Peppermint Tea Question
#225047 - 11/15/05 07:58 AM
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I have had IBS sporadically for years and started using the helpforibs site in June of this year. I found many of the dietary guidelines to be very helpful. I also started to drink lots of peppermint tea as recommended, but over the summer my symptoms and abdominal pain became progressively worse. After several doctor visits and tests, someone suggested to me that the menthol in peppermint acts as an irritant to the stomach and GI tract and can affect overall digestion So I stopped drinking the 2-3 cups of peppermint tea, and my symptoms started to improve almost immediately. Have others experienced this kind of response?
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Peppermint irritates upper GI problems like gastritis and GERDs, so it is likely that you havw got one of these problems as well as IBS.
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The only thing I can remember even closely resembling this is from this thread. Not sure if that helps you or not.....
Hopefully someone else will have better info for ya.
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So, peppermint tea may even cause problems for people who don't have GERD or acid reflux? 
Would this include the peppermint capsules as well? I drink Peppermint tea all day, and I'm not stable. I thought the tea would help me. I wasn't stable before the tea either, so I don't know if it's okay for me or not.
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...it's fine for IBS, but is problematic if you also have upper GI problems.
So if you don't get heartburn (the most noticeable symptom of upper GI problems usually) then stick with it! I'd love to be able to use it.
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Thanks, that' helpful. Seems like peppermint is not a panacea and should be approached with a little bit of care. I have learned in general that it is better to go slowly when trying anything new.
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Peppermint and peppermint tea make my stomach feel awful. It's kind of a light wrenching/sucking feeling. I don't have upper GI problems (all lower), but I do have gastritis along with IBS-D.
There are a lot of us who can't tolerate peppermint tea, so don't feel bad, and please don't continue a regimen that makes you feel worse! We're all different, and although some swear by peppermint, it doesn't work for the rest of us at all. Unf the trick is mainly trial and error to find something that works for you! Good luck to you--
~nelly~ 
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...don't have GERD but still have tummies agravated by peppermint. (like Nelly). I don't have GERD, so I don't know if the peppermint tea could be causing tummy aches.
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Or does the peppermint give you problems without these symptoms?
Quote:
menthol in peppermint acts as an irritant to the stomach and GI tract and can affect overall digestion
This makes me believe that it can also be bad for non-Gerd people?
Can someone help me understand this a little better?
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Try taking it out of your diet, then rotating it back in under controlled circumstances, maybe.
If I had a dollar for every thing people swore to me would work and then were wrong about... well I wouldn't be rich, but I'd be a lot sicker. I know that peppermint makes me worse, but I also know that I have to try *everything* because I might be missing out of something if I discound someone else's "cure."
Please don't let anyone tell you what's best for you! It's all just guidelines, you know? Guidelines, and trial and error.
~nelly~ 
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Before I had IBS, peppermint tea would cure any kind of stomach ache I ever had. Now, it only makes me worse. I have a hiatal hernia and IBS-D, and when I drink Peppermint tea, I'm in for a WORLD of hurtin'!
Michelle
--------------------
IBS-D. Hiatal Hernia, GERD
Unstable
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As I've said before, peppermint is great for IBS unless you have upper GI issues OR A PERSONAL INTOLERANCE.
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According to my doctors, I do not have GERD, although I have, at times, had "slight" stomach inflammation as shown by endoscopy.
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