past, but this was 20 times worse. I was crying to my husband, telling him that I was going to die. My pounding head and nauseated stomach had never hurt they way they did that day. I can’t attest that it was a withdrawal from coffee that caused this unusual illness — but that was the last time I had coffee. I needed no more weening. I was done.
The Lump Connection.
There have been no studies showing a direct relationship between coffee and breast cysts, but there is a connection between breast cysts and hormone imbalance. And that’s what creates the correlation between coffee and breast cysts: caffeine is known to disrupt the hormonal balance. It is not hard to connect the dots. LiveStrong writes the following [2]:
According to Mayo Clinic internist Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., there does not appear to be a clear-cut connection between caffeine — or coffee, a major dietary source of caffeine — and breast cysts. However, in very large doses, the caffeine in coffee may indirectly influence reproductive hormones, which, according to MayoClinic.com, are thought to affect the development of fibroadenomas.
I cannot be sure that the caffeine has played a part in this breast lump, but eliminating it is my first course of action. There are other things I am doing as well. I will share those in another post.
I know God has a plan through this time and I will continue to look to Him for guidance. His ways are good and all His paths are peace.
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[1] https://reformedhealth.net/are-you-looking-for-a-magic-bullet/
[2] http://www.livestrong.com/article/491367-does-coffee-cause-breast-lumps/
[3] https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1989/8905/8905.PDF
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Reformed Health exists so you can take control of your own health and be all that God has designed you to be. The information shared on Reformed Health is the sole opinion of the author and is not meant to diagnose or treat any illness. None or our claims have been evaluated by the FDA or any other government organization. We are not medical doctors, nor do we have any medical doctors on staff. If you are having a health emergency, please call 911, contact your doctor, or visit a local emergency room. Always consult your doctor before engaging in any new exercise regime.
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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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